Sitting around talking at lunch time today (Thursday), one guy was telling a story of going to Mexico and drinking tequila with a load of locals. A girl was telling a story about travelling around Argentina with her husband. I was sitting back listening intently because I knew I was going to write about experiences this week and they were just confirming to me that people remember, and like talking about, their experiences; not possessions.
In my years working as a financial planner, I have advised hundreds of people. The ones that stand out the most for me are those people I helped have experiences. The time the penny dropped for me that there’s more to giving financial advice than setting up policies is when I worked with a client to help him fulfill a lifetime dream of going ranching in the Wild West with his sons. The final push for me to go out on my own was through helping someone have the time to have the experiences he was missing out on. Helping these people has had profound effects on my career. Earning a large commission never did that for me!
There is a problem though. Companies keep on making new stuff and we keep on buying it, even though we don’t need it (Steve Jobs’ greatest achievement was to make us need something we never wanted). Nowadays, you can buy almost anything without even having to go out, it’s bought with the click of a mouse. Having an experience usually involves a bit of planning, maybe taking a bit of time off work. It may not happen for a while either, it could be months or years away. But which ones will you recall when you look back on your life? What will you remember fondly?
We have a finite amount of time and a finite amount of money. We need to spend both wisely so we don’t end up in a room of possessions that tell no stories.
Let me know what you would love to do but are afraid you never will and lets see if we can make it happen. Drop me an email at steven@bluewaterfp.ie