059 - Accepting and Appreciating the Role of Luck

When it comes to the topic of luck, our culture tends to have two polarizing views. One perspective is luck is totally random and completely unpredictable.....kinda like a lottery ticket. The other perspective is luck doesn't exist....."I earned it!" Here's what we believe: sometimes we get lucky.....and that's ok! In today's episode, host Travis Shelton reflects on a handful of his lucky moments in life (there are several, and they are life-changing) and explains why he's not afraid to admit the role of luck in his life. After all, we don't believe luck is totally random. We have a role to play along the journey, and if luck strikes, embrace it with gratitude and humility! Let us know: when have you gotten lucky along your journey?

You can find the Meaning Over Money podcast wherever you listen to podcasts, including:

• Apple

• Spotify

• Google

• Anchor

• And many more!

If you have questions or would like to connect with us outside of the podcast, here's where you can find us:

Online Course:  www.meaningover.money (podcast listeners can get 25% off by using the promo code "podcast25")

YouTube:  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCasnj17-bOl_CZ0Cb9czmyQ

Instagram:  www.instagram.com/meaning_over_money

Travis's Instagram:  www.instagram.com/travis_shelton_

Travis's website:  www.travisshelton.com

E-Mail Us:  meaningovermoneypodcast@gmail.com

Full Transcript:

There's a proclamation I hear over and over and over in our culture. Sometimes it’s said to me, and sometimes it’s said to others. You are lucky, you're lucky, or you're just lucky. And it's a comment that acknowledges success. But it minimizes somebody's role in that success. Because when we can minimize their role in their success, it's easier for us to live with ourselves for not having success.

So first I need to name something. I'm just going to name it. Let's just put it out there. It's the elephant in the room. And I think in transparency, we just have to talk about it. I'm lucky. I am. I've been. On many occasions, I've told the story. I think back to when I was in college and I didn't like mock interviews. I felt mock interviews felt fake or pretend.

So instead of doing mock interviews, I went and actually interviewed for a few companies that I didn't care about as my practice. And lo and behold, I received an offer. I accepted an offer the next day for an internship in Memphis. For a job that I didn't really care about and a city that I knew nothing about, but I knew Memphis had barbecue and Elvis, and I thought, why not?

Why not go to Memphis? And so that's what I did. That felt lucky. That situation. It felt lucky to me. Fast forward into my career. I've shared the story of how everybody in my company got fired, except for me. That was a very sad and profound moment in my life, but the bright side is, for me, I received an offer to move to Des Moines, Iowa, to continue doing what I was doing.

And it was a combination of a few things. It was a combination of me being one of the few people who knew our entire real estate portfolio and the fact that I was still pretty cheap. I was a lot cheaper than some of the other people who knew the portfolio as well. So I got lucky. I gratefully took that luck and kept a job in the recession. When so many of my friends were becoming unemployed, hat was luck.

Fast forward, many more years. I remember I was talking to my boss at the annual review and he said, “Hey, Travis, what do you want? What's something that you care about?” And I said, “You know, honestly, I would really like to manage an international client.”

Up until that point, I had been managing portfolios of real estate investments for US-based clients, but I always kind of thought the idea of managing a non-US client sounded really fun. So I just threw that out there to him and he said, “Hey, thanks for sharing Travis. You know, maybe an opportunity over the next few years will come up, and I'll remember this. And maybe we can find a way to get you involved in that. So thank you.”

 Well, it was probably not much more than three to four months after that conversation, when lo and behold, an investor from London stepped forward and wanted to invest with us. So my boss said, “Travis, we want you to take this.” There was some luck in that timing.

I was grateful for that. You know, this opportunity that I had to go help run an organization in the Southeast Asia. You know, that really stemmed from a chance meeting I had with a gentleman, who's now a friend and a mentor of mine, Dr. Gary Hoag. I had this meeting with him organized by a friend of mine. He had me over for dinner when he was around. He was doing a speaking engagement and then he and I ended up spending an afternoon together.

Just talking about this idea of generosity and stewardship. Then that led to a few months later, getting a phone call from him saying, “Hey, Travis, are you interested in coming to Hong Kong to interview for a board position?” So in a way I think that was luck. There was a lot of luck involved in that.

And again, I'm grateful for that. And then even Meaning Over Money. The whole thing was born out of it. My business partner, Cole, approached me in the beginning of COVID and said, “Hey, Travis, I'm not making any film right now.” He goes, “I know you're not speaking right now. Do you want to do something together?”

He said, “I've always dreamt of creating a video course, but I never knew what it was and now I do.” He goes, “I want it to be you. Can we talk about this?” Thus Meaning Over Money the course was born. Fast forward. Not that long, the Meaning Over Money podcast was born. And so there was some luck in that and I'm grateful for that.

Look, all of these things have an element to luck and all these things changed my life. These things played a big role in my life. And I'm okay with that. I'm okay with luck having played a role in my journey. Sometimes I say it's better to be lucky than good. And sometimes I feel like that statement is the hallmark of my life.

That it's better to be lucky than good, but here's the problem with our culture. We believe that it has to be one way or the other. Either it was luck or it was work. That leads us to deny the role of luck, which can breed arrogance and ego. And I think a lot of men struggle with this. I think I struggled with this for a season of life because we don't want to admit that luck played a role.

We want to believe it was all us. Everything we did was ours. I earned it. It's all me. But luck does play a role or it can lead us down a road where we believe everything is the flip of a coin. So why bother doing this? Either I'm going to get lucky or I'm not, and that can breed laziness and inactivity.

So here's what I believe. I believe they go hand in hand. I believe luck and hard work are closely connected. There's a quote that I've always loved. And I think I've internalized it more and more over the years, but the quote goes something like this: “Good luck is when opportunity meets preparation while bad luck is when lack of preparation meets reality.”

Putting in the work creates opportunities for luck. You know, you look back at the examples I brought up. You know, the Memphis situation I got lucky. I stumbled into this interview that I didn't even care about. And I was offered this cool internship in Memphis and the rest is history. And some of my closest friends come from that experience.

That was luck. But I had put in the work in my education up to that point. I had practiced interviewing. I had prepared. I had done the hard work so that when I walked into that interview, I felt like I gave it everything I could. I really did. And I didn't know how good that was, but I really believe that I put everything into that. When my company shut down and everybody was fired and I was made the offer to move up to Iowa, that was preceded by four really hard years of work and dedication.

I poured everything into that company, and I'm not saying the other people didn't, they did. We were like a family. We were in on this thing together. And so when that happened, there was luck, but I did what I needed to do before that to create that opportunity. Had I not performed well, had I not done a good job?

I would have been cut so fast. I might've been the first one out the door..

Or when my boss connected me with an opportunity to serve a non-US client, the London-based client, that was the culmination of almost a decade of my career. There was a track record. I had a strong performance, and I had a reputation for serving my existing clients. Had I not served my existing clients well, there's no chance that I would have had an opportunity to serve that client in London. 

Or when I met my friend, Dr. Gary Hoag and this crazy opportunity to help run an organization in Southeast Asia came about that wouldn't have happened. Had I not put myself out there with him relationally. Now I didn't do any hard work in that, but there was an opportunity for me to spend some time with him. And I put myself out there. I was vulnerable. I was eager to learn and grow, and I really felt like I was humbled in that conversation. And I approached it with a humble heart. Had I not done that, that future couldn't have happened. It wouldn't have happened.

And Cole coming to me at the beginning of COVID. Now it was kind of luck that COVID shut down both his work and my work, and then he approached me, but it wasn't a coincidence. It was luck, but it wasn't a coincidence. I had equity with Cole. I've been coaching Cole and his wife, Kate, for a few years before then…..creating trust.

Cole believed in what I was doing, because he was experiencing it on his own journey. We were not necessarily friends yet at that point, but we liked each other and we trusted each other. That's what created that opportunity. Now luck struck and I'm grateful for it. Work and luck go hand in hand, but we can't dismiss it either.

And I'm not alone in this as I'm sharing this story. I hope you can look at your own journey humbly to acknowledge where luck played a role. If you ask any successful business owner or professional athlete or leader, and if they're honest, luck played a role and that's okay. Just because they were lucky, it doesn't negate the tens of thousands of hours that they spent learning and putting shots up in the gym, hitting the weight room. Luck doesn't negate that, luck comes because of that. 

And I think this concept is especially relevant with my Christian friends. There are so many Christians who believe that we just need to have faith. God will provide. Yeah, he will. I believe God's going to provide, but when God provides it might not look like what we think it's going to look like.

And typically God providing looks a lot like us doing our role, us doing our part. He's probably not going to honor us if we don't even put in the work. If we just sit idly and we just say, “all right, I'm just going to stay and sit here. And sit here and wait and trust you will provide.” That might not go well.

I don't think that's the intent of this having faith piece. We need to put in the work. We need to do our part. And as we're doing our part, I believe that God's going to do his part. And remember that his part might not look like we think it will look. It will most oftentimes look different, but it will be better.

So as you're on your financial, your career, your life journey, embrace your part in this. Stay persistent, stay disciplined, do the hard work, keep doing the right things for the right reasons. That's all we can do, the right things for the right reasons. And it's amazing how good luck can strike us when we're busy doing the hard work.

And sometimes we don't even think about luck. We're just busy doing the hard work and luck finds us. That's a beautiful thing. And when it does hit us, when we get lucky, whether it's small luck or big luck, don't dismiss it. Don't negate it. Don't downplay it. Call it what it is. Enjoy it and make the most of the opportunity.

It doesn't minimize your hard work. It's often a product of hard work, and this is also important when somebody else gets lucky and it's all around us. We see it everywhere, especially with social media. When people around us get lucky, celebrate. Embrace it, encourage them, affirm them. It's not about you.

Somebody else's luck doesn't have a cost to you. When Cole or one of my clients or somebody I have the privilege of serving has something really lucky happen to them, that's worth celebrating. It's not worth being jealous of, because them winning doesn't mean I'm losing. So let's encourage each other.

Let's push each other. And when somebody gets lucky, let's pat them on the back, congratulate them. Be that friend, be that person, because they don't have a lot of that. People don't have a lot of people truly, genuinely celebrating them when they're succeeding, especially when they're lucky. So go celebrate the luck that you have, celebrate the luck that others have in knowing that work and luck go hand in hand. That's all I have for today.

058 - Guilt, Guilt, Guilt, Screw It

You know the person who bottles up their feelings over and over and over, only to eventually explode? I think we can all agree this isn't healthy. Well, there's a financial version of this person. After a fun conversation with a client, we coined it the "guilt, guilt, guilt, screw it" syndrome. We feel guilt so we don't spend....over and over and over.....until we reach a point where we say "screw it" and completely binge on spending. This isn't healthy, but so many of us are dealing with some version of this. In today's episode, host Travis Shelton explains how we got here, why it's not necessarily our fault, and the four very simple things we can do to get better in this area of our money and life.

You can find the Meaning Over Money podcast wherever you listen to podcasts, including:

• Apple

• Spotify

• Google

• Anchor

• And many more!

If you have questions or would like to connect with us outside of the podcast, here's where you can find us:

Online Course:  www.meaningover.money (podcast listeners can get 25% off by using the promo code "podcast25")

YouTube:  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCasnj17-bOl_CZ0Cb9czmyQ

Instagram:  www.instagram.com/meaning_over_money

Travis's Instagram:  www.instagram.com/travis_shelton_

Travis's website:  www.travisshelton.com

E-Mail Us:  meaningovermoneypodcast@gmail.com

Full Transcript:

Welcome to meaning over money, a different kind of financial podcast where money is never about money.

Welcome. Thank you so much for tuning in. We are so excited to have you here. We hope you're having an awesome week. And regardless of when you're listing this, we hope it adds value to your journey. And if it does add value, it would mean the world to us if you would share with a friend, or if you use Apple, to rate and review our show.  It makes a big difference.

Do you have a friend or somebody in your life and this happens to them? Whenever there's conflict or there's a situation, they bottle it up and they never seem to get mad. They just bottle it up and they bottle it up and they bottle it up and they keep it in and seemingly they're great. And then they explode, and it's a disaster now.

Maybe it's too late, but if that person is sitting next to you, don't look at them, don't make this awkward. But I think we all have these friends in our life. I think maybe there's a piece that we have like that in us at times, but it's a thing. And we know this and the reason I'm bringing this up is because we know what this looks like.

We've seen it. We've witnessed it. We might've experienced it first-hand. And both sides of this are unhealthy, the bottling it up in that expressing feelings and the explosion that comes on the backend, both of those are unhealthy. And I think most people would agree with that. People bottling it up. That's not healthy.

That's not productive that doesn't give you resolution and the exploding, well, we know what that looks like. We know what the explosions look like, but there's a financial equivalent of this. And here's what it looks like. We feel guilty about a purchase. So we don't spend, we feel guilty. We don't spend, we feel guilty.

We don't spend, we feel guilty. We don't spend. And then all of a sudden we say screw it. And we go all out and we just go crazy, completely unhinged. We just go wild with our spending and that's the equivalent. We feel the guilt and that's the. Bottling up. And then the screw it part is the explosion.

And so I was meeting with a client today and we were talking about this and she struggles with this and we name it and we kind of laughed about it, but we called it the guilt, guilt, guilt, screw it syndrome. And she really struggles with this. 

The feeling guilt and not spending, feeling guilt, not spending, feeling guilt, not spending that is unhealthy, but so is the other side where you say, screw it and you just go crazy and you don't have a plan. You just go with your gut and you just go wild and you spend really impulsively….and she's not alone.

And I don't know if she felt that, but I helped reassure her that she is not alone in it. I would say maybe a quarter of grown adults struggle with this to some level. Now I think she might struggle a little bit more than others, but this is a thing in our society. This is a problem. And again, I'm saying both sides are unhealthy and here's why it's a problem.

Here's why it's become a problem because this is a product of spend shaming in our society. We live in a culture that says saving is good. Giving is awesome. And spending as irresponsible.  And that weight gets put on us over and over and over from the time we're a little kid. And I talked about this on a prior episode, we did a whole episode about.

And it's crazy. The number of times a parent will come up to me and they'll say, “Travis, my kids are so good with money. They don't spend anything.  But then I have this other kid and all they do is spend they're irresponsible.” They're foolish, they're selfish, they're greedy. And that narrative gets drilled into us over and over and over again from a young age.

It's no wonder why we grow up and we feel guilt in our spending. But it's not supposed to work like this, this isn't how it's supposed to be. Spending should be a good thing. It should be a positive thing. We should be able to spend on something that adds value to our life and just enjoy it and not feel the weight, not feel the guilt of it.

But so many of us struggle with that. I struggle with that at times, then I have to think it through. I have to mentally process this and ask myself, why? Why am I feeling guilty? Why can't I do this? And then we get to the other side, the screw it, and just spend it. And I see this a lot. This is kind of like the people that Yolo themselves into oblivion.

The people that say I could die tomorrow. You got to live for today. I'm not, I can't wait till the future. It's not about that. It's about being intentional. I appreciate it. I love the people that spend….like my wife. She's she's a spender. If I could say there's a spender, my wife Sarah is a spender.

That's not a bad thing. It's not a negative thing. In fact, she brings something out in me and there's a piece of me that has a hard time spending or at least used to, but being married to her, she has helped pull me towards her. Now I've also helped pull her back a little bit towards me, and I think we've pulled each other into probably a healthier middle ground.

So if you struggle with this, and a lot of people that are listening to this do struggle with this, the guilt, guilt, guilt, guilt, screw it syndrome. How do we get this right? How do we get this to go from a negative to a positive? I think there's four things we need to do in these four steps. They're very simple in, and you're going to listen to them and you're going to hear them.

You're going to be like, “Travis, that's not that insightful” Yeah, that's true. I'm not, I'm not a brain surgeon over here. I'm just trying to implement very simple, very repeatable things. None of this stuff is that complicated. I don't want it to be complicated. People always say, “Travis, you make things too simple.”

These things should be simple. If they were simpler, if we made them simpler, if we taught them simpler, then I think we would have more people doing these things in our culture, but we make them complicated and we, we make them confusing and we don't do it in a simple manner and thus, it feels daunting.

And we just say, “forget about this. I'm just going to go do what I want.” And so these are four very simple things I think we can do to help get over the hump. And these are the four things I walked my friend through this morning. 

Number one, we need to recognize that we're doing it. If we're not aware that we're doing it, we have no chance of actually making it better.

So we need to have an awareness. And that awareness part of it might be self-perception. But we might need to take part of that and get it from somebody else. We might not know what our weak spots are. Everyone else does. That's the bad part about our weak spots is that even if we don't know what they are, all you have to do is ask and other people will tell you.

If you feel guilt in buying something that you can easily afford, that might be a sign that there's something going on here. If you can't go buy a new pair of shoes, you can't go to the store and buy some clothes. If you can't go out for a nice meal with some friends, then you might have some tie with guilt here that we need to address.

And that's okay. And that's okay. It doesn't mean there's something broken with you. It doesn't mean there's something wrong with you. It means you're human. And it probably means you've been talked down to for so long being told that that saving is good. Giving us awesome. And that spending is irresponsible.

And if that's you, then that's probably a reason. So step one is we recognize that we're doing it. We need to have an awareness. And once we have an awareness, now we can do something about it. 

Step two, we need a plan. And in the world of money, that looks like a budget. I know the dreaded B word.  But a budget can and should be an enjoyable part of your life. And I always say budgets only suck if we make a sucky budget. So let's not make a sucky budget, let's make a good budget. And when we do this, we need to name the thing that we want to spend on. And we think to ourselves, well, a budget’s to limit you.

Sometimes a budget is to make you spend on something that you want. Name it  and put a dollar amount on it. So with my young friend, what we talked about today was going and spending money on clothes. She feels guilt spending money on clothes. And so, all right. Let's, let's put a plan in place, name it, put it on the budget, name, it, put a dollar amount.

There we go. I don't care what it is. And it doesn't even matter. This is your budget. You get to do what you want. And so if this person wants to spend a thousand dollars on clothes, put a thousand dollars in clothes.  You want to spend $3,000 on travel? Great. You want to spend $2,000 on dining out? Okay. But put it in the budget, name it, but there's also something else that we need to do.

In this budgeting world and why budgeting is so important, especially for people that feel guilt, is that when we put this category on our budget and we name it, we have to know how it fits in with the rest of our financial life.  Because let's just say you're going to spend a couple hundred dollars on clothes and that feels irresponsible to you.

Why? Because you've been told it's irresponsible your whole life. Maybe it is, but it's probably not. And so when we make the budget, we need to figure out how does that $200 fit with everything else in our life? What are our needs? How much debt payment do we have? Hopefully we don't have any, but if we do, name it. How much are we saving?

And so when you see this category in our budget and it's a fun. And you see that, oh, wait, I can spend this amount of money on clothes and I can take care of my needs and I can pay the debt and I can save money and I can give generously joyfully and sacrificially generously, and still do this thing.

It helps the guilt subside because if we can do these things, these fun things, these awesome things, and still achieve the things that we want to do, that's the win. But when we're not budgeting, these things feel heavier. They feel more irresponsible. You feel more guilt. You feel more shame because you don't feel like you can afford it, or you should be able to afford it.

But when you put the plan in place and you have a budget, you look at it and say “this is awesome. I can do it.” 

Which gets us to step three. We need to do it. We need to follow through, we need to execute on the plan. You can't just say you're going to spend money on this thing. And then mid-month say, “you know what? I don't know. There are better uses for this money. I should do something else. If I save it, that's more responsible. Yeah, let's do that.”  Or, I “feel guilty. I should give more. So I'm not going to, I'm not going to spend it on me. I'm going to spend it on somebody else.” 

That's not how this works. When you make your budget and you say, you're going to spend this money, you have to spend it. And it works like that for the good things and the bad things. Budgets go two ways. So when we say we're going to spend $4,000 traveling, well, you should probably buy those tickets.

When you say you're going to spend $2,000 on dining out? Well, you should probably book some reservations and invite some friends. When you say that you're going to spend a couple hundred or $500 on clothes, then we best go to the store and go buy some clothes. That's how it's supposed to work. That's number three.  

Number four.  This one is very important. We need to find accountability. Now, if you're married, accountability is laying next to you when you wake up in the morning….it's not that hard. And hopefully we're enough of a team with this, that when we agree on a budget, we're going to hold each other accountable. Gosh, I know my wife does.

If I do something totally different than we said in the budget, my wife's going to call me out on it, especially because I'm the one who talks about money all the time and helps people. My wife's going to say, “Hey, what is up with that?” And maybe call me a hypocrite and vice versa. I hold my wife accountable.

When she says, “Hey, Travis, I want to do this and this and this”, I'll say, “well, that's great, but we didn't plan that this month. Can we do it next month? Let's put it in the budget.” And she was like, yeah, let's do that. Perfect. Now we have a lot of young listeners, a lot of young adults. And for many of you, that means you don't wake up staring at your accountability.

You're single. And so this is harder. And this is where my friend is at.  My young friend that I met with today. This is where she's at. We need to create accountability. And so when she says she is going to spend this money, now she has me because she pays me as her financial coach.

And I'm going to hold her accountable to this, but that's not enough. That's not enough. In our meeting. I asked her for her permission, if I could text her friend who she said she was going to go shopping with and I asked her, “Hey, can I text your friend and make sure she holds you accountable?” And she goes, “yes, please do.”

So I texted her friend and I said, “Hey, I just met with so-and-so.  Her and I put her budget together for the next month. And we decided she will spend this much money on clothes. And I heard that you might go shopping with her. And so this is my request. Can you hold her to it? Get her in the car. You guys go have a fun day, spend this money, enjoy it, get her some awesome clothes that I know she really wants. You know, she really wants that. Go do that with her. Have an awesome day doing it. No guilt, no stress. No remorse.” And she responded back immediately. 

I'm excited. And there we go. There's some accountability. So we need that accountability because after all, as we always say, budgeting is not about spending less. It's about spending better. And some of us need to hear this. Some of us need better. We don't need less. We need. And so for some of you, it means spending less in areas that you don't care about so that you get to spend more on the things that you do care about.

And so I hope that helps.  Number one, recognize that we're struggling with this. If you feel any sort of guilt or remorse with your spending on good things, having awareness, we need to look at in the mirror. Number two, have a plan. Put that number in the budget, name it, and then see what the rest of the pieces around it look like to see how itd fits. I can do all the things I need to do and enjoy some of the money I've been blessed with. Number three, we need to follow through. We can't change our mind. We have to go to through with it. Because we said we were going to do it. And then number four, find accountability. If you're married, that's probably your spouse. If you're not married, find somebody that will hold you accountable to your finances. And that's not just on the sucky stuff, but it's also in the good stuff. Have them hold you accountable to spending money on awesome things that you really care about. And so if we can do those four things we can do better, we could do better.

We don't need to repeat the guilt, guilt, guilt, guilt, screw it syndrome. We don't need to do that. You deserve better. My friend deserves better. My wife deserves better. I deserve better. So go out there, live with meaning, seek it out in everything that we do. Money's not going to buy happiness, but when we feel guilt and remorse and shame in our spending, it will zap the meaning right out of our lives. And so you deserve better. 

057 - Travis Reacts to TikTok Comments on Dave Ramsey Car Payment Rant

We're doing something a bit different today.  Cole recently walked into the office and said, "Travis, you gotta check out these comments on a TikTok video I saw."  After pausing, he added "no, let's turn the mics on, then show you the comments."  Thus, this episode was born.  We aren't huge Dave Ramsey fans, but there is most certainly an overlap on some topics.  In this particular video shared on TikTok, Dave Ramsey discusses the recent statistic about how the average car payment in America is $499/month, and the long-term opportunity cost of falling into this payment trap.  In today's episode, host Travis Shelton watches the video and responds to some of the top comments made on it.  We didn't know how this was going to go, creating an episode 100% off the cuff with no notes and no plan, but we'll let you be the judge of that!  Your feedback is always appreciated!

Episode 009 - How Risky Is The Stock Market?

You can find the Meaning Over Money podcast wherever you listen to podcasts, including:

• Apple

• Spotify

• Google

• Anchor

• And many more!

If you have questions or would like to connect with us outside of the podcast, here's where you can find us:

Online Course:  www.meaningover.money (podcast listeners can get 25% off by using the promo code "podcast25")

YouTube:  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCasnj17-bOl_CZ0Cb9czmyQ

Instagram:  www.instagram.com/meaning_over_money

Travis's Instagram:  www.instagram.com/travis_shelton_

Travis's website:  www.travisshelton.com

E-Mail Us:  meaningovermoneypodcast@gmail.com

056 - Planting Seeds

In the final episode of our in-the-wilderness series, we talk about the importance of planting seeds. The things we say, the behaviors we model, the decisions we make, the positive we try to instill in others. Oftentimes, it can feel like it's all for nothing. Then, every now and then, there's a moment we're reminded good has, is, and will come from our efforts. Not all seeds grow. Some wash away, some die, and some just never take root. However, some seeds thrive and eventually grow into something quite beautiful. In today's episode, host Travis Shelton shares parallel stories about how time in the wilderness was the catalyst for seeds being planted in him, and conversely how he unknowingly planted them in another guy. That's the funny thing about planting seeds.....we can simultaneously be the recipient and the planter, all without knowing either is happening.

Coldwater Foundation: http://coldwaterfoundation.org/

You can find the Meaning Over Money podcast wherever you listen to podcasts, including:

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• Spotify

• Google

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• And many more!

If you have questions or would like to connect with us outside of the podcast, here's where you can find us:

Online Course:  www.meaningover.money (podcast listeners can get 25% off by using the promo code "podcast25")

YouTube:  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCasnj17-bOl_CZ0Cb9czmyQ

Instagram:  www.instagram.com/meaning_over_money

Travis's Instagram:  www.instagram.com/travis_shelton_

Travis's website:  www.travisshelton.com

E-Mail Us:  meaningovermoneypodcast@gmail.com

055 - Stripping Away the Layers

In the third installment of the in-the-wilderness series, host Travis Shelton reflects on all the ways society defines our identity: income, job title, social status, neighborhood, cars/houses, schools, degrees, etc. When we boil it down, none of these things actually matter. In fact, they matter so little, one day they will be gone in an instant. Instead, we have the privilege of focusing on the things that actually matter in life. In today's episode, we unpack what those things are and how we can lean into them.

Coldwater Foundation: http://coldwaterfoundation.org/

You can find the Meaning Over Money podcast wherever you listen to podcasts, including:

• Apple

• Spotify

• Google

• Anchor

• And many more!

If you have questions or would like to connect with us outside of the podcast, here's where you can find us:

Online Course:  www.meaningover.money (podcast listeners can get 25% off by using the promo code "podcast25")

YouTube:  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCasnj17-bOl_CZ0Cb9czmyQ

Instagram:  www.instagram.com/meaning_over_money

Travis's Instagram:  www.instagram.com/travis_shelton_

Travis's website:  www.travisshelton.com

E-Mail Us:  meaningovermoneypodcast@gmail.com

054 - The Journey is the Destination

Do you ever get so focused on your goals you fail to enjoy the process of working to achieve them? Whew, we're glad we weren't the only ones. In the second installment of our in-the-wilderness series, host Travis Shelton reflects on how we can often find ourselves fixating so much on the destination that we forget to enjoy the journey. What if the journey was actually more important than the destination? Sure, goals are great. But the real growth, fulfillment, and meaning actually comes from the journey to get there. Whether your goals are financial, career, relational, or something else, we hope today's episode helps you reset your perspective to actually enjoy the journey. After all, the journey is the destination!

Coldwater Foundation: http://coldwaterfoundation.org/

You can find the Meaning Over Money podcast wherever you listen to podcasts, including:

• Apple

• Spotify

• Google

• Anchor

• And many more!

If you have questions or would like to connect with us outside of the podcast, here's where you can find us:

Online Course:  www.meaningover.money (podcast listeners can get 25% off by using the promo code "podcast25")

YouTube:  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCasnj17-bOl_CZ0Cb9czmyQ

Instagram:  www.instagram.com/meaning_over_money

Travis's Instagram:  www.instagram.com/travis_shelton_

Travis's website:  www.travisshelton.com

E-Mail Us:  meaningovermoneypodcast@gmail.com

053 - Comfortable Being Uncomfortable, Part 2

This is the first in a 4-episode in-the-wilderness series Travis recorded on a recent trip to the Boundary Waters.  If you're an active listener of the show, you probably know his annual trip to the Boundary Waters has been transformational in his life, his marriage, and his career.  During this year's trip (6th trip in 7 years), Travis recorded four episodes while deep in the wilderness.  This first episode is a follow-up to one of our most popular episodes ever (006 - Comfortable Being Uncomfortable, link below).  Travis discusses how when we continually pursue discomfort, the goal posts actually start to move.  What once was terrifying soon becomes tolerable, and what was once tolerable can even become a source of comfort.  Thus the goal posts start to move.  It can be this way venturing into nature, but this metaphor extends much deeper into our life, our relationships, our career, and our finances.  

006 - Comfortable Being Uncomfortable:  https://anchor.fm/meaning-over-money/episodes/006---Comfortable-Being-Uncomfortable-eua5ml

Coldwater Foundation:  http://coldwaterfoundation.org/

You can find the Meaning Over Money podcast wherever you listen to podcasts, including:

• Apple

• Spotify

• Google

• Anchor

• And many more!

If you have questions or would like to connect with us outside of the podcast, here's where you can find us:

Online Course:  www.meaningover.money (podcast listeners can get 25% off by using the promo code "podcast25")

YouTube:  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCasnj17-bOl_CZ0Cb9czmyQ

Instagram:  www.instagram.com/meaning_over_money

Travis's Instagram:  www.instagram.com/travis_shelton_

Travis's website:  www.travisshelton.com

E-Mail Us:  meaningovermoneypodcast@gmail.com

052 - Dive In Head-First

In today's episode, host Travis Shelton shares the story of his new friends, Jake and Meredith. Jake and Meredith are a young adult couple who model exactly what it looks like to dive head-first into life, calling, and community. There's so much we can learn from this young couple and how they approach life together. In a world that says we should do what's safe, comfortable, and easy, the road less traveled is often the far harder, but far more fulfilling road. Travis compares Jake and Meredith's journey to his own, and shines the light on how poorly he and his wife Sarah did it. Here's the moral of today's story: be a Jake and Meredith....not a Travis and Sarah!!

You can find the Meaning Over Money podcast wherever you listen to podcasts, including:

• Apple

• Spotify

• Google

• Anchor

• And many more!

If you have questions or would like to connect with us outside of the podcast, here's where you can find us:

Online Course:  www.meaningover.money (podcast listeners can get 25% off by using the promo code "podcast25")

YouTube:  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCasnj17-bOl_CZ0Cb9czmyQ

Instagram:  www.instagram.com/meaning_over_money

Travis's Instagram:  www.instagram.com/travis_shelton_

Travis's website:  www.travisshelton.com

E-Mail Us:  meaningovermoneypodcast@gmail.com

051 - True Generosity is a Two-Way Street

We believe in generosity! In fact, it's one of the foundations of our work and our own personal lives. There's one problem: when we start to become generous, we tend to condition ourselves to deny the generosity of others. After all, I am the generous person. I am the one blessing others. I don't NEED anything from anyone. Pride starts to take over and we find ourselves slamming the door of generosity on other people. In today's episode, host Travis Shelton explains why true generosity needs to flow both ways. Accepting the generosity of others is hard, but it's vital for us to do as part of our own generosity journey......as well as the journey of the person giving us the gift. So yeah, go be super generous......but also humbly and gratefully accept the generosity of others!!

You can find the Meaning Over Money podcast wherever you listen to podcasts, including:

• Apple

• Spotify

• Google

• Anchor

• And many more!

If you have questions or would like to connect with us outside of the podcast, here's where you can find us:

Online Course:  www.meaningover.money (podcast listeners can get 25% off by using the promo code "podcast25")

YouTube:  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCasnj17-bOl_CZ0Cb9czmyQ

Instagram:  www.instagram.com/meaning_over_money

Travis's Instagram:  www.instagram.com/travis_shelton_

Travis's website:  www.travisshelton.com

E-Mail Us:  meaningovermoneypodcast@gmail.com

050 - Life, In Seasons

We often perceive our current reality as a permanent state of being. When things get tough, it’s easy to believe this is just our new reality. Good news: it’s not! In today’s episode, host Travis Shelton discusses the concept of looking at life as a series of seasons. Good seasons, bad seasons, easy seasons, challenging seasons. Often multiple seasons at the same time. When we can view life in this way, it has a two-fold benefit: 1) it can help us persevere through the tough stuff, and 2) it helps us cherish and savor the current season we are in.

You can find the Meaning Over Money podcast wherever you listen to podcasts, including:

• Apple

• Spotify

• Google

• Anchor

• And many more!

If you have questions or would like to connect with us outside of the podcast, here's where you can find us:

Online Course:  www.meaningover.money (podcast listeners can get 25% off by using the promo code "podcast25")

YouTube:  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCasnj17-bOl_CZ0Cb9czmyQ

Instagram:  www.instagram.com/meaning_over_money

Travis's Instagram:  www.instagram.com/travis_shelton_

Travis's website:  www.travisshelton.com

E-Mail Us:  meaningovermoneypodcast@gmail.com

049 - Pile of Cash Test

Whether we want to believe it or not, using debt has many psychological and emotional effects, and it alters our decision-making process. We think it’s a clever tool to do what we would have otherwise done anyway, but with extra side benefits. However, it’s not that simple. In today’s episode, host Travis Shelton explains the psychological warfare we subject ourselves to by using debt, and one very simple way we can combat it.

You can find the Meaning Over Money podcast wherever you listen to podcasts, including:

• Apple

• Spotify

• Google

• Anchor

• And many more!

If you have questions or would like to connect with us outside of the podcast, here's where you can find us:

Online Course:  www.meaningover.money (podcast listeners can get 25% off by using the promo code "podcast25")

YouTube:  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCasnj17-bOl_CZ0Cb9czmyQ

Instagram:  www.instagram.com/meaning_over_money

Travis's Instagram:  www.instagram.com/travis_shelton_

Travis's website:  www.travisshelton.com

E-Mail Us:  meaningovermoneypodcast@gmail.com

048 - Memories Over Things

Most fun things we can spend money on fall into one of two categories: memories or things. Experiences or possessions. Doing things or having things. In today's episode, host Travis Shelton makes his case for why memories are always better than things. It's not to say things are bad, but given the choice, memories win every single time. Younger Millennials and Gen-Z already know this to be true, but it tends to (unfairly) get held against them. This is one of the big reasons why we love young adults so much! We believe we can all learn from them on this topic. Now, go create some memories!

You can find the Meaning Over Money podcast wherever you listen to podcasts, including:

• Apple

• Spotify

• Google

• Anchor

• And many more!

If you have questions or would like to connect with us outside of the podcast, here's where you can find us:

Online Course:  www.meaningover.money (podcast listeners can get 25% off by using the promo code "podcast25")

YouTube:  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCasnj17-bOl_CZ0Cb9czmyQ

Instagram:  www.instagram.com/meaning_over_money

Travis's Instagram:  www.instagram.com/travis_shelton_

Travis's website:  www.travisshelton.com

E-Mail Us:  meaningovermoneypodcast@gmail.com

047 - Don't Compare Your Beginning to Someone Else's Middle

Do you ever find yourself comparing yourself to someone else and wish you were as far along as them? Whew, we're glad we weren't the only ones! In today's episode, host Travis Shelton shares a lesson he learned from Jon Acuff about keeping things in perspective. It's easy to (unfairly) look at someone else's accomplishments and feel like we aren't good enough, but we forget about the fact these people are usually further ahead of us on their journey. Therefore, it's only natural they are further ahead.....and that's ok. What most of us need is a reset in perspective, and hopefully today's episode will provide something to think about as you work to reset yours.

You can find the Meaning Over Money podcast wherever you listen to podcasts, including:

• Apple

• Spotify

• Google

• Anchor

• And many more!

If you have questions or would like to connect with us outside of the podcast, here's where you can find us:

Online Course:  www.meaningover.money (podcast listeners can get 25% off by using the promo code "podcast25")

YouTube:  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCasnj17-bOl_CZ0Cb9czmyQ

Instagram:  www.instagram.com/meaning_over_money

Travis's Instagram:  www.instagram.com/travis_shelton_

Travis's website:  www.travisshelton.com

E-Mail Us:  meaningovermoneypodcast@gmail.com

046 - When You Stop Caring About Money

Can we be honest? We really don’t care about money. Seriously. It may seem ironic for a financial podcast to explicitly state they don’t care about money, but it’s true. In today’s episode, host Travis Shelton explains why he really doesn’t care about money…..and the four primary (and awesome) repercussions that naturally happen when you stop caring about money. This will most certainly be a counter-cultural episode, so we hope you enjoy.

You can find the Meaning Over Money podcast wherever you listen to podcasts, including:

• Apple

• Spotify

• Google

• Anchor

• And many more!

If you have questions or would like to connect with us outside of the podcast, here's where you can find us:

Online Course:  www.meaningover.money (podcast listeners can get 25% off by using the promo code "podcast25")

YouTube:  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCasnj17-bOl_CZ0Cb9czmyQ

Instagram:  www.instagram.com/meaning_over_money

Travis's Instagram:  www.instagram.com/travis_shelton_

Travis's website:  www.travisshelton.com

E-Mail Us:  meaningovermoneypodcast@gmail.com

045 - Forget The World, Spend YOUR Values

One of the biggest psychological hurdles we face with money is we subconsciously spend our money in accordance with the world's values. When we do this, it robs us of our joy because we are spending money on things that don't truly add value to our lives. Every time we spend a dollar on something we don't care about, it's one less dollar we get to spend on something we do care about. The repercussions can be as deep as they are wide. In today's episode, host Travis Shelton emphasizes the importance of spending in accordance to YOUR values, and tries to reframe the discussion through a different lens. If we can embrace this concept, it will be far easier to disregard the judging and criticism we receive from friends, family, co-workers, neighbors, and random people on social media.

You can find the Meaning Over Money podcast wherever you listen to podcasts, including:

• Apple

• Spotify

• Google

• Anchor

• And many more!

If you have questions or would like to connect with us outside of the podcast, here's where you can find us:

Online Course:  www.meaningover.money (podcast listeners can get 25% off by using the promo code "podcast25")

YouTube:  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCasnj17-bOl_CZ0Cb9czmyQ

Instagram:  www.instagram.com/meaning_over_money

Travis's Instagram:  www.instagram.com/travis_shelton_

Travis's website:  www.travisshelton.com

E-Mail Us:  meaningovermoneypodcast@gmail.com

044 - Embarrassing Happens

Sometimes we make mistakes, screw up, let people down, and embarrass ourself. It happens to all of us. In today's episode, host Travis Shelton confesses in real-time about making two embarrassing mistakes in the same day. These mistakes are equally as embarrassing to talk about as they are to make in the first place, so why not just discuss them publicly with thousands of our closest friends?!? Travis shares his story, gives some perspective on making mistakes, and gives some tangible steps to work through them. It's not a matter of IF we're going to make mistakes, but rather WHEN. We hope today shines some light on this topic, and can perhaps take the stigma away from the false notion we need to do this stuff perfectly all the time.

You can find the Meaning Over Money podcast wherever you listen to podcasts, including:

• Apple

• Spotify

• Google

• Anchor

• And many more!

If you have questions or would like to connect with us outside of the podcast, here's where you can find us:

Online Course:  www.meaningover.money (podcast listeners can get 25% off by using the promo code "podcast25")

YouTube:  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCasnj17-bOl_CZ0Cb9czmyQ

Instagram:  www.instagram.com/meaning_over_money

Travis's Instagram:  www.instagram.com/travis_shelton_

Travis's website:  www.travisshelton.com

E-Mail Us:  meaningovermoneypodcast@gmail.com

043 - Garbage In, Garbage Out

In a world filled with financial illiteracy, we unknowingly find ourselves taking financial and career advice from people all around us who struggle with money and hate their jobs.  It's no wonder why so many people struggle with these things.....we're walking the same shaky road so many others are following.  Friends, family, co-workers, and many more.  In today's episode, host Travis Shelton shares some of the craziest money myths Meaning Over Money listeners are repeatedly receiving in their own lives.  Some of these may sound familiar, while others may sound absolutely absurd!  

You can find the Meaning Over Money podcast wherever you listen to podcasts, including:

• Apple

• Spotify

• Google

• Anchor

• And many more!

If you have questions or would like to connect with us outside of the podcast, here's where you can find us:

Online Course:  www.meaningover.money (podcast listeners can get 25% off by using the promo code "podcast25")

YouTube:  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCasnj17-bOl_CZ0Cb9czmyQ

Instagram:  www.instagram.com/meaning_over_money

Travis's Instagram:  www.instagram.com/travis_shelton_

Travis's website:  www.travisshelton.com

E-Mail Us:  meaningovermoneypodcast@gmail.com

042 - The Teacher Myth

Teachers (and the teaching profession) get a bad rap in our culture, and we think it's unfair and unwarranted.  Specifically, we want to address something we refer to as "the teacher myth."  The narrative in our culture tells us teachers don't make much and will always be poor, thus discouraging current and future teachers from using their unique gifts to bless our children.  In today's episode, host Travis Shelton explains why teachers have a better gig than we give them credit for, and why it matters.  Travis coaches a lot of teachers, and honestly, most of them are absolutely crushing it on the financial front.  If you're a teacher, or aspire to one day become one, we hope this episode sheds some positive light and provides encouragement.  Lastly, thank you to all the teachers who are making a difference in this world!  

You can find the Meaning Over Money podcast wherever you listen to podcasts, including:

• Apple

• Spotify

• Google

• Anchor

• And many more!

If you have questions or would like to connect with us outside of the podcast, here's where you can find us:

Online Course:  www.meaningover.money (podcast listeners can get 25% off by using the promo code "podcast25")

YouTube:  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCasnj17-bOl_CZ0Cb9czmyQ

Instagram:  www.instagram.com/meaning_over_money

Travis's Instagram:  www.instagram.com/travis_shelton_

Travis's website:  www.travisshelton.com

E-Mail Us:  meaningovermoneypodcast@gmail.com

041 - Men vs. Women: The Fall-Out and Follow-Up

In episode 25, host Travis Shelton explained why he believes women are generally better at handling money than men.  In that episode, he argues men are indeed more emotional with money, for two primary reasons: 1) men use money as a scorecard, and 2) pride and ego.  We've received a lot of reactions and responses since that episode launching into the world.  In today's episode, we share some of that feedback and answer some of the follow-up questions we received on the heels of that episode.

Episode 25 - Sorry Men, Women Are Better With Money:  https://bit.ly/3yTJGGj

Thank you for listening!!!  If this episode added value to you, it would mean the world to us if you would share with a friend or give us a rating/review.

You can find the Meaning Over Money podcast wherever you listen to podcasts, including:

• Apple

• Spotify

• Google

• Anchor

• And many more!

If you have questions or would like to connect with us outside of the podcast, here's where you can find us:

Online Course:  www.meaningover.money (podcast listeners can get 25% off by using the promo code "podcast25")

YouTube:  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCasnj17-bOl_CZ0Cb9czmyQ

Instagram:  www.instagram.com/meaning_over_money

Travis's Instagram:  www.instagram.com/travis_shelton_

Travis's website:  www.travisshelton.com

E-Mail Us:  meaningovermoneypodcast@gmail.com

040 - Your Tone is the Tell

Have you ever asked someone a question where their words and their tone gave two completely different answers? In today’s episode, host Travis Shelton explains why this often happens when we talk about our jobs, why we often lie to ourselves, and how others can spot the real truth. This may sound like a trivial topic, but really engaging in this exercise has the potential to change everything! 

Thank you for listening!!!  If this episode added value to you, it would mean the world to us if you would share with a friend or give us a rating/review. 

You can find the Meaning Over Money podcast wherever you listen to podcasts, including:

• Apple

• Spotify

• Google

• Anchor

• And many more!

If you have questions or would like to connect with us outside of the podcast, here's where you can find us:

Online Course: www.meaningover.money (podcast listeners can get 25% off by using the promo code "podcast25")

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCasnj17-bOl_CZ0Cb9czmyQ

Instagram: www.instagram.com/meaning_over_money

Travis's Instagram: www.instagram.com/travis_shelton_

Travis's website: www.travisshelton.com

E-Mail Us: meaningovermoneypodcast@gmail.com