Good morning!
In case you missed it, I threw a little Latin at you in this week's subject line...
"Ab Intra" means "from within."
And "from within" is a great way to summarize my recent week-long training with Money Quotient.
I, along with a couple dozen other advisors, spent 4-5 hours a day learning how to better understand our clients so we can deliver more personalized planning advice.
I'm oversimplifying in my description above, but I'm sure I could write several thousand words and not even begin to scratch the surface of my training experience.
I will say that a fundamental belief at Money Quotient is that people will be more motivated to execute and stick with their financial plan if they're able to tap into their true motivations.
Hmm, that seems sorta redundant, doesn't it?
But not so fast...
Because while I can ask you what your personal values, goals, and priorities are, and you can provide your answers, you might not be fully forthcoming.
And the reason why you might not be fully forthcoming about what REALLY makes you tick as a person is because of how we're wired as humans.
Regardless of our financial or social standing, we all want to be accepted by others.
This thinking has pre-historic roots from our time in hunter-gatherer tribes. If you weren't part of - accepted by - a tribe, it would be more difficult to survive and you might become a saber tooth tiger's next meal.
A lot has changed over the millennia, but our "lizard brain" survival instinct hasn't gone anywhere.
As a result, whether you're talking to a coworker or a financial advisor, you'll often - even unconsciously - say things you *think* the other person wants to hear.
Because you want to be liked, respected, and accepted.
All because you're ancient ancestors were trying to survive in the most literal sense of the word.
And lest you think I'm immune from this same behavior, I'm absolutely not.
For those of you with kids, think of the lengths young folks will go to just to try and fit in with their peers in middle school and high school.
Again, that's our survival instinct bubbling up to the surface.
So back to Money Quotient...
Through a lot of research and experiential feedback, they believe (and I agree) that the best person to figure out who YOU are and what makes YOU tick is...
YOU...
That's right, rather than relying on me or another financial advisor to coax your values, beliefs, history, and perspectives out of you, there's a better way.
Through the use of Money Quotient's tools and conversations, my role shifts from simply trying to better understand you by "extracting" information to instead facilitating and guiding you through a process of self-discovery that can help you figure out what really is important and motivating to you.
Remember, "from within."
And this isn't accomplished with one tool or via one conversation.
It's not a product.
It's an ongoing process... just like financial planning (done right).
In fact, this approach runs parallel to our normal ongoing financial planning work.
Because we can always learn more about ourselves (and our spouses/partners), and we can always improve your plan over time by tying it closer and closer to who you are as a person.
Or who you are as a couple.
At this point, you might be thinking this is some woo-woo, new age, hug-a-tree approach to financial planning, but it's actually quite the opposite...
It's research-based and has been around for years and utilized by many other financial advisor who I know and respect.
So, when I titled this week's letter "ab intra" (from within), now you have an inkling as to why...
I learned a lot going through this training - both about myself and the other advisors I had the pleasure of getting to know.
And I look forward to introducing these tools and process to my clients in the future.
But Wait, There's More...
Something that came up more than once during my week with Money Quotient is the fact that we often "should all over ourselves."
I know I regularly think, "I should do this..." or "I should do that...".
Maybe you've had similar thoughts.
But where does all this "should" come from?
Typically it's borne of external (or extrinsic) sources:
Our childhood
Our family
Our life experiences
Our professional situation
This list is virtually endless
But the other side of the extrinsic coin is "intrinsic" in nature.
Another way of saying "from within" our intrinsic compass is the one we should be paying close attention to.
Ever met with a professional (financial or otherwise) and something just didn't feel right? In your gut?
That might have been your intrinsic compass telling you something is "off" and you should walk (or maybe run) the other direction.
In my experience, we don't listen to our gut near enough.
But don't get too lost in the weeds of extrinsic vs intrinsic. They're just words, after all.
What I'd really encourage you to do the next time you catch yourself saying, "I should..." is asking yourself exactly why you feel you should be doing anything.
Are you trying to fulfill your own expectations? Or the assumed expectations of others?
Time for some more Latin...
"Temet nosce" means know thyself. (also a Matrix movie reference)
And whether through more self-awareness, or through a process like I'll be using going forward (with the help of Money Quotient), I believe the effort invested in getting to know yourself better over time has the potential for the highest return on investment of anything you could put your money or your time and energy into.
If this is something of interest to you, or you'd like to discuss any of the above concepts further, please get in touch...