Full-Circle

Pallets of Glamour

Always an Off-Ramp

Ignore the Bar

Unicorns Still Exist

When Backwards Is Forward

The Minions Learned the Hard Way

Like every spring, the tornadoes are upon us here in the Midwest. When the crazy storms hit the other night, and the kids experienced their predictable freak-out, we gathered in the basement to ease their fears. I took advantage of that time by snuggling with them in the guest bedroom and watching a movie on the portable projector: Minions!

I hadn't seen that movie in ages, and as expected, it was silly. Something stood out to me, though. In the opening scene, the Minions bounced from serving one evil entity to the next. From the T-Rex, to ancient Egypt, to Napoleon. Then, while between evil masters, they found refuge in this little utopic ice den. They created a sanctuary for themselves, built beautiful shelters, and lived their lives in comfort and safety.

Then, something happened. They got depressed. Too much of a good thing became a very not good thing. Endless fun, games, relaxation, and safety lost their luster, and they literally became depressed. The narrator stated, "Without a master, they had no purpose." In their world, a master represented a boss, and through the boss, they had work. Without work, they had no purpose. They didn't need money. It wasn't a necessary evil (no pun intended). Work wasn't a means to an end. The work, in and of itself, was the meaning.

I think this is such a beautiful metaphor for what we talk about on this blog and on the podcast. Work has meaning; it matters. We weren't created to be idle, living our little lives of leisure. We were created to be productive, add value, and pursue purpose. Sure, we're probably not all called to serve evil villains, but we're called to serve someone. We're probably not called to steal the British Royal Family's Crown Jewels, but we are called to be productive in some other ways.

Leisure is great, in doses. Comfort is great, in doses. Relaxation is great, in doses. All of these things are tremendously valuable, and equally important......in doses. However, when they become THE pillars of our lives, we lose meaning and purpose.

The Minions learned the hard way, but luckily, we don't have to. Meaning and purpose can take a million different shapes, but I guarantee it looks different than the endless pursuit of leisure, comfort, and relaxation.

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A Life You Don’t Want to Retire From

I had a difficult message to communicate. One of my clients, due to their own procrastination and other financial decisions, had put themselves in a tough spot regarding retirement investing. Translation: There's almost zero chance they will be able to retire at the (early) age they want to. They can still absolutely get this retirement thing right (eventually), but probably not in the timeframe they dreamed about.

I, being anti-retirement by nature, communicated a different message. "Create a life you don't want to retire from." That's it. That's the message. Do you know how much we all screw up our lives in the pursuit of this 20th-century man-made concept of "retirement"? Step by step, we optimize our finances to (hopefully) retire as soon as we can, and every time we optimize, we impair our life just a bit more, ratcheting up our internal desire to race to this finish line called retirement. In other words, the more steps we take in our careers and financial lives to race to retirement, the greater the demand for retirement grows.

My solution is simple, albeit countercultural: Create a life you don't want to retire from. If we wake up every day excited for what we're about to do, we would never have any reason to leave it. Sure, that might shift over time as our skills, endurance, and interests evolve. However, that's the entire point of this exercise. We have to continually look at ourselves in the mirror and decide if the life we're living is a life we want to retire from. If so, then we need to make a shift. What needs to change in order for me to again feel like I'm living a life I never want to retire from?

I like how I framed this concept in my pinned Tweet: "Early retirement isn't a dream. It's the consolation prize for not having a dream." Someday, I'll probably retire. It will likely correspond to health-related limitations beyond my control. My prayer is that it doesn't come until my 80s. Until then, my continual pursuit will be to create (and recreate) a life that I never want to retire from.

I know this is a controversial perspective, but perhaps it will give you something to ponder this week. Cheers!

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What a Privilege

I recently stumbled upon a quote that stopped me in my tracks:

"What a privilege to be tired from the work that you once prayed for."

I've had quite the month. I'm utterly exhausted. Some days were fun, many were a grind, and a handful excruciating. All the while, though, I kept thinking about that quote. What a privilege it is, indeed, to be tired from the work I once prayed for.

It's so easy to lose sight of how blessed we are. I'm immensely grateful for every opportunity on my plate. Nearly seven years ago, with two toddlers and Sarah locked into her stay-at-home mom role, I left my prior career, and our family took a 90% pay cut. Overnight, we went from having plenty to not having nearly enough. Every month was a struggle. The budget was cut down to about nothing, and we had to be tediously careful with every dollar spent. Month after month, we struggled to build the business and get our legs under us. Fast forward to today, and there's no other word to use than "grateful."

I'll never take for granted how this journey has played out. We've experienced the worst of the worst and the best of the best. Though I have some scars from along the way, I'm not sure I'd undo any of it if I had the chance. Instead, I think those scars will continuously help remind me what a privilege it is to be tired from the work (and life) I once prayed for.

I hope this resonates today. Have a blessed day!

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The Wrong Question

I've seen countless machinations of this question on social media over the past few years, but here's how someone framed it on a post I stumbled upon a few days ago:

"What would you rather have, an in-person job that pays $150,000 or a work-from-home job that pays $125,000?"

I see what they are doing here. They are trying to establish the monetary value of being able to work from home, or the monetary value of not having to go into an office. When I read this, though, I feel like they are asking the wrong question.

Is working from home inherently better than working in person? Some say yes, some say no. What if one job is a soul-sucking, outside of our competencies, void of meaning (to us) job? What if one job checks every box we could possibly have when it comes to awesome work, such as values, culture, skills, meaning, and trajectory?

This takes me back to the infamous statistic showing that 70% of Americans dislike or hate their jobs. One of the contributing factors to this phenomenon is the fact that we look at work as a necessary evil, and are willing to sell ourselves to the highest (and/or least sucky) bidder.

If we could get over the hump of treating work like a necessary evil, we would make different choices. If we would make different choices, we would end up in different places. If we would end up in different places, we would find much higher levels of meaning, satisfaction, and fulfillment in our work.

Some people may think I'm being hyperbolic here, but I've noticed a common theme over the course of hundreds of conversations with people who are weighing job options. The compensation is almost always, and oftentimes, the only factor that gets put on the table for consideration when making decisions. I always find that to be fascinating! That's when I start asking the other questions. What about the specific role? What about the values and culture of the organization? What about the upward mobility? What about the meaning you find in this opportunity?

I strongly believe that if we start asking better questions, we'll end up in better places. We can't undo all the questionable decisions we made in the past, but the next decision opportunity is right around the corner!

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3 Men, 3 Mindsets

Today's post is inspired by a recent piece written by my great friend, Gary Hoag. If you're a longtime reader of this blog, you probably know that Gary is the inspiration and encouragement behind this blog. If you didn't know that, now you do! In either case, you should totally subscribe to Gary's daily writings.

An excerpt from Gary's recent article:

"A story is told of a visitor to London during the time of the construction of St. Paul's Cathedral, the architect of which was Sir Christopher Wren. The visitor stopped at the construction site and asked some of the workmen what they were doing. One said, 'I am working to get money to keep my family.' Another said, 'I am working here because it is the kind of work I have been trained to do.' A third man said, 'I am helping Sir Christopher Wren build a great cathedral.'"

Three different men, three different mindsets. All things being equal, I think we can assume that all three of these men were doing similar work and earning similar wages. However, they might as well have been living on different planets. Each of these men woke up in the morning, got dressed, commuted to work, and started their workday. All three of their daily routines might have also looked similar to one another.

What happened when they got to the worksite, though, is where everything changed. Sure, they were performing the same work, but the mindset behind said work changes everything.

• One man was there because work is a necessary evil.

• One man was there to put his training and skills into practice.

• One man was there to make an impact.

Three men, three mindsets.

All work matters. Your work matters! Regardless of what you're doing today, your work matters. You might make the same dollar amount regardless of your mindset (I would argue even that's up for debate), but there's no doubt which mindset will drain our tank and which mindset will satiate something deep within us. Same paycheck, drastically different experience.

We can talk all we want about our work not having to have meaning, but considering we spend half our waking hours at work, feeling meaning in our work makes a world of difference in our journey. It has the power to turn terrible into okay, okay into good, and good into great. It puts an extra pep in our step, makes the tough moments worthwhile, and juices up the wins. Regardless of what work I'm performing, I want to be more like the third man. "I am helping Sir Christopher Wren build a great cathedral."

Meaning is a choice. Apathy is a choice. Impact is a choice. Misery is a choice. Choose wisely.

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Depends

Let's play a little trivia. In your opinion, which of the following people is the most successful?

• CEO of a medium-sized company

• High school teacher

• Owner of a well-known local company

• Barista at a coffee shop

• HVAC technician

• Stay-at-home mom

• Middle management in a corporate setting

• NFL player

Do you have a strong opinion on this? Which one is more successful? Or, if you need a little wiggle room, which few are the most successful?

Here's my answer: Depends. Absolutely nothing above gives me any sense of how successful or unsuccessful someone is. Rather, it just tells me what they do for a living.....and to some degree, how much money they make.

This tells me nothing about success, as I don't think success should be defined by status or income. Here's a question I'd ask each of these people: How do you feel about your upcoming day when you wake up in the morning?

• Are you dreading what you're about to do?

• Are you going to merely tolerate what you're about to do?

• Are you excited for what you're about to do?

The answer to that question tells me everything I need to know about how successful a person is. I know CEOs and small business owners who are failures, and I know teachers, baristas, servers, and blue-collar workers who are some of the most successful people I know.

When we wake up each day excited for what's about to happen - not because it's fun, but because it matters - we've already achieved a level of success that 90% of the world would die to have. That's success!

I feel so bad for people when they measure their own success (or the success of those around them) via money, stuff, and status. True success doesn't always look good, but it sure feels good. When we get to wake up and know that what we're about to do is tremendously meaningful, there's no amount of money, stuff, or status that could ever satiate us to that degree.

Outside of my children's faith, there's nothing more important to me as a father than to teach them this principle. I don't care if my kids go to college. I don't care if they make a lot of money. I don't care if they become "successful" in the eyes of the world. My biggest desire for them is that they wake up each day excited for what's about to happen. Not fun work, but meaningful work. Impactful work. Work that allows them to put their head on a pillow each night and know they gave this world all they had to offer today.

That's my definition of success. What's yours?

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Just Imagine If You Did

Whoa! I received a scathing message from someone about yesterday's post. I'll share the short (and clean) summary of this man's message. He hates his job, but has a TON of meaning in his life. Between his family, friends, traveling, and hobbies, his life is full of meaning and he doesn't need a "f@#%ing job" to give him meaning.

First, I know this person at a high level. Perhaps not well enough for him to launch a stream of obscenities at me, but oh well. Here's one thing I do know about this person. He does, in fact, have a ton of meaning in his life. I see it with my own two eyes. On the flip side, I didn't realize the gravity of how much he hates his job. We're talking dread every moment of every work day type hate.

Nonetheless, he lives a meaningful life outside of work and tries to compensate for the misery he feels about his work. It's an admirable pursue, and I give him props for that.

Here is my five-word response to his lashing about not needing a job that provides him meaning: "Just imagine if you did."

1/2 of his waking hours are spent with deep meaning, and the other 1/2 are spent in deep misery. Just imagine if he had a job that provided meaning. He'd be so unbelievably fulfilled! Today, though, his life is a pendulum of joy and misery. Friday afternoons through Sunday mornings (plus some nights) are amazing, while Sunday afternoon through mid-day Friday are largely a buzzsaw on his physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health.

Just imagine if he had meaning in his work, too! He's probably be the happiest and most energetic person I know, Instead, he's content with 1/2 his waking hours being miserable because at least the other 1/2 is pretty awesome.

Just imagine! I used to imagine the same thing, then decided to put some action behind the imagination. Six and a half years later, I can testify that having both halves of our live provide deep meaning is the world's most amazing super power. I know many other people that would testify the same.

Just imagine!

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Not Scary Anymore

An old friend, one I haven't seen in nearly a decade, sent me a text out of the blue: "It's not scary anymore!" My initial reaction was to brush off the seemingly errant text as a mistake. It's not scary anymore? That's a bizarre text from someone I haven't seen in a decade. Then, another text arrived.

In short, this friend said they had been listening to the podcast and reading the blog for years. One of the biggest takeaways over that time has been this weird notion that we ought to find meaning in our work. It's an oddly countercultural topic, and as I've pointed out time and time again, it's a rare state to live in.

"It's not scary anymore!" Turns out, after treating work as a necessary evil for more than 20 years, this friend finally decided work needed to play a meaningful role in his life. After much soul searching and a process to humble himself financially/materialistically, he and his wife both decided to find meaning in their work.

This culminated in both of them finding new jobs within the past year. One spouse took a massive pay cut, and the other experienced a lateral financial move. Dinner table discussions used to involve dreams and aspirations of retiring early. Today, though, it looks different. They each share stories from their meaningful work days, dreaming of what the future might hold in these respective roles.

"It's not scary anymore!" The term Sunday Scaries was all too familiar to this couple. After a long and fun weekend, both of them would regularly get crushed on Sunday afternoons by the reality of what's coming tomorrow. Oh crap, here we go again. Let's brace ourselves for another week of stress, misery, and emptiness. Week in, week out.

I received another text from him last night. "I never realized Sunday nights could be this enjoyable." So good. The Sunday Scaries have been replaced with hope, optimism, and excitement for what's to come.

This made my day. This made my week. This made my month. Heck, this made my year! We don't have to perpetually suffer the Sunday Scaries until we can find an off-ramp to retirement. Life should matter today.....not just someday. A world exists for each of us where we go to bed excited for what's to come, and pop up out of bed to get the meaningful day started. That starts with our work. Other things definitely matter, and we must have meaning outside of work, but if we're going to spend 1/2 of our waking hours at work, it starts with the work. Please allow your work to matter. Please give yourself permission to pursue work that matters.

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At 4PM

Where will you be at 4PM today? Not physically, but mentally, emotionally. What will be going through your mind when the bell strikes four? Studies show that 4PM on Sunday afternoons is the most depressing hour of the week. Why? The weekend has largely come to a close, and now our attention has shifted to what's ahead.....and what's ahead is work tomorrow. And considering 70% of Americans dislike or hate their jobs, by 4PM on Sunday afternoons, most people enter what's referred to as the Sunday Scaries.

Have you ever had the Sunday Scaries? I know I have! Based on the data, there's a high likelihood that more than half the people reading this know exactly what I'm talking about!

What about you, today? Will you be feeling the Sunday Scaries later today? Some of you already know the answer is "yes." If that's you, I have good news and bad news.

First, the good news. A different reality exists! Each of us has the power to choose a path that doesn't involve the Sunday Scaries. In fact, there's a reality where Sunday nights become one of the best nights of the week! It can be a chance to reflect on the fun weekend that was, while simultaneously getting excited for the good work that's to come.

Now, the bad news. Living a Sunday Scaries-free life doesn't happen by accident. We can't luck ourselves into it. It won't just automatically click. Removing the Sunday Scaries requires each of us to be intentional, taking specific steps to change our course. It often requires us to abandon comfort in pursuit of something grossly uncomfortable. The fear of the unknown is almost always scarier than our own sucky reality. However, what if I told you that the unknown you're so scared of can actually be oh so awesome?

I'm so unbelievably excited for Monday. By 4PM today, I will be increasingly pumped for the work I'm about to do this week. I can't tell you I've always lived in this reality, and I can't tell you it was easy to move into this new reality, but I will tell you that it was worth it every single bit.

Set an alarm on your phone for 4PM today. When it goes off, ask yourself how you're feeling. Take that answer for whatever it's worth.

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Curating Your Life

Do you ever wake up and ask yourself, "How did I end up here?!?!" It's remarkable how life can move so quickly at times that we unintentionally end up in places we didn't intend to be. The previous sentence can be taken positively or negatively, but this phenomenon tends to impact us more on the negative side, as it's much easier to accidentally end up somewhere we don't want to be than somewhere we do want to be.

This concept applies to so many areas of our lives:

• What we spend money on.

• Who we have relationships with.

• The work we find ourselves in.

• What we do with our time.

Every once in a while, I have a "What am I doing?!?!" moment. I recognize that I somehow got off course and ended up somewhere I never intended to be. As soon as that happens, I try to be extraordinarily intentional about changing course back in a direction I desire to be.

Last week, in the middle of a client meeting, I thought to myself, "This couple has curated their life better than anyone I know!!!!" They don't make more money than the average family. They aren't living some exotic lifestyle. They don't have flashy jobs. They are normal people living normal lives, but with one catch: They are living the exact life they curated for themselves. Where they live, where they work, who they hang out with, how they spend their time, and how they structure their family life. It all seems so intentional.

The cool part about this family is that I've watched this slowly come together over the course of a decade. I've known the husband for ages, so having a front-row seat to his inspiring example of intentional living has been a treat.

No, they aren't wealthy. No, life hasn't gone perfectly. In fact, they would be the first to admit it's been a messy ride. However, through the noise, they've been able to maintain an intentionality toward their unique definition of ideal life.....and they've pursued it with discipline.

A big part of this is rejecting society's conventional wisdom for how we ought to live, and instead choosing to stay laser-focused on our values. Again, this applies to time, money, work, relationships, and more. Forget what everyone else is doing; just be you!

One key sign you're doing it well is if someone accuses you of being weird. Many of my family's decisions and actions get called out for going against the grain. I'm never offended by such comments, as they only affirm that we're living the life we're called to live. My kids are starting to see some of this, making random comments every now and then. I love that, and I want them to know the importance of curating a meaningful life with intention and discipline.

What about you? What actions have you taken to curate your most meaningful and ideal life? Conversely, what decisions, made today or in the near future, would get you closer to living the life you know you're meant to live?

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Blood Money

I've received countless thoughtful responses to yesterday's post about my friend who turned down his dream job because it would require him to effectively take a $850/month pay cut. His dream, calling, and aspirations were sitting right in front of him, and all he had to do was say "yes." He said "no." Money overcame meaning. He knows that, and he also recognizes that the societal pressures all around him were the driving force for his ultimate decision.

One reader took exception to my analysis and aggressively came to the defense of my friend. "You're a finance guy, Travis. You know the math. If your friend invests $850 each month for the next 25 years, that's $1,000,000. That's how he gets to create generational wealth. He'd be stupid to throw away that opportunity."

The math is correct. $850 contributed per month, at a 9% annual return, for 25 years (300 months), would result in about $950,000. He's absolutely right.

You know what I call that? Blood money. If my friend throws away his dreams, calling, and aspirations for the next 25 years (from age 42 to 67) and instead hoards all of this excess money, he'll end up $1M richer. Last time I checked, he only gets one life. One chance. One opportunity. One shot at this. And he's going to exchange the 25 most productive years of his life for a million dollars?!?!? Blood money!

If you know me (whether personally or through the blog/podcast), you know that I'm a big believer in investing. I teach it, advocate for it, encourage it, and help people execute it. I'm a staunch believer in the power of long-term investing. However, NEVER at the expense of meaning and impact. If our investing prevents us from living a meaningful life or it's at the expense of making an impact on others, it defeats the purpose.

Money for money's sake is like losing the game in the first quarter, but not yet knowing you lost. It's the kind of loss that sneaks up on us and blindsides us just as we thought we were about to win.

Sure, my friend could elect to invest $850/month for the next 25 years by turning down his dream. It will result in a million dollars. That's real money. Alternatively, he could live with meaning and follow his dream, calling, and aspirations, and undoubtedly live an amazing life. Not 25 years from now when he has a ton of money, but today. Today. Tomorrow. Next week. Next month. Next year. Always.

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Putting the Meaning Where Our Mouth Is

One of my friends was beyond ecstatic! He had just received word that he was accepted for his dream job. For more than 15 years, he's been talking about how much he aspired to do x type of work. I'm going to be intentionally vague on the specifics, as I want you to focus more on his decision pattern than his interests. But let's just say this guy has been over-the-top interested in this field.

Fast forward one month, and I ran into him at a local restaurant. Obviously, I asked him about his new job. "How's the new job going?!?! Everything you hoped it would be?"

Then, he dropped a bomb on me. "Well, I actually turned it down. They just couldn't get there financially." He explained that the salary offered was $15,000 less than his current job.

"But that was your dream job!!!!" I exclaimed.

This is the part that got me. He shared with me that he was ready to take the job, but several trusted people in his life criticized him and told him it would be a dumb decision. In his heart, he knew he needed to seize this opportunity. However, when push came to shove, the cultural pressures around him to prioritize money won the day.

He just sold his dream for $15,000/year, $1,250/month. After taxes, it's probably more like $850/month. He sold his dream for $850/month!!! Also, to clarify, this $850/month isn't the difference between his family surviving or not. This $850/month is lifestyle, margin, and more investing. He had been waiting his entire life for this moment, and turned it down for $850/month.

Please don't hear me criticizing him or looking down upon him. I get it. There's an immense cultural pressure to place money above all else. "Take care of your family." "Provide." "Create wealth." "They deserve more." It's so loud that it can seem deafening.

I've been there. I've looked at myself in the mirror and ultimately chosen money. I've fallen into that trap.....multiple times. I'm not trying to be a hypocrite here. Rather, I'm just some random dude who has lived on both sides of this coin that cares enough to die on the hill that the meaning side will always trump the money side. IF, and only IF we can put our meaning where our mouth is, our lives begin to open up and we experience something far richer than money could ever buy. Easier said than done, but so, so worth it!

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Empty Soul, and Tons of Regret

As I was scrolling social media last night, I stumbled upon something that stopped me in my tracks. It was a distraught-looking middle-aged man staring into the bathroom mirror, with the following text plastered across the screen: "30 years of service to a job, and all you have to show for it is an empty house, empty soul, and tons of regret." I'm not going to share the post, as my thoughts aren't as much about this particular man as they are about the broader phenomenon.

I've seen this look on too many faces. I've heard these words from too many mouths. So many people (especially men) are suffering in silence.

One of the root causes of this phenomenon is our perspective on work:

1. We generally view work as a necessary evil. We expect work to suck, then just like clockwork, it sucks.

2. If work sucks, then the objective becomes the race to someday quit working (i.e., retirement).

3. If work is supposed to suck and our goal is to get to the finish line as quickly as possible, we unintentionally create a self-fulfilling prophecy in the selection of our job(s).

4. When we spend half of our waking hours at work, and said work is soul-sucking, then there's probably not a lot of gas left in the tank for the things we do actually care about. Thus, those things also suffer. Our relationships, our hobbies, and our passions.

5. When we finally "win" the race and get to retirement, we realize this life of leisure wasn't actually the answer after all. That brings on an entirely new level of pain and emptiness.

6. Enter the regrets.

The solution to this is unbelievably simple, yet so very difficult. It's called aggressively and violently pursuing meaning each and every day. Every day matters. Weekend days matter. Work days matter. Holidays matter. Vacation days matter. Young days matter. Middle-aged days matter. Older days matter.

But if we live our lives as if half our waking hours don't matter because we at least have the rest, the pain starts to bleed into all the days. Instead, what if all the days mattered? What if we found just as much meaning in our job as we did in our home life? What if our work provided a similar richness that our weekends provide?

It's simple. It's difficult. It's attainable. It's worth it.

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Self-Employment Is Perfect, If…

It's a sentiment I hear all the time, but one specific conversation with a friend inspired today's post. He's a man who has experienced a decent amount of success in his corporate career. He makes good money, he's in a field that aligns with his skills and passions, and he generally likes his job. All in all, he would self-describe his life as meaningful and his work fulfilling. However, the grass always feels greener on the other side. And to him, the grass of self-employment seems a lot greener than that of corporate America.

In his words, self-employment sounds "Perfect!"

I gotta admit, self-employment IS perfect. I say that tongue-in-cheek, of course. Seriously, though, self-employment is perfect if....

....you enjoy having the worst boss ever.

....you're okay having no paid time off.

....you don't know whether or not you'll have enough income to feed your family this month.

....every hour of the day becomes a potential work hour.

....you prefer to arrange (and pay for) your own medical insurance.

....you're cool paying double payroll taxes.

....you're excited to take on marketing, admin, finance, and accounting responsibilities.

....you wake up in the morning thinking you'll become the next Jeff Bezos, but go to bed wondering if you'll be homeless tomorrow.

....you're committed to making sure everyone else gets paid before you make a penny.

If that's you, yeah(!!!), self-employment is perfect! Seriously, though, I do love self-employment. However, it's not the magic pill many think it is. It can be brutal, unforgiving, and ruthless. Our collective romanticism of self-employment / business ownership doesn't fairly represent the true reality that people in the trenches are experiencing.

I sincerely think most people would be happier in their traditional job. Traditional work can and should be beautiful, fulfilling, and meaningful. Please don't let society trick you into believing you must "be your own boss" in order to be successful. The best path for you is whatever the best path is for you.....period.

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