Letters as Change Agents

I’m always saying that financial education is “not just about the money; it’s about building great families.” By this I mean that financial skills are best developed in the context of a set of clear values; meaningful goals; and a commitment to using those skills for the realization of the dreams and hopes of the family, the individuals in the family, and the larger world within which the family lives.

So when I came across Dorie McCollough Lawson’s new book, Posterity: Letters of Great Americans to their Children, I knew it would be a great tool to help families make that connection. I’m often moved by stories I hear from people who relate the impact of a letter received from a parent or grandparent at some point in their lives. That impact is SO great that I now include the exercise of writing to one’s grandchildren or children in family meeting plans.

Recently I received a rare, handwritten letter from someone I care about, reminding me of the power of analog. The writing took time, intention, and thought. It was more than the racing communication of an email and it propelled me to a more thoughtful consideration of how to respond.

Letters have often inspired great turns in the affairs of humans. Those selected by Lawson, the daughter of Pulitzer Prize-winning historian David McCullough, are from a diverse collection of Americans: Ansel Adams and John Adams; Alexander Graham Bell and Woody Guthrie; Eleanor Roosevelt and Harriet Beecher Stowe, for example. They are each unique in content and style. And I hope a perusal of some of the letters will inspire you to pick up an old-fashioned pen to write your own.