There’s an old adage that goes “you can’t have your cake and eat it too.” It means that if you choose to eat your cake, you won’t have it anymore. Duh? Obviously!

But this way of seeing things seems very black/white, either/or. Just like when people ask, what would you prefer more money or more freedom? Why do you have to pick just one? Why not have both money AND freedom?

Going back to the cake, I think there’s another way of looking at it. If you have a well documented recipe that produces a consistent cake each time you make it then why not have your cake, eat it, and then simply make another one when needed? After all, why the heck would you want to keep a moldy old cake?

With a good system/process and set of instructions you (and anyone else for that matter) should be able to replicate a desired result. In business we call this a good QA system. It won’t be the same physical cake but will be an exact duplicate of it.

When it comes to business, investing, finances, estate and succession planning most people come at it from the perspective of leaving money, assets, and other stuff behind for their heirs.

I think what is WAY more important than any of these “things” (no matter how much they are worth) are the lessons and values you instill in those you leave behind. If you share your recipes on how you baked your “cakes” with them they will be able to build wealth on their own. This is a much more valuable gift and I think it’s worth far more than anything else.