The Essence of Robert Reid

Creative ~ Determined ~ Negotiator Loyal ~ Gatherer ~ Reflective

Always up to having fun

I have been very blessed in my life and fortunate enough to be able to say I have many lifelong friendships. This next story is about one such person, one whom I can call at any time of the day or night. Robert Reid and I have many stories to share that are serious, fun, and riveting. Space is a limiting factor here. My readers need background information.

I joined the 30,000-member US-based Financial Planning Association in the late nineties. I wanted more from my profession than just being a mutual fund salesman. Joining a financial planning group gave me a different perspective from my company. I volunteered for a committee representing the three thousand foreign members. Within a year, I became the chair of America’s group and, by 2004, the chair of the global committee. These were heady days. The highlight was a think tank comprising the who’s who in the profession. That meeting laid the groundwork for the association’s global financial planning direction for the next ten years.

Our meeting of the International Advisory Board.

The heady days of my involvement in 2003 with the FPA’s big-picture thinking in international financial planning. This is the advisory committee representing 3,000 international members.

That was the event where our think tank of 150 thought leaders worked on a masterplan for the direction the 30,000-strong association's financial planning would take over the next ten to fifteen years.

Shortly after joining the committee, I was approached by another member, Robert Reid from the UK, to co-author a cross-border article for the Financial Planning Association’s magazine. It was a delightful exercise that eventually grew into a much larger project. Rob and I quickly became friends, as did Maurizio Capra from Italy and Leo Glikin from Argentina. The four of us formed the core of a group affectionately known as the Four Musketeers. We became so close that we travelled together. I have visited Maurizio in Italy and Rob in Scotland. Whenever I was unable to attend, the alternate musketeer was Paul Chan, who hailed from Malaysia and passed away in 2025. RIP, Paul. 

It was one of those moments of six degrees of separation or destiny. On one of Rob’s trips to Canada, he asked me to take him to visit his great-aunt’s grave in a cemetery in Mississauga, my hometown. I agreed and left it at that until the time came. He gave me the cemetery's name; I didn’t recognize it until I entered it into my GPS. It turned out to be the same cemetery where my two grandmothers were buried, and where both my parents were later buried. They were less than 100 yards apart. Since then, both my parents have been buried in the same cemetery.

No wonder Donna likes him. The first stop after getting off the airplane in Glasgow was a quilt shop.

What has been your biggest challenge, and how have you overcome it?

One of my biggest challenges is interesting because it evolved from an opportunity into a challenge. The adage goes, “If you want something done, give it to a busy person.” I initially spoke at industry conferences to build my profile. Then people took advantage of my goodwill and expected me to accept speaking engagements for free. I received so many opportunities that I felt like the guy on stage with all the plates spinning.

However, there is such a thing as too much of a good thing. I finally started saying, "Yes, I can do it, but it will cost X.” This didn't stop me from volunteering, which I am passionate about, but it did stop people from asking me to speak at conferences for free. I didn't need to boost conference organizers' profits. Volunteering led me to serve as the chair of the main professional body for financial planners, with 40,000 members.

I had a profound health experience. In 2023, I went to see my local football team play; after the game, while standing on the train platform, I suffered a significant cardiac arrest. I was dead for 25 minutes. I am only able to write these answers instead of you seeing an obituary because of the good fortune of so many things aligning, which allowed me to survive that near-fatal event.

The biggest takeaway from this heart attack was that it confirmed to me that distance and time don’t necessarily get in the way of good friendships. The response from friends near and far made me feel richer than any toys, like fancy cars and watches, ever could. It wasn’t the toys that made my life rich, but the relationships I had developed. My tip is to have a Trauma Surgeon and two nurses within ten feet of you.

This was not my first near-fatal encounter, and it gave me the drive to get better. I was 17, very ill, and out of school for three months. Those around me were not sure I would survive. I remember overhearing conversations suggesting I was close to death, as my illness had yet to be diagnosed. Well, I am pleased to let you know I did survive the illness and the negativity. 

Two close calls and two escapes.

 The biggest takeaway from my Cardiac Arrest (quite different from a heart attack, as the heart and breathing stop completely) was that it confirmed to me that distance and time do not necessarily get in the way of good friendships. The response from friends near and far made me feel much richer than any toy, such as a fancy car or watch, ever could. It wasn’t the toys that made my life rich, but the relationships I had developed.

Fork in the road

It wasn't so much a fork. It was a gradual realization. This was sparked a little by attending a George Kinder 3-day course called the Seven Stages of Money Maturity in New Orleans. 

I realized I was working, sacrificing myself, and living like an ATM, fulfilling the needs of someone who was growing increasingly distant. I eventually stopped the downward spiral after 29 years of marriage. I can tell I did the right thing because work was no longer the only driver; happiness was.

Author’s note – George and Dick Wagner are considered among the most influential people in financial planning and two of the people who, thirty years ago, started “The Nazrudin Project,” the think tank that focuses on people’s relationships with money and each other. “Holistic Financial Planning.” Read about our border crossing adventures:

https://www.nkerba.com/blog/customs-cameras-and-comic-relief-part-one

Another fork in the road came at age 17. I was very ill and out of school for three months. Those around me were not sure I would survive. I remember overhearing conversations that suggested I was going nowhere, physically or in life. Well, I am pleased to let you know I did survive the illness and the negativity. Hello again! 

What would you tell a young Robert Reid about to embark on his lifelong journey?

Regret is one of the most corrosive emotions in life. You can’t change what’s already happened; we don’t have a time machine to go back and fix things. Sometimes, when you look back and realize you were trying to achieve the impossible, it wasn’t because you made the wrong decision. You made the best decision at the time. We must accept what's happened and move forward.

Value your long-term friendships. They are special because they survive time and distance – once you reconnect, it is an instant return to where you left off from the last visit. 

Never underestimate the difference you’ve made in someone else’s life. You may not even realize the difference you’ve made – life is a lot like the movie “It’s a Wonderful Life.” There is a lot of George Bailey in all of us.

Pure diehards - team colours on fingernails