When someone invites you into discussions about retirement, estate planning, or protecting their children's future, they are sharing more than financial information. They are sharing hopes, fears, responsibilities, and decades of hard work.

Ego is not arrogance. More often, it is self-protection. It convinces us to wait until we feel ready, qualified, or certain. We tell ourselves that someone more experienced should lead, someone more knowledgeable should speak, or someone more successful should take the first step.