Case Study - Stephane

Here is a good example, with Stephane, for both my philosophy on money and on relationship.

I met Stephane a few years ago in my MBA courses. Stephane is an intelligent, soft spoken blond and handsome professional. He is a insurance representative. But he doesn't need any more customers. He's been able to develop is customer base in the last 15 years and now he can do two thinks he told me: first he can live on the recurring revenues generated by his customer base. And second, this revenue is enough so he can, if he wishes, work for six months and take the other six months off.

Last time I met Stephane after the MBA, he told me he was taking flying lessons. And that he was looking into a big land to buy up north with his brother. So he could devote to his passion: fly his plane to his lands filled with forests and lakes, and hunt with his brother.

Now this is my representation of wealth. Stephane is not rich or millionaire by any standards. But he is debt free, has good money in the bank, earn a good living and his revenue stream is steady and require minimum attention from himself. So he can devote to his passion instead of being in a cubicle for 8 hours per day.

The last time I met Stephane he told me that it was over with his girlfriend which brings me to the second part: my relationship philosophy.

I met his girlfriend once. It is a very beautiful brown hair woman. Attractive, long hairs and intelligent. Funny and articulated. But it didn't work. These things happen. Stephane bought a house a few years ago. And when he met his girlfriend, she wanted them to move together. Stephane refused to sell his house and proposed to his girlfriend to leave her apartment and move with him. So she sold most of her furniture and moved with him.

When Stephane told me that he left his girlfriend, he also told me that he was living in his brother's basement. He told me: "I left her two weeks to turn around, buy some furnitures and find a new apartment. In the mean time I left her the house and I live in my brother's basement for the next two weeks."

So there is my relationship philosophy as a living fact: Stephane never let go of his house nor most of his furnitures. Now that it's over with his girlfriend, she needed to move out. For Stephane, this is to a minimal cost (not to say no cost at all) for he doesn't have to sell a house, look for another house, hire a real estate agent, buy furnitures and all that stuff. He keep his things to himself. But he was gentleman enough to leave her full use of the house for two weeks as a base to make her moves.

Stephane is a living example of my way of life.