"It Feels Like I'm Living My Dream"

Yesterday was the official launch of our new canned cold brew partnership with The We Will Collective, Iowa State University's NIL collective organization. We started by offering cans in our brick-and-mortar shop, followed by retail availability early next week and direct-to-consumer online sales a few weeks later. As I watched TJ pass out cans to eager Cyclone fans at our soft launch event yesterday morning, I couldn't help but smile. It felt like something big was happening, though none of us could adequately define what that truly means.

Several hours later, I received several missed calls from TJ. I was in a meeting and couldn't answer, but I started getting concerned. I texted him and asked if everything was ok, and if he needed me right away. Turns out, he was just really excited to talk about everything.

A few hours later, I finally had a chance to connect with him. In the first few minutes of the conversation, TJ said something I suspected earlier in the day. "I feel like I'm living my dream." I know this is true. I've felt that way for a while now, but yesterday seemed to cap off a wild 9-month run since opening our doors.

TJ's recipe is simple. Know your calling, grind, fail, learn, grind, fail, learn, continue following the call, grind, fail, learn, and suddenly, you're an overnight success. It's been a 4.5-year journey for him. Nothing about it has been easy. Lesser people (myself included) probably would have given up by now. But not him. His mission was so clear, his why so big, and his patience so great, that nothing was going to defeat his spirit or crush his dream.

Living our dream has a price. We all have different dreams, and the prices to achieve them vary, but there's no free pass. The cost is steep, but the rewards are grand. I suspect TJ already knew this, but having a front-row seat to watch it play out in real-time is special.

Here's my parting thought. I don't think TJ is special. He's just a regular guy, but a regular guy living his dream. If he can do it, so can you, and so can I. If that's true, what's stopping you from going for it?

Just Stick Your Head In the Sand

One of my clients reached out with concern yesterday. He recently saw that one of the most famous investors in the world shorted the stock market. That means he's betting that the stock market will crash. If the market goes down, he wins. If the market goes up, he loses. It's also worth noting that he's reportedly put 90%+ of his portfolio in this position. In other words, a very prominent investing figure strongly believes the market is going down....and he's putting his money where his mouth is. 

My friend's immediate response was that he, too, should consider selling his investments. This reaction is a very human way to approach investing. This is also where we get ourselves into trouble. The problem with timing the market is we have to be right twice. We have to know when to sell, then when to re-buy. It sounds easy. Sell it now when the market is high, and buy later when it is low. In practice, however, it's anything but easy. Let's say he was to sell now. How do we know the market won't go up another 10%, 20%, or 50% before it falls? Every time it goes up, he'll be more emboldened to stay out until it finally crashes, affirming his original decision to sell. Then once it does eventually crash, he'll need to know when to buy again. It's a scary place at the bottom. It's full of fear, uncertainty, and imbalance. More times than not, people who try this approach re-buy way too late, after the market has significantly recovered. The data shows people who try to play this game significantly underperform the market.

What's the alternative? Just stick your head in the sand. The wise, patient, and effective choice is to simply ignore the noise around us. Do nothing. Don't worry about it. Don't make any decisions. Don't let fear get the best of you. Just stick to the plan and trust the process. 

Check out the chart below. It shows the stock market's value, over time, since 1/1/2000. Since then, the stock market has crashed four times:

• 2001: Down 46%

• 2009: Down 54%

• 2020: Down 32% (in 5 weeks!)

• 2022: Down 20%

Yet, through all this mess, the person who just stuck their head in the sand would have approximately 3.2x as much as they started with (more than tripled your money!!!). This doesn’t even include all the dividends you would have received along the way (which averaged 1.9%/year during that stretch). You wouldn't have lost a wink of sleep, spent any time dealing with your investments, or worried in any shape or form. This is the way investing should be. Head in the sand. Trust the process. Just live a meaningful life!

* For whatever it’s worth, this is exactly what I’ve done in my own life. I started long-term investing in late 2000, and have never once sold one penny of one investment. It’s an extremely simple and tremendously effective way to handle our investing. And no, I didn’t lose one wink of sleep when I lost 1/3 of my life’s savings in a five-week stretch in 2020 or 1/5 of it in 2022. We take the bad with the good, period.

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!

"I Can't Believe This Is My Life"

"I can't believe this is my life," exclaimed a very frustrated, scared, and defeated wife, with tears in her eyes. It was about four years ago, and I was sitting in a conference room with a husband and wife who felt hopeless and helpless. They had made several poor financial decisions over the years, and the cumulative effect was starting to add up. They felt trapped in their jobs, suffocating in bills, and feeling like the walls were closing in. They were living a nightmare. In many ways, they were living the American dream, but in others, it felt like anything but. They had a bunch of debt, their monthly expenses were high, they had very little communication about money in their relationship, they had no real plan, and every month felt like a financial waste. They were running hard, but getting nowhere fast. Each month, they became progressively more scared about their finances, future, and marriage.

Fast forward to the present day. We're sitting in the same conference room, in the same seats. The wife, again with tears in her eyes, exclaims, "I can't believe this is my life." Except this time, they were tears of joy. In hindsight, that terrible meeting four years ago was a turning point in their journey. In that meeting, they decided to change how they view and handle money. They took a painful and daunting situation, and slowly (but surely) shifted it in a different direction. They committed to meaning over money, which felt like an odd approach considering money was the only thing that would solve their money problem. But that's the beauty of this approach to life. Choosing meaning transforms the relationship we have with the money already coming into our bank account. We can gain more intentionality, a clearer focus, and align those dollars with what matters most.

The journey started slow. Failure came knocking in those early months, but they kept going. Once they started making progress, it felt like a crawl. But even a crawl is better than standing still. Over time, they felt more confident and convicted in their plan. They started communicating better, and this money stuff brought them together in marriage (instead of tearing them at the seams). Then eventually, their progress accelerated more and more. Today, they are living their dream lives. There's a confidence and a clarity that follows them into the room. They are truly blessed.

"I can't believe this is my life".....x2. The first time, it was a tragedy. The second time, it was a miracle. They would be the first to tell you they aren't special. Nothing they did was sophisticated or complex. They didn't receive any windfalls. They got intentional, made it simple, did it together, failed themselves forward, and kept going.

If this speaks to you, I want you to know two things: 1) You can do it, and 2) it's worth it!

The Stock Market Is Melting....or Is It?

Per usual, there's been a lot of talk about how bad the stock market is. According to the prevailing narrative, it's "risky," people have lost a lot of money, and it's not wise to put money in it. Whenever I wander into these types of conversations, I always ask why people think that. Inevitably, the answer is some form of "because it's lost so much money." 

First, I'm not belittling anyone here. I understand perfectly well why people have this impression of the stock market. If you watch the news, they consistently report the big red arrows pointing down......but rarely show the big green arrows pointing up. It's doom and gloom. If it bleeds, it leads. 

There's also the reality that the 21st century has started a bit (er, a lot) rocky. Over the last 23.5 years, here's what we've experienced:

• Y2K

• Tech bubble burst

• Worst terror attack in US history

• Multiple wars

• 2nd worst recession in US history

• Housing market collapse

• Global pandemic

• rampant inflation

• 4 stock market crashes (-46%, -54%, -32%, and -25%)

Pretty insane, right?!?!

So when people feel like the world is melting and the stock market is an absolute disaster, I get it. But what's the truth? Through all that, over 23.5 years, the stock market is up 6.7% per year. If you would have invested on 1/1/2000, your money would be worth 4.6x what it started as. You more than quadrupled your money. Re-read my list of chaos above.....then digest that the market has gone up 4.6x through all that. Crazy, but true!

Perspective matters, as I love to say. Our world takes simple, practical, and effective ideas, and perverts them into urban legends and half-truths. Truth matters, but there's so much noise in the financial world that it's hard to see it sometimes. 

Whether you're investing in your work's 401(k)/403(b), your IRAs, or other types of stock market investing, remember this concept, and don't lose any sleep at night! In the world of meaning over money, losing sleep over investments is not leaning into the meaning. You got this!

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Yesterday, we released a podcast episode about the same topic. If you have a friend who enjoys reading, please consider passing along the blog post. If you have a friend who enjoys listening to podcasts, please consider the same. You can find it on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. 

Note: The figures mentioned above are based on the S&P 500 and include the reinvestment of dividends.

Playing the Long Game

Last night was one of the greatest days in sports: the NBA Draft. I know, I know, you probably think that sounds ridiculous. I may be in a rare camp with that opinion, but I love the NBA. I especially love the NBA Draft. It's one of those moments where we have the opportunity to watch, in real-time, as young men experience their dreams coming true. They have likely been working for 15+ years, pouring out their blood, sweat, and tears, all leading up to this very moment. It's a beautiful thing!

While most of us probably won't get drafted by a professional sports team, I think we have something to learn from these young men: the value of the long game. What these players have been working for all these years is the opposite of instant gratification. Rather, they poured their souls into their craft, often behind the scenes, in hopes of one day achieving their ultimate goal. There are so many parallels between this and our lives. In a world that says we need to be instantly rewarded for every single act, this idea of delayed gratification flies in the face of our culture.

The best things in life often require the greatest amount of patience. We work, work, work, and work some more, then one day, we get what we finally deserve. It's not always fun, and it can sometimes get frustrating.....painfully frustrating. But that's what work that matters requires of us. We must do the right thing for the right reasons, repeat, and remain patient. Then one day, we get to reap the harvest. It's hard, but simple.

This principle is relevant in all areas of work, money, relationships, and pretty much every area of life. So every time you find yourself getting frustrated at the lack of results, remember some people wait decades to reap the harvest. Your harvest may be just around the corner!

11. Be Aggressively Patient

Yesterday was TJ's (Northern Vessel business partner) 30th birthday. To commemorate the day, he wrote and published "30 Lessons for 30 Years," a reflection on his journey to date. It was a fun list, full of wisdom and insights. Included was a phrase he talks about often: "Be aggressively patient."

He and I have bonded over the mantra over the past few years, which perfectly sums up his career. It's the idea that we need to patiently focus on the long term while giving everything we have in the near term to keep moving forward. It's about trust, belief, work ethic, and personal responsibility. The story of Northern Vessel goes back approximately five years, when TJ was living in Los Angeles. He was inspired by the combination of LA's coffee culture and organizations that practiced top-tier hospitality. Shortly thereafter, upon moving back to Iowa, Northern Vessel was born.

TJ's Northern Vessel story is one of the examples I excitedly detail in my keynote talk. Why? Because it's the perfect representation of failure, patience, aggression, redemption, and success. The Northern Vessel that I'm involved in today is actually the 4th iteration of the company, each coming on the heels of a failure and subsequent shift. The company even folded after the previous fail, but TJ eventually brought it back to life in late 2022 when he opened his brick-and-mortar location. Today, Northern Vessel is experiencing a whirlwind of success. The staff is world-class, the culture is phenomenal, the vibe in the shop feels vibrant, and each week is better than the last. Every single step of the way, he's been aggressive.....and patient. He wouldn't be where he is without the aggression, and he wouldn't be where he is without the patience. Lesser people would have long ago given up on their dream. But not TJ. Not when the "be aggressively patient" mantra is always at the center of his purview.

All he's been through in the last five years is merely the warmup for what's next. To many, 30 seems old. It's not. He's still a baby (I'm still a baby at 41, for the record). He's five years in and has another 50 years to get this right. If I can use a basketball game as the analogy, he's only a few minutes into the first quarter.....he hasn't even broken a sweat yet! If he spent four years getting his legs under him and one year experiencing meteoric success, what does that say about the next 50 years? We're about the find out, and I'm grateful to be on this journey with him.

There's nothing better than doing life with people who focus on being aggressively patient. There's a fire in them, but also a peace. They run extremely hard, but enjoy the journey. They celebrate the big wins, and the small. They never lose sight of where they are going, or where they came from. Always aggressive, always patient!

Embrace the Training Wheels

I spent some time with a young man recently who is trying to gain the courage and confidence to make a big financial decision. He wants to invest, but the dollar amount feels heavy. It’s a huge responsibility, and he wants to get it right. Is he taking too much risk? Is he possibly putting himself in a bad spot? Is this a wise move? He’s saved up for a long time, so this is a big deal to him. It was $200. Yes, two hundred George Washingtons. This was a massive deal for him, but for you and me, it was yesterday’s trip to the grocery store.

I loved this about him. I loved how he desperately wanted to get it right. To him, in his season of life, in the context of where he’s at, $200 is a ton of money. I admire his desire to learn, grow, and live up to the responsibility. While it may have only been $200, this will surely set the tone for what’s to come in his journey. These are the training wheels of stewardship. If he learns to handle a little, he’ll eventually be prepared to handle more. Herein lies the problem with so many people in today’s culture. They never learned how to handle it when it was only $200, thus they are woefully unprepared to handle it when it’s many multiples of that.

I was thinking about my own journey recently as I was writing a check to contribute more equity to Northern Vessel. Within about four months of being open, we had outgrown our space. After a handful of owner meetings, we decided to renovate the space to make it more efficient, better align with the realities of our business model, and create more customer seating. A few things struck me as I was writing out the check: 1) we’re so blessed to be in a position where this is even a need, 2) Sarah and I are blessed to be in a position where we can financially do this, and 3) how intense this would have been for 19-year-old Travis who had very sweaty palms when attempting to make even a small stock market transaction.

The only reason I was able to do what I just did was because I had embraced the training wheels and slowly grew into it. That’s the opportunity I have, that’s the opportunity this young man has, and that’s the opportunity you have. Each day is an opportunity to get a little bit better, gain competence and confidence, and grow our capacity to take on more in the future. It sometimes feels like a slow journey, but you’ll be there before you know it! Embrace those training wheels!

Facing Fears Head-On

I didn’t really sleep last night. I couldn’t get my brain to shut off after delivering my talk at the DSM Small Business Success Summit. The event was good, I think my talk went well (haven’t watched the film yet), and I received a lot of positive and powerful feedback afterward. What made the day so odd is what happened next. I drove home, changed into casual clothing, and immediately started preparing for my next talk (which is tomorrow). Only this time, the audience will likely be 10x the size.

Needless to say, it’s been a wild week for someone whose biggest fear is public speaking. Well, second biggest fear. My biggest fear is falling into a pit of snakes…..but let’s just hope that never happens. Many years ago, I decided I needed to face this fear of speaking head-on. It’s been a choppy process. When people ask if I like speaking, the answer is “I hate doing it, but love having done it.” I say that somewhat tongue-in-cheek, but there’s also some truth to it. The anxiety of the build-up is excruciating, but the delivery and feeling of accomplishment I get when I’m done is tremendous. It has become one of my favorite things in life.

If I’m being honest with you, which is what you signed up for by subscribing to this blog, imposter syndrome hit me hard yesterday. I’m surrounded by all these gifted speakers and here I am, some dude whose biggest fear is public speaking, feeling like I’m the only one who didn’t belong. That’s not true, of course, but why let common sense and rational thinking get in the way of a frothy panic?

Facing our fears isn’t a singular moment in time. It’s not like in the movies. It’s a long process that takes intentionality, persistence, and patience. I get a little better every time I step onto the stage. I hope to one day be a world-class speaker. But first, I have to be a bad speaker, then an ok speaker, then a good speaker, and so on. I’m trying to earn my way up, one repetition at a time.

Facing your fears sucks, but it’s also amazing.

Ode To Sleep and the Power of Patience

As a child of the 90s, I grew up on music videos. Even today, though I don’t listen to a lot of music, I love watching music videos. For the last few years, my absolute favorite music video has been “Ode To Sleep” by Twenty One Pilots. If you don’t know the song, and you probably don’t, you can check out the video HERE.

Aside from it being an amazing song, the concept of the video is what draws me in. It opens with Tyler and Josh performing a live show in front of just 12 people. It’s a grainy video shot in what appears to be a mix between a middle school cafeteria and a set piece from the movie Saw. This is two years into the band, and after all that grinding, they are giving 110% energy to just 12 people. The video immediately jumps forward 19 months, where they are performing the same song in front of 300 people. Again, 110% energy! Then, it jumps again. This time, 20 months into the future. This time, however, they are playing in front of 20,000 people…..with the same 110% energy. I get emotional every time I watch it.

They played for 2 years for the privilege of performing in front of 12 people…..but they kept going. They believed in themselves and the mission, and they did the hard work. Fast forward another 2.5 years and they were one of the biggest performers in the world. It was nothing…..until it was everything. If they were gauging success based on worldly numbers, they would have quit long before they had the opportunity to impact millions of people. I’ve seen them perform in person three times now, and can confidently say they are one of the best live performers in the entire world. It’s an experience unlike anything.

Though most of us won’t one day become international music sensations, we too have something in common with Twenty One Pilots. Success isn’t a predictable straight line. It oftentimes sometimes seems like nothing…..until it’s everything. You may be getting frustrated with something in your world. A project you’re working on. The promotion that should have come a few years ago. The business you started. The child you and your spouse so desperately desire to conceive. It’s so hard! Sometimes we just want to quit……quitting would be easier.

I’ve been thinking about that as it relates to our podcast. We’re 200+ episodes and 60+ hours of content in. We’ve been grinding for two years. And for whatever reason, our audience has exploded in the last few weeks. Hundreds of downloads per day. New episodes and old episodes alike. We’re getting DMs from people all over the world. We hit the top charts in other countries. It’s quite weird, to be honest. Like Twenty One Pilots and so many other things in life, it’s nothing…..until it’s everything. We don’t measure success in the numbers, and I’m glad we don’t. If we had, we would have given up a long time ago. We’re chasing something more important than numbers: impact.

Whatever you’re working on, please don’t stop. The world deserves to experience it, and you deserve to share it with the world. Sometimes it’s nothing…..until it’s everything.

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).

We Can't Just Skip to the Good Part

A while back, I was talking to my Meaning Over Money business partner, Cole Netten. We were talking about the podcast and how much traction we’ve gained with it. In that chat, I made a comment about how, in some ways, I wish we would have just started our business with the podcast instead of some of the other less-successful endeavors. I quickly realized how naive this comment was. Truth is, the podcast couldn’t have existed had we not been through all the other things. The thesis behind Meaning Over Money wouldn’t have been vetted like it is now. I wouldn’t have been able to clearly communicate ideas via video and audio on the podcast had we not done some of our earlier media projects (I was a hot mess in our early productions!). Even the name Meaning Over Money wouldn’t exist had we not worked on those earlier projects. None of what we have today would be possible without what we went through. We can’t just skip to the good part.

Yesterday, the Des Moines Register did a full-page story about my friend and Northern Vessel business partner, TJ Rude. I was a bit surprised by how vulnerable TJ was about his past failures and burnout. The birth of his coffee dream was full of so much hope and optimism, but just two years later he announced the closure of his shop and the potential end of his dream. Today, not only is Northern Vessel back, but it’s taken our metro by storm. Four years after its original launch, TJ has created something truly special…..and there’s no telling where it will go from here. In many ways, I suspect TJ wishes he could have just skipped to the good part. However, none of what he has today, or even who he is as a person, would be remotely possible had he not gone through everything before it. We can’t just skip to the good part…..and we should be grateful for that.