In 1790, upon his death, Benjamin Franklin was a very rich man. He was the most famous person in the world, even more famous than George Washington, who had just finished his first year as President of the United States. In his will, Franklin made a strange bequest. He left one thousand pounds ($125,000 in today’s US currency) to each of the two cities he called home—Philadelphia and Boston. His contingency was that they could not spend any of the money for two hundred years.

A few years before Franklin’s death, French Mathematician Charles-Joseph Mathon de las Cour wrote an article called Fortunate Richard. It was a satire on a character invented by Franklin, Poor Richard. The article heralded the power of money compounding interest over hundreds of years, which compelled Franklin to leverage this shocking power for the good of his two home cities.

Franklin’s faith that his money would grow safely over two centuries was not based on his confidence in democracy, the stability of banks, or even a belief in a god who intervened. He believed that over time, people would continually create a better world. To the contrary, the religious figures of his day thought the world would come to ruin.

We might think Franklin’s long-term investment would be foolish today, but history shows that he underestimated the progress these two cities would make. He gave specific orders for how the money was to be used for a few elaborate public works projects, but when the first of the funds became available in 1890, these public works had already been established!

In 1990, two hundred years after Franklin’s investment, the city of Boston had accumulated $5,000,000 and established a trade school in Franklin’s name. Philadelphia had over $2,000,000 and started using the money to send the city’s high school students to further education. Franklin’s long-term bet paid off more than he imagined.

As coaches, we are in a position to help our clients make long-term bets. We do not make a living selling panic rooms, where clients can hide until the surrounding threats dissipate. In a way, we act as seers, helping them discern a progressive future. As our clients begin to make long-term bets, they have major advantages. Let me describe three of them.

Optimists Decide the Future

Pessimists try to prevent the future, but their passion dwindles because they assume their efforts will be in vain. An optimist, however, sees problems as opportunities. Discovery does not exist without a problem to solve.

One of my favorite thinkers, Kevin Kelly, said:

“…We have a moral obligation to be optimistic because when we’re optimistic we can shape the future. We can become better ancestors. We can expand our reach, create great things bigger than ourselves….” – Kevin Kelly, The Future Will Be Shaped by Optimists | Ted Talk

I’ve been playing with the idea that we should give our clients a mind experiment. Let’s say the client states the topic for the coaching conversation, and we spend enough time helping the client frame the problem they are trying to solve. “What if,” I suggest to my client, “the problem you have stated is the solution to someone else’s problem?”

For example, I was coaching a client who has a private school that does not have enough children to support the financial obligation of the staff. That is a real problem, but if the client looks far enough into the future, the daycare’s flagging attendance may be the solution to another organization’s problem.

Investments Grow Exponentially

At the time of this writing, I’m about 7 to 10 years from retirement. I’m not sure what retirement will look like, but I would like to be financially stable when I get there. Then, my choices won’t be determined by a financial need.

Because I’ve regularly invested in a retirement account over the last thirty years, I have a sizable sum set aside—not enough to retire, but a necessary amount, as I will explain.

Here’s my math: if I make zero more payments into my retirement fund and the fund continues at the same interest rate it has averaged over the last ten years, then by retirement age, my investment will more than double. On the other hand, if I continue to make my regular monthly investments, it will grow 10% more. In other words, I’ve made enough of an investment that 90% of the work happens automatically.

Let’s consider the problem of getting clients. If you’re a pessimist, you think very few people would want to hire you as a coach. Because of this, you are not going to ask many people if they would like to partner with you. If you’re an optimist, you think everyone would benefit from having you as a coach. Therefore, you always talk about coaching to anyone who will listen.

Your optimism will initially attract a few clients, but eventually, as you continue to spread the word about coaching, more clients will come. This is called the “flywheel effect” because starting a flywheel to turn takes great effort, but once it starts spinning, it is rather hard to stop.

Today’s Direction is Clear

I started my day by working out at the gym. I did this because, in ten years, I want to continue to be able to do the work I love. As I age, my ability to think and write is more directly related to my physical health. I did not want to start my day at the gym, but since I’m making a long-term bet, I knew what action to take this morning.

When I work with organizations, I encourage them to have a ten-year target, a 3-year picture, and 1-year goals. By getting even a glimpse of the future, they are much more likely to head in the right direction today. Even if their ten-year target is off, it probably is not far off. The organization will at least have headed in the right direction and will be much closer to the target.

During a strategic planning meeting, one participant said she had written “Strategic planning misery” in her calendar. Most people find it very difficult to think about the future. They find it painful. Master coach Marcia Reynolds told me in a podcast interview that the human brain is not wired for self-actualization. Instead, the human brain naturally works toward self-preservation. Without my coaching presence, that meeting would have been misery.

Knowing the future, daily decisions are simplified because the consequences, both good and bad, become obvious. As this organization imagines itself ten years from now, they can see the work that is required today.

Conclusion

Even with everything I’ve written about long-term bets in this article, my mind is blown that almost two hundred and fifty years ago, Ben Franklin made a long-term bet on the cities of Boston and Philadelphia which are still paying off today. And note, he underestimated the progress those cities would make.

What are you underestimating? What are your clients underestimating? Take time to help your clients visualize an ideal future that leads to a long-term bet. As Kevin Kelly said, let’s become “better ancestors!”