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 9/22/23 Travis Shelton 9/22/23

How To Get Rich

One of my former youth group kids had a question for me. It was a very clear, direct, and commonly asked question. "What's the best way to build wealth?" I get this question all the time, so I gave him my absolute best answer. Two answers, actually

Travis Shelton 9/21/23 Travis Shelton 9/21/23

I Don’t Deserve Anything

I have a confession to make. Something recently triggered me. In my line of work, I bring empathy to the table. I have a ton of grace for people and endeavor to walk alongside them, no matter what they are going through. I've worked with couples teetering on homelessness, and couples with tens of millions of dollars. No matter where someone is in their journey, my mission is to serve them well, with compassion. For this reason, it's rare for me to get worked up.

Travis Shelton 9/20/23 Travis Shelton 9/20/23

Puzzle Pieces

That's the fun part about puzzles. Each piece, on its own, means something different (or perhaps nothing at all). But when all the pieces are arranged together, it creates something beautiful.

Travis Shelton 9/19/23 Travis Shelton 9/19/23

The World’s Greatest Bargain

One of my friends buys a $7 latte every day. When I say every day, I mean every day. During the week, it's usually in the morning. On the weekends, it's either late morning or early afternoon. When she talks about her $7 lattes, her face lights up. She can go on and on and on about her lattes and how much value they add to her life.

Travis Shelton 9/18/23 Travis Shelton 9/18/23

Jumping Off the Treadmill

I experienced a very profound moment in my life around 2015. It was a few years after paying off our $236,000 of debt. Sarah and I were still in the midst of our fertility battle, but optimistic about possibly adopting a child soon. My career was thriving. And I was making many multiples of income from what I previously made. Reflecting on how blessed my life was, I couldn't help but feel it wasn't enough.

Travis Shelton 9/17/23 Travis Shelton 9/17/23

___ Months For the Rest of Your Life

Though I share a lot of stories on this blog and on the podcast, not all stories are created equal. Some stick with me, or dare I say, haunt me. One such story involves a couple I met with nearly a decade ago. This couple had been struggling with debt for the entirety of their marriage. You cou

Travis Shelton 9/16/23 Travis Shelton 9/16/23

The 3-Pare Challenge

These last few months have felt like a whirlwind. It's not necessarily because I'm too busy, but rather because I'm too busy with too many different things. I'm notorious for overcommitting myself.

Travis Shelton 9/15/23 Travis Shelton 9/15/23

When Responsibilities Collide

As expected, I received a ton of pushback after my credit card post a few days ago. The number one response I get whenever I discuss this topic is the following: people just need to be responsible with credit cards. Another version: Credit cards can be a useful and beneficial tool IF they are used responsibly. What does it mean to be "responsible?" Here's the definition. Responsible: having an obligation to do something, or having control over or care for someone, as part of one's job or role.

Travis Shelton 9/14/23 Travis Shelton 9/14/23

A Bad Mow Is Better Than No Mow

As I got home yesterday afternoon, something drew my eye to my backyard. What I saw wasn't pretty. The grass was short and gray, but the weeds were tall and green. It looked like an absolute disaster. I'd show you a picture, but not even I'm willing to incriminate myself that badly. To sum it up, the state of my yard was a perfect combination of traveling for 8 of the last 12 weeks, long stretches of brutal heat, and a significant lack of available time on my part. I'm not proud of it, but realize how I got here. Truth is, I've had some windows to make progress on the yard and similar projects. However, these windows would not have allowed me to do it well. So instead of choosing done, I decided to wait for perfect.....which never came.

Travis Shelton 9/13/23 Travis Shelton 9/13/23

The Long Tail of Impact

We live in an instant-gratification society. If we do something, we want to see immediate results. If we work hard, we want that promotion now. When we put our product into the world, we want people to buy it today. When we make a financial investment, we want quick returns.

Travis Shelton 9/12/23 Travis Shelton 9/12/23

The Path of Least Resistance

As a kid, I was fascinated by the section in science class where they showed images of how rivers changed shape over time. As sediment is carried and eventually dropped, the speed and direction of the water flow shifts, carving a different path into the earth. The water constantly follows the path of least resistance. Human behavior is much the same way.

Travis Shelton 9/11/23 Travis Shelton 9/11/23

It's Like Riding a Bike

"It's like riding a bike." I use that phrase all the time. It's one of the most tried and true principles of human behavior. I've been saying this phrase for years, but it took on a new life a few years ago when my boys were learning to ride a bike. There was lots of anger, tears, blood, and frustration. Then, like the flip of a switch, they knew how to ride a bike.....and the rest is history.

Travis Shelton 9/10/23 Travis Shelton 9/10/23

Tailgating Economics Don't Have to Make Sense

I've always been fascinated by college football tailgating. Growing up in NW Illinois, college sports weren't really a thing. It was Bulls, Bears, Cubs, Sox, and Blackhawks. That's it. It wasn't until I was a freshman at Iowa State that I was exposed to the spectacle of tailgating.

Travis Shelton 9/9/23 Travis Shelton 9/9/23

The Painful (Yet Beautiful) Cost of Parenting

Today is a big day! Not only is it one of the biggest college football games of our season (Iowa at Iowa State), but it’s Northern Vessel’s official launch party for our new canned cold brew partnership with We Will Collective (Iowa State’s NIL collective). It will be an absolutely fantastic event…..and I’ll miss most of it.

Travis Shelton 9/8/23 Travis Shelton 9/8/23

Failure Isn't Forever

Earlier this week, I shared a heartbreaking story of a man who spent so much time and energy working for more money (so he could give his family a higher standard of living and have more time with his kids), only to realize years later that he missed his kids' childhoods. He feels a deep regret about the path he took. He now recognizes the irony of his situation. He thought he was doing what was needed to have more time with his family, but those actions were the very thing robbing him of a life with his family.

Travis Shelton 9/7/23 Travis Shelton 9/7/23

What Country Am I In?

I often experience something that, until a recent conversation with my friend Claire, I thought was normal. It happened again this morning. Whenever I wake up in a hotel room, I often don’t know what country I’m in. There’s an immediate moment of confusion before getting my bearings. Is that normal? Since sharing this with Claire, I’ve told several other people about these situations. Turns out I am, in fact, weird.

Travis Shelton 9/6/23 Travis Shelton 9/6/23

UnGuilty Pleasures

I have a confession to make. I despise the term “guilty pleasure.” I know it’s a ubiquitous phrase in our culture, but do you ever stop to think about what it really means? At its core, calling something a guilty pleasure insinuates that you shouldn’t be doing it. It’s something you enjoy, but know it’s wrong (or wrong-ish). If anything, we should call adultery and stealing guilty pleasures.

Travis Shelton 9/5/23 Travis Shelton 9/5/23

Savor the Glimpses

Have you ever accomplished something you worked hard on, but didn't get the gratification of seeing if/how your work even made a difference? Whew, I'm so glad I'm not alone. Much of what we do involves trust. We put in the work, do the grind, endeavor to do something that matters, and trust it will mean something to someone.

Travis Shelton 9/4/23 Travis Shelton 9/4/23

"Travis, I Think I Messed Up."

I come to you today with a heartbreaking story. A man recently reached out to me after discovering some of our content. He said he was embarrassed to share it, but thought "maybe good can come from it." While the story is heartbreaking (my words, not his), it's all too common in our culture. "Travis, I think I messed up." That's how his message started.

Travis Shelton 9/3/23 Travis Shelton 9/3/23

"Tacky Place, Tacky Owner"

We recently passed the 9-month mark since opening Northern Vessel's brick-and-mortar location. To say it's been a whirlwind would be a gross understatement. We're equally shocked and grateful for what's transpired in this short time.

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!"