It's a Tell

Today is my first day back at work in 11 days. I really enjoyed our trip to SE Asia and the Middle East, but I couldn’t be more excited to get back to work. For me, this strong feeling of excitement is just normal…..I always feel it. But at the same time, I recognize this is an abnormal feeling for most. Statistics show that 70% of Americans dislike or hate their job. With this information in tow, vacations act as an escape from the realities of life. We travel, in part, so we can leave. We get to step away from our responsibilities, work, boss, coworkers, deadlines, and routine. For a short period of time, we get to rewrite our journey. There’s only one problem: the trip will eventually end and we must return home to our life.

There comes a moment on our vacation when we realize it’s coming to an and we start thinking about everything on our plate when we go back home. For many, this often comes on the second-to-last day of a trip. You know the moment! How we feel in this moment is a tell, as I like to say. For some, it provides a feeling of dread. We’re disgusted by the mere idea of going back and doing the things we know we have to do. For others, it feels like a weight added to our shoulders. For countless people, there’s a feeling of numbness, a deadened feeling after so many years of frustration and disappointment. Then for a small group, there’s an overwhelming feeling of excitement. There’s pent-up energy, new ideas, and a sense of possibility of what could come in the days/weeks ahead.

I, and many others, live in the last camp. As I sit here with a fresh work week in front of me, I can’t help but smile about all the potential just waiting to be seized. The trip was amazing, and I wouldn’t trade it for the world, but I’m ready and excited to get back to work. That’s a tell. It’s a clear sign I’m exactly where I need to be. I haven’t always had this feeling, but I do today. One of my missions is to always be living a life I’m excited to return to after an amazing vacation. That’s the tell.

What does your tell say about you and the life you’ve created for yourself? Whatever the answer is, I have good news. You’re just a few decisions away, good or bad, from significantly altering how you feel about this question. Have an awesome week!

Credit Card Myths: Travel Edition

If you know me at any level, whether that be personally or someone who consumes some of our content, you’ll know that I’m anti-credit card. I have several reasons for despising credit cards, spanning the spectrum of principles, ethics, psychology, control, and simplicity, to name a few. I won’t rehash all the reasons in this post. Every time I discuss the topic of credit cards, I know all the arguments people will use against me. The most popular defense of credit cards is the benefit of points, cash back, and miles. If you’re interested, I did a podcast episode about why most people (yes, probably even you) are actually losing money with their points.

Another common pushback I receive about my position on credit cards is the necessity of having one to travel. Flights, hotels, rental cars, and retailers…..all of these require a credit card, right? What kind of idiot travels without a credit card? Well, me. My wife and I just got back from a 10-day trip that included Qatar and multiple cities in Thailand. No credit card. As always, we had cash, our primary debit card, and our travel debit card. That’s it! To be honest, there’s not a lot to argue about. It works great. It worked as well on this trip as the other 30+ countries I’ve been to. It’s a myth. We don’t NEED a credit card to travel.

There are a few nuances. Take hotels, for example. Most hotels require a damage deposit to protect themselves in the event you decide to throw a raver or rip the TV off the wall. Each hotel is different, as evidenced by the three we stayed at. One put a temporary $200 hold on our travel debit card, one required a refundable $100 cash deposit, and the third didn’t require anything. All of our flights go on a debit card. That’s an absolute non-issue. As for rental cars, it’s hit and miss. Any time I need to rent a car, I’ll check with the company beforehand to ensure they don’t require a debit card. Some do, but most don’t. I just choose one that doesn’t.

Life is always simpler without a credit card, and travel life is no different. We have a sum of money in our travel fund to spend on travel. When we use an ATM to take out local currency, it comes out of our account. When we swipe our debit card at retailers, it comes out of our account. When we grab an Uber, it comes out of our account. At any point on the trip, we can see exactly how much we have left to spend. It’s easy, it’s simple, and it’s freeing. We have zero financial stress coming back to America, as we only spent the money we had in our travel checking account. Nothing will haunt us, we won’t be paying for this trip for the next few months (or years), and we don’t have to worry about anything other than trying to catch up with life when we return. I’ve worked with hundreds of families over the years and I can confirm the post-trip stress caused by credit card use can be brutal.

There are so many myths surrounding the topic of credit cards. Hopefully today’s thoughts about one of them will at least give you something to think about. Happy travels!

Try, Try, Try Again

One of the primary drivers of my partnering with Northern Vessel and becoming a part owner was the business plan to launch of weekly bottle subscription service. Through our proprietary app, people could subscribe to a recurring monthly membership that would provide them with one 64-ounce bottle of our signature cold brew latte each week. I knew this idea was gold, and I was willing to invest my time and money into it.

Three months into the program, it completely failed. Not only was it not a wild success, but it wasn’t even a little bit successful. It bombed, to be frank. I still believe in the idea as much as I did back when we were formulating the business plan, but our execution didn’t give our customers what they wanted, how they wanted it. In our model, people were committing to their bottle every week, on a specific day. There was no way for them to skip when traveling out of town, nor was there a way for them to buy additional bottles when they wanted extra. Requiring pick-up on a certain day also caused inconveniences for people’s schedules and logistics. Lastly, the price tag of $120/month was simply too high for most people. They were getting a fantastic deal for what they were getting, but $120 is still $120. In other words, there were a lot of reasons for people to say “no”…….and that’s exactly what they did.

Every ounce of us wanted to hold onto the idea and try to jam a square peg in a round hole, partly out of conviction and partly out of pride. But we need to listen to the customer. They don’t want that program. They spoke with their actions……or lack thereof. This week we introduced a new program. Instead of people committing to a large sum of money for a certain amount of product, they are committing $10/month to become a club member……which has many benefits to choose from (one of which is an attractive discount on our 64-ounce bottles of cold brew latte). That’s the beauty of this new model. People can use the membership in a way that best suits their lifestyle, schedule, and interests.

Here’s the kicker. This program will allow us to accomplish the same goal as the original model, but better. It’s easy to play Monday morning quarterback and say we should have done it this way from the start, but that would be unfair. We didn’t know what we didn’t know. We learned a lot through this experience (er, failure). It has allowed us to put together an even better program that meets people’s desires. Will this new program succeed? I don’t know, but there’s only one way to find out!

That’s the importance of trying, trying, and trying again. If we admit failure, be willing to humble ourselves, learn from our mistakes, and try something new, we’ll ultimately end up in a far better place!

Home

Well, we’re on our way home from Thailand and Qatar. A few hours ago, we began the long journey back to Iowa. It’s been a whirlwind of a trip. When I get back from these trips, people sometimes ask if I feel refreshed. Spiritually, absolutely! These trips always help me reframe my perspective and focus on what’s most important. But mentally and physically? No, I’m spent….the tanks are empty! In a lot of ways, my day-to-day life will be a slow-down from what we’ve been doing these past 10 days. Though these trips fill my tank to the brim, I’m always glad to be home. I’m excited to be home. I miss home.

Home. We often use the words house and home interchangeably. “I built a new home.” “We bought a vacation home.” I don’t think these words are one and the same. A house is a building. It has four walls, a room, and beds. But a home? It’s so much more. It’s not a neighborhood. It’s not a town. It’s the space you retreat to each night, where you share life with your closest family, surrounded by all the other meaningful people in your life. It’s togetherness, community, safety, and support. They are not the same.

In our culture, we obsess about where we live. Bigger, better, newer….the pursuit for more status and more comfort. When I left my prior career and we downshifted our life, we also made a drastic decision about where we live. We sold our large, new house, and elected to rent a small townhome. After three years in the townhome, we moved in a small, 60-year-old rental house in the older neighborhood of our city. It’s safe to say this is my lowest standard of living in the last 20 years. But it’s our home! This is where my kids feel safe. It’s where we create memories and play. It’s where we meet up at the end of each crazy and chaotic day and be together. I don’t care if it’s in a mansion or a tiny house. No building defines my home. Home is wherever my people are.

I don’t frankly care what building we live in today…..or down the road for that matter. It might look different next year, and then again a few years after that. It might look like an owned house in Iowa, or a rental house in Asia where we spend part of our year, or bouncing from place to place like nomads. But home will always be home. Not because of what’s in it, but because of who’s in it.

Challenging Your Beliefs

We just arrived in Doha, Qatar, in what should be a whirlwind 24-hour adventure. This is one of our favorite places to visit. I absolutely love the Middle East. A handful of years ago, there’s zero chance I would have ever said that. When I was first offered the opportunity to travel there for work, I was admittedly nervous. After all, I watch the same news coverage you do. Lots of bad things happen in the Middle East. Then, I went…..and it changed everything for me. The Middle East is one of the safest, most family-friendly places in the world, full of sights, culture, and amazing food. Never in a million years would I think that……until I saw it with my own two eyes. I’ve been to 10 countries there and each one offers a different and unique perspective. I always look forward to going back and seek out reasons to do so.

We’re still trying to decide what to do while we’re here. Maybe we’ll ride camels, or take a dip in the Persian Gulf, or take a 4x4 tour across the expansive sand dunes. All of these are amazing experiences, by the way! We’ll most certainly eat a bunch of good food, drink tasty coffee, walk through the historical markets, and stare at the brightly lit skyline at night.

Going to the Middle East forced me to challenge my own beliefs. Had I spent my whole life being scared of the Middle East, I would have robbed myself of something wonderful. I’m grateful for younger me for leaving his comfort zone to try something new. Today’s Travis and Sarah will benefit because of it.

This applies to travel, but it also applies to so many other areas of our life. We all have bias and other deeply seeded beliefs that act as guideposts to our thoughts and actions. It’s always healthy to challenge them in the name of growth. Challenging them doesn’t mean we’re wrong, but rather gives us an opportunity to grow. It’s always hard, but always worth it.

Food is More Than Food

For me, one of the highlights of traveling is the food. That’s certainly been the case on this trip! I’ve probably tried more than 30-50 new dishes in just the past week. I’ve loved some, liked most, and a few weren’t my cup of tea. These have been wonderful experiences and I’m so glad it’s been part of our trip.

Food is always more than food. Yes, we’re exchanging money for an item on a plate. However, it’s almost always about more than that. Food is a representation of culture. When we experience food, we’re immersing ourselves in someone’s culture. The flavors, the ingredients, and the techniques. Take Tom Yum, for example. Tom Yum is a Thai soup comprised of seafood (squid in my case), lemon juice, seafood stock, and other veggies and spices. We were with a few friends in a small fishing village just on the other side of Monkey Mountain (a story for another day). The small street was lined with little seafood markets/restaurants serving up that morning’s catch. Tom Yum was just one of many dishes we enjoyed, but one that stands out to me as truly unique. This meal was one of the highlights of my trip. Spending time in that environment, eating those flavors, and learning about Thai culture was an amazing experience. I learned so much, and enjoyed every single bite.

Next, and more importantly, experiencing food with others allows us to build relationships. The shared experience, quality time, and meaningful conversation is the perfect recipe for the cultivation of relationships. We spent the last 4 days growing a relationship with an old friend and creating a relationship with new friends. These are truly some of the best people we’ve ever met. Just days ago they were strangers who grew up in different countries, speaking different languages. Today, they feel like family. The meals we shared and the time we invested in each other will most certainly create relational momentum for years to come. Maybe someday we’ll have the opportunity to share some of our culture (through food) with them. That would be a true blessing.

So yeah, food is awesome. I love food. But food is always about more than food. I’m grateful for the experiences, cultures, and relationships it can help unlock. Next time you have the opportunity to enjoy a fun meal, remind yourself it’s about far more than just food.

Getting Punched in the Face

“Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face.” - Mike Tyson

As I type this, Sarah is sick…..very sick. Probably the sickest I’ve ever seen in my life. Here we are, in one of the most beautiful places on earth, staying in an awesome hotel, on an amazing trip. We had so many plans for things to do, places to see, and food to eat. Instead, Sarah is curled up in the fetal position in bed. Homesick doesn’t even begin to describe how she feels. As her husband, I feel helpless. Sure, I’m bummed we lost our day together. More so, I just feel terrible for her and wish I could either fix it or take her place.

As a business owner, I’m all too familiar with the reality we WILL get punched in the face. It’s not an if, but when. Something bad happens almost daily. I was recently with a friend when I received a phone call about something tremendously terrible happening. After I hung up and explained to my friend what had happened, he asked, “why don’t you seem more upset about this?” My answer was simple, “I knew it was going to happen.” Technically, I didn’t know this exact thing was going to happen (it was an atomic bomb of terrible). But I knew something was going to happen. This new situation just happened to be that something. Long ago did I give up my naive expectation of smooth success. The journey is anything but smooth.

Sarah and I are having an amazing trip. We’ve seen things we never imagined, met so many wonderful people, and created memories we will never forget. Then there was today. Sarah and I have a choice to make. We can either keep going and fight through this mess…..or give up. In life, money, and work, we also have the same choice. When we get punched in the face, we can fight through it……or give up. Sadly, I’ve seen far too many people simply give up when the going got tough. These decisions break my heart, as I often know how amazing someone’s journey can be if they would just keep fighting. It’s rarely easy, but always worth it. Perhaps you’re fighting the good fight in a particular area of your money or work. Trying to get out of debt. Saving for a car. Trying to earn a promotion. Building your income to meet your basic needs. We are all fighting some battle. Please keep fighting!

Please pray for Sarah’s health, and for her and I to fight through this to complete our voyage safely. Perhaps someday we’ll look back at this day and laugh about it. But right now, it feels anything but funny.

Have Your Cake and Eat It, Too

A few days ago, I met a woman in Thailand who is familiar with our podcast. It was shocking that she knows who we are - especially on the other side of the world - but her kind words were uplifting and encouraging. One of the things she said struck me. She loves how we continually talk about and teach the importance of being financially responsible……while also living with meaning and enjoyment.

She went on to share how this mindset makes all the difference. It’s easy to put our mathematical hat on and make the ”best financial decision.” Doing so takes no effort and no thoughtfulness. We simply do the math and make whatever decision results in us having the most money. Unfortunately, when we let math guide all of our decisions, we turn into fun-hating robots. We hoard our resources, say “no” to anything fun, and constantly wonder when enough is enough (spoiler: it will never be). Conversely, living financially responsible AND with meaning allows us to disconnect ourselves from constantly making mathematical decisions.

Yes, let’s save, give, invest, and practice frugality in the various areas of life. These are inherently good things and our life will most certainly be better for having done them. However, let’s also take that trip, buy that thing, make that memory, eat that meal, and go to that event. These things add so much richness to our life. It’s about balance and intentionality. When we get it right, we truly can have our cake……and eat it, too.

There's So Much We Don't Know

Yesterday, we wrapped up two days of meetings and said goodbye to our friends. It was a long few days and lots of important work was accomplished. We grew our relationships, created memories, shared food (lots of food!), and told stories. The experience was priceless.

This morning (Thailand time while you were all sleeping), Sarah, me, and a few other friends hopped on a plane to Hua Hin, a beach town on the Gulf of Thailand. As we left the airport and stepped into Hua Hin, it felt like we were entering Florida. Palm trees, humid weather, and countless tourists excited to begin their vacation. So many familiar things, but also quite foreign at the same time. I couldn’t read any signs, the roads and driving patterns were quite different, and I didn’t recognize many of the storefront brands.

One of my favorite parts about international travel is that literally everything we do is new to me. It’s a constant reminder about how much I don’t know. Even a trip to the grocery store unearths new finds and curiosities. Life can feel so repetitive at times. The same roads, the same buildings, the same routines. Then when we travel abroad, every little bit of our day is unfamiliar, maybe uncomfortable, and extremely interesting. As I sit here writing this, I’m watching a sport I’ve never seen (or even heard of). Indoor soccer on a basketball court with a tiny little soccer ball. These players are like magicians, maneuvering this familiar but unfamiliar ball on a court that’s also familiar (but not).

The more I learn, the more I realize how much I don’t know. It’s a humbling feeling, but also exciting. It’s a constant reminder that we’ve only scratched the surface of life. We can choose to fall into what’s normal and comfortable each day, or we can choose to learn something new by putting ourselves in unfamiliar and uncomfortable situations. I need to do that more often in my day-to-day life. If you ever see me in the street, ask me how I’m doing with it. It’s an endeavor worth pursuing.

Does Your Work Matter?

Does your work matter? I’m not going to define what that means for you, but I can tell you it does NOT mean simply getting paid. Getting paid doesn’t mean your work doesn’t matter. I know people who make little who’s work doesn’t matter to them and I know people who make a lot who’s work matters very much to them….and vice versa. It’s not really about the money. With that, I’ll ask again: Does your work matter?

Over the last few days, I’ve met with countless people in Thailand who are aggressively pursuing work that matters. It’s often not fun work, and rarely is it easy work. But wow, their work matters! They feel a unique and powerful call for their current and/or upcoming work. This work can be counter-cultural, volatile, and anything but secure. They share stories of pain, suffering, and exhaustion. But when you ask them how they feel about it, their eyes light up. There’s a passion behind those eyes that’s difficult to put into words.

It’s humbling, honestly. When I hear about their work, it can quickly make me feel less than about my own work. They are heroes to me, while I’m just some dude over here in America talking about money. However, I also realize I’m doing the exact work I’m called to do……and it’s not my job to compare myself to them. We each have our own skills, passions, relationships, and influence. It’s our job to put them to the best use. If they do their work that matters, I do my work that matters, and you do your work that matters, together we will make this world a better place. Have an awesome day!

Curse of Comparison: Doha Airport Edition

We just spent a 3-hour layover in the Doha airport. As an aside, the Doha airport is a sight to behold. Take the best airport in America, then make it 18x better, and you have the Doha airport. It’s nice in almost every way. It’s clean, it’s pretty, it’s full of amenities, and the service is fantastic. The multiple bathroom attendants in every bathroom show more hospitality and service than some nicer restaurants I frequent. I always love spending time there. But it also has another quirk. It’s jam-packed with high-end retail. Think of it as walking down Rodeo Drive, but in an airport in the Middle East. They have Maseratis and McLarens in the duty-free shop, for crying out loud!

But this post is about something specific I witnessed. There was a lot of this happening, but I’m talking about one particular man. Like us, he was killing a few hours between flights. He was in one of the watch stores, just browsing. A certain watch caught his eye. In his defense, it was a pretty sweet watch. In a snap decision, he decided to buy it……for $20,000!!!! That’s right. A man just burning time between flights was window shopping, and impulsively bought a $20,000 watch, just because. 

These are the moments when comparison hits hard. Sarah and I’s cars don’t even combine for $20,000 of value. And this man just drops $20,000 on a whim? In those moments, it’s really easy to play the jealousy card. It’s easy to immediately feel negative about our own life. It’s easy to wish we could have a different existence. This is where I come back to meaning over money. I don’t know anything about this man. He may be the happiest guy on the planet…..or the most miserable. His life might be full of broken relationships, loneliness, and emptiness. I don’t wish that upon him, but I simply don’t know.

Here’s what I do know. I know I love my life. Even though I can’t impulsively buy a $20,000 watch, I know I wake up every day excited to serve those who I wish to serve. I have a wonderful family that I can financially take care of. I’m blessed in so many ways. I could choose to compare, but instead I’m choosing to not. I need to focus on what I do have, not what I don’t. 

We don’t need to be in a high-end watch store to feel this tension. At some level, we feel it every day. In those moments, big or small, we get to make our choice. Choose carefully.

Adventure (Not) For Adventure's Sake

As Sarah and I embark on our Asia trip, I’m sitting in the airport thinking about how much I missed international travel these past few years. I missed so much about it. The discomfort, the culture, the food, the sights, the history, the experiences……all of it! To be frank, travel is one of my favorite things.

But that’s also when I take a step back and ask myself why I enjoy traveling so much. For some, travel is adventure for adventure’s sake. To an extent, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with this. We should go enjoy life and have fun. I have no doubt about that. I support it, encourage it, and practice it. However, there’s a movement in our culture to make travel a lifestyle. The continual search for the next high. More adrenaline, more Instagram posts, more escapism.

I can see the allure of this approach…..it can be intoxicating. However, it can quickly become another way for us to selfishly hoard our resources and keep the focus on ourselves rather than others. While this type of life may be fun, if we pursue a life that’s simply about meeting our desires, we’re probably missing the meaning part.

What’s the alternative? For me, I try to view travel as something bigger. Yes, I’m going to have fun. Sarah and I have already had a blast on our first day of flights. But my bigger purpose has a few sides to it. The primary objective of this trip is to further an organization I’m involved in. We have some key meetings that will help shape its next chapter. It’s also an opportunity to spend time with our staff and the other leaders. These relationships matter so much to me. These people went from strangers, to colleagues, to friends, to family. I also want to invest in my marriage. Sarah doesn’t get the attention from me she deserves. This will be a good opportunity for her and I to bond, child-free. Lastly, I find that I become better (in many ways) when I experience other cultures. By understanding how people live, the things they value, and how they operate, I can learn, grow, and become a better version of myself. I trust I’ll come back from this trip with new ideas, a clearer sense of my mission, and better equipped to serve those who I wish to serve.

It’s adventure, but not for adventure’s sake.

Chaos: The Entry Price to Meaning

As I’m writing this, I’m mere hours from hopping onto an international flight where my wife and I will spend some time in Asia and the Middle East. To be honest, I’m stressed. Between packing, trying to get time with the kids, meeting with clients, running errands, and preparing for some upcoming speaking engagements, it’s been a lot to handle. Probably too much. Strike that…..definitely too much.

If I’m being honest with myself, my life could be significantly less chaotic. I could settle into a more stable job, I could say “no” to the various organizations I serve, and I could hunker down with my family where the schedule would be much more predictable. For better or worse, chaos is the entry price to a life of meaning. I probably don’t help myself at times, but some level of chaos is what we signed up for when we chose this life.

Some days I wish it away. Some days I just want to quit. Some days I yearn for a simpler existence. Then, I have a conversation with a client and remember why I do what I do. Then, I wrap up a board meeting and am reminded why I’m serving that organization. Then, I walk off the stage from a speaking engagement and recognize why I spent all that time preparing. Every step of the way, when doubt seeps in, something happens to affirm why I do what I do. Each time that happens, I realize chaos is the entry price to a life of meaning. It’s hard, but worth it.

Riding a Bicycle is Like Riding a Bicycle

I went bike shopping with my kids the other day. Two years ago, we purchased a couple of used bikes off Facebook Marketplace for maybe $50 total. To be honest, these bikes were nearing the end of their life when we got them. They were great first bikes and they most certainly served their purpose. But I promised the boys brand new, hand-chosen bikes for this coming season. They can now ride fully independently, I too love riding bikes, and we now live two blocks from the best bike trail in the state. Needless to say, I’m pumped!

As we were walking through the store, Pax expressed some anxiety about the whole ordeal. “What if I forgot how to ride a bike? What if I can’t do it?” I quickly responded, “it’s like riding a bike.” He stared blankly at me, clearly not understanding my bad joke. You know the expression! Riding a bike is one of those things we quickly pick back up. We can go months or years without riding one, then the moment we hop back on it’s like we never stopped. Call it muscle memory. Call it instinct. Call it magic.

We don’t study to ride a bike, researching the how-tos and techniques for hours on Google and YouTube. We learn to ride a bike by failing to ride a bike. We get on, pedal 20 feet, careen into a ditch, get up, and try it again. Failure after failure, we learn to stay up. Then just like that, we know how to ride. There’s never a moment where we say, “Oh, 5 failures from now I’ll know how to ride it.” We just keep failing until we stop failing. Then we never look back.

Money, work, and life are much the same way. We can research it until the cows come home, but it won’t teach us how to live it. We need to hop on the proverbial bike, scrape our knees, then try again. Each time, we’ll get just a little bit better……until one day we’re soaring down the bike trail of life with the wind in our face and the sun shining down.

Some of you have a bike you’re scared to hop on. You’re terrified of scraping your knees up. You will. You’re nervous you won’t be very good. You won’t be. You think the process will be uncomfortable. It will be. But if you’re willing to get scraped up a few times, you’ll be soaring in no time!

It’s like riding a bike!

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.”

Hopping Into the Delorean

Nearly every time I start working with a new client, they make the statement, “I wish someone would have shown this to me when I was younger.” This comes out of the mouths of people in their 50s, 40s, 30s, and even late 20s. Almost without fail, people have this moment when they realize how much better their financial life or career would be had they implemented some of these ideas earlier in life. My moment came when I was 28 years old. I was still pretty young, but I had already made multiple life-altering financial mistakes. If only I could get a do-over!

Unfortunately, none of us can hop into our Delorean, accelerate to 88 MPH, and tell our younger selves the secrets of a better way. On the other hand, we actually do! We all have young people in our lives who we love. I think about my youth group kids, nieces, friends’ children, and other friends who are (much) younger than me. “I wish someone would have shown this to me when I was younger.” We may not be younger, but these other people are! Each of us has an opportunity to help shift the life trajectory of the young people in our lives. Even just one little conversation could be transformational for their journey. Words are free and words are powerful.

I’ll leave you with one story. Several years ago, I was paddling a canoe in the Minnesotan wilderness with a young man I had just met the day before. We used that opportunity to get to know one another. We talked about sports, family, passions, dreams, and probably a whole lot more. I really enjoyed that time with him, but I don’t have any significant memories of that particular conversation.

About 12-18 months later, out of the blue, I received a thank you card in the mail. It was from that same young man! in it, he explained how that conversation in the canoe changed his life. I shared ideas, encouragement, and advice that would go on to fundamentally shift the way he perceived his money and career. The rest is history, as they say. To me, it was a casual conversation. To him, it was so much more. I love that guy and I’m so proud of him! He’s now like a little brother to me and one of the great blessings of my life is to watch him thrive. Words are powerful and words are free.

Hop into the Delorean and bless those young people in your life! It will change their lives…..and possibly yours as well!

The Relentless Pursuit of Better

My guy Alex Prins was just featured on the Creatives POV podcast. As a general rule of thumb, if someone I know is on a podcast, I’m listening. Having been in that world for some time now, I know there’s something about that particular medium that brings a bit extra out of people. Perhaps it’s the intimacy of a podcast setting, or the storytelling nature of the format, but people usually share some interesting tidbits about their life that I didn’t already know. Alex’s episode was no different.

As I’m listening, all I could think about was Alex’s relentless pursuit of better. At every step of his young career, he could have said, “yeah, this is good enough.” Then, he could have promptly taken his foot off the gas and coasted for as long as possible. That could be a safe, comfortable, secure, and very normal way to approach his career. Truth is, it would have eventually made him miserable. Had he taken the easy way, he may have settled for an industry he wasn’t meant for. Or, he could have locked into a comfort zone and merely tolerated the work, constantly dreaming about the day when he could finally retire and “enjoy his life.” Either act would have equated to him sacrificing meaning and purpose for indifference and mediocrity.

To be honest, Alex has no idea how hard this path will be for him. It will most certainly be brutal at times. There will surely be days when he wishes he would just settle into “normal.” On the other side of the coin, Alex has no idea how amazing this journey is yet to become. He has 40-50 good years left in him, so he’s only midway through the first quarter of the game.

If Alex came to me tomorrow to tell me he’s joining the circus, I wouldn’t be surprised and I probably wouldn’t doubt him. He’s one of those people who practice the relentless pursuit of better. That’s never a straight line, and rarely goes how we think it should. It’s exciting, terrifying, and sometimes messy. It won’t always be pretty, but it will always be worth it.

Investing in Memories: Reader Edition

I often talk about the idea of investing in memories. I cover it in my speaking, podcast, and in this blog (including HERE, HERE, HERE, and HERE). Investing our resources in memories, I believe, is one of the keys to living with meaning. Our stuff ends up in a landfill, but our memories last a lifetime.

With that in mind, something fun happened this past week. Three different readers shared a recent situation in their life pertaining to this very topic. One took their grandkids to a fairly expensive event, one attended the NFC championship game, and one splurged for Hamilton tickets on Broadway while in NYC. I absolutely loved hearing each of these stories. All three included a similar sequence of events:

• The price tags gave them sticker shock

• It wasn’t something they would normally do

• There was some anxiety about the decision

• They went for it!

• It was amazing

• Zero regrets

• “I will remember that forever”……..or some variation of that comment

Beautiful stuff! I’m so glad they said “yes” to memories. What memories have you invested in lately? If you haven’t, what are you waiting for!?!? Make some plans, big or small, and go for it!

Creating Margin for Impact

I talk a lot about the idea of creating margin in our finances. We do this to provide peace, flexibility, and contentment. However, there’s a piece missing from the typical narrative of margin. All these positive consequences of creating margin are about me, me, and me. One of the hidden benefits of creating margin in our own lives is the opportunity to lift others up. When we live with financial margin, we can provide financial assistance to the struggling single mother. When we live with time margin, we can serve in our local church or a local non-profit. When we live with career margin, we allow ourselves the ability to say “yes” to new opportunities to put our talents to use.

Herein lies the problem. We humans don’t do a great job living with margin. Some of the highest earners I know give very little in the form of generosity. It’s not that they are greedy, selfish people. Rather, despite their high incomes, they’ve created a life for themselves with little margin. Some of the most servant-hearted people I know don’t serve. It’s not because they don’t care. Rather, despite their passion to help others, they are simply too busy to make it happen. Some of the most talented people I know don’t use their gifts outside of their primary vocation. It’s not that they don’t want to make a difference. Rather, despite their hyper self-awareness of their gifts, they’ve overcommitted to their jobs and there’s simply no more energy or time in their lives to use the gifts elsewhere.

Put another way, our ability to be generous and impactful is far less tied to our resources and talent than our willingness to create margin in our lives. Margin = service. Margin = impact. Margin = love.

Wanna Be Like Mike

When I was a kid, I remember watching and re-watching an epic Gatorade commercial featuring Michael Jordan. Here’, I’ll jog your memory:

Everyone wanted to be like Mike, and so did I! After all, he IS the GOAT! Eventually, though, I realized I probably wouldn’t be all that much like Mike. My growth spurt stopped at 5’9”, I entered my 40s, and my jumper is a tad (ok, a ton) rusty. I suspect my NBA dreams died before they had a chance to flourish. I’ll take that one up with my therapist.

I have so many fond memories of that Mike, but today I’m talking about a different Mike. This Mike is a high school teacher with a passion for young people. He spends his livelihood equipping teens to be good stewards with their money and careers. He’s a connector, a leader, and an encourager. The last part is where I want to focus today. Mike is a masterful encourager. I’ve seen it with his students and I’ve experienced it first-hand. This guy went from stranger, to acquaintance, to friend, to brother in a matter of about six months. Every time I see him, he’s exploding with energy, has an insightful idea for me to consider, and somehow lifts me up. Even a 30-second interaction with him makes my day better.

When I’m feeling fatigued, doubtful, or defeated, Mike seems to pop out of nowhere with the best encouragement. He often seems like my biggest cheerleader, but I suspect others would say the very same thing about him. That’s why I wanna be like Mike. He has a gift, and he uses it to make this world a better place. In some ways, I feel like I do some of these things, too……but someday I hope to do them as well as Mike does. That’s the impact people like Mike can have. Their mere presence in other people’s lives has the power to multiply that very spirit of love and generosity. What a gift!

When I used to wanna be like Mike, it meant hitting a soul-crushing buzzer-beater over Craig Ehlo’s dome. Today, when I wanna be like Mike, it means I want to make an impact on those around me, creating a multiplying and lasting difference in this world.