The Daily Meaning
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Controlling What We Can Control
The world is a mess right now. War, political infighting, ongoing cultural battles, a faltering economy, and inflation……just to name a few components of said mess. It’s easy to feel like crap about it. We turn on the TV, only to feel angry, defeated, and helpless. When this happens, we often turn our attention to all the things we have no control over.
What We're Really Buying
We think we’re buying a car, but we’re often buying status. We think we’re buying plane tickets, but we’re really buying memories. We think we’re buying a college degree, but we’re really buying credibility. We think we’re buying an app or software, but we’re really buying time and efficiency. We think we’re buying a babysitter when we go on a date night, but we’re really investing in our marriage.
What Do You Collect?
We, humans, love to collect. According to psychologists, people collect for different reasons. Some collect out of a sense of nostalgia. Others collect as a way to shape or reflect their identity. Some people are allured to the hunt. Others find value in things that will remain even after they pass away. Another fun theory is that collecting is “a way for a man to attract potential mates by signaling his ability to accumulate resources.” Ah, to think all those baseball cards I accumulated when I was 8 years old would later land me a wife……thanks, Ryne Sandberg rookie cards!!!
Knowing When to Walk Away
As you probably know, I love Mondays. Mondays are my favorite day of the week. I’m coming off a fun weekend where I played with the kids, probably watched some sports, stayed up too late, and made some fun memories. And my reward? I get to wake up at the start of a new week, with endless possibilities in front of me, knowing I have five days to do good work and make a difference in this world. Sincerely, Monday mornings are the best!
We Ruin Them Young
Last night at youth group, we opened registrations for the money class I teach each year. This will be the 9th year hosting the class, and we’ve taken 175 high school students through it over the first eight years. Walking alongside these kids is always one of the highlights of my year. One of my favorite parts about the class is a scholarship program we developed in conjunction with it, where students who go through it have the opportunity to apply for a scholarship when they are seniors. To date, we’ve granted $48,000 in scholarships thanks to a number of generous financial partners who have chosen to bless our youth in this way.
Fun is Free
In a recent post, I advocated for people not reactively cutting fun spending from their life. I argue these things can be important and we shouldn’t always be so quick to gut them. As he often does, my friend Randy hit “reply” on the e-mail and shared his insights with me. He reminded me that we don’t need to spend money to enjoy life. He’s so right!
One of Those Days
Yesterday was one of those days. You know what I’m talking about. Anything that could go wrong, did go wrong. I didn’t accomplish one single thing I set out to do. Meetings ran long, traffic delayed me every step of the way, two of my clients are dealing with sudden and profound financial emergencies, I let someone down, a few unexpected tasks drained hours of my time, and to top it off, I stopped by the office late in the day to discover water damage from the prior night’s storm. Wow!
So Much Opportunity
Due to some very, very strange circumstances with his last employer, one of my close friends suddenly found himself out of a job. It would have been easy for him to play his tiny pity violin, and maybe he did for a few days, but violin pity music doesn’t pay the bills. He did the first thing he needed to do: look for a new job.
Finding Your Craft
I just spent the past 30 minutes on TikTok watching a barber in Rome shave random men’s faces with a straight-blade razor. Not sure how I got there, but it was quite satisfying! A few things stood out to me as I was watching him:
Things Old and Things New
Two big events popped up in my world this week.
A while back, I was approached by a mid-sized company to do some contract work for them to help reimagine and recreate one of their key operational tools. I really enjoyed the project. In a lot of ways, it felt like a throwback to some of the work I did in my former career (which I left nearly 4 years ago).
Just Use Meth Responsibly
Heroin is absolutely terrible! It’s addictive and quickly leads to negative consequences in all areas of our life. It impacts our health, marriage, work, and overall well-being. It’s responsible for many bad choices, ruined marriages, and broken families. Using it seems fine for a while, sometimes even fun, but then an unexpected moment happens where it quickly becomes a nightmare. Our life can go from relatively normal to absolute devastation in a matter of months. Its destructive qualities are profound.
Don't Gut the Good Stuff
Let me lay out a scenario. You go into the month with a solid financial plan. You’ve prioritized your needs, wants, giving, and saving. The plan is set and you’re feeling really good about it. Then, just like that, life hits. Maybe it’s a medical situation. Maybe your income is a little lower than you thought. Maybe the car needs some unexpected work. But in any case, something happens. How do you correct it?
All It Takes is One
While recently giving a talk, I couldn’t help but notice two people in the audience who were talking to each other and laughing…..for nearly my entire talk! This isn’t uncommon, unfortunately. Every audience includes people who seem disengaged at best, and disruptive at worst. It’s easy to dwell on these people, as they stick out like a sore thumb. There were times in the past when I definitely would have been consumed by them.
Imposter Syndrome and the Death of Dreams
Imposter Syndrome: “when one believes that they are undeserving of their achievements and the high esteem in which they are, in fact, generally held. They feel that they aren’t as competent or intelligent as others might think—and that soon enough, people will discover the truth about them.”
It's a Tell
Today is my first day back at work in 11 days. I really enjoyed our trip to SE Asia and the Middle East, but I couldn’t be more excited to get back to work. For me, this strong feeling of excitement is just normal…..I always feel it. But at the same time, I recognize this is an abnormal feeling for most. Statistics show that 70% of Americans dislike or hate their job. With this information in tow, vacations act as an escape from the realities of life. We travel, in part, so we can leave. We get to step away from our responsibilities, work, boss, coworkers, deadlines, and routine. For a short period of time, we get to rewrite our journey. There’s only one problem: the trip will eventually end and we must return home to our life.
Credit Card Myths: Travel Edition
If you know me at any level, whether that be personally or someone who consumes some of our content, you’ll know that I’m anti-credit card. I have several reasons for despising credit cards, spanning the spectrum of principles, ethics, psychology, control, and simplicity, to name a few. I won’t rehash all the reasons in this post. Every time I discuss the topic of credit cards, I know all the arguments people will use against me. The most popular defense of credit cards is the benefit of points, cash back, and miles. If you’re interested, I did a podcast episode about why most people (yes, probably even you) are actually losing money with their points.
Try, Try, Try Again
One of the primary drivers of my partnering with Northern Vessel and becoming a part owner was the business plan to launch of weekly bottle subscription service. Through our proprietary app, people could subscribe to a recurring monthly membership that would provide them with one 64-ounce bottle of our signature cold brew latte each week. I knew this idea was gold, and I was willing to invest my time and money into it.
Home
Well, we’re on our way home from Thailand and Qatar. A few hours ago, we began the long journey back to Iowa. It’s been a whirlwind of a trip. When I get back from these trips, people sometimes ask if I feel refreshed. Spiritually, absolutely! These trips always help me reframe my perspective and focus on what’s most important. But mentally and physically? No, I’m spent….the tanks are empty! In a lot of ways, my day-to-day life will be a slow-down from what we’ve been doing these past 10 days. Though these trips fill my tank to the brim, I’m always glad to be home. I’m excited to be home. I miss home.
Challenging Your Beliefs
We just arrived in Doha, Qatar, in what should be a whirlwind 24-hour adventure. This is one of our favorite places to visit. I absolutely love the Middle East. A handful of years ago, there’s zero chance I would have ever said that. When I was first offered the opportunity to travel there for work, I was admittedly nervous. After all, I watch the same news coverage you do. Lots of bad things happen in the Middle East. Then, I went…..and it changed everything for me
Food is More Than Food
For me, one of the highlights of traveling is the food. That’s certainly been the case on this trip! I’ve probably tried more than 30-50 new dishes in just the past week. I’ve loved some, liked most, and a few weren’t my cup of tea. These have been wonderful experiences and I’m so glad it’s been part of our trip