This month I would like to get a bit reflective. Sometimes the holidays is a good time to slow down and take a look at the past, present and future. If you have a few minutes please read the article below. It is written by the senior editor of Horsemouth.com – a really neat online trade publication for financial advisors. The article is a great reflection about the history of Thanksgiving and has some insightful suggestions.

From all of us at Colgan Capital we wish you and your loved ones a wonderful Thanksgiving Holiday.

Sincerely,Mark

p.s. At the bottom of this page is a quick update on Christopher and our new baby, expected soon!

Inspiration From Plymouth Rock: Thanksgiving Lessons for Advisors [and clients]

Imagine packing your belongings in a trunk, taking your spouse by the hand, and crossing a rickety wooden gangplank onto a small wooden ship in the port of Plymouth, England. It's the fall of 1620, and you join 100 other passengers—mostly families—who will spend two months crossing the ocean in dank, cramped quarters, subsisting on moldy bread and foul water and enduring daily bouts of seasickness. Your destination: an untamed land on the other side of the Atlantic where you hope providence will smile on you as you live, work, and worship according to your own conscience.

For most of us, Thanksgiving goes by in a blur of family, friends, holiday preparations, and a table of traditional dishes. And we often imagine the Pilgrims in much the same way: dining on roast turkey, squash, and corn along with their new Indian friends. There's some truth to that image. About 50 Pilgrims celebrated the harvest of 1621, feasting for three days with some 90 native people, including Chief Massasoit of the Wampanoag.

But the true story of the Pilgrims lies in what happened between boarding their little ship in England and inviting their Indian neighbors to celebrate with them a little more than a year later. What the Pilgrims achieved was nothing short of incredible. They were not seasoned explorers or soldiers. They were a band of regular folk: tailors, printers, farmers, and shoemakers, with no reference point for establishing a settlement in a hostile new land. Yet guided by the local Wampanoags, they survived and eventually thrived.

Whether you're a Mayflower descendant or a member of a more recent immigrant family, the Pilgrims' story is one that inspires. Here are just a few of its lessons, gleaned from the vivid book Mayflower: A Story of Courage, Community, and War, by Nathaniel Philbrick. This Thanksgiving, why not reflect on your own life's challenges and how you can tap the hardy Pilgrim spirit inside you?

Decide what is important. For some Pilgrims, like William Brewster, settling in the New World was an opportunity to escape persecution in England and find religious freedom. For others, such as Myles Standish, a military man hired by the Pilgrims for protection, the voyage to the new world was a paid assignment and an unprecedented opportunity for adventure. Perhaps now is a good time to take stock of your own life. What is the driving force behind your life's voyage? Why do you do what you do? Do you need to make a series of small changes, or is it time for a big one?

Believe in something. Religion is an important part of the Pilgrims' story. Their faith (and a conveniently portentous comet in the skies above Europe) helped them decide to sell their houses and possessions and sail 3,000 miles across the sea. Faith in themselves—not to mention some help from their native neighbors, but we'll get to that—allowed them to endure interminable winters, starvation, and disease. Today, even though we may enjoy central heating, microwave snacks, and advanced health care, it remains important to cultivate a source of inner strength. For some, it may come through prayer, meditation, or the wisdom of an author. Others find strength in a team or a worthy cause. No matter what, decide where your true beliefs lie and use them as a source of inspiration.

Recover from mistakes (even scary ones). We're all afraid of making mistakes. But that fear didn't stop the Pilgrims. They set sail later than they had planned. Instead of reaching the land they had contracted for in Virginia, they anchored in Massachusetts. They were hundreds of miles off course and found themselves facing a frigid northeastern winter. Most groups would curse their bad luck and consider giving up. But when such things happened to the devout Pilgrims, they viewed it, in the words of Governor William Bradford, as "a correction bestowed by God." They accepted the things they couldn't change; instead of resisting unforeseen conditions, they adapted to them by working a little harder still. How do you respond to setbacks? Do you tend to feel sorry for yourself, or do you look at them as testing your higher purpose, and forge ahead?

Weather hardships. That first harrowing winter, half the Pilgrims died. Three hundred and seventy-five years later, we may live in a vastly different technological world, but these kinds of elemental human hardships still cannot be escaped. You may have to surmount the death of a partner, or weather depression, or, like people who faced hurricane Katrina, survive the destruction of your home. The Pilgrims were a small group who relied on one another and their Indian allies through tough times. Family, friends, a mastermind group, and a plan can all help you stay positive in a negative world.

Find your own Squanto. The tribes of North American Indians had their own inter-group rivalries, friendships, and conflicts to manage when the Pilgrims showed up. They viewed the arriving ships from Europe with ambivalence: the newcomers evoked a mixture of interest and mistrust. The settlers brought with them threats such as disease and competition for resources, but they also brought tools, muskets, and other things that could give a tribe leverage against longtime native foes. Squanto, a Wampanoag who had spent nine years living in England, was uniquely positioned to interact with the Pilgrims by acting as a go-between with Chief Massasoit. Their group allied with the Pilgrims, showing the unskilled band the best places to find fish and game. Had it not been for Squanto, none of the Pilgrims may have survived that first harsh winter. If you are exploring a new goal or direction in your life, you need to find someone who knows the ropes, a mentor who can advise you on the lay of the land and help you build your skills and tap into your strengths.

Write your own compact. Since they didn't have a legal right to settle in Massachusetts, the Pilgrims decided they had better be clear among themselves about what they were doing. They created their own government, drawing up the Mayflower compact. The Pilgrims knew the importance of turning thoughts into practice by first putting them into written words. And so did Chief Massasoit, who signed a peace treaty with the Pilgrims in 1621 that was never broken and allowed the groups to enjoy a peaceful coexistence even when those around them were warring. What is it that you need to get in writing? A financial plan, legal will and legacy plan are a few key documents people can rely on to help realize their commitment to themselves and others.

Become more self-reliant. The Pilgrims cast off reliance on the king, their old government, and society. They believed God would help them, but only if they helped themselves. The Pilgrims had a work ethic we could all benefit from imitating. If you wanted a house, you chopped down trees and built one. If you needed clothes, you spun your own thread and sewed your own garments. If you wanted to eat, you pulled clams from the cold muck, patiently tended to growing corn, or hunted turkey, squirrel, or deer. And on the rare occasion you had some downtime, there was no Internet, TV, or John Grisham audio books, so you read the Bible. What do you think a Pilgrim would say about your daily regimen? If it could stand some more discipline, think about incorporating an exercise program and a good diet. Create momentum by establishing your own morning success ritual and a more systematic prospecting regimen.

Be bold. The Pilgrims demonstrated a boldness more intense than most of us may ever need to muster. They set sail with a dream to found a colony, a goal some deemed a fool's errand. Many had tried unsuccessfully before them. Up until that time the only English settlement that had not failed was Jamestown. And that settlement had suffered terrible attrition, losing 3,000 out of 3,600 colonists in three years. You don't have to set off for distant shores to jump out of your comfort zone. Challenge yourself to go cold walking in some uncharted territory, unleash your inner Pilgrim's work ethic, and learn how to survive in tough conditions. You may not set foot on a new continent, but you'll certainly uncover new territory within yourself.

But before you set out on your own adventures, take a pause to enjoy the holiday. Raise a glass to toast the Pilgrims' hardy spirits. Be thankful for the opportunity to work in the most dynamic economy in the world. And commit yourself to delivering superior client service in 2007, so you can enjoy for yet another year your share of the American cornucopia. Happy Thanksgiving from all of us at Horsesmouth.

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Personal update

Christopher is now 15 months old, running around with a smile, dancing in circles until he drops and experimenting with single words. He is such a great kid. As you know he is also anticipating the arrival of his new brother or sister. Kathy is due to deliver on December 27th but we suspect the baby might arrive a bit early. Perhaps I’ll have an answer by the next monthly update!

Christopher on Halloween: