EPISODE 48
Money Miniseries 6: Legacy
Episode Transcript:
Dr. Randy Lehman [00:00:00]: Foreigner. And welcome back to The Rural American Surgeon Podcast. I'm your host, Dr. Randy Lehman. We're back from essentially summer break. There's a phrase that in life, you're juggling certain balls you're trying to pop. I feel like this a lot. Just pop those balls a little bit to keep them up in the air. I can poorly juggle up to three balls at a time in real life. In actual juggling, you have to keep focusing.
Dr. Randy Lehman [00:00:30]: I've been told, you know, certain of those balls are glass balls, and if you drop them, they'll break. You can fix them, but sometimes you can't. Sometimes they break to a point that you can't fix them, and there will always be cracks and scars. Balls like that would be your health if you push it too far. Some things can't be broken, like your family, possibly your integrity, or your reputation. Those are things that you can't pick back up.
Dr. Randy Lehman [00:01:01]: Your career is a rubber ball, and The Rural American Surgeon is a rubber ball as well. Here I am picking it up. We had a couple of weeks off that was just necessary because I've got a lot of other things going on. So just to maintain, here's where we are. One of the things that has happened since the last time we talked was the death of Charlie Kirk. The podcast episode today.
Dr. Randy Lehman [00:01:31]: On the Money miniseries is about legacy. Wrapped in with legacy is giving. It's a money miniseries, so, yeah, this is about giving of money. But just giving money away is one little piece of what I would consider a bigger topic, which is legacy. I went out with a group of kids from my church to the Charlie Kirk Memorial in Phoenix, and there were a few takeaways that I like if you don't mind me sharing.
Dr. Randy Lehman [00:02:02]: Then I'll spin into money and giving, and I'll leave it up to you to decide what you want your legacy to be. Whether that's something to do with the giving of money, the giving of time, or the giving of talents, those are really the three things. Do you want your legacy to have anything to do with money at all? You're going to leave a legacy of some sort. You're kind of building that each day. You might want to think about what kind of legacy that is and be somewhat intentional about that.
Dr. Randy Lehman [00:02:33]: The first thing that I like to say is something that will show up in the next episode of the Money miniseries, which is the whole mindset of it wasn't mine to begin with. There's a simple truth that you feel like you own. Like I say, my money or you say your money or whatever. But the things that you've been given. Is it even my family, my health, you know, my whatever? If you made a list of what you're thankful for, quickly, I think any reasonable.
Dr. Randy Lehman [00:03:04]: Person can realize they could very quickly be taken away. There are things outside your control that are going to determine that. Yes, you have a huge influence on that, but you're ultimately just a steward of your relationships, your family, your health, your job, your money. If you have a position of any kind of authority or anything.
Dr. Randy Lehman [00:03:34]: That you have, it's something that you're a steward of. The idea that it's not yours to begin with is sort of an underlying truth that you have to believe. It helps you understand my perspective on all of this—on legacy and on giving. I'll talk about that starting with the word "tithe." So there's your little teaser. But first, let's talk about Charlie Kirk, because Charlie Kirk is a Christian martyr.
Dr. Randy Lehman [00:04:05]: He was asked what he wanted to be remembered for, and he said he wanted to be remembered for courage, for his faith above all else. So that's a legacy. You see how that has nothing to do necessarily with money? I would say that I feel motivated, especially now more than ever, to encourage you, the listener, to think about your legacy from a similar lens and the impact that you.
Dr. Randy Lehman [00:04:35]: Have on the world from a utilitarian perspective, such as the amount of good that you can do for the world, the amount of pain and suffering that you can relieve for the world. That is not a bad thing to do, and I do that myself. But I think that the poor will be with you always, and pain and suffering will also always be here. It's like playing whack-a-mole, trying to make the world better. The world definitely is better. I mean, I see objectively, I say definitely, right? But then I hesitate for where.
Dr. Randy Lehman [00:05:06]: I was going to go with this: the influence of America in the history of the world, right? There's nothing, there's never been a better time to be alive objectively, in terms of safety, food availability, opportunity, freedom, right? Especially in the country of America. There's never been a better time or place to be alive. I think that was a core thing that Charlie Kirk tried to convince young people of, whose minds are being poisoned by ideas that America's.
Dr. Randy Lehman [00:05:37]: Bad. I mean, that couldn't be further from the truth. It's true. It's a tremendous country, and it remains so. It has influenced and it has elevated, a rising tide lifting all ships. It has elevated the entire world and changed. The irony of the no Kings Day. You know, that's what America is literally founded on—no kings. We do not have a king. Because America doesn't have a king, many, many other nations now also don't have a king.
Dr. Randy Lehman [00:06:09]: The idea of free markets allowing the individual to pursue meaningful things for themselves and to own property. Those core foundational beliefs of America have again, from a utilitarian perspective, lifted the entire world into times of new prosperity not known before. Then I hesitate because there are still problems, right, that come along with that. I think the ultimate issue.
Dr. Randy Lehman [00:06:40]: Is that we live in a fallen world that was created to reflect its creator but rejected its creator. That led to pain and suffering. Reconciliation with the creator is ultimately the only, the main thing, we'll say, worth pursuing. Without that, everything else is meaningless. That's kind of it in a nutshell for me. The last thing I want to say about Charlie Kirk before getting back into the.
Dr. Randy Lehman [00:07:10]: Tithe thing is being there. It was the most interesting thing to me, watching that memorial service. Everybody had five minutes to talk. In their five minutes, I know this because I was watching the video. It shows from the back the person, you know, they got this little five-minute counter in front of them. It's counting down, and you're going to get the hook if you can't wrap it up. So you got to see so.
Dr. Randy Lehman [00:07:41]: Many different, mostly well-articulated people, smart people that knew Charlie Kirk well, sharing their little five-minute thing. It's different from a normal funeral service, for example. There were two ways that the speaker approached their commentary. One person approached it from a very reasonable, very logical, fair perspective.
Dr. Randy Lehman [00:08:12]: They said things like justice will be served on the assassin, and other things like the people that did this and the ones that condone this, they are nothing. They are everything that's wrong with the world and the opposite of beauty, right? Heard somebody say things like that. That was contrasted and funny.
It was contrasted almost back to back to back with a totally different worldview that one speaker said, who was like a Christian apologetics guy and was a mentor of Charlie Kirk, specifically in the realm of, I would say, geology and history of creation, that sort of field. He said that Charlie Kirk, you know, taken too soon, sure. But he's in heaven, and Charlie Kirk is not in heaven. And this is totally paraphrased, so go watch the original thing. But basically, this is my take on it, okay?
Charlie Kirk's not in heaven because he was an excellent husband and a caring, loving father, though he might have been. Charlie Kirk is not in heaven because he mobilized millions of voters for Donald Trump, though he did. Charlie Kirk is not in heaven for, maybe we'll say, the tithes that he gave and the money that he gave right throughout his life. Ultimately, Charlie Kirk's not in heaven even, because Charlie Kirk gave his life for his savior, but Charlie Kirk's in heaven because his savior gave his life for Charlie Kirk.
And that one really impacted me because we're talking about the management of our money, right? Our stuff. It's not yours, it's not mine, it's not ours. We're just stewards. Let's try to make smart decisions. Let's think about it. Sure, let's spend a little energy doing that. But let's not forget the gravity of the real situation.
And we're all just dust. Little pieces of carbon just happen to be put together because thank goodness somebody took the time to write the code for our lives in DNA. And it's put together and held together for a short period of time until we're going back to dust again. But why is it that I know and understand that, and I'm perfectly positioned on this rock, just the right amount of space from the sun with the atmosphere that sustains life? Animals, not the same as humans acting off of instinct, whereas the humans have this understanding.
There's a document that's been written by I don't know how many, but, you know, like, dozens of writers over millennia that's been put together and preserved. It's got unique little things, like the 117th chapter is the shortest one, and the 119th is the longest one, and the 118th is the middle one. Right. And there's little nuggets of truth hidden in there. And, you know, 117, you know, is maybe a reference to the first month, 17th day, three days after Passover, the day that time stopped and reset and Jesus Christ rose from the dead for your sins to save you.
And at that level, without having an understanding of that, then what's the point of anything else? What's the point of, like, chasing an extra million? You know, it doesn't matter that much. It can be fun to do that, do it. You know, save and invest and understand the value of these things and pass those lessons onto your kids. But again, my first episode was what's the point?
But. And I'm doing it again. But especially in an episode about legacy, we should consider that topic. And then the last thing I'll say is the very last two speakers at Charlie Kirk's memorial, right? Charlie Kirk's wife, Erica Kirk, and President Trump. You have the same exact thing on display again. And maybe I didn't say it well enough the first time, but the one speaker is looking for revenge kind of justice. Very reasonable.
But the other speaker is looking for something totally different. And really, it was epitomized by Erica Kirk on national, really international television, publicly forgiving her husband's assassin. So that's the other alternative, a message. Oh, and the same speaker that said why Charlie Kirk is essentially in heaven said that at the end of your life, you're going to have two things. You're going to get justice or you're going to get mercy.
And that's really the contrast that I saw from person to person is someone looking for justice and another person offering and hoping for mercy, not just for themselves, but for others. Then President Trump stands up and he says, I don't know how she did that or how she does that. And he goes, because I hate my enemies. That was his word for word, what he said. And President Trump's this close.
And I thought it was wonderful that President Trump, many other leaders, even Elon Musk, could sit there and watch the same show that I watched. And if you haven't seen the whole entire thing, I would recommend blocking out 4 or 5 hours and go watch that whole thing because it was quite the show. A lot of what Charlie Kirk, I think, stood for and wanted to show was there. And also watch a little bit of what he said if you haven't because he's one of the most logical, easy-to-listen-to people and speaks truth in a world that is really like twisting the truth and telling half-truths and a lot of lies.
And so, you know, to President Trump, well, how is it that she can do that? Because it's very natural to hate your enemies like most people do. And so he said, I don't know how she does that. Well, she straight up told you how she does it. It's due to somebody giving her mercy when she didn't deserve it. And now she's trying to follow that person's example and share it with others. That's it.
And so I hope that President Trump could also put that together at some point. That'd be great. But each person kind of has to make that decision for themselves. And so justice or mercy. And when you're talking legacy, it matters to think about how your money's going to be, but it also matters on the other components of legacy, like what essentially you could phrase it as, what do you want to be remembered for?
So about that, I'm going to talk about giving money here for a few minutes and then close up. So tithing literally means a tenth. So many traditions teach giving a tenth. The Jewish tradition taught to tithe and give a tenth. The deeper lesson isn't really the number; it's the posture. So why, what's the point? So how I practically do this is I have direct deposit from whenever I'm taking money, I deposit.
So, like in my business, the money comes into my business, and then I get paid out of my business. Or if you have a job, I had it the same way when I had a job. When the money comes to the account that I'm going to spend out of and live out of, 10% goes to another account that I never see. And I feel that, you know, and I've had conversations with this with people up and down the spectrum. So you have people that are making a million a year, that are spending a million a year, and they couldn't imagine putting away 10% for savings. Right.
Or giving away $100,000. They couldn't imagine that. Right. But yet you have other people that are making much less than $100,000 to begin with that dollar amount. That could be easy. Obviously, they could live off 900. Right. Those other folks are living off much, much less. So I had a conversation and I used, you know, there were large periods of my life where I was a student and then I was a resident and didn't necessarily come from money. I didn't want really much during my life.
Came from pretty. Maybe it's average, maybe it's less than average upbringing. But regardless, I can relate to somebody who's making $30,000 a year. But if somebody's making $30,000 a year, there's another person that's making 27. Okay, you can always imagine 80% or 90% of what you make. And how would you have to live if you lived off 80% or 90% of what you currently make?
And so my argument is that no matter what, you can always afford as a percentage, 10% to go to savings and investing and long-term investing. If you do that, you have a very high chance of being able to buy your own freedom over a period in the United States with reasonable investments of maybe 30 years, like a lifetime of work.
Dr. Randy Lehman [00:17:59]: If you want to get there sooner, say 50% and live off less and don't need so much when you call it quits from standard working or whatever. But we've already talked about that. You also can give 10% away completely and survive. Right? When I say it's not about the number, it's about the posture. What does the 10% do? Living off that 90% and giving away the first portion is because it reminds you that it's not yours to begin with and it shows you that you didn't need it because otherwise you could end up making half a million dollars a year and you feel like you need it all to survive and you earned it all.
Dr. Randy Lehman [00:18:29]: But really, you've been given something, whether it's income or ability or opportunity. Part of your job is to give it away before you live on it all. That's what helps you to stay free. Again, freedom being one of our first values. How can giving away money make you more free? It does because it's a mental state and it's a thought process more that traps you in the 21st century, especially if you're a surgeon listening to this podcast, than like real shackles or anything like that. It helps you to remember the source and then the giving becomes a joy and not a burden.
Dr. Randy Lehman [00:18:59]: I do that and it goes into an account and so now I can use that money and I have it at my availability for when opportunities come up. The nice thing is in the United States, you have a lot of tax-advantaged ways to give away money. One thing, if you want to be super nerded out and maximize on it, is you can start a donor-advised fund, which I have done. A donor-advised fund is kind of like a retirement account but for charity, meaning that you can put money in there and you can buy securities like stocks and bonds, and the money can grow tax-free.
Dr. Randy Lehman [00:19:30]: Then you can use the money whenever you want to donate to a charity. It has to be a 501C3 charity that is actually registered. The problem with that is you can't, like, if somebody's in need right in front of you that you know of, their house burned down, somebody dies, and you want to give money to their family, you can't just do that out of your donor-advised fund. But I would suggest that you give all of your giving money into the donor-advised fund. You can give it out of your other account, but a lot of money can go through.
Dr. Randy Lehman [00:20:01]: It's wise because, first off, when tithing was set up, to my understanding, taxes were not at a percentage level as they currently are in the United States. A lot of the tithing money actually went to festivals and things for the group. There's an argument for, "Oh, we don't need to tithe because now we pay our taxes, which then leads to charitable things." I think that's total baloney. I explained to you why no matter how much you make, having a fixed amount that comes off the top to begin with is good. I'm not saying that you should 100% have to spend all the rest of it now either.
Dr. Randy Lehman [00:20:31]: Certainly, I am giving away more than 10% overall of the money that I make. Even my tax returns show that. I feel myself living with a more generous lifestyle than that. But it starts probably with 10%. Maybe that's something that you can say anybody, I believe, could do and probably should do. You make that decision for yourself, obviously, you're not going to make a mandate on it because then that eliminates the issue of the heart. How can you actually give that money away? You could set up a donor-advised fund if you wanted to.
Dr. Randy Lehman [00:21:02]: If you didn't have a use for it, your money can grow tax-advantaged, and then you can give it to a 501C3 when you find the thing that you want to support. Other ways that I've practically done it is I actually donated a Thompson retractor to my hospital one year. You might find that's a very specific thing. Who would do that besides a surgeon, right, who understands that there's a need? It's even sort of a mutually beneficial need. It helps me out because it's something that I need. I couldn't get the hospital to buy it. They couldn't come up with the funds to buy it.
Dr. Randy Lehman [00:21:32]: So I donate to the auxiliary. The auxiliary buys a piece of equipment. I don't remember how I did it. I don't think I called it a business expense because it was a donation, so we do it as a donation. And I think that you can, I don't want to say this wrong, but I think it's 60% of your AGI or something like that you can give away. Obviously, talk to your accountant about that. In fact, check me on that. When you're driving your AGI down to very low levels, be careful because you don't want to drive it down too low and then not be able to seek your charitable contributions.
Dr. Randy Lehman [00:22:02]: But this all goes into your overall tax planning strategy. That's a practical example. It's hard to do that if you're not planning ahead and just like if you don't have a pot of money that you're ready to disperse. I've also donated land to a charitable organization that kind of came with my clinic, and I wasn't using it, but you know, obviously, to give it away means you're giving away all the potential future uses of it. So it's very meaningful. I've done that. That's an interesting way to do it. I've sponsored a bunch of local teams and community causes.
Dr. Randy Lehman [00:22:33]: Each of these isn't about, like I said, the deduction, or the advertising, you know, if you will, the marketing of having my businesses or my personal name out there. Although don't ignore the value of the tax advantage giving and don't ignore the value of the other stuff. But it's really about building my community, which is what I'm all about, honoring my town, leveraging the things that I've been given. So then there can be these interesting things that only you know about this opportunity. It's a unique to you giving opportunity.
Dr. Randy Lehman [00:23:03]: I guess I would encourage you to exploit those opportunities. Of course, I give to my church and stuff too. But it's not about just like, buy the numbers, take 10% of my income, donate it to my church, and wash my hands of it. You're missing the joy and the real value of giving and legacy when you do that. The other two types of giving are giving your time and your talents besides your money. For me, the big one is surgical mission trips. You can also include charitable work in the United States or even just taking the extra time to explain to somebody when it's not the most efficient thing to do.
Dr. Randy Lehman [00:23:34]: A good doctor for people here. But for me, I don't have to do free care in the United States because all the contracts that I have written up, the hospital is already providing a certain amount of free care, but they're going to pay me on a work RVU basis. So I can actually do the free care. It is free for the patient. The hospital kind of eats it, and they still pay me for it.
So that just happened. It's probably not going to be like that. Maybe it will be in, like, 20 or 25 years. But how it happens to be in 2025 in Indiana, okay, is that I can basically do the free care without doing it for free. But that's not so internationally. It's not so in the whole world.
I've been doing surgical mission trips. It converges into something that I'm good at, which is surgery, team leadership, and what I love—serving, meeting new people, stretching myself. I go because I want to give my skills, but I always come back changed. That's legacy in action. It's giving while living. It doesn't mean you wait until you've made it to give where you are. Whatever you've got, you give right now, and it becomes personal to you.
So what is that talent? Whether it's a musical talent, a literary talent, or the talent of listening. I've also heard when you're young, there are three resources: money, time, and energy. Pick two. When you're young, you have time and energy, but no money. When you're middle-aged, which I'm approaching, you have money and energy, but no time. And I feel that. When you're old, you have time again. You have money, possibly, but you have no energy.
I told that to my grandpa, and every time I get him laughing, I'm like, oh, Jesus, this is the end, because he just gets laughing and then he gets coughing. But that one really got him, which means there must be an element of truth to it. So you're going to have what you have at the time and make of it what you can.
Finally, I just like to turn it back to you and say, what are you gifted at, and what do you love doing? Maybe it's counseling, mentoring, entrepreneurship. Maybe it's farming like me. That's your channel. Okay. I would encourage you to have a direct deposit. Because that's nice, you take it off the top, you don't feel it. And then all of a sudden, boom, you've got 70 grand in an account that needs to be given. Make sure you don't do the Ananias and Sapphira thing and dip into that for your personal money. But put it to action. What will happen is you'll probably get addicted to it and love it because you realize money spent for others and helping others is way more memorable not just for others, but for you, than money spent for yourself.
Choose a regular cadence and put something into action. The third thing, after kind of identifying for you, doing some sort of regular cadence, is to document it and pass it on. Do it intentionally. Talk with your spouse or your partner, talk to your kids, model it for your kids, and write down your values and share that so that you know for yourself. Also, the people you care about and who are around you know it as well.
Give something away. It could be money, your time, or your talent, but do it with the belief that what I have isn't just for me. In doing so, you're building a legacy. I was here. I used what I was given. I gave it away. I left it out there. Those are my thoughts about legacy.
I really appreciate you being here. Thanks for listening along and sharing in our journey. It's an interesting and fun time to be alive. Church attendance is up 15% in the last month since Charlie Kirk's passing. There's revival happening across the United States. I wonder why that might be. It's interesting, I would say worthwhile, to open your eyes and pay attention to it a little bit. It's a great time to be bold and to share your belief and then ultimately to share what's been given to you, with others. It's part of your giving and your legacy.
So thank you very much for listening to this episode about legacy and giving on The Rural American Surgeon. I will see you on the next episode of the show.
