Ep 5 - Prioritizing Purpose Over Profit for Success: NY State Assemblyman Steve Stern’s Journey from Childhood to Advocate for Veterans, Elders and the Long Island Community

• As a New York State Assemblyman, Stern has recently been appointed chairman of the State Assembly Committee on Veterans Affairs. This role is particularly significant given Long Island's large veteran population, making it his personal and community-driven priority.
• Many, especially younger generations, expect instant success. But true success comes from patience, persistence, and passion—chasing money alone leads to dissatisfaction.
• Higher incomes don’t guarantee happiness—social media and rising material expectations fuel dissatisfaction. True happiness comes from contentment and defining “enough,” not chasing more.

Disclaimer: [00:00:00] The following podcast by Fusion Family Wealth LLC, Fusion, is intended for general information purposes only. No portion of the podcast serves as the receipt of or as a substitute for personalized investment advice from Fusion or any other investment professional of your choosing. Please see additional important disclosure at the end of this podcast.

A copy of Fusion's current written disclosure brochure discussing our advisory [00:00:15] services and fees is available upon request or at www. fusionfamilywealth. com.

Voiceover: Welcome to the Crazy Wealthy Podcast with your host, Jonathan Blau. Whether you're just starting out. Or are [00:00:30] an experienced investor. Join Jonathan as he seeks to illuminate and demystify the complexities of making consistently rational financial decisions under conditions of uncertainty. He'll chat with professionals from the advice world, [00:00:45] entrepreneurs, executives.

Good[00:01:00]

Jonathan Blau: morning, welcome to another episode of the Crazy Wealthy Podcast. I'm happy to introduce to the podcast today, my friend, Stephen Stern, New York State Assemblyman elder care planning specialist, the state planning. All around good [00:01:15] family man and, and and a whole host of other things. But I don't want to take up too much time with the intro.

I'm going to let Steven introduce himself and then we'll we'll kick it off with hopefully an engaging discussion. Good morning, Steve.

Steve Stern: Good morning, Jonathan. Thanks so much for having me today. [00:01:30] And it's always, always good to be with you. Your, your watchers should know that you and I go back a long, long time, and it's a friendship and a, and a partnership that, that I'm very proud of.

But as far as [00:01:45] background as you know I started my career just around the same day as you did. Coming out of school and looking forward to to the launch of, of a new profession. I am an attorney with the law firm of David Owe, David Owe, Siegel and [00:02:00] Stern. Our law firm established in 1913 makes us one of Long Island's oldest most established law firms.

And we're very proud of that. But we're even prouder. Of the work that we concentrate on, which is elder law, estate planning [00:02:15] and working with special needs families. And so through this experience working with, you know, new families from their very beginnings all the way up to some of the most well known and prestigious family business owners.

With [00:02:30] tremendous estate planning issues and everything in between and representing our older neighbors and our loved ones with disabilities and some of our most vulnerable really was. The starting point for a career that I continue to this day that I'm very proud of and very passionate [00:02:45] about but what led me to what I spend an awful lot of time on today which is serving my community as the new york state assemblyman representing the 10th assembly district, on long island I have just started my fourth term, in the new york state [00:03:00] assembly and i'm very proud.

Yes. Thank you. Thank you. I'm, i'm very proud of my record in working representing our families throughout the 10th assembly district. Prior to being elected to the state assembly, I had served [00:03:15] for six terms or 12 years in the Suffolk County legislature and was very proud of my record there having authored.

Introduced and passed several legislative initiatives that were literally first of their kind, first of their kind on Long Island, first [00:03:30] of their kind in New York State, and even several examples of being first in the nation, and so it was with that record that I now serve in the New York State Assembly, and as you know I'm very proud of the fact that I was just recently appointed by the, New [00:03:45] York State Assembly Speaker, Carl Hastie, to now be the new chairman of the State Assembly Committee on Veterans Affairs.

That's particularly important, not just because of the very good [00:04:00] and gratifying work that that allows me to do working with and for the outstanding and brave men and women that have served our great nation. But because on Long Island, that's particularly important. Suffolk County is home to the largest number of veterans in all of New York State, which we're very [00:04:15] proud of.

And Nassau and Suffolk County as a Long Island region make up the number two region. In the country by veterans population. And so veterans affairs for us here locally, isn't just an important issue. It's, [00:04:30] it's a very, very local issue as well. And so those are experiences and passions you know, that I take with me but you know, it all started back when when we first started working with our clients and building practices and, and [00:04:45] building leadership.

Positions and reputations and both of which we you know, we continue to do this day.

Jonathan Blau: No, and that's great. In fact, one of the one of the catalysts that, that led me to think about inviting you [00:05:00] now, of course, I was always thinking of inviting you, but at this particular time is my last podcast guest was a retired friend of mine from the from the military, level five special ops, Blackhawk helicopter operator, very humble guy, [00:05:15] very successful in the military.

And, and the guest before him was my father in law, as you know, Amy's dad, who just was honored at the UBS arena of military hero of the game. So I thought at least one aspect of, of the podcast that we talk about. That you just [00:05:30] mentioned, the, the Veterans Affairs Committee dovetails with, with those two things and, you know, Amy's dad being a Long Islander seemed to also catalyze that thought.

But I, I was talking to Amy last night and she reminded me. I didn't really remember how we [00:05:45] met. I know Amy and I and you and Mary went out for dinner for the first time in New York City, I don't know, almost 30 years ago, but do you remember how we met?

Steve Stern: My bet is that it was probably through one of the, the, the local, you know, Long [00:06:00] Island business networking associations.

I remember there was a time we were the young guys in the room.

Jonathan Blau: So I'm gonna tell you how we met. When I joined Sanford Bernstein, when I left Arthur Andersen, [00:06:15] in 1996, the end of the year, I had to build my practice. So I opened up Martindale Hubbell and, and, and was calling people with firms that I thought we could work together with, and you, you were among them.

So [00:06:30] that's, that's

Steve Stern: actually

Jonathan Blau: how we met. Do you remember the name of the restaurant we ate dinner at? There is

Steve Stern: no way. I don't remember the name of the restaurant I ate in last night. I

Jonathan Blau: I'm going to be honest with you, I didn't remember it either, but Amy did. She said it was the York Grille. The [00:06:45] York Grille.

Not York Annie. Fantastic.

Steve Stern: Our wives will always remember that stuff.

Jonathan Blau: So, I wanted to talk to you about a couple of things. I know, I know as we talk, I'd love for you to share your story. I know, I know you're, you're, you're well versed as a [00:07:00] professional in the elder care area, but, but I think it goes a lot deeper than that in terms of how you came to practice elder care and some of the contributions.

So why don't you talk about that a little bit?

Steve Stern: Sure. So I, I, I had a passion for [00:07:15] public service always wanted to be involved in, in some way. And so one of my very earliest experiences was working for the staff of my local congressman. Down in Washington, D. C. And it was my responsibility to coordinate [00:07:30] congressional hearings on issues that were coming under the U.

S. House Select Committee on Aging. And so I was coordinating hearings on the delivery of long term care services. to indigent seniors across the country, [00:07:45] the federal response to the growing problem of elder abuse. And I was there for the repeal of the Medicare Catastrophic Health Care Act. And so it was an exciting time to be involved because there was a lot of different [00:08:00] things going on that gave me the opportunity to participate in a, in a, a very substantive way.

And with that. I was able then to have a position in my United States Senator's office. Senator John [00:08:15] Breaux was his name in Louisiana. I was a student at Tulane University in New Orleans. And the Senator was very active on Medicare reform issues. And so with that experience I knew that I had an area [00:08:30] of law.

Of policy that I was interested in. And so I went to law school primarily to participate in that school's elder law clinic, which is one of the very first in the country. And so having had that experience and a real [00:08:45] dedicated commitment to this area of the law I I ultimately was able to have my first invitation for employment with Lawrence David Dow the managing partner of the David Dow Law Firm, who [00:09:00] continues to not only be my colleague, but my, one of my very dearest friends and, and, and like family to this day.

So it is now over 30 years. That I've been with the firm and it's [00:09:15] the, the only area of the law that I've ever practiced. And so while I'm proud of, of my role in, in the office between me and and Lawrence and, and others in the firm, we've literally held every single leadership position in this area of the law that you could [00:09:30] possibly have.

At the local level, the state level, the, the national level we write extensively on these issues. We are called upon to be frequent lecturers, as you are. And not only is that [00:09:45] professionally gratifying but personally it's pretty cool. It's pretty cool to have been, you know, recognized as leaders in this can still a growing area of the law.

After all of, of this time, it's, it's a position that we're [00:10:00] very proud of. It's a service that we provide that we are extremely proud of. And and yes, I can, I can tie it all back. To that original experience on Capitol Hill that sparked an interest in a young guy [00:10:15] who, you know, wanted to get involved and make a difference.

I've certainly been able to do that in our legal practice and now doing it on a, an even larger scale. First at the county level in Suffolk County and now New York state. [00:10:30] And as I said earlier, it's given me the opportunity not just to represent my constituency, not just our region, but many of the Legislative initiatives that I've passed over the years have truly gone on to become national models.

Jonathan Blau: So, so, for those of you who are watching the [00:10:45] podcast, you'll notice that Stephen's now switched backgrounds. It's not because he's got some kind of anxiety disorder where he has to move around. We, we just had some technical issues, so we moved to a room that hopefully had better Wi Fi connectivity.

So Stephen, [00:11:00] I love the idea of how passionate that you, you are when you describe your work in eldercare and I, I'm equally passionate about what I do. And when I started off at Arthur Anderson as an accountant, as you, when we first met and I was joining the [00:11:15] the Sanford Bernstein and the money management industry.

While I was motivated to, to try and hopefully provide a good a good economic background for my family, you know. Provide well for my family. That wasn't my lead motivator. I always enjoyed what I did [00:11:30] with the clients and I enjoyed taking these high net worth clients and helping them kind of put the pieces of the puzzle together from the tax and planning standpoint.

In those days when I was at Arthur Anderson, particularly as a young kid, I felt like, wow, they're relying on me. I have a two master's [00:11:45] degrees, but I'm just kind of getting started. And I was able to learn to be creative and all of that. I just, I wanted to throw at you the idea that with all the success you've achieved in the industry, how much, if, if at all when you were starting out, was money a [00:12:00] motivator for you to to pursue the level of partnership you have and so forth?

The, let's talk to that a little bit.

Steve Stern: Yeah. So I can tell you that the pursuit of money was almost never on my mind. I, I, I started in [00:12:15] this area of the law because I was passionate about the subject matter. And my partner Lawrence he was the, the older managing partner would always say that, you know, we do great work.

We love what we do, we love how we do it, and we [00:12:30] love how we do it. Who we do it with then, then financial success will come and he was absolutely right. And and, and I appreciate him and, and respect him very much for that. But it was a great philosophy then. It's a great [00:12:45] philosophy now. It's one that my wife and I.

You know, are consistently discussing with our Children because we both shared that philosophy and we are both beneficiaries of that. And I think that is, that's a good philosophy [00:13:00] for anybody to follow regardless of profession regardless of the industry and and, and it certainly has, has gotten us through.

And, and we're very, very proud of that, but I'm a big believer in that if you are doing what you're doing simply for [00:13:15] financial success that for most, anyway, not all but for most, that's not necessarily going to lead to the most gratifying work life. And you know, we hear it all the time that, you know, nobody ever passing away, [00:13:30] you know, laments the fact that they.

They didn't work, you know hard enough. It's it's always about how they didn't enjoy life enough and look I'll say it this way, you know So much of my professional practice in our law firm is dealing with death and [00:13:45] dying on a daily basis how does one plan for? Incapacity. Who makes important financial decisions or medical decisions if you're not able to how do you leave a lasting legacy to a next generation down or beyond?

How do you [00:14:00] alleviate or even minimize the estate tax? Implications of, of that process and so whether, you know, someone is creating their very first last will and testament because they're expecting a first child or, you know, getting ready to pass on [00:14:15] a multi million dollar, you know, business to to the next generation down with very, very difficult issues that go along with that.

Will there be financial success in, in that kind of a practice? Absolutely. But I'll tell you this and I can say this [00:14:30] firsthand that if. And if that's the primary goal then, then that's going to be a challenge. In this area of the law, it literally has to be about the personal satisfaction in the work that you're doing.

I don't think it works any other way. [00:14:45]

Jonathan Blau: I'm with you. I asked you that question for, for a specific reason, because for the younger generations that are listening to the podcast, and I know there are some of those, my, my client's children and, and my, my friend's children and so forth. I find [00:15:00] that the society has, has evolved.

into one where we have what I call a microwave mentality. A lot of people want things instantaneously. And oftentimes I tell my kids, you know, if you, if first of all, if you're in the pursuit of money, if that's your [00:15:15] main motivation and whatever you're choosing to do for a living. Oftentimes, as you said, not only won't you achieve happiness, but you might not even achieve the money that you're looking for, because you're not going to be productive when you're unhappy just in the pursuit of money.

And [00:15:30] it's, it's such an important message because the, first of all, there's no rush. It takes time. The best way to, to, to accumulate success in, in, in terms of business and knowledge and experience as well as wealth to me is to [00:15:45] get there slowly and methodically, not to not to push it. And and if you're not enjoying, as you say, what you do, I mean, I love what I do, as you know, I'm very passionate about it and that's what motivates me.

I mean, we could all. We all don't have to necessarily work [00:16:00] forever. But, but if you don't want to stop working to me, that's when you know, you're successful because that's how I feel. I don't, I don't want to stop working. I love my clients and I love the work that we do for them. And frankly, Selfishly, I love the feedback I get, you know,

Steve Stern: by the way, you must also love the [00:16:15] feedback that other allied professionals get, because I know very well that your clients love you.

And that's that's always the best thing that we can hear.

Jonathan Blau: Thank you. No, and I, and I, you know, yeah, that's it. So we all, we're, we're from the same, we're from the same cut from the same cloth that way. So tell me a [00:16:30] little bit about along those lines how, how you grew up where you grew up and, and what may be some of the biggest influences were as you were growing up that, that, that shaped you to, to who you became.

Steve Stern: Yeah. So I grew up [00:16:45] in, in the quintessential suburban Long Island, you know, late sixties, early seventies world, which is, is unfortunately very different than the world we are in today. It was a great time. Anybody that grew [00:17:00] up in our area on Long Island during that time knows that it was.

In many ways, an idyllic childhood. I mean, not everything was always great, and you didn't always see the bad the way we do today, that's for sure. But there was just something very [00:17:15] special about growing up at that time when the the bus would drop you off, there were no parents home, you would go out and get on your bike and ride around the block with your friends, and you'd climb trees, and maybe you got a little older, and you go would go roller skating, and but then, [00:17:30] you know, walk home the the two miles.

When it was dark out at night, the best part was, you know, playing street hockey in the streets. With no holes barred and and it was, it was really, you know, a very special time. We don't [00:17:45] see that these days. Too many of us don't get the opportunity to appreciate that in the childhoods of, of our own children.

These days we talk about it. We might even have some of the pictures that we show our children through from time to [00:18:00] time. But for the most part. The days that we enjoyed or are no longer with us. And that's a shame because I think when you say that we are cut from, you know, a very similar cloth, I believe that's a hundred percent true.

But I know that there are others that share our generation [00:18:15] that, that feel and do exactly the same as, as we do. And for very similar reasons.

Voiceover: But

Steve Stern: of course it also comes down to, you know, who our role models are. For me, you know, both of my parents were, were outstanding parents. My my father was an [00:18:30] engineer by trade and we're very proud of the fact that he was part of the engineering design team for what used to be the.

Large projector at the Vanderbilt Planetarium, which generations of [00:18:45] children would go through and, you know, look up and, you know, dream about reaching for the stars on field trips or, you know, weekend visits with their families. And you know, our family is very proud to be part of that legacy. My mother was one of the very first [00:19:00] business owners on Main Street in Sayville.

The specialty was the name of her t shirt shop. It was one of the very first iron on t shirt shops anywhere in, in the region. There was a, a period of time where you [00:19:15] couldn't go to a birthday party where a good percentage of the presents were in that distinctive brown gift box, which was some kind of shirt from the specialty.

And so you know, she enjoyed a wonderful very well respected [00:19:30] reputation. For being a local business person a strong woman business personality she would go to a lot of the middle schools and high schools as a guest speaker which we were very proud of. And so for me, not only was it a [00:19:45] great way to grow up but, but extremely important, invaluable really for for me.

As a way to be able to convey my experience to my two boys about the importance of of, you know, a [00:20:00] partnership with a spouse a partnership with those that you're, you're close with and rely on and that that truly, you know, being part of, of that kind of a cohesive team is something that I grew up seeing firsthand and and something that I live.

In my own [00:20:15] relationship, and I'm, I'm really glad that my boys get to see that.

Jonathan Blau: No, that's wonderful. And I, I know when we needed to when we started Fusion Family Wealth in 2011, sorry, 2013, we we reached out to Mary Waldner's office environments. And [00:20:30] and she, I know she's done a wonderful job building the company as president.

And, and she was as a friend, you know, she helped us out. I know we weren't, we weren't, certainly weren't a big client, but she took us into the city and, and let me sit in all the chairs. Cause that was my, my rule, Amy, Amy's [00:20:45] form function, you know, Amy's like, Oh, this is beautiful. We're going to have it.

No, no, no. Let me sit in it and make sure my clients who are built similar to me will be comfortable in this chair. Well, your,

Steve Stern: your office is both. Your office is, is very, very functional, [00:21:00] very comfortable, and it's beautiful as well.

Jonathan Blau: Thank you. No, we we we did and Mary helped a lot with that. So so I by the way I always when you told me the story about your mom I remembered the commercial of during your campaigning that we highlighted the the t [00:21:15] shirt business and I that's

Steve Stern: right

Jonathan Blau: It was kind of poignant when I thought about it.

So so I would say One of the things I want to talk about briefly is when we, when we talk to people our generation, when I do, [00:21:30] they have the same kind of perspective that you shared about the nostalgic reminiscence of the fifties and sixties and, and, and seventies, you know, that, that kind of That was when everyone seemed to have a great middle class job, middle class home, [00:21:45] middle class family.

And what's interesting is, and I think we were happier than generally as, as on the whole. And I think the reason is, is what I kind of try to teach all my clients is that you have to have in life, no matter how much you have, you have to have [00:22:00] something that people who materially have more than you could never have.

And I, and then I say in one word is enough. Because if we keep moving the goalposts, if our, if our current situation minus our expectations isn't a positive number, we can't really be happy. And I [00:22:15] say this in the context now of societal expectations. So in the, believe it or not, in the, in the, in the late, in the fifties, the average median, the median income, family income was about 29, 000 or so.

And [00:22:30] inflation adjusted today, it's heading toward 85, 000. So it's almost tripled. But a lot of people don't feel like the quality of their life has tripled or even come close. In fact, for so many people, because as an example, the average size home back then was [00:22:45] 900 square feet. And today it's about 2, 500, right?

So, so while the, while the, the, the income has tripled, the expectations have at least tripled. And so if we can't control that I don't know what the answer is, you know, but society won't. [00:23:00] It won't be finding real happiness in my view because you have to you have to put those things in context And I think it works on a on a on a family by family level But on societal level and hopefully With the advent of all the social media [00:23:15] and the 24 7 news cycles I just don't know how to how to conquer that everybody's always comparing everybody To, to to someone else, there's a a guy who wrote, wrote this book panics, manias, and, and crashes, some title [00:23:30] like that.

And in the book, he quoted, he had a quote that said, there's nothing as damaging to, to a person or their judgment as to see a friend get rich. And so it's that Facebook reality, right? We always think everybody's [00:23:45] life is just so good. And how come ours isn't? Nobody shares the other stuff. So, we have to figure out, we have to figure out a way around that.

I think what I'd love to do is I'd love to to maybe we'll have a follow up podcast. I don't want to go too long on this one, but I think there's [00:24:00] so much more we could talk about. In terms of how we work together and, and, and all, all those sorts of things as well. But But I have to tell everybody who's listening, you know, I can't tell you how much we all appreciate what you do for the community and the way you practice business.

[00:24:15] I know my clients that work with you are always, always very very happy and, and and they know the difference between authenticity and just someone who's doing it to, you know, to, to, to build their acquisition. But it's, it comes, it comes through. So we appreciate all of that. [00:24:30] Oh, Yeah. If there's anything else you want to add before we, before we

Steve Stern: No, I, I would love to to, to join you once again talk about, you know, some, some more specific issues.

But but it's always a pleasure being with you. And and very best to [00:24:45] home as always looking forward to, to seeing you again soon. And and I would just leave your, your, your, your viewers with the idea that certainly in my role as as the new chairman. of the Veterans Affairs Committee.

That is a position [00:25:00] that goes on just representing our immediate community in my legislative district. So I mention it specifically because again, you just celebrated your father in law. With the Islanders Chad Ford was an outstanding [00:25:15] guest that you had recently. I watched the entire podcast.

I thought it was fantastic. And we, we all have either veterans somewhere in our lives. Or we have people in our lives who are close with veterans and particularly on Long [00:25:30] Island, as I said, as a region, we are number two in the country. And Suffolk County is the, the home to the largest number of veterans in all of New York state.

So one of the ideas that I'm hoping you know, gets out as a result of our conversation today is that You know, if, [00:25:45] if you have a veteran in your family, if you have a neighbor who who served our great nation, particularly those that are struggling with challenges the number one priority for, for me and for us policy perspective this year in my capacity [00:26:00] as the chairman now is, is to minimize, alleviate do whatever we can possibly do to bring down the, the troubling the heartbreaking, gang.

And the absolutely unacceptable rate of veteran suicide. And [00:26:15] so it is all around us. We don't see it unfortunately, too many of us hear about challenges too late. But if anybody you know, within the listening universe knows a veteran who's struggling, knows someone who knows a veteran that's struggling.

There are plenty of [00:26:30] resources here locally in Suffolk County and beyond. You know, please you know, either hit the, the internet or contact New York State Assemblyman Steve Stern's office. We can get you to to the right services for you know, for, for so many of our local heroes [00:26:45] who who not only desperately need it but certainly deserve it.

Jonathan Blau: Now, Steve, I'm going to ask you one last question without going too long into it, because you mentioned all of this great work that you're doing for the community professionally, and, and, and I know how you are with your family [00:27:00] and Mary with her position. Where do you find the time? How do you balance all this?

Steve Stern: I, you know, I, I mean, I might look at, so I feel like I'm about 95 years old at this. You don't look at,

Jonathan Blau: you

Steve Stern: don't look

Jonathan Blau: at

Steve Stern: whoever's 75. You know, Jonathan, I, I w I would say [00:27:15] this, it goes directly back to what you said and the philosophy that we share. I can't make more hours in a day, that's for sure. But if you're passionate about every single thing that you're doing throughout the day it's hard work.

But if it's your [00:27:30] passion. You'll, you'll come up with the systems, you'll surround yourself with the best people who share your vision and not only make things work but actually exceed in the goals that you set. There's always more points to put on the board. There's always another constituent to help.[00:27:45]

There's always another client and family in crisis who needs guidance. That's what drives me. It's what's always driven me like you we'll be working at it forever

Jonathan Blau: because because it's what we love

Steve Stern: doing.

Jonathan Blau: That's your answer. It's because it's not always work, right? I could spend 18 [00:28:00] hours a day doing some of whatever we're doing relating to this, the podcast, the work, but when, when, when you, when you're so satisfied at the end of it, it's not like digging holes, you know, that's not, doesn't, doesn't eat away at you like that.

All right. Well, thank you [00:28:15] so much, Stephen. It was great, great to have you on. And I look forward to to having a followup sometime in the next few months.

Steve Stern: Look forward to it as well. Thanks so much.

Jonathan Blau: All right. You got it. Stay tuned to hear Amy's call in for the recap of today's episode. Hello. [00:28:30] Hi, honey.

Amy Blau: How are you? I'm good. How are you? I am tired. We're ending this long President's Day weekend, and I know in terms of timing, it couldn't be better having a [00:28:45] Assemblyman that you spoke to this week.

Jonathan Blau: Well, I guess, yeah. There's never a bad time to speak to Steve Stern, though.

Amy Blau: I'm sure that's true. So what did you

Jonathan Blau: learn?

Amy Blau: So

Jonathan Blau: what I learned about Steve [00:29:00] is he had a passion, as early as he can remember, for public service. And one of the things that led him to pursuing eldercare As much as he did, was his very early experience working for the staff of his local [00:29:15] congressman in D. C. And his responsibility there was coordinating hearings on issues that came under the U.

S. House Select Committee on Aging. That led to his expanded interest and pursuit of everything relating to enhancing the elder care space. [00:29:30] And in fact, he became a pioneer in shaping the way he described it, in shaping the way the law unfolded in eldercare. So he's not just practicing it, he really was played, played a large part in influencing modern day eldercare law.

I'm actually

Amy Blau: curious [00:29:45] why he went into politics. But before we talk about that, I have some fun facts. Do you remember how you met Steve?

Jonathan Blau: I do remember, yeah. We, when I started, when I left Arthur Anderson and started at Sanford [00:30:00] Bernstein. I was calling lawyers and accountants to try and network, and he was among them.

And then we went out for dinner with with Steve and Mary at I forget the name of the restaurant.

Amy Blau: York Grill in New York City that I don't think exists anymore. [00:30:15] But what I remember so vividly from that dinner was Steve and Mary were maybe a year older than us, not much. They were What I considered very successful and ahead of their time in terms of our age [00:30:30] group and we were probably all none of us had children at the time.

So we were probably all 26 or 27, but I remember they would just buying their first condominium in Holbrook, New York, the land of the IRS. [00:30:45] And I remember her saying to us. And I was so amazed of the fact that someone our age could afford to buy a condo on their own. But what I do remember her telling us is they could afford the condo, but they couldn't afford air conditioning.

[00:31:00] So they had to buy split system units to put into their windows so that they had air conditioning. And I still was amazed by the whole situation. And it's funny to see how far everyone has come in that long period, you know, that short period of [00:31:15] time.

Jonathan Blau: Well, that's an interesting segway. So she, yes Mary is the president of Walden's Office Furniture, which she perpetuated her family's business.

And Stephen has as two of his biggest role models is Mary. His wife and his [00:31:30] mom, who was very who was well known for her store in Sayville called Special Tea, where it wears t shirts. In fact, one of his political commercials years ago, I remembered when he was describing to me, but he, he highlighted that.

And he's very proud of the success she [00:31:45] achieved as, as a single business owner in downtown Sayville. But, and how much he learned from her about business in, in general. Well, it's

Amy Blau: very unique at that time to be a, you know, a very strong, successful woman in business [00:32:00] back then.

Jonathan Blau: And at the same time, he said that his boys learned similarly from Mary in her role at Waldner.

So that was all interesting. But the way he got into politics He really cares about the elderly [00:32:15] obviously he's focused on Long Island as a New York State Assemblyman for Suffolk County, but he cares about the elderly. He cares deeply about veterans. He was just the appointed chair of the Veterans Affairs Committee.

And, and so, so all of that it, it [00:32:30] relates to the, what we talked about is that he and I said, we were just passionate about what we did. We never knew chasing money and, and we, we achieved success because we woke up every day with a passion for what we were doing. He said it never was about the money.

And so we talked a lot about that, about his [00:32:45] childhood, middle class upbringing. His dad was an engineer and Vanderbilt Planetarium coincidentally. Had a need for their big projector, which, which was in need of repair, and it turned out he was one of the few people who had the skills and got brought in for [00:33:00] that, unrelated to him.

So we were talking about a lot of those things and how we grew up as kids without the without the iPhones, and we went out on our bikes and played. So it was really It's really a great call with a good friend and learned a lot about about what, what led [00:33:15] him to, to be able to juggle his political career with his, with his legal career and, and really have the time and passion for both still today.

Amy Blau: So were there any biases that you came up with during your call that, you know, that he had or that you could relate [00:33:30] to what you do?

Jonathan Blau: No, we didn't really get into that. We didn't really talk too much about biases. This was more of a. You know, learning about money from the standpoint of I think money shouldn't be the motivator and how you can do a lot of things and have a lot of [00:33:45] fulfillment and then the money can still come, but it shouldn't lead the way.

I think there's more of that kind of a message.

Amy Blau: Well, you know, the saying that if you enjoy what you do, you never work a day in your life and it sounds good in theory, but. The majority of the very [00:34:00] successful people in this world, they really do enjoy what they do. And if anyone knows you as well as I know you, or even half as well as I know you, they know that your clients and your business is not only your business, but it's also your [00:34:15] hobby and it's your passion.

And it comes through all the time. I wish you had as much passion for doing the laundry and keeping the house clean, but you know, I'll save that for another time I

Jonathan Blau: have as much passion to do

Amy Blau: Oh, there you go. [00:34:30] So i'm gonna end the call with that because I don't think you're gonna get any better than that today

Jonathan Blau: All right, honey.

Thank you for calling in and thank everybody for listening to this edition of Crazy Wealthy Podcast. [00:34:45]

Amy Blau: Happy Presidents Week everyone. Have a great day. Bye.

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