Hunting is the Best
What’s your favorite movie?
… I’ll give you a chance to think about it …
Please don’t be one of those people who can only choose by genre; we all need a favorite movie.
Here, I’ll start.
My favorite movie, hands down, is Good Will Hunting.
If you couldn’t think of one, go ahead and copy mine – it’s a good answer; the best answer, in my opinion. 🙂
A foster kid turned janitor, Will Hunting, was caught sneaking around MIT after hours… solving math equations—a prodigy, a boy genius. A professor catches wind of this, and it becomes Will’s “release program,” helping Will avoid going back to jail. From there, a hard-fought, rocky, but beautiful friendship develops between Matt Damon’s character (Will Hunting) and Sean, his psychologist, played by Robin Williams.
In one particular scene, Sean prods Will about relationships. He asks if he has “Someone who challenges you in every way. Who takes you places and opens things up for you. A soul-mate.” In his typical snarky fashion, Will spouts back, “Yeah. Shakespeare, Nietzsche, Frost, O’Connor, Chaucer, Pope, Kant…”
The back and forth goes on, and it’s a beautiful scene. You see Sean’s patience and compassion as he seeks to pick the lock of this young man’s soul. Granted, the topic of this conversation was that of a soul-mate, but I think the concept relates to a topic I’d like to discuss today: teachers.
Learning by Example
Teachers play an important role in our lives. I’m not specifically referring to school teachers in this context, although they could surely fill this role I am referring to. I’m talking about people you follow, people you learn from, people you emulate – these are the teachers I’m referring to. For some, it is a parent; for others, a boss; for one popular Netflix documentary, it is an octopus.
Jim Rohn has an oft-quoted saying, “You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.” In this same vein, I’d submit that you are the summation of your favorite teachers. Those you choose to follow, imitate, and lean into. For Will Hunting, these were dead philosophers, poets, and playwrights.
(If you didn’t get a chance to listen, I’d encourage you to check out David Bahnsen’s mentor month on his Capital Record podcast, where he interviews a few of the teachers who have influenced him most.)
Financial Sherpa
When it comes to our finances, we need money-teachers. We need that sage, that Sherpa, that guide to help us make wise money decisions. Whether you are new to finances or a veteran, this role – your teacher – is a critical component. Some of the smartest people I’ve met are still prone to bad – and avoidable – decisions that surely a financial Sherpa could’ve helped them to side-step.
So… what to look for in a money-teacher?
(1) Conviction & Flexibility
These two descriptors may seem at odds with one another, an oxymoron of sorts when sequenced, but this is a tension you need to find in your teacher.
Let me explain…
You don’t want someone who flounders on their process and provides ever-changing guidance around how to deal with money. There should be some timeless truths they subscribe to AND there should be a consistent evolution in their thinking. They should be willing to – on the margin – disagree with their former self. Their foundation should stay consistent, but there should be flexibility in the nuance. There is no place for dogmatic stubbornness at all levels and details. Again, there is room and freedom for evolution and maturity of thought.
Said another way, you want your teacher to be somewhere between a mule and a jellyfish. They need to have a backbone but not a stiff-necked rigidness.
Seek out a teacher with strong convictions and a flexible posture.
(2) Insatiable Curiosity
Famed motivational speaker Zig Ziglar says, “If you are not willing to learn, no one can help you. If you are determined to learn, no one can stop you.”
You want your teacher to be a lifelong learner.
I read a book by a motivational speaker many moons ago, and the author recounted the story of Zig Ziglar sitting right up front during one of his talks. Zig was front row center, pen in hand, taking notes. Ziglar, the godfather of this little motivational speaking sub-culture, sat there like a freshman at college orientation.
Tadpoles are to frogs, what students are to teachers. This is the natural evolution – from student to teacher – yet that student posture should always live on; again, a lifelong learner.
You need to find a teacher with an insatiable curiosity who desires to know anything and everything about their craft. In this case, everything there is to know about personal finance – from the behavioral side to all the planning minutia and everything in between.
(3) Clarity & Simplicity
Pastor Andy Stanley presented one of my favorite presentations on leadership. Stanley submits that the most powerful attribute of a leader is not those most common C-words: confidence, competence, or charisma, but rather clarity—one’s ability to present a clear and memorable vision that can inspire others to follow.
Stanley describes it this way, “It is my responsibility to bring clarity into the midst of the uncertainty. As leaders, we can afford to be uncertain, but we cannot afford to be unclear.”
This is a lifelong goal of mine. My heart desires to grow in clarity. My audience, my students, will only retain a portion of what I share, so I aspire to be both succinct and clear in my message. My measure of success is found in retention and application by those listening.
To me, a first cousin of clarity is simplicity. Complexity and foreign languages – like the language of finance – can simply muddy the waters and ultimately diminish clarity. Oliver Wendell Holmes said it best, “For the simplicity on this side of complexity, I wouldn’t give you a fig. But for the simplicity on the other side of complexity, for that, I would give you anything I have.” One’s ability to take murky finance topics and convert them into palatable and memorable truths/lessons is truly a priceless art.
Seek out a teacher who exudes the fine art of delivering both clarity and simplicity.
Rabbi, Rabbi
I’ll end our time today with an account of who I’d deem the greatest teacher of all time. In the Gospel, according to Mark, the author writes:
“Now many saw them going and recognized them, and they ran there on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them. When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. And he began to teach them many things.”
What a beautiful picture. A crowd with such an appetite for truth and a desire to be led is met by a teacher filled with compassion for a group lacking a shepherd.
Your personal finance journey needs just that: a shepherd. One who knows you, who is well acquainted with your aspirations, who is operating in your best interest, and who is equipped to teach you the key lessons of personal finance.
As I said, the management of your personal investments and the accompanied financial plan is a direct reflection of your finance teachers, those you’ve elevated to such a roll.
So… choose wisely.
Trevor Cummings
PWA Group Director, Partner
tcummings@thebahnsengroup.com
