Meaningful Returns

I have money conversations with people every day, working with them to solve problems that are–on the surface at least–money problems: how much to save and where, how to align an investment process with a set of objectives and goals, how to navigate scary transactions, how to identify opportunities that maximize financial utility.

But it’s not about the money.

I had a dear friend and client tell me this week that he and his wife wanted to “broaden the definition of generosity” for their family. To move beyond generosity as check-writing, and to explore the ideas of generosity as taking a lower-paying, more purposeful job, or opening up their home, or rearranging financial priorities, or whatever it takes for them to open up their lives, rather than just their wallets.

I stole the title of this blog from Seth Godin, whose recent podcast, It’s Not About The Chocolate, looks at what happens when one man abandons the never-ending quest for “more” and uses the chocolate-making process to change the culture.

That’s what it’s about, for me. Gently nudging myself and those around me to quit the hamster wheel of More that our culture is so vested in, to desire goodness and mercy above all else, and making financial decisions through that lens.