08/31/2023
As you recall from the last post about Paul, he is searching for a purpose that will motivate him in his new phase of financial counseling. In the past he was very motivated to provide for his family. Now his children are grown and he has no major financial worries. As a result, he wanted to find something, or some combination of things that would excite him. This would help him overcome any frustrations or difficulties in the new environment.
Paul had spent a week preparing his list. I discovered that most of his list was financial in nature. He had said before that he was not really motivated by financial goals, so the list needed some work. His list was long but with work we transformed it and brought it down to five items that he felt would achieve everything on his list but with a context that he found motivating.
Paul’s Final List
My wife and family will be proud of the man I am being in this new career phase
I will be proud of the man I am being in this new career phase.
I will enable team members to feel confident and capable of generating their own financial success.
I will provide financial security to families across generations so they can live their best lives and focus on their own missions.
I will be constantly learning new things and meeting exciting new people, keeping me healthy and feeling alive.
Analysis
I would like share with you the evolution of the first item on the list as an example of how the list evolved.
As background, Paul’s relationship with his wife is very important to him. They have been married for 30 years. There have been challenges in the marriage as there would be in any long term relationship. Now the marriage is gaining new positive momentum.
His original purpose that he wrote about this was something to the effect of “I will earn enough money so that my wife can buy anything she wants.”
Our discussion on this topic revolved around the fact that providing money was not necessarily something that would enrich the marriage. In the end, Paul decided that if his wife was proud of him, that implied that he was sharing his challenges and successes with her and they were building an ever stronger bond. In addition this would likely mean that he would be earning good money and providing for her as she wished.
Paul felt that the 5 elements of purpose posted above would drive him forward during difficult times.
