The Daily Meaning

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Archive
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Meaning Travis Shelton Meaning Travis Shelton

The Subway Roulette of Life

Confession: I'm obsessed with subways. As a kid who grew up in a small farm town, the mere idea of a subway blew my mind. We board a secret train and are violently propelled through a hidden underground tunnel through a labyrinth of routes, intersections, and stations. It mesmerized me then….and still does!

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Meaning, Career Travis Shelton Meaning, Career Travis Shelton

A Leprechaun, a Mermaid, and Loch Ness Walk into a Bar

There's a very real and heavy cultural pushback against any narrative suggesting we can successfully pursue meaning over money. It seems so far-fetched. We're told it's impossible to live with deep meaning without going broke, so why even bother? We're encouraged to find something "good enough" and hold onto it for dear life. It could be worse, right? Sure, we might not like our life and our work, but it could suck a whole lot more! Therefore, compromise, lower the bar, and dilute your dreams. This is the message jammed down our throats, day in and day out. 

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Parenting Travis Shelton Parenting Travis Shelton

Don’t Let the Kids Feel It

We parents, whether intentionally or unintentionally, are placing immense guilt on our children. Kids feel the weight of this burden. They carry it perpetually. "Do you know how much this is costing us?" "Wow, that appointment was expensive." "We're paying a lot of money for you to ____."

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Meaning Travis Shelton Meaning Travis Shelton

Your Far-Fetched Life

When I started publicly sharing ideas, stories, and insights, I never anticipated the amount of active pushback I'd receive. Perhaps I was naive, but I missed the mark by a mile on that one. Whenever you share ideas publicly, you (knowingly or unknowingly) open the door for reciprocating feedback from the public.

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Growth Travis Shelton Growth Travis Shelton

Tyler Joseph Cuts Me Again

Much to my delight, Twenty One Pilots released another single this week. This song, Next Semester, has a 90s punk rock beat (think Blink 182). That's not necessarily my style, but Tyler Joseph has a way of creating powerful experiences in unexpected ways. Next Semester is a deeply powerful and emotional song that cuts to the core of what many of us experience along our journey: mistakes, fear, anxiety, doubt, and regret. Also, like many of their songs, there's a strong lean into faith.

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Growth, Meaning, Impact Travis Shelton Growth, Meaning, Impact Travis Shelton

Creativity is a Renewable Resource

Today is my 500th article published in 500 days. It feels weird even typing that. 238,000 words sent into cyberspace, hoping to move the needle in someone's life. It started with a handful of people already subscribed to my previous blog (plus a few new pity follows from friends and family). Fast forward 500 days and the addition of many new faces, and The Daily Meaning has been e-mailed 62,000 times.

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Meaning, Impact, Behavioral Science, Generosity, Career Travis Shelton Meaning, Impact, Behavioral Science, Generosity, Career Travis Shelton

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.

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Budgeting, Saving, Spending Travis Shelton Budgeting, Saving, Spending Travis Shelton

Smooth Out Your Lumpy Stuff

First, what's the purpose of a sinking fund? A sinking fund is another name for an account funded over time for a specific future expense. These expenses don't happen every month, but you know they will happen at some point. It's not a matter of IF, but WHEN (and how much). I call them "lumpy" expenses.

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Career, Parenting Travis Shelton Career, Parenting Travis Shelton

The Kids Feel It

There's one statistic that lives rent-free in my head. I've mentioned it multiple times on this blog, in the podcast, and in my keynote talk. According to a Gallup poll, 70% of Americans dislike or hate their job. It's actually higher than 70% since they recommissioned the study post-COVID, but 70% is a nice round number and rolls off the tongue.

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Budgeting, Saving Travis Shelton Budgeting, Saving Travis Shelton

Not All Roses and Sunshine

I'm sad to report it's not been all roses and sunshine here in Nissan 350Z-ville. I wish I could tell you I've been happily cruising around in my sweet new (to me) ride for the last few weeks, but that hasn't been the case. 

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Behavioral Science Travis Shelton Behavioral Science Travis Shelton

“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.

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