"Where are you right now, in life?" Can you REALLY answer that question?

Welcome to Money Valley. This is a place for you and me to explore thoughts, ideas, & conversations about all the different places that money can take us in our minds and lives. I want to talk about a question I used to ask when I first became a financial adviser. I really liked the question. The problem was I never got the "right answer". No one knew how to answer it in the way that I was looking.

That question was never awakening. It was a pain to get through, as an icebreaker, and I eventually dropped it. For years now, it's been in the back of my mind. "This is a great question. You need to be asking it." But I don't know how. That makes me feel lost. I don't know what to do with this question. I love asking it.

I have felt lost many different times. One time I got lost at a state park. I hiked into the state park on my own, and I slept overnight in my Eno. I woke up the next morning, staring at the sky. And I thought to myself, "I have no idea where I am right now. And I don't know how I got here". I didn't even know what state I was in. I finally found my phone in my backpack. Google Maps: 15 minutes from my house and 10 minutes from my car. In 35 minutes easily, I could be home. I knew exactly where I was. I enjoyed that experience so much that 24 hours later, when I woke up again, in my bed at home, I had a thought. I remember it vividly.

"Man, I wish I was out in the woods". I knew exactly where I was, and I did not want to be there. I wanted to be back out in the woods. Did you get the light bulb yet? Because I got the light bulb. This is what I've been looking for this whole time.

When I asked the question, "where are you right now, in life?" That's the type of answer I was looking for.

There are three answers that people can give generically.

1. I know where I am, and it's where I want to be.
2. I know where I am, and this is not where I want to be. I'd rather be somewhere else.
3. I have no idea where I am.

And when I asked the question all those years ago, for months, "where are you right now in life? Where are you right now in life?" All I wanted was some version of one of those three. I wanted to have a conversation about the idea of knowing or not knowing, liking or not liking.

When the podcast thing is done, I want you to just close your phone for a moment and I want you to do this exercise with me. Ask the question, "Where am I right now in life?" And don't answer immediately.

Take a moment and sit with it.

Then pick an answer. Do you know where you are? Think about how that answer feels and you're done. Exercise over.

I hope that our conversation today has been helpful. I hope it was enlightening. I hope it was at least interesting. If you really found this helpful, I'd love it if you shared it with someone in your life. And here's what I mean by share. I want you to have this conversation with someone. Talk about the fact that you listened to something, you had this thought, you asked yourself this question, and this was your answer. Share this moment with someone else in your life.

If the easiest way to do that is just sharing the link to the podcast, go for it.

If you want to INTERACT with more content like this, I'd love to connect on Twitter or LinkedIn.

• Twitter: SouthernAdvicer
• LinkedIn: Jordan Taylor

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