Ron Popeil Would Be Proud

When working with clients on investing, I stress the importance of simplicity, consistency, and patience. We choose broad, cheap funds. We make contributing a habit in our life. We remember how long our time horizon is.....so we don't freak out about the volatility along the way.

Years ago, I helped a young client set up her investments just this way. We selected one of the best index funds in the world, we automated it, and she understood the big picture. Aside from that, she did absolutely nothing.

Fast forward many years, this person had long moved on from my coaching services. I randomly ran into her on the bike trail. During our brief chat, we touched on her financial progress. In this exchange, I asked her how she felt about the recent stock market craziness.

"You told me not to stress out about the stock market, so I don't even think about it."

"Yeah, that's a really great approach! I'm glad you feel good about it....just as you should! How do your investments look?"

"I haven't logged on in a few years. You said it was all automated, and I don't have to do much, so I haven't. In fact, I don't even know my account login."

"You're right. No reason to obsess about it. But maybe you should at least know how to log in to your account!"

I encouraged her to get her login information and record it somewhere safe, so she can get into her account if/when she needs to (such as changing the amount automatically being contributed."

A week later, she calls me somewhat in a panic, very excitable. "Travis, do you know how much money is in this account!?!?!" She shared the number, then shared her utter disbelief. It was far more than she had imagined it would be. I explained this is exactly what happens when we make it simple, consistent, and patient. Her monthly contributions were now just a normal part of her monthly budget, and this plan is fully integrated into her life. Yet, it's made a massive difference in her journey. These are all ideas and numbers we talk about in our meetings, but it's another thing to see it materialize right in front of your eyes. This is one of the challenges of finance. Numbers on paper never feel real. Part makebelieve, part too-good-to-be-true, part I-wish-this-would-go-faster. I couldn't be prouder of her mindset and progress. Keep it simple. Be consistent. Be patient. Don't lose sleep over it. Just living her meaningful life. That's what it's all about.

Set it and forget it. Ron Popeil would be proud!

Coke and Context

I was recently trading texts with an old high school friend. We usually text about NBA basketball, but other times we hit on parenting, work, relationships, and life. In this particular conversation, he mentioned the prevalence of drugs in his world. A bit confused, I started asking him some questions. He was saying things that I cannot relate to in any shape or form. He's my exact age, and we spent most of our childhoods living in the same tiny town, hanging with the same people. If I wasn't already disoriented enough, he dropped a comment that shook me, "Honestly, it's hard to meet a girl who doesn't do coke." That's a different type of relational challenge than I've struggled with.....to put it lightly.

This is one of the beautiful parts about spending time with all types of people. The context of their lives can tremendously vary from one person to the next. It's wild to think about, sometimes. Whenever something happens to us, or we see/hear something, or we learn something new, we experience it through the context of our own journey. This is natural, and it's human nature. But it also limits our ability to see the bigger picture....and can prevent us from having empathy for others.

In our polarizing, black-and-white world, we leave little room for nuance or contextual answers. What's right for one family might not be suitable for another. This is where financial advice can go awry. We treat everything like it's carved into a stone tablet. If you do x, you're smart. If you do y, you're dumb. This type of mentality is causing some to sabotage their lives while leaving others completely paralyzed due to an internal conflict between what is "right" and what they know is probably a more fitting answer.

It's not uncommon for me to give one piece of advice to a family, then a few hours later give the total opposite advice to another. Context matters. Here's where I want to land the plane today. Regardless of who, where, and when you hear advice (financial or otherwise), look at it through the lens of your unique journey. The deliverer of the advice may be giving it through the lens of a different context, or perhaps their perspective is limited to their own tiny view of the world. It might be the best advice in the world......or not. There's no magic pills here. If all else fails, find a diverse group of people in your life to bounce ideas off. The collection of varying feedback you get will be telling, and valuable!

It's Never Too Late (or Too Early)

Young adults have an amazing opportunity when it comes to getting control over their finances. So many things are working in their favor:

• Their financial life is probably the simplest it will ever be. Maybe not as many debts or other entanglements…..yet. Maybe not married……yet. Maybe not a homeowner……yet. Maybe not settled into a higher standard of living…..yet. Life typically gets more complicated as we age, so in theory young adults are living their simplest life.

• They haven’t yet developed deeply-seeded bad habits. Sure, there may be bad habits present. However, they haven’t had years (or decades) to become engrained into their life.

• They have so much time on the other side of getting their finances right. Let’s just say it takes a 24-year-old young professional 12 months to get their finances in order. That still gives them 50+ good years to thrive on the other side of the hard work. What an opportunity!

These are the reasons I love working with young adults. So much opportunity! On the flip side, the inverse of this is why I love it so much when older clients get their finances right. Their lives are more complex, they have to battle deeply-seeded bad habits, and they have less time on the other side of the transformation. All these factors combine for one inevitable outcome: a massive reason to celebrate and acknowledge a stunning win.

I have one client who is on the precipice of achieving a significant win. The win in and of itself is special. But what makes it even more special is the fact they spent multiple decades doing it the wrong way. They dug a deep hole, financially, relationally, mentally, and emotionally. Then, they decided to reverse course! After nearly two years of sacrifice, intentionality, and unity, they are nearing a point where their lives are fundamentally changing. Never again will they have to deal with what they dealt with for the last two decades. Everything can and will be different from here on out. It’s a weird idea to wrap their head around.

Their biggest roadblock to beginning this journey was the feeling it was too late for them. They were too old and too deep in their mess…..so why bother? The moment they believed it wasn’t too late was the moment they knew it was time to act. They wish they would have started earlier, but they are where they are.

It’s never too late…..or too early. If there’s something in your life that’s “too late,” no it’s not. Sure, it would have been nice to start 1 year, 5 years, or 10 years ago. You can’t go back in time, but you can start now.

"But What Certifications!?!?"

I’ve shared this story with a handful of people, each of which who voiced their displeasure for me not blogging about it yet. So, here goes! A while back I met a couple who was potentially interested in pursuing a coaching relationship with me. When I asked them how they found me, they explained how multiple people in their lives have shared how their work with me has been transformational in their life. I’m always grateful for these stories, though I always feel like I get too much credit.

Needless to say, this couple came in hot and were excited about what a potential coaching relationship could do for them. The conversation was going great. They shared about their lives and aspirations, and I shared about my background and what coaching would/could look like. Then, it took an unexpected turn.

“What are your coaching credentials or certifications?”

“I don’t have any.”

“You have to have something! Did you go to school for this?”

“No”

“How do you know what you’re doing?”

“I’m not saying I do. Those other people said I do.”

“I’m not sure we can hire someone without any actual credentials”

“That’s totally ok. I don’t want you to do anything you don’t fully believe in. You have to be 100% comfortable and confident going into this, otherwise, it won’t work.”

Other than this being somewhat humorous, why am I sharing this? I think we often undervalue ourselves. We rely on a piece of paper, a title, or some letters behind our names to determine the value we offer the world. I’m not saying these things don’t matter. Rather, I’m saying what you already have to offer the world DOES matter. You don’t need someone else’s permission to make an impact. Not everyone will want what we have to offer, but lucky for us, we have neither the need nor the time to work with everyone. Our job is simply to serve those who wish to be served.

The world is full of people who are gifted at something. You’re probably one of them. There are countless skill sets that can be used to serve people in unique ways. You probably have one. There are millions of people who have unmet needs, just waiting to get a hand-up. You probably know some.

We don’t need permission. We need action.

**Side note: This couple DID decide to hire me and we’ve laughed (multiple times) about this story. They are killing it, by the way!!!

Ignorance is Bliss, Until It's a Nightmare

Whenever I start working with a new client, there’s a moment early on when they have more money stress and tension than they did before we started working together. On the surface, it seems like the coaching is counter-productive. After all, the whole point of this coaching concept is to make things better…..not worse. There’s a universal truth in all this. Ignorance is bliss. Many people have very little day-to-day tension and stress when it comes to money. It’s not because their finances are in a good place, but rather because, “out of sight, out of mind,” as the saying goes.

Digging into our finances and facing reality on reality’s terms can dredge up a lot of junk. It’s like looking into one of those ultra-magnifying mirrors you see in some hotel bathrooms. It’s scary to see yourself that close. ALL the blemishes become apparent. Money is much the same way. When we look close enough, we won’t always like what we see.

This idea hit home recently when I had two contrasting conversations. The first conversation was with a friend who is somewhat critical of my work. by the way, I love when people I care about can engage me in conversations like this. It shows trust in each other, and I always learn something from them. His main point was he and his wife spend almost zero time talking about money in their marriage. They “just live life,” as he put it. He went on to explain they don’t really worry about what they spend, they don’t worry about saving, and they don’t worry about the future. Life is good, live in the moment, and it will all work out in the end. In some ways, I’m jealous of their approach to life. I wish I could be more like that at times. On the other hand, based on what he shared with me, I have a feeling where some of this will go a few decades down the road……and it’s not good.

In a subsequent conversation, I talked to a couple who was a few decades older than the guy I just mentioned. They explained how they used to handle finances, or rather how they didn’t handle them. The way they portrayed their younger selves sounded a lot like the man above. Fast forward a few decades, and they are freaking out. They lived a financially stress-free life, but now stress is barreling down on them. They are starting to realize social security isn’t nearly enough to support them, they didn’t adequately save on their own, and the clock is ticking. The reality is they will HAVE to work well into their 70s (or beyond). I don’t personally believe in traditional retirement and I hope to be working into my 80s, but it breaks my heart to see a couple work so hard for many decades, only to find themselves in a position with very limited options.

They gave me permission to anonymously share this story with you because, as they put it, they “wouldn’t wish this upon their worst enemy.” Harsh words. I feel for them, I truly do. So if I can give you any advice on this topic, it would be this: be willing to endure some financial stress and tension today (getting it right), because it’s so much better than what’s coming down the road. This couple deserves better, and so do you!

The Dreaded B-Word

I talk about budgeting every single day. It’s a cornerstone of my coaching. It’s not because I especially love budgeting, but rather because of how important it is. It’s so important, in my perspective, that we need to get that right if we want to achieve the other financial goals in our life. People will often tell me they do great without a budget. That may be partially true, but they also don’t know what they don’t know. From my experience, they are driving a 5-speed transmission but only think it has 3 gears. 3rd gear feels really fast if you’ve never experienced a 4th or 5th gear. Something very powerful is unlocked when budgeting is done right.

I get it, the idea of budgeting is terrible. Most people (fairly) assume budgeting will suck the fun out of their life. That’s simply how budgeting is approached by the vast majority of our financial world. Stop spending, be responsible, cut back. We treat it as a crash diet. I think we’re missing the point. The objective of a budget isn’t to spend less, but rather to spend better. It’s a way to live out our values. So through the lens of “spend less”, yeah, I’d hate budgeting, too. But through the lens of “spend better”, budgeting gives us life. It’s a tangible way to execute our hopes, dreams, values, and principles.

Last week, one of my 6-year-olds approached me and asked, “Daddy, when is the end of the month?” When I asked him why, he responded, “because I want to go to Chuck-E-Cheese and thought we could put Chuck-E-Cheese in the new budget.” “Yeah, bud, let’s put it in the budget next month. That will be a lot of fun. What else should we put into the budget?”

Even at 6, he’s realizing this money stuff shouldn’t suck. It shouldn’t rip the fun and enjoyment out of life. It shouldn’t hinder our ability to live a quality life. He’s already learning that it’s a way that we can intentionally plan for fun things and live out our family’s values.

As this week begins, I encourage you to look at money through the lens of “spend better”, not “spend less.”

Delayed Gratification

Later today, I’ll be delivering the keynote address at a Future Business Leaders of America conference. It will be comprised of 150-300 high school students interested in pursuing business careers. I’ll be talking about three myths I believed when I was younger, and why overcoming them can be transformational for their journey.

One topic I’ll bring up is delayed gratification. As humans, especially as young adult humans, we want what we want…..and we want it now. We also live in a culture that is tailored to give us the instant gratification we desire. Unfortunately, the important things in life rarely provide instant gratification. It’s a slow burn of patience, discipline, persistence, and maybe a bit more patience.

As I reflect back on some of my successes, it dawned on me just how patient I was (even if it didn’t feel like it at the time):

• I offered financial coaching as a free ministry for more than six years before someone paid me to do it. Those years allowed me the opportunity to serve people well, learn my craft, carve out my approach, and discern my desired client base.

• I gave 95 talks before someone paid me to speak. I suspect the first 30+ were terrible! Every repetition allowed me to get comfortable on the stage, try new techniques, and find my voice.

• We’ve produced nearly 200 podcast episodes and haven’t made a single penny in revenue. That’s more than 60 hours of free content, available to the world. Maybe someday we’ll decide to create an income from the podcast, but until then our goal is to find our audience, add a ton of value to people’s lives, and start to bend the culture when it comes to work and money.

Patience isn’t easy, but it does get easier if we remember our why. My why is to make the deepest and broadest impact possible over the next 40 years. When I remind myself of this, it’s far easier to remain patient and keep my eyes focused on what truly matters (and what doesn’t).

Defining the Win

Later today, I’ll be coaching Finn and Pax’s 6-year-old basketball team. At this age, it’s a mess! Some can dribble, most can get the kid-sized ball up to the lowered hoop, and the defenders look lost. Even at this age, some of the kids obsess about the score. During last week’s game, I honestly don’t even know what the score was. I’m not sure it was even being kept. To me, that was completely irrelevant.

This brings to mind a crucial question I ask my clients early in the coaching journey. “What is a win?” It sounds like a dumb question, but the definition of a win can be dramatically different from person to person. In the case of my young basketball team, wins are defined as a) having fun, b) learning some basic fundamental skills, c) creating a culture of teamwork, and d) showing good sportsmanship. If these four things are accomplished, we’ve won. Keeping score and collecting wins shall come later when they get a bit older, but today we need to focus on these other wins.

Last week, I was sitting down with a new-ish client. They’ve amassed several million dollars of wealth over the past decade, and the conversation quickly went to how they could accelerate the process to garner a few million more. The elephant in the room, however, was a lot of discontentment with their careers and overall burdensome lifestyle. In the middle of this conversation, I asked again, “What do you REALLY want? What’s the real win?”

This unearthed an entirely new conversation that, instead of focusing on wealth and more, focused on being more present with their family, having the freedom to pursue more meaningful work, and waking up every day without a feeling of dread. It’s a chicken-and-egg scenario for many people. A commonly-held belief is that we need more money to create the life we want. Ironically, it’s often this pursuit of more money that creates the life we don’t want. Instead of running the race to financially create the life we think we want, we could simply take a different path and actually live the life we want….today. It’s not always that simple, but more times than not it is. Money doesn’t create meaning. Meaning creates meaning.

I guess I should answer my own question, “what is a win?” Here’s how I would answer it:

• I’m fully present for my family.

• I wake up every day knowing I’m about to do the work I’m called to do.

• I make enough money, this month, to earn the right to serve those who I wish to serve, again next month.

What’s your definition of a win?

The Fear of the Unknown

I recently had an initial coaching session with a new client. They were excited to get started, but honestly more scared than anything. This is fairly typical and I expect that going in. I used to be surprised by this, especially from families who are obviously (to me) doing well. Here’s what I’ve learned, though. Most people don’t truly know how well they are doing (or not doing). All they know is their situation, and have little else to compare it to. They may feel like a mess behind the walls of their own home, and all they see from everyone else is the tidy curated exterior. This breeds a quiet feeling of failure.

So when we sit around a table and begin to look at their finances head-on, there’s a fear. It’s not a fear of the known, but rather a fear of the unknown. This may be the first time in a while (if ever) they’ve looked this closely at their finances. The fear of the unknown is almost always worse than reality.

One of my favorite parts of these meetings is when the couple shifts from a posture of anxiety and fear to cautious confidence mixed with building optimism. They go from the fear of the unknown to an understanding of reality…..and oftentimes a reality that far exceeds what they thought was possible.

This fear of the unknown is the same reason people don’t go to the doctor, don’t open their mail, don’t apply for that job, and don’t step on the scale. It’s that dang unknown. Just like all these other areas, when we step through our fear of the unknown in our finances, we’re often surprised that our reality is much better than what we’ve been fearing. And once we have awareness, that’s when the real work (and progress) begins.

Prepare, Hope

The last 24 hours have been surreal. The NCAA formally decided to host the NCAA Tournament without fans, the NBA suspended its season indefinitely, the World Health Organization officially declared COVID-19 a pandemic, and trading in the stock market was halted for the second time in a week. First and foremost, I’m not a doctor. I don’t even play one on TV. I’m over here in my little corner of the world trying to figure out how to navigate this situation for my family. As of right now, I don’t have clarity on that but have been actively seeking wise counsel from my friends in the medical world.

However, I do have a lot of insights and opinions as it relates to how we should be approaching our finances. I’ll let you decide how much value you want to attribute to them. These are my opinions and my opinions alone. If I were you, I’d strongly consider what I have to say, strongly consider what others have to say, and use the collective insights to make the best possible decisions for your family.

I have one overarching fear. We’ve had 11 years of up. 11 years of growth. 11 years of good. That’s an absurd amount of time to be on a winning streak. This unthinkable run does have consequences, though. Specifically, if you’re under the age of 35, you’ve never experienced what economic turmoil looks like first-hand. You’ve never felt the sharp pain of watching your investments evaporate into thin air, or lived through the fear of waking up every day wondering “will I still have a job by the end of the day?” You haven’t watched your peers, one-by-one, experience a financial collapse. You haven’t felt the harsh consequences of debt (and there’s a lot of debt!).

I don’t say all this to incite panic or worry. Rather, I want us to look at this issue directly in the eyes, prepare ourselves, and navigate the rough waters that are likely in store. As the saying goes, “Prepare for the worst, hope for the best.” That’s what we’ll do. With that being said, let’s dive in!

INVESTMENTS

As of this morning, the stock market (S&P 500) is down 25% in just over three weeks. Wow, that’s scary! However, let me frame it up a bit differently. After this huge 25% decrease, the stock market is sitting at values not seen since……well, February 2019. Yes, you read that correctly. We are sitting at the same place we were just over a year ago. We’re also double where we were before the last stock market crash and nearly 4x as high as we were at the bottom of the last recession. Perspective matters! In its 150-year history, the U.S. stock market has provided an average 9% return to its investors. That’s not a 9% return during the good times. That’s a 9% return through all the times, good and bad. That 9% includes two world wars, the assassination of a president, 9/11, the tech bubble burst, 29 recessions, and countless other tragedies. The point: our country’s stock market is resilient, and over a long period of time (15+ years), poses far less risk than most believe. In fact, if you’ve put your money in the stock market and left it for 15 years at any point in the last 150 years, you’ve NEVER lost money. There are a few instances of losses over a 10-year period, but the stock market has never lost money over a 15-year period.

So what does that mean for you? What decisions should you make in light of today’s crazy situation? In short, nothing. Assuming you’re invested in diverse, low-cost, stock index funds, you should do absolutely nothing. Stay the course! If you’re currently making periodic investments into these same index funds, whether its via paycheck deductions into a 401(k)/403(b), or by you manually investing into IRAs or taxable accounts, continue to do it. Stay the course! It feels yucky at the moment, but in the long run you will be so grateful you stuck to the plan.

EMERGENCY FUND

There is so much uncertainty in our global economy right now. China is isolated from the world. Italy just went into total shutdown mode. Airlines are shutting down portions of their fleet. Public events (large and small) are being canceled altogether. So many weird things. The system is being stressed right now, and it’s hard to tell how it all plays out. One thing is for sure, this amount of stress is going to result in some casualties. Some companies will go under, some jobs will be cut, and overall business activity will slow as COVID-19 becomes a more tangible reality in our communities. It would be irresponsible for me to make any specific predictions on who will be impacted and how, but the writing is on the wall that some people are going to be materially impacted, economically-speaking. I would also caution you to not look at the situation and say “I don’t work in the ‘insert name’ industry, so I won’t be impacted.” That’s short-sighted. If there’s this much stress on the system, we will all feel it. Let’s use the travel industry as an example. If people from the travel industry lose their jobs, they may not be able to make their rent/mortgage payments (negatively impacting landlords, financial institutions, and taxing authorities), they may not have a lot of money to buy things (hurting businesses in their community), and there will be more competition for available jobs (lower pay and more stress for prospective employees in other industries). Lots of possible ripple effects.

With that in mind, we would all be wise to make sure we have our emergency funds topped off during the season ahead. Having cash available could be the difference between paying the bills or not paying the bills. If you already have a healthy emergency fund (say 3-6 months of expenses), awesome! Make sure that cash stays available for immediate withdrawal. If you have the ability to increase your emergency fund in the near-term, you may want to do that as well. If you’re actively paying off debt (awesome, by the way!), you may want to push pause on that effort and instead place that money into your emergency fund. You may want to trim back some of the extras in your budget to find additional cash for your emergency fund. I would NOT advise anyone to sell stock index fund investments in order to raise cash for their emergency fund. If at all possible, please leave that money alone. We don’t want to voluntarily sell those investments in the middle of a 25% decline. Hopefully you never need to use any of this cash, but it will be there for you in the event rough waters do hit your family. When all the smoke clears and you’ve successfully navigated this mess, then that money will still be available to do whatever you were previously going to do with it (pay off debt, go on that trip, replace your car, etc.).

MAJOR DECISIONS

I’ll say this very clearly……this is NOT a good time to be making major financial decisions. If you’re thinking about buying a home, purchasing a new car, retiring imminently, or taking any other action that results in a material change to your finances, I simply wouldn’t do it. These are all great things, and I want them to happen for you, but I don’t want them to turn your life into a nightmare. My best advice is to be patient, let this season pass, and then make these awesome decisions with more clarity, full confidence, and less fear. Some of you might be thinking “well I can get a great deal if I act now.” These are also the same people I mentioned above that weren’t old enough to live through the Great Financial Crisis. Today, in this moment, some major decisions can make sense. But what happens tomorrow or next week when your world gets unsuspectedly turned upside-down? This is when fear sets in and we start to snowball bad decision after bad decision. Please don’t put yourself at risk for something like this. If you have house or car fever today, it may be time to take a cold shower. Those houses and cars will still be there for you when all this calms down, and probably at a really good price!

HEALTH INSURANCE

As I reiterate often with my clients, not having health insurance is never an option. This was true 10 years ago, it was true yesterday, it is true today, and it will be true 10 years from now. Without health insurance, we are one bad day away from absolute financial ruin. Please don’t allow yourself to be unnecessarily vulnerable to this risk, especially when the issue at hand is a global pandemic! If you’re 26 or younger and on your parents’ health insurance plan, great! If you have health insurance through your employer, great! If you’re uninsured today, not so great! If that’s you, one of the most affordable and efficient options is a health sharing program. I’m a big believer in these programs and actually use one myself. My family uses Medi-Share and I can’t say enough good things about them. Here’s an article that explains what health sharing programs are, and it even compares a few of the larger programs. I’m not affiliated with this blog, but I think you’ll find this information useful. We don’t need the Rolls Royce of health insurance plans, but we do need something. Look at it like auto insurance. We don’t rely on our auto insurance to pay for our oil changes, or brake pads, or alternators. No, we rely on our auto insurance to protect our financial life when we wrap our car around a light pole. It protects us against the really bad stuff. Our health insurance should be the same way. Find a plan that offers you enough protection that one bad day won’t blow up your life, but affordable enough for you to work it into your monthly budget.

GIVING

If you give generously, and I really hope you do, please do not let fear deter you from giving. Based on many of my words above, the need for joyful, generous givers may be more important in the months ahead than it has been for the last decade. There are people hurting and they will continue to need people like you and I to step in and show God’s love through our generosity. There are a lot of places in our financial life to cut back on, but I don’t think generosity should be one of them. The moment we stop giving (or materially pull back our giving) is the moment we start living in fear and making it all about us. If you’re a person of faith as I am, this is a great season to test your trust in God and his provision in your life. If we can be generous and selfless through a season of uncertainty and nervousness, just picture how much we can grow in our faith in the season ahead!

Those are my five key takeaways today. Stay the course on investing, keep as much cash in your emergency fund as possible, push pause on any major decisions, make sure you have health insurance, and keep being generous. If there are other topics or questions on your mind, please ask them in the comment section below. I will either address them in the comments, in a private exchange with you personally, or in a subsequent blog post. Lastly, please share this with people in your life so they too can get prepared for the season ahead. Now let’s go from here and make sure we’re taking care of our family! After all, money is never about money.

“Those are my five key takeaways today. Stay the course on investing, keep as much cash in your emergency fund as possible, push pause on any major decisions, make sure you have health insurance, and keep being generous.”

The Choice

I didn’t set out to plagiarize my close friend and mentor Dr. Gary Hoag’s amazing book, The Choice, when I started writing this post……but here we are. Sorry, Gary! Rather, I was contemplating a text I received from a friend this morning. After some back-and-forth regarding a few of my recent blog posts, I asked him a question: “Which topics/components do you think resonate with people?” He responded with “There’s a desire to make a difference, but a feeling that you have to either get paid to work for the man, or make a difference and be a struggling artist type.”

As I’m sitting in my office pondering these words, I look down and spot my copy of Gary’s book sitting before me (see, Gary, I am reading your stuff!!!). Two simple words in big, bold white letters, “The Choice”, scream right off the cover of the book and into my periphery. We make choices every day. We choose what to wear, what to eat, who to spend our time with, what podcasts to listen to, and what NBA superstar jersey we’re going to buy our toddlers next (just me?). But there seems to be this HUGE choice that lingers over all of us, every single day. The choice of what to do with the majority of our waking hours. The choice of how we are going to use our talents and passions to make an impact. The choice of where our life’s energy will go. Such a huge choice!

As I’m considering my buddy’s words about this choice, I thought back to a very intense conversation I had with Gary over FaceTime last year. I was teetering back-and-forth on the idea of leaving my awesome career to do something totally crazy. It was one of those days where the self-talk was thick. “What are you doing!?!” “You’re going to fail!” “Don’t be irresponsible, you can never make a living doing what you want to do.” Every insult possible was hurled my way…..by my own mean self. I did what I always do when the self-talk ramps up……I engage a trusted mentor. This was one of those I-remember-exactly-where-I-was-when-it-happened kind of moments. I distinctly remember shouting at Gary - in my doubt and frustration - “Yeah, but what I’m thinking about doing hasn’t even been legitimized. There’s no proof this will actually work.” Gary smiled and responded (too) calmly, “Only God gets to decide what’s legitimate.” Thus I started chewing on the slice of humble pie Gary was serving up, piping hot!

One of Gary and I’s many Asian adventures!!

Fast forward several months, I left my career, took a 90% pay cut, and set out to build a new career. Nine months later, I’m able to support my family financially, the business is growing, and I’m already dreaming about what’s next. I often think back to that conversation with Gary and his virtual slap in the face. He was right! Had I not listened to him, and instead listened to my self-talk and the culture around us, I would have made a different choice. I would have chosen “normal”, safe, predictable, and comfortable. Instead, I chose uncertainty, impact, trust, and purpose.

Here’s an interesting thing about this choice, specifically the two options laid out by my friend. We don’t actually have to choose between “getting paid” and “making a difference.” Though I took a 90% pay cut, there’s a legit chance I eventually get to the point where I make as much (or more) in my new career than I did in my old career. If I’m pouring out my passion, using my gifts, serving people well, making an impact, and truly setting out to make the difference I know God is asking me to make, there’s no reason the income can’t follow. That doesn’t drive my decisions and ultimately I don’t really care, but that’s a reality we often don’t think about. It’s not an either/or type of choice. Rather, it’s an “I trust God” or “I don’t trust God” type of choice…….and an “I value money” or “I value meaning” type of choice. Whether we realize it or not, we make these choices every day, as not making a choice is still making a choice.

If I were still at my old job, this week I would have received a pretty sizable bonus. Out of respect for my former employer I won’t disclose what it would be…….but it’s a LOT! A former co-worker asked me a few days ago if this “lost bonus” gives me any regrets. Honestly, no. That money would be nice and could do a lot of cool things, but today my life is awesome and I get to dedicate each and every day to doing cool things. It’s honestly an unfair exchange, in my favor. Giving up a large chunk of money to violently pursue what I know to be God’s calling in my life. Knowing what I know today, in hindsight, it was the easiest decision I ever made.

So as I try to land this plane, here are my top three takeaways about this choice:

• Every day is a new opportunity to make a choice.

• Not making a choice is still making a choice.

• Find a few amazing mentors in life that will build you up, be real with you, encourage you when you need it most, and help you make better choices. We can’t do it alone…..and luckily we don’t have to!

What choice will you make?