2023 Could Suck. Don’t Let It

Not to dampen the Holiday spirit, but 2023 is not shaping up to be a banner year.

We’re heading into a recession. Inflation and wages are still too high. The Fed will continue raising rates near-term. That means continued headwinds for the stock market, the housing market and for borrowers. Meanwhile, we have a divided government. Flu season has returned with a vengeance and COVID hasn’t disappeared. The Russia-Ukraine conflict is likely to enter a quagmire and some of our airlines can’t get their planes off the ground.

 

Good!

 

It’s good because we have a unique opportunity to get better and there’s less downside risk if our new approach doesn’t work out.

Times like these remind me of one of my last marathons. I was late to the starting line and didn’t warm up properly. The previous night’s pasta wasn’t sitting right in my stomach, and it was unseasonably warm and windy. Not exactly the right conditions for a personal best. Sure enough, by mile 10 I was thinking seriously about throwing in the towel.

 

But then I remembered what my college track coach, the legendary Art Gulden liked to say: “Anyone can run fast when they’re feeling good; I’m going to teach you to run fast when you feel like crap.” And he did.

So, after a quick pitstop at the Porta-John, I got my head and GI tract re-set, and I came up with some new goals for that day. I’ll get to those in a minute.

Coach Gulden would say: “When your ass falls off in the middle of a race, don’t whine about it. Go back and pick it up, stick it back on, and keep going.” Jocko Willink, the retired Navy Seal, motivational speaker and podcast host would say: “When things are going bad: Don’t get all bummed out, don’t get startled, don’t get frustrated. Just look at the issue and say: ‘Good.’”

Willink says it’s actually good when things suck because you have more time to get take stock of the situation and find a solution. “Don’t throw in the towel,” barks Willink. “Get up. Dust off. Reload. Recalibrate and Re-Engage.”

*** Full 2-minute version of Jocko’s Good episode

Willink believes if you can still say the word “good” to yourself when times are bad then you’re still alive and you’re still breathing. “And if you’re still breathing, that means you’ve still got some fight left in you,” said Willink. “Accept reality, but focus on the solution. Take that issue, take that setback, take that problem, and turn it into something good.”

So, I decided to flush from my mind the first 10 crappy miles of my race and to set a new goal. The new goal was to run the last 16 miles faster than I ever closed out the last 16 miles of a race before. And that’s what kept me going. My overall time was about five minutes slower than my personal best, but thanks to a very strong last 16, I was a top finisher in my age group and felt like I could have run another five miles. Finishing that way was a helluva lot better than quitting at mile 10 and have a big old DNF (Did Not Finish) next to my name.

Conclusion

Nobody has a crystal ball, but I suspect there will be times when we’re severely tested in 2023. Some of you will have the courage to find solutions and push through. Others of you will say to yourself: “That’s Life” or “It Is What It Is” or “Whaddya Gonna Do?” If you say that crap to me, do me a favor and send in your termination notice. I don’t want to work with you.

For the rest of you, let’s get after it in 2023. It’s time to get comfortable being a little uncomfortable. Don’t take a DNF.

What’s your take? I’d love to hear from you. 

#JockoWillink, #resolutions, #selfimprovement, #reslience, #stoicism

 

Test Drive Resolutions Now (or they won’t stick in ‘23)

Oscar Wilde once said: “Good resolutions are simply checks that people draw on a bank where they have no account.” 

 

As humans, we’re not very good at keeping promises to ourselves. Take New Year’s resolutions. Year after year we promise ourselves: “After the Holidays I’ll get my fitness/finances/waistline/relationships back on track.” And what happens? They stall out and the sting of regret hangs in the air like wet laundry over a long-ignored Peloton bike.

 

If this sounds like you, you’re not alone. Research shows four out of five New Year’s resolutions (81%) will be abandoned by mid-January. Another widely cited study found that one in four people (23%) quit their resolution after just one week. Fitness app Strava found the majority of users had given up on their New Year’s resolutions by January 19 (aka national Quitter’s Day).

In a minute, I’ll share some tips for increasing the odds of making your resolutions stick. But first let’s look at they fail. Bottom line: behavior change is hard. It can be unpleasant, uncomfortable and takes time. That’s a tough sell in today’s era of life hacks, apps and instant gratification.

1. Timing. New Year’s Day is an absolutely terrible time to start making accountability pacts with yourself. You’ve just spent the past month (or two) overindulging with friends, family and the Amazon delivery people. Your defenses and self-discipline are down. It takes time just to get back on track, let improve. But most people assume they can sprint out of the gate toward a better version of themselves, whether it’s breaking a bad habit or reaching a financial, fitness or mental health goal. As with so many things in life, it takes time and patience. You have to be committed for the long haul.

 

2. Overly ambitious. Most people set New Year’s goals that are BHAGs (Big Hairy Audacious Goals) instead of realistic, incremental ones. We tend swing for the fences rather hitting solid singles. The problem with swinging for the fences is that you’re far more likely to strike out. If you haven’t run a quarter mile since junior high school gym class, don’t resolve to run a marathon within six months. It may work in the movies, but in real life, you’re just setting yourself up for disappointment, injury and an unhealthy relapse. However, if you start with 20 minutes of walking a day with a goal of completing a 5K run in six months, your odds of success go up exponentially. And from there, you can talk about completing a 10K or half-marathon before year end with even more ambitious goals in 2023.

 

3. All or nothing mentality. New Year’s resolutions tend to encourage “all-or-nothing” thinking. Success is measured as either a complete win or a complete failure. The problem with such “all-or-nothing” goals is that they don’t allow for even minor slip-ups. Once you fall off the bandwagon, it’s easy to get discouraged and give up entirely. This is a big reason why so many folks abandon their resolutions by February, according to the studies and surveys referenced above.

4. Lack of specificity. New Year’s often resolutions fail because they’re too broad or too vague. “Read more,” “eat healthy foods,” “save more money,” or “fix my relationship” are examples of goals that lack any real specificity. This can be problematic for three reasons:

a)      They’re not actionable. It’s difficult to know what exactly you need to do to achieve your goal.

b)     They’re difficult to measure. It’s difficult to create mental milestones of success, as there’s no clearly defined end goal.

c)      They lack accountability. If a goal is too vague, it can seem more like an aspiration rather than a practical, real-world target. With no target to aim for, you aren’t really accountable for hitting anything.

5 tips for making resolutions stick

1. Be SMART. New Year’s resolutions are a form of behavior modification. To make this changing mindset stick, you want to be SMART about (Specific, Measurable, Actionable, Realistic and Time Specific). If your goal is to lose 30 pounds by July 4^th weekend (roughly 6 months from now), that means you should strive to lose five pounds per month or 1.25 pounds per week. That’s pretty specific and realistic and certainly very measurable. Small sub-goals are much easier to strive for than trying to reach a daunting, overwhelming task like “Lose 30 pounds this year.”

2. Be consistent. As the old saying goes: “Missing once is an accident. Missing twice is the start of a new habit. My recent post Consistency Is Not Boring has more.

 

3. Turn resolutions into ingrained habits. For example: 

• Resolution: Quit smoking vs. Habit: Stop smoking that one cigarette you have every morning after breakfast.
• Resolution: Eat healthy food vs. Habit: Start substituting that one daily morning pastry for a banana.
• Resolution: Lose weight vs. Habit: Every evening after work, go for a two to three-minute run or walk around the block.
• Resolution: Manage stress vs. Habit: Meditate for two to three minutes every morning after you wake up.
• Resolution: Improve finances vs. Habit: Save an extra 2 percent of each paycheck and put half into my 401(k)s low-cost index fund and the other half into a high-yield savings account at my bank.

*** For more on making resolutions habit forming, see Sahil Bloom’s 30 for 30 Challenge.

4. Take resolutions for a test drive in December. After following Steps 1-3 above (preferably soon after Thanksgiving), see what it’s like to pursue the “new you.” Have you bitten off more than you can chew? Is attainment of the goal going to interfere with your work, make you too fatigued to concentrate or compromise relationships with co-workers and family? If so, it’s time to dial back your goals before you go live with your resolutions in 2023. Your friends, family and co-workers will thank you and be more supportive of you when you’re not manic or irritable all the time.

5. Have an accountability partner. As the old saying goes, “it’s easier to let down yourself than it is to let down someone you trust.” Share your resolution with a person you can trust who won’t let you make excuses or talk you out of striving toward your goal.

Conclusion

Eating an entire elephant is impossible. But taking it one bite at a time makes a daunting challenge seem manageable. Tweak your resolutions all year long (See Step 4) and don’t beat yourself up for falling short. Instead of throwing in the towel, dust yourself, get back on the horse and set more realistic goals for the remainder of 2023.

As Napolean Hill famously said: “A goal is just a dream with a deadline.”

 

What’s your take? I’d love to hear from you. 

 

  

Finding Your Inner Writer’s Voice

8 powerful tips

Have you ever listened to your voice on an answering machine massage or cell phone voice recorder? Pretty cringeworthy, right? Well, that’s what it’s like when you don’t read back your written work to yourself before posting it lor publishing it. Sure, those words on the screen are yours, but it doesn’t really sound like you. It’s kind of like taking a shower with your raincoat on.

 

I’ve found there’s no better way to edit yourself than to read back aloud the final draft of a blog post, article, case study, presentation or white paper, before making it live for the world to see. If you know of writing software or a grammar app that can filter your words better than the voice inside your head can, I’d love to hear from you and check it out.

 

Just as no two people have the exact same speech patterns, no two people have the same way of expressing themselves through the written word. Whether you enjoy the writing process or put it in the same category as a root canal or colonoscopy, here are eight powerful tips for finding and refining your inner voice:

 

1. Create space in your life and schedule. When time is flying by during the workday, your brain can be on overdrive, too. Unfortunately, when you’re just racing from task to task, you’re not allowing yourself time to get to a higher level of thinking that good writing requires. To avoid being a 24/7 task rabbit, you’ve got to give yourself time to slow down. The best way to tap into your inner voice is to create more space between your thoughts, so your intuition can literally get a word in edgewise.

2. Practice deep listening. This involves releasing judgment (and the impulse to respond, criticize or edit) when someone else is speaking. Can you go more than 15 seconds without interrupting or making a snarky remark on the side? Fully tuning in to what the other person is saying improves your capacity to listen to yourself.

3.Journaling. For a week, try to write two or three pages (longhand form) every single morning (or evening) when you have a quit moment in your day. Write anything that comes to mind to get going, and usually, by the end of the third page, your inner voice will reveal clear and concrete direction. Don’t worry about spelling, typos or syntax. Just write. Don’t worry, your first draft is supposed to suck and nobody is passing judgement.

4. Take a break from tech. Allow yourself to be in silence with few distractions, particularly without any phones, computers, or TVs. Don't try to force your inner voice to speak to you. Just create the right conditions for deep inner listening -- quiet alone time. If that’s too much of a shock to your system try this experiment: Next time you go to the gym or on a long hike, bike ride or run by yourself, try doing it without headphones on. Just listen to your breathing and the sound of your own footsteps. You’ll be amazed by what your brain comes up with when you’re truly alone with your thoughts and not competing with other devices for your attention.

5. Practice being in a flow state. Find a project or projects that get you into a flow state—a state of being in which you’re so immersed in your work or the task at hand, that you lose track of time. Being in a flow state is empowering and can give you the mental space needed for your inner voice to come through.

 

6. Read as much as you can as often as you can. Put down the remote and your devices and just read. It could be the newspaper, a novel, a magazine, a cookbook. It doesn’t have to be anything career related or good for your mental health. Just find something you enjoy reading and pay attention to how the author introduces an idea, sets the scene, strings together the plot or argument, and then wraps it up before you move on to the next chapter or article.

7. Emulate writers you admire. Whether it’s a journalist, novelist, blogger, or even a cartoonist that you admire, read everything you can by that author and pay attention to the style elements that help define his or her writing voice. What is the author’s cadence? Short crisp sentences or long descriptive ones? Is the pacing consistent, or do they alternative between short sentences and long ones? Do they have an esoteric vocabulary are do they intentionally use short, simple words and phrase to make the most complex concepts sound simple? There is no single best formula. Just get a feel for what you like and consider how that style will reflect on your personal brand.

8. Set a timer. Before your next writing project, take out an alarm clock or the countdown timer on your phone. Give yourself X amount of time to get your thoughts down and then Y amount of time for editing. After that, it’s pencils down and time to post. I give myself 45 minutes for weekly blog: 30 minutes of free form writing + 10 minutes of editing time. Then I step away for at least two hours before setting the timer for five more minutes reading back myself aloud and making final tweaks before posting.

 

Not every post is going to be a winner, but “timeboxing” yourself makes your writing muscles stronger and more supple. It prevents you from procrastinating or worse, from getting into the endless self-editing loop which can cause you to second-guess yourself, usually for the worse.

 

As Steve Jobs once said at a Stanford University commencement speech: “Don’t let the noise of other’s opinions drown out your own inner voice. Have the courage to follow your heart and intuition.”

 

Conclusion

Whatever helps you get in touch with your inner voice, do it, and do it often. It may seem easier to look for answers outside of yourself, but with a little patience, trust, and good listening skills, you'll be able to tune into your inner voice for guidance when you need it most.

 

What’s your take? I’d love to hear from you. 

 

# persuasivewriting, #innervoice, #contentcreation

Are You a Writer or an Editor? Take Quiz

Many of you consider yourselves left-brained “numbers people.” But that doesn’t mean you can’t be a more confident writer or content shaper. The two skills are not mutual exclusive. In fact, you didn’t get to where you are today without having solid right-brained communication skills.

What’s amazing to me is that many of you think nothing of standing at the podium before hundreds of people – bright lights and cameras blazing -- yet freeze up at the keyboard when it’s just you alone with your thoughts.

 

The written word comes naturally to some of you, but for others, starting a grocery list from scratch is daunting, let alone a blog post, an article or heaven forbid a book chapter. At the same time, once someone else has put down their words on a page, you slow-starters become eagle-eyed editors with red pen (or track changes) flying with revisions. Meanwhile those of you whose prose flows easily get the cold sweats when it comes time to condensing your words into the narrow confines of a blog post, short article or presentation. Oh, it’s so painful leaving your brilliant prose on the cutting-room floor, right?

 

Editor vs. writer

 

To get to the next level of content proficiency, I’ve found it helpful to know whether you’re more of a writer or an editor. Most people have elements of both skills in their DNA, but it’s good to know where you fall on the spectrum. See helpful quiz below.

 

A writer is typically charged with the creative task of putting words on a blank page, whether for the purpose of informing, persuading or entertaining. An editor may be slightly more analytical, as he or she must review, manage and guide a particular work or series of works to successful publication. Writers create, using the right side of the brain.

Editors analyze, utilizing the left side of the brain. But again, most of you have developed both sides of the brain in your work with clients. Why not in your writing?

Editor as coach

Writer-editor relationships are deeply personal and the editor must walk a fine line between mentoring, coaching and psychoanalyzing. To work well, the writer-editor relationship must be built on mutual respect. The writer must trust the editor’s fresh eyes and insight. The editor must trust the writer’s voice on a deadline and acknowledge the writer, not the editor, is the true subject matter expert.

 

Many of you played competitive sports growing up. I’ve found the writer-editor relationship similar to the athlete-coach relationship. I’m sure you had a special coach who made a big impact on your life. An editor/coach’s job is to help the writer/athlete get the very best out of themselves with burning them out or constantly berating them. At the same time, writers can get better if they have a thin skin or simply aren’t coachable.

 

Whether it’s a blog post on a website or a novel, most of the published written products that people encounter in their daily lives have been polished by an editor. The editor is the last line of defense in determining that the writer’s words are ready to be published or made public. Just what makes the words publish-ready depends in part on the format — for instance, a blog post might rely on short sentences and to-the-point language while a novel might use longer sentences and more descriptive, flowery speech. Deciding what is appropriate based on the media format, its audience, and its purpose is also part of the editor’s job. These experts don’t just proofread for errors in spelling or grammar but also make decisions on content (what to include and what to cut) and style.

 

Are you more of a writer or an editor?
Here’s a helpful quiz adapted from Gray Grant communications:

 

WRITER TENDENCIES

1. Do you tend to leave your work-in-progress in the bottom of your desk drawer for weeks at a time, hoping the editing fairies will work on it while you’re living the rest of your life? 
    
2. Even if you have a hard time getting started writing, do you find that time always slips away while you write? 
   
   
3. If given the choice between editing something you’ve written OR reading an incredibly boring book, would you always choose the reading? 
   
   
4. When writing, do you naturally focus on telling stories? Stories make writing more interesting – not just for the reader but for the writer as well.
    
5. Do you never worry about what your readers are going to think of your writing ability? While others fret about the quality of their prose, you’re still able to write as though it’s no more difficult than typing.
   
   
6. Do you naturally use similes and metaphors? Persuasive writers understand that writing becomes more interesting if they can work in lots of intriguing comparisons.

 

7. When Microsoft Word puts a red squiggly line underneath a spelling error you’ve made, are you able to ignore it until you’ve finished writing the piece?  

 

8. Does it take you 10 times longer to edit that you had anticipated? Perfectionists are terrible at gauging the time a job will take.

SCORE: How many of these traits above sound like you? If you scored 6 or above, you’re most likely a natural editor more than a writer.

 

EDITOR TENDENCIES

1. Do you have a reflexive urge to edit just about every sentence as soon as you’ve written it? This is called editing while you write.
   
   
2. Do you procrastinate when it comes time to writing? Would you rather vacuum behind the refrigerator, have a colonoscopy or work on your income taxes than write a first draft?  
   
   
3. Do you spend time doing so much research you feel you could produce an encyclopedia on the topic…but hate to start summarizing? 
   
   
4. Do you usually read your own writing out loud when you edit it? Good editors naturally read their writing out loud. This is one of the best possible ways to learn what you need to fix.
   
   
5. Does it take you 10 times longer to write than you had anticipate? Perfectionists are terrible at gauging the time a job will take.
   
   
6. Do you obsess on structure, certain that if you could only divine the right organization, your work-in-progress would more or less write itself? Ah, the promise of a magic bullet.

 

SCORE: How many of these traits above sound like you? If you scored 5 or above, you’re most likely a natural editor more than a writer.

 

 

Conclusion

Whether you’re more of an editor or a writer, don’t ever tell me you cannot write or you didn’t have time to write. You didn’t get to your current level of success without being able to communicate effectively. So, like it or note you need to be a writer. Here are 8 keys to finding your inner voice.

 

What’s your take? I’d love to hear from you. 

 

#writervseditor, #contentcreation, #persuasivewriting

The Power of Sports

Let’s face it; these are not the best of times. The economy and financial markets are in turmoil. Natural disasters are coming at us more frequently and more ferociously than before. The country is more divided then ever. Covid refuses to give up. The Russia Ukraine crisis grinds on and we may be on the cusp of a global recession.

But sports still has the power to unite us and uplift us when so many other societal institutions don’t. If you’re a sport fan, early October is the best time of year. College and NFL football is underway. Even better, there’s no clear Super Bowl favorite this year and lots of formerly lousy teams are suddenly in contention (Miami, NY Giants, Philadelphia, Jacksonville, Cincinnati, et al). Major League Soccer and Major League Baseball are about to start their playoffs and professional basketball and hockey are about to tip off the regular season.

 

There may be little to cheer about in the daily news – except the sports section. Take baseball. Even if you’re not a baseball fan, it’s been hard not to root for two good dudes doing amazing things on the diamond.

 

Forty-two-year-old #AlbertPujols, the longtime Cardinals slugger recently clubbed his 703^rd career home run and collected his 2,216th run batted in. Only Babe Ruth, Henry Aaron and (drug-aided) Barry Bonds finished with more home runs and only Aaron had more RBIs. In fact, only Aaron had more total bases than Pujols.

 

Then there’s Yankee slugger #AaronJudge who broke Roger Maris’s single season home run record, this week – a record that had been on the books for 61 years. Judge’s 62 home runs this season trail only Sammy Sosa (66), Mark McGwire (70) and Barry Bonds (73) who set their marks during the peak steroid era of 1998-2001 and all were later found to be “on the juice.” Judge, an athletic 6’8” and 280 pounds didn’t need performance enhancing drugs to accomplish his feat. He used hard-work to leverage his imposing size and natural gifts to outdistance his closest rival Kyle Schwarber (46) by about 40%. Like Pujols, Judge is a nice guy and modest to boot. No one ever said that about Bonds.

 

In this cynical, jaded era of sports and common discourse, everyone seemed to be cheering for the bi-racial adopted slugger from Sacramento, CA – including the Maris family.

 

"It's hard not to be moved by it, even when you're on the wrong side of it," said Cincinnati Reds manager David Bell after a recent game against Judge. Even President Biden tweeted: "Congrats @TheJudge44 on home run 62. History made, more history to make."

 

I never liked the Yankees and my favorite team plays the Cardinals in the playoffs, but I’ll still be rooting for Judge and Pujols. In an era of painfully cliché athlete interviews, Judge came up with a unique take on why he’s not going to rest on his laurels: “If what you did yesterday still seems big today, then you haven't done enough today.”

Conclusion

Maybe Nelson Mandela said it best: “Sport has the power to change the world. It has the power to inspire, it has the power to unite people in a way that little else does. Sport can create hope, where once there was only despair. It is more powerful than governments in breaking down racial barriers. It laughs in the face of all types of discrimination.” 

 

What’s your take? I’d love to hear from you. 

 

#AaronJudge, #AlbertPujols, #homerunrecord

Overcoming ‘Smartest Kid in the Class Syndrome’ When Writing or Speaking

One of the best things about my work is that I get to work with some of the smartest, hardest working and most insightful thought leaders in the financial advisory world. One of the worst things about my work is that I work with some of the smartest, most insightful leaders in the financial advisory world.

It's a double-edged sword for our firm’s clients because they’re often asked to write, speak and sit on panels addressing their peers. They have so much expertise to share, but alas, it’s hard to fit all that brainpower and experience into the narrow confines of a blog post, article or short-presentation. So, instead of being selective, they try to cram a lifetime of knowledge into their content pieces and the readers ends up feeling like their drinking from a firehose.

 

Sounds familiar?

Research shows that most humans can’t multitask. But that’s essentially what you’re asking people to do when you introduce two, three, even four distinct themes into your writing and speaking. Instead, just focus on one theme per content piece, and get your thoughts down really well.

Marketers have long known that you should never have more than one “call to action” in any marketing piece if you want people to respond. If you want them to book a time to meet with you, make that appointment “ask” abundantly clear. Don’t also ask your reader to sign up for your newsletter, register for your next webinar or download your “information-packed” white paper (requiring all of their contact information). It ends up being information overload for the recipient and when they have too many choices, they end up doing nothing.

Same goes for your content. If your objective is to discuss investment strategies for today’s high inflation, recessionary environment, tell your clients and prospects exactly what they should do, when they should do it, how they should do it and why. That’s why they trust you. Just don’t go off on tangents about the technical definition of a recession, or how many more rate hikes the Fed will do, or which sectors of the stock market tend to perform best during recessions. It’s great you have all that background stored in your brain, but you’re not writing a book here or delivering a semester-long course on the topic. Just get to the point – and stay on the point.

 

Clients appreciate simplicity, not complexity

Again, too many advisors think clients are impressed by how much they know about the new tax reform, or Modern Portfolio Theory or estate tax laws. In reality, clients will reward you if you can simplify their financial issues and say: “Here’s what all this means for you and you’re going to be OK if you do the following things. These are the next steps.”

If you’re still in doubt, use the “What / So What / Now What” filter. Dallas-based wealth advisor, Kyle Walters told me he uses this thought process all the time. “Don’t just give clients The What (i.e., data and information),” said Walters. “You need to give them the So What (i.e., What does it mean for me?) and the Now What (i.e., What Do I do About it?). They’ll be glad you did and so will the people they refer you to.”

“Early in my career, I used to get very excited whenever clients came in for a consultation or review meeting,” said Walters, a reformed smarty-pants by his own admission. “I really thought they were coming in to learn about all the latest developments I was following in accounting, tax and personal finance. It took me about 10 years to understand from their body language that they were just zoned out, waiting patiently for me to finish my lecture so they could ask the only relevant question— “What does this mean for me?”

Walters said it’s like taking your car to the mechanic and having to spend hours listening to him explain the details of what’s wrong with your crankshaft or carburetor. Unless you’re really into cars, you probably don’t care. Walters said that for years he was like Tony, the overzealous mechanic from the Seinfeld show. “My wife would hear me on a call and say, ‘You shouldn’t talk so much; they don’t care as much as you think they do.’”

Conclusion

Clients don’t want to pay you for data. They’re paying you for advice and for educated recommendations so they can make smarter financial decisions. What’s your take? I’d love to hear from you. 

 

#simplicity, #effectivewriting, #thoughtleadership, #practicemanagement

 

Gen Z Poised to Reverse the Financial Literacy Slide

By Blaise Mazurkiewicz, guest columnist

According to our firm’s annual CPA/Wealth Advisor Confidence Survey three out of five (63%) respondents believed that financial literacy and awareness has not improved over the past two years. Even more troubling, the data found financial advisors were more pessimistic about the younger generation’s financial future than any other generation.

Why?

As a member of Gen Z, I’m not sure I agree entirely with that assessment. I do agree with the survey findings that our educational system is not doing nearly enough to prepare young people to be financially responsible adults. For instance, the State Department of Education does not require personal finance to be taught in schools unless there is a bill created by a state legislature and passed by the state’s voters.

Case in point: The high school I attended offers a basic one-semester class on financial literacy. I heard the class was okay, but not great. Since the class wasn’t required and I had a heavy academic load and sports commitments every semester, I didn’t take it. In fact, our firm’s report pointed out that less than half of U.S. states require their K-12 students to take a class in personal finance.

Does lack of financial literacy stem from school system neglect?

Absolutely. It’s an issue that needs to be addressed, not only by elementary and secondary schools, but also by colleges and universities. As our firm’s data showed, nearly seven in eight (86%) financial advisors believe that K-12 school, colleges, and universities could collectively make a bigger positive impact on America’s financial awareness and literacy than any other institution in our society – by far. But don’t just take it from me.

“Our school systems haven’t done enough,” agreed Bismaad Gulati, a Fordham University Gabelli School of Business student. “Most of my friends have gone through the same classes I have but aren’t as interested in finance or business as I am.” Gulati told me recently. “I think they’re not as well equipped, which is an obvious issue.”

Although bills have been passed to improve the gap in financial literacy education, it seems like lawmakers haven’t reached a large enough audience to make a significant change so far. As stated in our firm’s report, financial advisors overwhelmingly felt K-12 schools – more than any other institution in our society – could make the biggest impact on America’s financial literacy. Nearly three in five respondents (58%) agreed.

This needs to change.

Owen Brennan, marketing major at the University of Connecticut School of Business recently told me that personal finance classes should NOT be optional and that there should be more of them. “We shouldn’t be expected to fall back on material from our math courses in order to understand what’s going on. At a younger age, and especially in high school, we need somebody to help connect those dots for us,” Added Brennan.

From where I sit, the more dots that younger generations can connect, the better we can see the whole financial picture. Whether it’s student loans, personal investments, or just managing our money. It’s not just about doing the math, but understanding what the clear drivers of our financial well-being are.

What will the future landscape of financial literacy look like, especially for Gen Z and other younger members of society? Gulati said he hopes to see more required personal finance courses in schools, in addition to people taking better advantage of resources available to them. “The internet is a big place and our generation loves to use it,” said Gulati. “I just hope we can collectively figure out how to use it for more than just entertainment and leisure purposes though. If not, that’s sort of on you. Everyone is the master of their own destiny,” he added. 

It’s hard to argue with Gulati here. Our generation has more access to (and willingness to use) information than any other generation in history. The way that we can quickly access information explains why overall literacy is higher than before. That being said, hopefully this will translate into higher financial literacy in the near future.

As Brennan said: “ The bright spot comes from our resources. We have access to great tools like YouTube, online courses, and social media influencers that can all help to generate higher levels of literacy,” added Brennan. With these tools in the hands of Gen-Z and other aging generations, the future offers a myriad of opportunities to improve our financial literacy. 

How confident are you that the world’s younger generations can improve their financial literacy and overcome the disconnect between financial literacy and education?

Tell me what you think.

Blaise Mazurkiewicz is a marketing associate at HB Publishing & Marketing Company, LLC in Norwalk, CT

 

# Financialliteracy, #GenZ, #Education, #Finance

Writing in a Rut? Slow Down to Go Faster

Last month’s post about faster, clearer writing, generated a fair amount of feedback. Several readers asked how to get started when you’re staring at a blank screen or simply dreading the process of “putting pen to paper”?

We get this question often during the Dog Days of summer because everyone’s on vacation, thinking about vacation or about to go on vacation. It’s hot and humid and now we have the looming recession, bear market and rising interest rates to further dampen your enthusiasm for doing anything extra, like being a thought leader.

 

Basketball legend, Julius Erving (aka Dr. J), once said: “Being a professional is doing the thing you love to do on the days you don’t feel like doing it.” I know what you’re thinking. You don’t love writing. But you’re a professional. Sooner or later you’ll have to publish something under you own name for your clients, staff, prospects or industry peers. So, yeah, you’re a writer.

 

Don’t beat yourself up

 

I bring this up because this up because late summer is when my own creative juices aren’t flowing like they normally do. Outside of the office my workouts and race results are also slower than at any other time of year. Projects around my office and my house tend to get delayed if not ignored.

Acknowledge that these speed bumps in your productivity are seasonal, not permanent. Most of us don’t have the luxury of folding up the tent until Labor Day when full energy resumes. Instead, slow down and set reasonable seasonal-adjusted goals during the Dog Days of August so you can hit the ground running in September.

·         If you normally call 10 prospects a month, cut back to five or six, but make those calls impactful.

·         If your firm normally does four blog posts a month, dial that back to two or three, but spend the time to make them poignant.

·         If you normally fly two or three times a month to see clients, maybe cut that back to once a month and fold a vacation into the trip.

Tips for slowing down to speed up

1. What are you really trying to say? Before you write Word One, ask yourself: “What is the single most important thing I want to get across to my audience?” Ask yourself that question out loud and when you have the answer, dictate the answer on your voice recorder or write it down on a white board for everyone to see. This makes the messaging real and you might want to revise it before blasting it out for public consumption.

2. Don’t let your keyboard get in the way. Just tell a story by using any “thought-capturing” means you prefer. Some of you are more comfortable with a legal pad and a pencil than with a computer screen, especially when you can go outside and compose your thoughts to “write” on a favorite deck chair or hammock. The key is to slow down and find a quiet place to think.

3. If you can say it you can do it. A few of you are natural writers, but many of you are more comfortable dictating into a voice recorder while stuck in traffic. Some of you are great presenters and PowerPoint whizzes, but freeze up at the site of a blank computer screen. If so, try recording yourself on video, or having a colleague or close family member record you. One of our clients “dictated” two entire books to us using nothing but his best slide presentations and lecture notes.

The key is to slow down, compose your thoughts and tell your story in your natural voice so it comes through loud and clear.

Most of you are established professionals and thought leaders. You have a great personal story to share and it’s probably more interesting than you think. But if you don’t sound like you believe your own story when you tell it, then how do you expect your readers and followers to buy it?

Still not convinced it’s worth slowing down? Well, a Harvard Business Review study of over 300 businesses showed that companies that took adequate time for deliberation and planning averaged 40% higher sales and 52% higher operating profits over a three-year period.

I’d love to tell you we have “6 Easy Steps” or a magic formula for making the writing process easier. We don’t. It’s a personal battle between you and your subconscious. To win that battle you have to slow down, be brutally honest with yourself and go back to basics. Get crystal clear about what you’re trying to convey to your audience and how can they use it in their day-to-day lives?

As always, we’re here to help.

Conclusion

Here’s more about busting through writer’s block and procrastination. As French philosopher Voltaire famously said, “Don’t let perfection be the enemy of good.” Just take your time and be prepared to revise, revise and revise. Still not sure what to write about?  .Ping me any time. I’m happy to help.

#effectivewriting, #thoughtleadership, #practicemanagement