Happy day to you. This is Ken Kaufman, and I’m thrilled you’re here for episode number 72, “All Progress Starts with the Truth.” Now, this is a quote from a business leader and coach, actually a strategic coach, his name is Dan Sullivan. And, this is one of my favorite quotes that I’ve heard from him, and this is the reason why it just brings us back to the center, brings us back to the core. None of us can make progress in any area of our lives, and our families, and our businesses, and our religious vocations. Whatever it is, and wherever you’re spending your time and putting in your effort, your progress will always be stymied and stalled out if you don’t start with the truth.
And when it comes to building net worth, when it comes to thinking about building a financial plan and executing on it, investing in the market, and trying to grow net worth, the absolute most important thing to do right out the gate is to be honest with yourself, be honest with your spouse. Truly, like, sit down and identify, where are the weaknesses? When it comes to dealing with finances and actually really anything else, burying our head in the sand and avoiding the truth because we don’t like what it is at the time or at the moment is going to always hold us back from making the progress we need to make.
So, this episode is 100% about giving you permission to just be honest with yourself, and your spouse, again, anybody else that’s involved in your finances, and literally own the situation. And, if you have a negative net worth, you know what, just tell yourself that truth. Allow yourself to see the truth. Even allow yourself to feel the pain that can come from truth, and allow that pain to work inside of you, or frustration, or fear, or anxiety, whatever it is, and ultimately motivates you to then move forward and change your situation from where you’re at.
Now, if your truth is wonderful and amazing, and you’ve got lots and lots of zeros behind the numbers in your bank account, great. Be honest and truthful about that and where you need to go next. Again, if you barely have any money left in your bank account at the end of the month, just in time for the next paycheck, so that all those first of the month mortgage, rent, car payments, whatever the things are that are coming out of your bank account right at the beginning of the month, if you barely have enough money to fund those, and you’re barely keeping your checking account with enough money to cover what’s coming out of it the next day or two, whatever your situation is, tell yourself the truth. Let yourself see the truth, let yourself be exposed to the truth. And then an amazing thing happens, and I’ve seen this in personal finance, I’ve seen this in running the finances for big companies. When you look at the truth, there’s an amazingly powerful sensation that will start to come over you, and it is the feeling and the sensation of clarity. You can actually start to see what’s going on.
And then, when you see what’s going on, human intuition immediately starts to try to figure out, “How do I make progress from here? How do I make this better? What’s next? What can I learn from this truth that’s in front of me, and how can I leverage that to make the truth that’s in front of me next week, or next month, or next year better?” So, allow this process to happen. Allow clarity to fill this void of not being willing to face truth. Face the truth, and if it’s painful, so be it. Allow yourself to, then, gain clarity and the power that can come when you sit in that truth, and you sit in that clarity, and then you can start to see what needs to happen next, and what changes you can make and how you can improve.
And, this really applies to anybody, no matter where you’re at. If you feel like you’re a novice, or you’re way behind on where you should be, or if you’re way ahead financially, wherever you’re at, look at the truth, allow clarity to become your, I’ll say, drug of choice that will empower you and enable you, and give you the vision to be able to move forward and make progress. So, thank you, Dan Sullivan, for that quote, “All progress leads to truth,” especially when it comes to running our financial lives.
Well, that’s it. That’s a wrap for episode 72. Thanks for joining today. Happy day.
