The Daily Meaning
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Removing the Ceiling
I walked into the front door last night to the sight of an angry 7-year-old. He was huffing and puffing, seemingly threatening to blow the house down. When I asked him what was wrong, he said he wanted a cell phone or a pocket knife. Confused, I asked Sarah to clarify why he was so upset. "Because I told him he can't have either."
The Next Peak, Not THE Peak
This is Cole's career! He hasn't even sniffed his potential yet. He's shooting for ESPN at Arrowhead Stadium, capturing clips of one of the best football players to ever live, standing watch to get a shot of one of the greatest musical performers to ever live, and he hasn't even scratched the surface of his potential. This isn't the end. This is the beginning. He's 30 years old. He still has 40-50 good years left in his epic career.
It’s WHEN, Not IF
For most families, finances are generally ok......IF unforeseen issues don't pop up. That's the problem. We tend to live life as though it's an IF, but it's not. It's a WHEN. Unforeseen issues will absolutely rear their ugly head, but we won't know when, where, or how much. And WHEN they do, they can wreak havoc on our finances.
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 Possibility of Moments
Each moment contains a unique and fleeting opportunity to make an impact. Not necessarily a change-the-world type of impact, but a move-the-needle-in-the-right-direction type of impact. Will we seize the moment or squander the opportunity? Or worse, will we leave them worse than we found them?
Small Habits Add Up
On the heels of yesterday's one-year anniversary of publishing this blog daily (365 posts in 365 days!), my assistant, Alyssa, completed a project of aggregating all the posts into a single source document. What she found was staggering. It summed up to more than 156,000 words. 156,000!!! Considering the average non-fiction book is 50,000 words, we just published the equivalent of three entire books in a single calendar year.
Gary Was Right
Well, today is the one-year anniversary of beginning that journey. From November 14th, 2022, to November 14th, 2023, I wrote and published one article per day. Wow, what a journey! Here's what writing 365 articles in 365 days has taught me
Just Do the Opposite
This is a conversation I have with many of my clients. Whatever their respective industry is, I challenge them to "just do the opposite." The natural response is, "This is how it's done." That may be true, but it doesn't mean it's the best way.
When Rules Are About More Than Rules
It wouldn't significantly harm me if I cheated every now and then. It wouldn't hinder my progress. It wouldn't negate the good work I'm doing. However, one cheat is the gateway drug for the next. One creates two, and two creates twenty. The moment it's ok to cheat once is the moment cheating becomes normalized.
Pain, Joy, then Pain Again
At some point, the leader advised the audience to “Give beyond the point where it hurts, to the point where it makes us feel good.” This is a concept I talk about often. You know, the whole joy and sacrifice concept. If our giving doesn’t hurt, it’s not truly generous. The next part of his story is where he got me.
"$10,000 is My Limit"
I recently had a conversation with a friend, and I can't shake it. He's a hard-working man, a grinder by every meaning of the word. I'm not sure how we got there, but he mentioned giving a $1,000 gift to someone in his life. This sparked a long and winding conversation about generosity, grace, gratitude, and faith.
That Expensive Bed Sure Was Cheap
I moved into my first big-boy apartment when I was a sophomore in college. It was an exciting and scary time. After all, I was entering a life where I would have to cook for myself. Yikes! One of my favorite memories during that process was going bed shopping at Sam's Club with my parents. I needed a bed, and Sam's Club had affordable options for a young college kid. It was a match made in heaven! I think we paid $200 for it, box spring included!
Caring Enough About Money
In my keynote talk, I spend a healthy amount of time discussing the science of money and happiness. In short, once our needs are met, money won't make us much happier. I go down several roads to make this argument, concluding that more money isn't the answer.
You Know the Names
I'll continue not to name names, but here's a little insight. Whatever business you think I'm talking about, you're right. Deep down, you know who they are. Maybe not the exact one, but you know exactly who they are in your own world. My opinion isn't important, but yours is.
Recovering Alcoholics Don’t Live Above Bars
Over the past few weeks, I've spent time with several friends who are celebrating various sobriety milestones. Drugs, alcohol, and tobacco, to name a few. Each of their stories is remarkable in its own way. They involve pain, consequences, and redemption. Woven through each of these amazing stories are some general truths. One such truth is that the disease is never entirely gone. Each day, they risk relapsing. To combat this, everyone must set clear and non-negotiable boundaries about what they do, where they go, and who they interact with. Or, as one close friend in recovery puts it, "Recovering alcoholics don't live above bars."
The Self-Unaware Slide
I'm thinking about a local business. You may know this business, but if not, you most certainly know one like it. They sell a good product, but they are struggling. The odd part is they don't understand why they are struggling. It's a head-scratcher to them. It's complete self-unawareness, and I'll explain why.
Kyle Has the Secret
Imagine a world where your life would be worse off if you didn't have your work. That sounds like a perverted Twilight Zone episode in today's culture. It's so far-fetched that most people wouldn't believe you if you told them.
Driving in the Fog
Have you ever driven your car in a dense fog? It's a white-knuckle experience. You're a bit (or a lot) on edge, progress is much slower, you might get lost, and you feel exhausted when you reach your destination. Or worse, you end up in an accident because you couldn't see where you were going. Driving in the fog is the worst!
Taking Inventory of Readers’ “Bargains”
A while back, I wrote a piece about some of the expenditures in my life that feel like bargains, but are probably head-scratchers to others. Monthly massages, Christian education, and Apple computers are a few of my examples. At the end of the post, I solicited your feedback. I wanted to know what items you spend money on that may feel like a ripoff to many, but a bargain to you.