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 9/28/23 Travis Shelton 9/28/23

Get Your At-Bats

It will be the third time formally delivering my new keynote talk. This talk is the culmination of more than 100 non-related talks, thousands of client meetings and conversations, and all my content over the last decade. The first time I delivered this talk, I did it poorly (I know I’m hard on myself). The second time I delivered it, I did it ok. What about this time? There’s only one way to find out!

Travis Shelton 9/27/23 Travis Shelton 9/27/23

Cushion is Key

I'm notorious for floating counter-cultural and seemingly contradictive ideas to my clients. Stopping the use of credit cards makes our finances less risky and more streamlined. Creating more savings accounts makes our financial life simpler. Spending more on our wants (with less guilt) creates better control and restraint on our finances. Another seemingly contradictive idea came up this week while I was on the phone with a client.

Travis Shelton 9/26/23 Travis Shelton 9/26/23

Don’t Picture Them Naked

All of that was great advice…..until the whole naked part. Have you ever tried imagining the person you were talking to was naked? Never mind, don't answer that. So many people gave me that advice. Sure, sure, I'll just picture hundreds of people sitting shoulder-to-shoulder, naked, attentively watching me speak. Nothing weird about that. Yeah, that sounds like a perfectly normal and rational scenario.

Travis Shelton 9/25/23 Travis Shelton 9/25/23

You Have Two Choices Today

It's scientifically proven that 4PM on Sunday afternoon is the most depressing hour of the week. We've had a fun weekend, had lots of good food, spent time with people we care about, and haven't thought too much about work. But the weekend is winding down, and we realize tomorrow is quickly approaching. Considering 70% of Americans dislike or hate their jobs, the reminder of tomorrow is a sobering moment! Thus, 4PM is the most depressing hour of the week.

Travis Shelton 9/24/23 Travis Shelton 9/24/23

The Years Are Indeed Too Short

"The days are long, and the years are short." This phrase was said to me multiple times when my kids were infants. I definitely understood the "days are long" part. With newborn twins, just the 16 bottles per day part felt long. On the other hand, I didn't fully understand the "years are short" part. Everything just felt long....and exhausting.

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

Have Your Cake and Eat It, Too

Meaning doesn't pay the bills, or so I'm told. When I advocate for pursuing meaning over money, I typically receive criticism. I get called privileged, naive, short-sighted, and sometimes stupid. However, I think there's a misunderstanding about this entire meaning vs. money conversation.

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.

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!"