Our Story
In another life, almost 30 years ago now, when I was a young man training to be an officer in the Australian Army, I would take time out from the gruelling training regime in Canberra and walk the bush trails of the neighbouring suburb, Pialligo.
On these walks, I would often pass several nurseries, one of which, was a bonsai nursery. I would often see an old man of Japanese origin working in the garden of this nursery, and every time I passed, he would always be there and would look up, smile and wave at me as I would walk by.
One particular morning, I decided to stop and have a look at this particular nursery in more detail. The old Japanese man was there as usual, and as I approached him, what struck me was that he was old, very old, the kind of old that was defined by deep lines on his face, that told you he must have lived a full and knowledgeable life. The lines and creases etched into his face showed that he must have laughed much, but also suffered some significant sadness. I began talking to this man, who told me in broken English that his name was Hiroshi. His son owned the nursery here and he was employed to cultivate the bonsai and had moved to Australia from Japan in the mid-1960s after World War II. I began speaking to him about the art of bonsai and after just a few hours of talking, I was in awe of his knowledge but also his presence, he exuded a calm grace which elicited in me a sense of wonder and in turn, a calmness within myself that I had never felt before. I was determined to learn more about this man, his culture and the art of bonsai.
Over the next 2 years, I would meet Hiroshi many times, building a great friendship with him and learning much from someone with an immense capacity to give and share his knowledge about life and his passion, bonsai.
At our last meeting, he gave me a Jade Bonsai (a Money Tree) as a gift. He told me this was a symbol of prosperity and good fortune in Asian culture, and if I looked after it, it would bring my family and I, good fortune.
That was in 1992. That tree is now 30 years old. Against the odds, I have managed to keep that tree alive all these years, including moving from Canberra to Sydney and back again to Perth. It was my first bonsai and since then, I have grown many others from it.
Years later, when searching for a name and logo for my business, I was googling names that were connected with financial success when I came across an image of the Jade tree. It was then that I remembered the words Hiroshi spoke to me about prosperity and good fortune. Upon reflection, I could now attest that words were true, as since leaving Canberra, I had indeed encountered prosperity and good fortune, experiencing professional and personal success, both in business and personally, by meeting my wife and subsequently having two beautiful children.
I knew then that I could find no better symbol and name to use for my business than Prosperity Wealth Management, as there is no better way to represent and communicate the process we use to engage with, design, protect, nurture and grow our client’s wealth than to use the symbol of prosperity, The jade tree, and the process of cultivating this tree as a bonsai.
This symbol, coupled with the art and science of bonsai cultivation, is a perfect simile for educating clients, as both tasks require the same time, planning, knowledge, discipline and hard work to be successful. It was then I also learned of the additional symbolism of this tree in Feng Shui and the power of correct placement in the home or office, which adds another layer of symbolism to wealth creation.
My lifelong passion for bonsai, which was sparked by my experience with Hiroshi, and my personal passion for helping people achieve financial success have combined to represent my philosophy regarding financial planning and, indeed, life.
Therefore, we provide a small cutting from this tree to every new client to remind them that protecting and growing their wealth is the same process as growing that jade bonsai. So that they can start their wealth creation journey by learning the discipline and skills needed to protect and grow their jade bonsai, and so too, protect and grow their wealth, but also to remind them that life is not all about money, but that’s it’s also about growing something wonderful and alive that can bring just as much joy.