Keep Dreaming

Mitch Anthony

 

As we discussed last month, it looks like we all may be in the workforce longer than expected––and that’s not such a bad thing. The concepts first discussed ten years ago in The New Retirementality are just now hitting their full stride!

 

One of those concepts is not to give up your dreams…even in the midst of a severe recession like the one we’re currently experiencing. It’s important to remember that we’re only on earth for a very short time, and so establishing a balance between financial needs and financial goals is an important one.  Remind your clients (and perhaps even yourself) that even though they may be working longer, they don’t need to give up on those goals.

 

Expenses associated with our dreams, or to borrow from Maslow, the cost of self-actualization, takes a different form for every individual. Here are some of the dreams I’ve heard from folks:

  • Starting and running a business.
  • Taking a year to travel the world.
  • Writing a book.
  • Going back to school to be trained as an artist, teacher, musician, etc.
  • Volunteering.
  • Owning a boat and sailing around the world.
  • Restoring old cars.
  • Woodworking.
  • Giving time and talents to a ministry.
  • Building a dream home.
  • Taking children and grandchildren on a long European vacation.

 

The list is as endless as the number of people who dream. You can use the worksheet at the end of this article to help your clients determine their own dreams of being, having, and doing. Once your clients have completed the worksheet, you can help them determine how to fund their dreams.

 

Clients dream of having and doing things. Maybe they want to have and do just for a while or maybe permanently, depending on whether that client decides they like the “having” and “being” enough. But there are obvious costs to having (like owning the boat or RV) and less obvious costs to doing (like owning the time needed to do what they will with it). That’s where you come in. You can help your clients understand that just because times are tough, it doesn’t mean they can’t realize their dreams. As their financial life advisor, you’re in a position to give them permission to go out and realize those dreams.

 

Owning one’s own time is at the core of the need for self-actualization for your clients. How can they be and do what they dream of being and doing if their time is owned by another or consumed with simply paying bills? There are many in our culture whose dreams are drowning in inflated survival costs. They have some decisions to make. As their financial life planner, you are in the perfect position to help.

 

There are many others who would be doing better economically if they pursued their heart’s passion, but just don’t realize it. If, on the other hand, you have some clients who know what they really want to do––even though it pays less––then a negotiation with their lifestyle will be necessary to get them to the position where they can begin collecting a “playcheck.”  A “playcheck” is when you have so much fun doing what you’re doing that you can’t believe someone is paying you to do it. You are in the unique position to help your clients start to earn the playcheck!

 

Adapted from The New Retirementality: Planning Your Life and Living Your Dreams…at Any Age You Want by Mitch Anthony. ©2008 Mitch Anthony.  Published by John Wiley & Sons.  Available at online and local booksellers or http://www.financialifeplanning.com/BOOK_New_Retire.html.

 

Mitch Anthony is the founder and president of Advisor Insights Inc. and The Financial Life Planning Institute, training companies serving advisors and the financial services industry. He is the author of several books for advisors including the StorySelling for Financial Advisors. His newest book, From the Boiler Room to the Living Room:  What the Coming Revolution in Financial Services Means to You and Your Clients will be published by John Wiley & Sons is now available at local and online booksellers or at http://www.mitchanthony.com/BOOK_Boiler_Room.html. Anthony is a contributing editor for Research magazine and his column “Financial Life Planning” appears in Financial Advisor magazine. He has been a named a “Mover & Shaker” by Financial Planning magazine and is frequently quoted by the media as an expert on financial life planning.

Contact him at mitch@mitchanthony.com.

© 2008 Mitch Anthony


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