The Daily Meaning

Take your mornings to the next level with a daily dose of perspective and encouragement to start your day off right. Sign-up for a free, short-form blog delivered to your inbox each morning, 7 days per week. Some days we talk about money, but usually not. We believe you’ll take away something valuable to help you on your journey. Sign up to join the hundreds of people who read Travis’s blog each morning.

“Your daily blog posts have become a great part of my morning routine, waking up and reading your posts challenge me to reflect on something that matters in my life or view something from a different perspective.”
"Love starting my morning with a daily dose of positivity or perspective!"

Daily Meaning Reader

Travis Shelton 5/8/24 Travis Shelton 5/8/24

The Paradox of Choice

Have you ever been to Cheesecake Factory? Reviewing their menu feels like you're thumbing through the Bible, attempting to find the Book of John. It's nuts!

Travis Shelton 5/6/24 Travis Shelton 5/6/24

The Cure For the Sunday Scares

Statistics show that 4PM on Sundays is the most depressing hour of the week. It makes sense. We've spent the last 48 hours relaxing, spending time with people we love, possibly traveling, and perhaps engaging in fun hobbies. Then, reality sets in. We realize we'll be in bed in a few hours, then wake up to five days of doing something we probably don't want to do. Ouch!

Travis Shelton 5/2/24 Travis Shelton 5/2/24

The Phase We Never Outgrow

That's the power of needs. Needs compel us to act. Needs incentivize us to hurry. Needs encourage us to throw common sense out the window. Needs must be met, and meet them we shall.

Travis Shelton 4/23/24 Travis Shelton 4/23/24

The Status of Status

Whether we realize it or not, much of life is the pursuit of status. Status is at play in nearly everything we do, the decisions we make, and how we spend our money.

Travis Shelton 4/19/24 Travis Shelton 4/19/24

Zoom Out or Freak Out

Have you heard!?!? Everything is falling apart!!! The stock market is collapsing!!!! It's the end of the world!!!! Right on cue, countless people are gripped with fear over how bad the stock market is doing. Everyone's posting about it on social media, and I've received no less than 15 questions about it just this week.

Travis Shelton 4/18/24 Travis Shelton 4/18/24

Creating Begets Creating

One of my clients has a business idea. It's a simple but effective idea. It likely won't make him a massive profit. Heck, it probably won't even provide enough income to live on. For many months now, I've been beating the drum of go, go, go. He NEEDS to put his idea into practice. He NEEDS to move forward....but not for obvious reasons. Here's why: creating begets creating.

Travis Shelton 4/1/24 Travis Shelton 4/1/24

Don’t Fall for the Facade

That's the dilemma - and danger - of facades. We watch everyone's perfectly curated lives, very well knowing how imperfect things are behind our home's front door. It can be demoralizing. Self-talk creeps in. Doubt can take over. We begin asking ourselves why our life sucks so badly compared to our friends, family, co-workers, and neighbors.

Travis Shelton 3/28/24 Travis Shelton 3/28/24

The Drink That Satiates

When I was a kid, I distinctly remember an advertising battle between Coke and Pepsi. The rivalry ran so deep that they would openly bash one another in their TV and print ads (at least that's how my questionable childhood brain remembers it). Anyway, one of the nuances I remember playing out was this back-and-forth debate about taste tests. Despite Coke being the overwhelmingly favorite drink of consumers, Pepsi continually (and oddly) produced studies showing they were preferred in taste tests.

Travis Shelton 3/22/24 Travis Shelton 3/22/24

“Never Tell Me the Odds”

"Never tell me the odds," quipped Han Solo after C-3PO warned him about the ultra-low probability of surviving an asteroid field. This is one of my all-time favorite Star Wars quotes, and it's one of the things I like most about Han Solo. He didn't care if the cards were stacked against him; he was just crazy enough to believe he would succeed.....and he did.

Travis Shelton 3/18/24 Travis Shelton 3/18/24

Pot, Meet Kettle

After learning about my recent 2006 Nissan 350Z purchase, my friend shared his less-than-savory opinion about it. Specifically, he called it a "boujee move" and added, "It's a bad look for you, Travis." Translation: I'm a hypocrite for buying such a fancy luxury, and it feels a bit over the top.

Travis Shelton 3/6/24 Travis Shelton 3/6/24

Let Your Yes Be Yes

Travis Shelton 2/29/24 Travis Shelton 2/29/24

The Baggage We Carry

Travis Shelton 2/25/24 Travis Shelton 2/25/24

Little Kids Are Failures

Little kids are failures. Yeah, I said it. All they do is fail. They fall over. They spill their food. They poop all over themselves. They can't even put a shirt on! Their entire life is a series of humorous and ridiculous failures. On the flip side, nobody develops faster than a little kid.

Travis Shelton 2/6/24 Travis Shelton 2/6/24

The Cost of Want

A woman recently reached out and asked for a meeting. She made it clear she wasn't interested in hiring me, but wondered if I'd be willing to give her some insights anyway. Of course!

Travis Shelton 1/28/24 Travis Shelton 1/28/24

Keeping Emotions at Bay

Welcome to the time of year when Sarah and I grumble about our vehicle situation. With the recent 25 inches of snow that blasted our town in a matter of four days, we received another harsh reminder that her mid-size front-wheel drive SUV with 175,000 miles isn't the most ideal winter ride. To top it off, we've started to experience some minor maintenance setbacks.

Travis Shelton 1/3/24 Travis Shelton 1/3/24

Right and Right

Whenever we have a big decision in front of us, we try to discern what the right choice is and what the wrong choice is. It feels heavy. After all, the idea of making the wrong choice feels scary.....and intimidating. We treat it like it's life or death. If we make the right choice, we'll win. But if we make the right choice.....well, we don't even want to think about how badly that would hurt us.

Travis Shelton 12/8/23 Travis Shelton 12/8/23

The Secret Superpower of Women

As I was whiteboarding the idea to visualize it, someone mentioned how I was attempting to prove that I was right. I responded, "I'm not in the business of being right, but getting it right." I'm telling this story because of what he said next: "Everyone wants to be right. We all have pride."

Travis Shelton 12/3/23 Travis Shelton 12/3/23

The Gift of Struggle

While discussing the immense challenge the Boundary Waters can provide, she explained how, in these moments of profound struggle, "our needs are simplified and magnified." Having been into the wilderness many times, her words cut right through me.

Travis Shelton 12/2/23 Travis Shelton 12/2/23

As Much as We Bargained For

Annoyed, he retraced his steps to the gate, handed his boarding pass to the employee, and exclaimed, “I paid $1,500 for this motherf’ing ticket. I’ll do what I want.”

Travis Shelton 11/17/23 Travis Shelton 11/17/23

When Six Doesn't Equal a Half Dozen

We live in a culture where everything is black and white. There's an absolute wrong, and an absolute right. The personal finance world is no different. It doesn't help when one of the biggest personalities in the financial space treats everything like you're an absolute idiot if you don't do exactly what he thinks you should do.

The Daily Meaning

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“Your daily blog posts have become a great part of my morning routine, waking up and reading your posts challenge me to reflect on something that matters in my life or view something from a different perspective.”

"Love starting my morning with a daily dose of positivity or perspective!"