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Phone 717-560-8300 www.ambassadoradvisors.com


Ambassador Advisors, LLC is a Registered Investment Advisor. Securities offered through American Portfolios Financial Services, Inc., of Holbrook, NY, 631.439.4600 (APFS), member FINRA, SIPC. Investment Advisory Services offered through Ambassador Advisors, LLC. Ambassador Advisors is not owned or operated by APFS. This material is for informational purposes only. Neither APFS nor its Representatives provide tax, legal or accounting advice. Please consult your own tax, legal or accounting professional before making any decisions.


Declare Your Talents


“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all


Adrian Young,


JD, MBA, CAP®, CFP®, Executive Vice President


men are created equal…” I remember the first time I pondered those words, long after the rote memorization of the first few clauses of the Declaration of Independence that was once an obligatory part of grade school curriculum. “If all men are created equal,” I mused, “then I could be the next football great like Walter Payton!” All I’d have to do is work hard, take my vitamins, and then sit back and


prepare my wardrobe for the NFL Draft. Or maybe I should be the next Michael Jordan, or Clint Eastwood or Bruce Lee…yes, Bruce Lee! My mind leapt from athlete to athlete and icon to icon; for me, much like many of us in our youth, anything was possible.


Ten, somewhere along the way, we open our eyes to the reality of the world around us. What about the child who’s blind; what about the child who has no arms or legs; what about the child who has no food or shelter? How is that fair, much less equal? How will their talent ever measure up to those of us who were blessed with so much more at birth and beyond? No sooner do we ask ourselves those questions, however, then we catch a glimpse (or learn about) the brilliance of a Ray Charles, a Christy Brown, or the plethora of disadvantaged souls that concentrate their energies on honing their talents, rather than coveting what they perceive to be equality in provision.


Of course, the Founding Fathers weren’t referring to equality in provision or talent, at all. Instead, the words penned by Tomas Jefferson some 242 years ago refer to equality in certain God-given rights and common grace that we all should be afforded as human beings. Unfortunately, this is the


equality that we, as citizens of these United States, have lost appreciation for in our quest to “keep up with the Joneses.” Turn on the news, and egregious corporate greed or impotent governmental agendas will usually be blamed for these rights being infringed upon, but, in reality, it is more often than not our own pride, prejudice, and self-pity that create actual loss (for ourselves and others). Just as we have the ability to make the most of our blessings, no matter how meager, we also have the ability to let our covetousness blind us to just how good we have it.


The words penned by Thomas Jefferson some 242 years ago refer to equality in certain God-given rights and common grace that we all should be afforded as human beings.


Now, make no mistake about it, there remain an unacceptable number of instances where “unalienable” rights are forcibly withheld or sinisterly manipulated, and each of us has a duty to utilize our talents and blessings to help ensure life, liberty, and one another’s ability to pursue happiness, whether friend or enemy. Beyond that, however, we must remember that we are all uniquely (not equally) blessed. Very few of us will achieve athletic or academic prowess enough to gain notoriety for our talents. Even fewer of us will have a generation of kids wearing our signature line of sneakers and emulating our every move. All of us, thankfully, do have signature talents that spring from the common grace God bestows. Tese talents can be a blessing to those we come into contact with every day, especially those less fortunate and less cognizant of the blessings all around them. As summer winds down, don’t bemoan the things that “could have been” or those who are “better off.” Instead, focus on just how gifted you are, declare your talents (don’t keep them hidden or to yourself), and see if you can use those talents to affect a change in another’s life before Mother Nature shows off her talent for changing the leaves.


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