ChrisMercer.net now has a new look and a new focus.  For the past couple of years, I have slowed down writing posts related to business valuation on this blog.  I’ve been publishing short posts on LinkedIn and elsewhere, and in publications of Mercer Capital and external publications, as well.

Readers know that I’ve been writing more about walking, diet, exercise, and health issues as the valuation posts have tapered off.  The new ChrisMercer.net reflects this shift in focus.

The masthead has a new photograph taken this year, so it reflects me as I am currently.  The masthead and overall blog have a new look, as well, thanks to the Marketing Department at Mercer Capital.

And the masthead also has a new tagline.

Gone is:  Useful Business Valuation Information and Insights 

Welcome: From Building Value to Living It – Aging Gracefully

I’ve spent most of my professional life thinking about value.  I’m Chairman of Mercer Capital and have been with the firm since its founding in 1982.  I’m semi-retired now, and work with a few long-standing clients and on projects that are interesting and challenging to me.  And I am focused on living a life of value as I am blessed to continue to age.

For decades, my work focused on helping business owners, attorneys, and other advisors understand, build, and ultimately realize the value of private businesses. That work led to writing, speaking, and advising across the country—and to building a firm, with the help of many, dedicated to that purpose.

Along the way, I came to appreciate that building value in a business is only part of the story.

At some point—often later than it should—the focus begins to shift.

From building value…to asking: what is that value for?

From growing enterprises…to transitioning them – management, ownership, and responsibility.

And eventually, to a more personal question:

What does it mean to live a life of value?

The new blog reflects the shift from building value to understanding value in life.

It draws on a lifetime of experience in business valuation, but it is no longer about valuing businesses. It is about applying those lessons—discipline, long-term thinking, stewardship, and perspective—to life itself.

I have said many times that the secret to growing old in a good fashion lies in three things:

• Good genes
• A determination to take care of one’s health to the best of one’s ability
• And luck

Based on my parents and grandparents, my genes are probably so-so, and they are fixed.

I have, over time, sometimes better than others, tried to take good care of my health.  I need to focus consistently on this in the years ahead.

And I have been lucky.  I have avoided most of the bad things that have killed many people of my generation before my current age.

I am grateful to be alive and healthy at 78 years of age.  I’m grateful I can play pickleball and walk five miles per day.  I am grateful for the many blessings that life has bestowed on me.  I have long talked about the importance of an “attitude of gratitude” in living a good life.

My goal now is to age gratefully.  There is a fair amount of current discussion in the press and online about “aging gracefully.”  I don’t feel graceful about many things, and certainly not about aging.

The new focus of ChrisMercer.net is found in the tagline on the masthead.

From Building Value to Living It – Aging Gratefully

What will I talk about?

I’ll certainly talk about walking.  And the relationship between diet, exercise and health.  And pickleball.  I am not a physician and offer no medical advice.

I will talk about what to do with time after retirement or semi-retirement.  I’ll probably talk about travel.  I will certainly talk about some of the lessons I have learned along life’s journey, including the importance of faith and gratitude.  I’ll talk about the importance of lifelong learning.  And more, I am sure.

Who will I talk to?

I am talking to aging professionals and business owners.  My posts on pickleball and health seem to have resonated with a good number of professionals who find it difficult to focus on their work and on their health at the same time.

Over fifty?  Certainly, relevant to many.

Over sixty?  Relevant to this group for sure.

Over seventy?  If you are in this group, I hope you will pay attention either here, elsewhere, or both.

Basically, I hope to write for aging professionals who want to make a critical transition in life:

From Building Value to Living It – Aging Gratefully