Because That's What We Do

Yesterday's episode was our 245th installment of the Meaning Over Money podcast (Spotify / Apple). With an average run time of 17 minutes per episode, that equates to nearly 70 hours of free content. Not only is it free, but it's evergreen content that can be consumed by people for years and decades to come. Yesterday's episode was somewhat unique, though. It's completely raw and unedited. No intro/outro, no sound-improving filters, no balancing out the dips and peaks, no cutting my f-bombs (just kidding....or am I?). It's just me, my microphone, and some ideas.

Given our crazy schedules this summer, our episode pipeline has completely dwindled, and we're making it work as we go. Thus, yesterday the world received a raw and unedited episode. It's not the first time we released an unedited episode. We've probably published +/- 8 in the history of our podcast. We don't prefer this type of content; we'd much rather send a manicured product into the world. But there's one very key reason why we do it. Because that's what we do. A new episode will be released every Monday and Wednesday, 52- weeks per year, with no exceptions.

The first time we posted this kind of content, I was nervous. After all, it's not the product we want to send into the world. However, our commitment is two episodes per week.....period. Because that's what we do. We aren't sending crap into the world. In fact, some of our unedited episodes have been some of the most complimented and commented on. We could easily justify not publishing an episode one week, then do it again a few months later. Next thing you know, not publishing episodes is just a normal part of our rhythm. Cole and I are the opposite. We publish episodes because that's what we do. We are here to add value to the world. Not because it's perfect, but because it matters. And done is always better than perfect.

Here's my encouragement today. Find something in your life - and I have a feeling you already know what it is - that becomes your "because that's what we do." No excuses, no walk-backs, no justifications. It is what it is because that's what it is. When you decide to follow through, no matter what, it will change you. It's changed me many times over, and I have a feeling it will be equally powerful in your journey!

It Will Change You

It wasn’t long ago that I struggled to create written content for this blog. For three years, I would maybe publish 1-3 posts per month. That is if I published anything at all. The most I ever published in a single month was 7 posts (which felt like a massive accomplishment). I simply didn’t have enough content or enough time to do more than 3 posts most months.

Fast forward to September 2022. I was having a coffee with my friend and mentor, Gary Hoag. I was asking him some questions in preparation for introducing him as a keynote speaker for the event we were hosting that night. I wanted to mention his blog, as it’s a major part of his life and ministry. In this conversation, it was revealed to me that he’d published daily for approximately 13 years. That’s more than 4,600 consecutive days!!!! What?!?! Oh yeah, and he’s also one of the busiest people I know and travels the world monthly. Yet, here he is cranking out tons of amazing content. Of course he has a bunch of future posts in the tank and pre-scheduled, right? Nope! He writes each post daily. As he was explaining this to me, all I could think about was how crazy this friend of mine was (not the first time I’ve thought that about Gary!). Then, he added, “Writing daily will change you.”

I didn’t know what he meant at the time, but I would soon find out. It was shortly thereafter that I decided to start publishing The Daily Meaning 7 days per week. Considering I struggled to post even 1-3 times per month, the idea of posting 365 days per year sounded insane. Many trusted people in my life advised me not to do it. But I had a little Gary on my shoulder, repeating the phrase, “It will change you.”

Today marks the 150th consecutive day of publishing this blog. Gary was right! It has changed me in so many ways. I no longer write if/when a good idea strikes me and I have ample time to do it. Instead, I write every single night because hundreds of people are expecting to open their e-mail to find a new post tomorrow morning. After you do that enough times, it’s amazing how the time and the ideas magically start to appear. That rhythm, habit, responsibility, and opportunity has profoundly changed me in so many ways.

This post isn’t really about writing a blog. This post is about something in your life that feels so close, but yet so far. Something you really want to do, but it’s too scary to actually pursue. It’s something you want to be, but imposter syndrome prevents you from allowing yourself to go for it. The rhythm, habit, responsibility, and opportunity. These things are so powerful. Here’s my promise to you (if you decide to actually go for it): it will change you!

Protecting Yourself From Yourself

In a recent meeting, someone told me about how they invest in their company’s stock from each paycheck. This in and of itself isn’t worth writing about…..lots of people do this. What she said next is what drew me in. “I really don’t know if this is the best investment, but it makes sure I don’t spend it on something else. I know it’s there.” This is one of the countless ways people play games with themselves to achieve something. Or as I like to call it, “protecting yourself from yourself.”

As I meet with people, lots of versions of this story are told. Lots of interesting ideas, ranging from practical to absurd. Lots of people automate their savings/investing as if it were a utility bill. One friend pays extra on their mortgage instead of saving for their next house to ensure they can’t repurpose that money for a different use. One client loves buying shoes, but knows she could easily overdo it in the shoe-shopping department. Therefore, she only buys a pair of shoes if she accomplishes certain goals in her business. Another client knows they struggle to spend money on themselves (to an unhealthy extent). So we’ve created a structure so that every time they spend money on their kids, they also spend a certain amount on themselves. Another friend, due to some bad (really bad!) childhood experiences growing up, struggled to spend money on dining out. They budgeted for it, but never spent it. I helped them negotiate a ridiculous rule where if there is any unused money in their dining out budget at the end of each month, they have to give it to one of their in-laws. They really don’t want to give money to their in-laws, so they miraculously started spending it each month. Over time, they’ve not only gotten comfortable spending it, but actually learned to enjoy it.

I have a few of my own. In my pursuit to become a more generous person, I recognized the allure investing had on me. Knowing how investing works, how powerful it can be, and frankly just liking the process of it, I knew it could potentially inhibit my giving journey. Therefore, we negotiated a rule in our house about a decade ago. Never again would we invest more than we give. We have to give at least as much as we invest. No exceptions. This one simple decision has transformed the way we approach finances, investing, and generosity. It was a simple decision, with simple implementation, with powerful results. Protecting myself from myself.

What are some ways you protect yourself from yourself? I’d love to hear your ideas, whether they are practical or absurd.

1% Better

My friend TJ, founder and CEO of Northern Vessel Coffee Company, continually talks about the idea of getting a little bit better all the time. Or as he refers to it, “1% better every day.” When we hear this phrase, it sounds like a nice gentle upwards slope. 1% isn’t a lot, after all. All we need to do is get just a little bit better today, then just a bit better tomorrow.

Along those lines, my buddy, Louie, recently invited me into a Facebook group with one very simple mission. Everyone in the group will do one pushup on the first of January. Then two on the second. Then three on the third……and we will repeat for all 365 days of 2023. Sounds simple. In fact, my three pushups yesterday were a breeze! Also, can I note it was a 50% increase from the day prior? I’m crushing it! Ask me again how I’m feeling on day 45…..

We’re going to get a little bit better each day, one pushup at a time. It seems quite simple…..until I realize that means by NYE 2023 I’ll have done nearly 67,000 pushups on the year. Yikes! Little improvements, huge results. To be honest, I’ve never been overly dedicated to physical fitness. I always find stumbling blocks, excuses, and other reasons to push pause (i.e. quit). This will be the test of a lifetime for me.

Handing our finances is much the same way. If we get just a little bit better at budgeting, or generosity, or leaning into our values, or investing, or improving our career skills, or a number of other things, the upside is staggering. Not all at once, not instantly, and not even tomorrow, but slowly over a time.

You deserve better……yes, 1% better.

Pick Your One Thing

I was recently talking to a frustrated parent who was sharing their displeasure with their grown child’s financial habits….or lack thereof. In the conversation, they listed a dozen things this young adult needs to do better in order to get their financial life back on track. Things like stop spending on frivolous things, save more, get an emergency fund, get a second job, pay off their debt, start investing……and the list goes on and on. These things very well may be true, but there was a problem. If this young adult actually tries to do all these things, they will inevitably fail. They can’t go from having little-to-no healthy financial habits to implementing a dozen new things into their life at once. That’s a setup for defeat. It’s like telling me - who wants to get in better shape - I should run 3 miles each morning, do some yoga during lunch, and lift at night……7 days per week. There’s no chance I make it even 4 days doing this. Personal finance is the same.

If I were sitting down for coffee with this young person, I’d tell them to pick one thing and get really good at it. Any one of them would move them in a positive direction, but they must pick one and focus hard on it. Through repetition, they will create a stronger habit and continually get better at it. Eventually, it will just be something they do, like brushing their teeth.

For most people, the best and most effective place to start is to get in the habit of budgeting. Accounting for ALL income they have coming in this month, making sure each dollar has a purpose (spend/save/give), executing that plan, and tracking their progress. Then repeat again next month. The first few months will likely be ugly, but give yourself grace. Learn from the experience then do better next time. In a handful of months, you’ll wonder how you ever handled your money without a budget. Once you lock down this habit, all the other aspects of personal finance become accessible.

Even if you do well in this money arena, there’s always room to grow. What’s your one thing for this season of life? What one thing will you implement to enhance the quality of your life?

Old Habits Die Hard

“I’m sorry, but old habits die hard.” These were frustrated words proclaimed by a client during a recent coaching meeting. This quote was thrown out during a somewhat tense conversation about a few of his questionable decisions and repeat offenses. I wasn’t asking him to perform brain surgery….these were simple adjustments in behavior.

Though my perspective of these changes being “simple” is correct, so too are his words. Old habits do indeed die hard. We can’t repeat the same behaviors and processes for decades then suddenly make a 180-degree shift overnight. That’s now how human behavior works. It took years to establish these harmful behaviors, so it’s going to take several months (at a minimum) to re-wire them into healthy behaviors.

I don’t say all this to demean my friend. In fact, he’s in the perfect spot. He has a keen self-awareness of his behavioral pitfalls, he’s taking steps to create new structure around it, he’s persistent, he knows his “why”, and he’s giving himself grace along the way. This is all we can ask for. I know he’s going to win. Why? Because he’s playing the long game. Get a little better each month, and do it for the right reasons. He’s definitely going to fail along the way. After all, old habits die hard. But this is more about the journey than the destination.

If you’re in your 30s, 40s, or 50s (or older), it’s never too late. It’s going to take some time and intentionality, but you, too, can re-wire these behaviors to create a healthy relationship with money. If you’re in your 20s, you probably haven’t had a chance yet to fall deeply entrenched into bad financial behaviors. What an opportunity for you! This is the beauty of getting this money stuff right when you’re young. It’s so much easier to create healthy habits and behaviors when you’re fresh in the adulting game, preventing you from having to dig out and re-wire further down the road when it’s significantly harder to do so.

What’s one financial habit you can start/stop during this season of life? Pick one thing and try to get a little better each day/week/month.

** If you want to learn more about creating healthy habits around money, check out my recent appearance on the Happily Every Habits podcast and connect with host Jason Harwood’s content. This guy is awesome and he knows his stuff!

Welcome to The Daily Meaning

Well hello there! Long time, no see. While things have been a bit (ok, a LOT) quiet on the blog front, there’s been a lot of things going on. In addition to my ongoing coaching, I’ve been writing for a few regional and international publications, I co-authored my first book, I’ve guested on a bunch of podcasts, I started doing more public speaking, and we’re more than 170 episodes into our Meaning Over Money Podcast. It’s been a lot, but it’s been awesome!

Through all this, two things have become clear:

1) I really miss publishing on my own blog!

2) I have a strong desire to produce short-form content that’s quicker and easier to digest. Most of the content I produce is longer in form. 1,000+ word articles, 60-minute podcast interviews, 15-minute Meaning Over Money episodes, etc.

With those two things in mind, I’ve been developing something that I’m excited to introduce to you today. Welcome to The Daily Meaning, a series of short-form blog posts that will be published multiple times per week.

My goal is to produce short but powerful content that will give you something to think about each morning, which will be delivered right to your inbox if you’re a subscriber. If you’re not a subscriber and you’re viewing this article on the website, you can quickly sign up for free (below if you’re on a phone/tablet or to the right if you’re on a computer). The content will vary from day to day, but it will aim to educate, entertain, or inspire. I hope you find it valuable to your own journey, and perhaps worth sharing with someone in your life.

Your feedback is always appreciated, and I hope this creates a productive dialogue in the days, weeks, months, and years to come. Thanks for being part of this! It means the world to me.