…who uses his interests in finance to help EVERYBODY spend their LIFE better!
I love being out of my comfort level because I always learn something. As adults, it’s so easy to only spend time with people we know well and do activities we’re good at. Whereas when we’re kids, we dabble in everything. We try something new every day!
Is growing up really about giving things up?
There’s a great bit about this in the TV Show: Wonder Years. Fred Savage, who plays Kevin, quits piano lessons and looks back on the experience. He states:
When you are a little kid, you are a bit of everything – artist, scientist, athlete, scholar. Sometimes, it seems life is like a process of giving those things up, one by one. I guess we all have one thing we regret giving up. One thing we really miss. One thing we gave up because we were too lazy. Or we couldn’t stick it out. Or because we were afraid.
“Giving things up” is an interesting way to define growing up. When we don’t continue certain activities or various friendships, we’re defining who we are. But it’s so important to remember, when we get to the stage where we start to get comfortable, it’s time to stretch ourselves again and reach out into the unknown.
When you are a little kid, you are a bit of everything
It’s important to keep evolving
New experiences help us continue to develop and they keep our future goals growing with us. There are always so many new things to discover and people to meet. Together they help us learn more about ourselves.
Recently I started a book club because if I don’t have something carved in stone, in a predictable pattern, work fills the space. I’m passionate about Who Is NOBODY? but I’ve come to realize that you’re better at what you do if that’s not all you do.
Starting a book club is a great way to build a fresh community. It gives you a chance to get acquainted with that long list of people you’d like to know better or to spend time with people who you don’t see enough.
Other people introduce you to new ideas
One of the girls in our group chose The Wealthy Barber Returns, by David Chilton, for our February meeting. I was really excited about this choice because alone in a library I never would have brought this book home.
The best part is I love it! I never thought I’d laugh out loud while reading a finance book!
Along with some very practical advice, I especially appreciated Dave Chilton’s two cents, so to speak, on the following ideas:
- Spend your money on experiences vs. ‘things’
Happiness flows from relationships, health and making a difference, not from a $1000 solid-brass kitchen faucet … all our stuff weighs us down and the pursuit of more often distracts us from what is truly important in life.
– David Chilton
- Don’t take for granted how much we have
Envy is the art of counting the other fellow’s blessings instead of your own.
– Harold Coffin
Gratitude is richness, complaint is poverty.
– Doris Day
- The importance of using what you do to help others
They reminded me through their passion, what business should be all about: helping others. No one cares more about getting Canadians to eat more healthfully than they do [Janet and Greta Podleski of Looneyspoons, Crazy Plates and Eat, Shrink & Be Merry!].
– David Chilton
It’s a great read, divided into short do-able chapters (2-3 pages) that give common sense solutions, while injecting tons of humour!
For more information visit the Wealthy Barber’s website.
Does leaving a comment about this post put you outside your comfort level? Let me know!
Get involved! Get active. We need to give young people a vehicle to experience learning new things (rather than buying new things!), feeling grateful for all that they have and making a difference by standing up for others.
Change starts with kids.
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