Episode #31: 5 Momentous Decisions to Live a Richer Life

Wealth Decisions Podcast Transcript for Episode #31: 5 Momentous Decisions to Live a Richer Life

Listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts or Spotify

Welcome to The Wealth Decisions Podcast, where each week I take 15 minutes or less to discuss crucial wealth decisions and mindset hacks to help you live a richer life.

I'm your host, Brian Muller, and I've been in the financial services industry for over 25 years, and I'm also a certified life and health coach.

And I have a passion for helping people make better decisions around their money and their life.

So for the sake of time, let's dive right into it.

In today's episode, I'm going to be talking about five momentous decisions to live a richer life.

I'm currently working on a book with a major publisher where I discuss the 30 most important life health and wealth decisions you need to consider making to be on your way to living a richer life.

Today, I want to talk to you about five of those decisions that I believe can transform your life, leading you to greater health, fulfillment and prosperity.

The definition of momentous is of a decision, event or change of great importance or significance, especially on its bearing of the future.

I used to do workshops back in 2015 and 2016 to help financial advisors of the brokerage firm I was at live a better, more balanced life to meet their business goals as well as their life goals.

In 2016, I had set up a three-hour workshop for our region.

And my wife Amy was struggling with some stomach pain and back pain at the time.

And she was slotted to see the doctor on the same day I was doing this workshop.

The workshop happened to be about developing a compelling vision for your life, which I had created myself and I was teaching others how to create this better, more compelling vision for their life.

But little did I know that the news that we would find out two weeks later would upend our whole life.

In 2016, Amy, my wife, who was only 36 years old, was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.

And ten months later, she was gone.

So this compelling vision that I had for my life was completely disrupted.

And here I am, seven years later, still trying to figure out life.

But when I look back at the experience I had, losing my wife and the mother of my children, I recognized that all the self-development work I did before that had really helped me get through one of the hardest things I've ever had to endure.

I grieved, I reflected, I wrote about 40 songs about love, grief and loss.

I listened to my heart and when my mind was somewhat clear, I started envisioning how I could live a more fulfilling life in honor of her, for my kids and for myself.

I knew one day I'd have to create a new vision for my life.

And today I have a philosophy on life, health and wealth that I call the Made Life philosophy.

It's all about designing a way to live a richer life.

And it's an acronym for meaning, accomplishment, difference and experiences.

I believe that experiences are more important than things.

I believe that strong relationships should be centered around the three A's.

I believe your health is paramount to being able to enjoy your life and your wealth.

I believe having a financial plan can contribute to your overall well-being.

I believe living with intention leads to more joy and fulfillment.

I believe giving back is a priceless life experience.

I believe comfort is the enemy of achievement.

And I believe your why behind your why is what will keep you inspired long term.

Today, I'm going to be talking about five of those beliefs of the Made Life philosophy.

I believe there will be three big moments that will start to change your life.

Moment number one is the day you change your belief and mindset on what is possible for you.

Moment number two is the day you act on that new belief and make progress daily toward your new vision.

And moment number three is the day you create internal inspiration that pulls you daily towards living your best life.

To live a richer life, many important decisions need to be made about your health, life and financial habits.

You know, a life with wealth but poor health is not a richer life.

Excellent health but no financial security won't allow you to do all the things you want to do in life.

And being healthy and wealthy with no deep quality relationships is also not a rich life.

A rich life is about finding a balance of all the things that bring life meaning.

It's about accomplishing things without sacrificing your most important relationships.

It's about making a difference in the lives of others.

And it's about experiencing all that life has to offer.

Your life is the sum of all the choices you've made up until now.

The decisions you make each day lead to the actions you take, which lead to the life that you're currently living.

The big question is why don't we always make the best decisions each day when it comes down to reaching our life, health or wealth goals?

The answer is we won't consistently act in a way that is inconsistent with the way we see ourselves.

But what if you could make better decisions that turn into habits and become new standards for helping you live a healthier and more prosperous life?

You first have to change the way you see yourself by shifting your mindset.

And that leads us to momentous decision number one.

Adopt a health and wealth mindset.

Your mindset is crucial to developing sustainable health and wealth habits.

Clearly imagine the person you want to become.

What does the healthiest or most financially successful version of you believe, do and value?

You know, a healthy person exercises right away in the morning, eats a healthy breakfast, doesn't indulge in fast food, and always carries a water bottle.

A healthy person does something active every day.

A wealthy person pays themselves first, lives within their means, and invests money when it's available for the long term.

Wealthy people have a financial plan.

A wealthy person knows where their money is going and doesn't waste money on unnecessary things.

The key to having better health and creating more wealth and living a richer life is not a new fad diet or get rich quick schemes.

It's about creating strong habits that become new standards.

It all starts with transforming your mindset.

Momentous Decision Number Two, Build stronger relationships using the three A's.

In the craziness of life, it's easy to take our relationships for granted.

The quality of our connections with others is one of the strongest predictors of our happiness and longevity.

And for our relationships to be richer, the three A's can serve as a guide.

The three A's are Attention, Affection and Appreciation.

If something is off in our marriage or relationship, you usually can point to one of the three A's.

When it comes to Attention, Jim Rohn often said, the greatest gift we can give someone is the gift of our Attention.

You know, show people that we care by giving them our Attention and truly listening, and good things will happen in our personal and professional life.

When it comes to Affection, it's all about being intentional about it, you know, a small touch or rubbing your partner's shoulder or neck after a tough day, giving a long hard hug or kissing your partner out of the blue.

And when it comes to Appreciation, if you take the steps each day to show true Appreciation, you're going to make two people feel good.

The person you're thanking and yourself.

Momentous Decision number three is create more joy in your life.

I remember when my wife Amy died in 2017, everything was different, everything felt different.

Even sunny days didn't seem that sunny.

Music didn't sound the same.

Food didn't taste the same.

I was in a fog.

I was in deep grief and I couldn't find joy.

Until I found a journaling exercise called Three Moments of Joy.

Every day, I journaled about my three moments of joy from the day before.

And what it started to do for me is force me to be intentional about looking for joy each day.

So that had something to write down in my journal.

And as each day went on, I got better at finding joy or creating it.

It was all those simple moments that I was maybe missing before because I wasn't looking for them or appreciating the moments when they happened.

Momentous Decision Number Four is create a financial plan centered around living for today and saving for the future.

Having a solid financial plan will contribute to your overall well-being.

But how do you balance living for today and saving for the future?

It all comes down to understanding your values, paying yourself first and living below your means.

If I were to review your bank and credit card statements, I could determine in about 30 minutes what is most important to you, what truly matters to you.

Whatever your values are, ask yourself, are your daily choices reflecting them?

I believe there are three things you can have regarding your future finances, and I call them the three Fs, financial security, financial independence, or financial freedom.

At first glance, those things all look very similar, but they're very different.

All three are very desirable goals and can be achieved with a well thought out plan.

Financial security will give you just that.

You'll feel secure enough, but you won't be able to do all the things you want to do.

Financial independence will allow you to do more of the things you want, whether that's traveling, helping the kids or grandkids with college, and will give you a nice margin of confidence not to have to worry.

But financial freedom is about having more choice, more choices to achieve bigger dreams, more options to take trips you never thought you could afford, and more money to leave a legacy if that's what you desire.

Whatever your ideal financial goal is, paying yourself first is a crucial discipline you need to focus on.

You know, everyone has different lifestyles, budgets, and dreams.

But if you want financial freedom, putting away between 30 to 40 percent may be what you need to do to achieve that goal.

If you desire financial independence, setting aside 20 percent of your income may be necessary to achieve that feeling of independence.

If you want financial security, putting away 10 percent.

It's about developing a plan to help you achieve your desired lifestyle.

But life is not just about saving for the future, it's about living for today.

So create a separate account for life experiences.

Spend your money on creating moments, rather than things that bring temporary happiness.

Momentous Decision number five, know your why behind your why.

It's not enough to know what you want to achieve.

You must also understand the deeper reasons why you're pursuing those goals.

Whether you want to improve your health or build a successful career or build your wealth, taking the time to find the why behind your why will keep you committed by turning your shoulds and coulds into must.

Instead of saying I should work out, you'll make it part of who you are and commit to a healthy lifestyle because there's a stronger reason for why you work out.

It becomes a must.

So what is your why for wanting to be healthy?

You know, the common answers might be to lose weight or look and feel better or maybe because your doctor said so.

My why for my health is to be fit and healthy.

But my why behind my why is to be healthy and fit long into my 60s and 70s so I can see my kids get married and become successful, productive adults, travel the world and have the energy to play with my grandkids.

To create a richer life, we need to change our thoughts on what is possible for us, make new standards and create a better vision for what our lives can be.

Now that I've shared these five momentous decisions with you, here's my challenge.

Choose one of these decisions, just one, and commit to it for the next 30 days.

Whether it's prioritizing your health, creating joy, nurturing your relationships, or creating a financial plan.

Remember a richer life, one filled with health and meaningful experiences and prosperity, isn't something that happens by chance.

It's the result of intentional decisions consistently applied over time.

Jim Rohn often said, We must all suffer one of two things, the pain of discipline or the pain of regret.

The pain of discipline weighs ounces, while the pain of regret weighs tons.

I don't want to have any regrets in life.

I don't want any of you to have regrets.

I believe we deserve more.

I believe we can design a life we will look back on and be proud of.

I believe we can all live a richer life.

So start telling yourself you deserve it, and then start deserving it by taking action.

You have the power to transform your life one decision at a time.

The question is, which decision will you make today?

And that's it for today's episode, Five Momentous Decisions to Live a Richer Life.

Listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts or Spotify


-Brian D. Muller, AAMS® Founder, Wealth Advisor

Momentous Wealth Advisors in a fee-only fiduciary advisory firm

Disclaimer: This material is for informational purposes only and should not be construed as investment advice. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Investors should make investment decisions based on their unique investment objectives and financial situation. While the information is believed to be accurate, it is not guaranteed and is subject to change without notice.

Investors should understand the risks involved in owning investments, including interest rate risk, credit risk and market risk. The value of investments fluctuates and investors can lose some or all of their principal.

Always consult with a qualified financial professional before making any investment decisions.