WHY MORE ISN’T ALWAYS BETTER

During the initial phases of the PULSE process with a client, I remember staring in confusion at the numbers she provided me for her income.

Since I met her at a networking event, I knew she had a lucrative corporate position in sales for a major tech company.

But she had provided me with two income sources, both almost the same amount.

It was not a rental property income, dividends, or any of the usual suspects.

She had a so-called “side hustle” that brought in almost as much as her full-time job.

It was impressive.

And also, as it turns out, slowly killing her. She was beyond burnt out. She worked 8-5 at her downtown office, and the second she got home, she was on social media pitching potential clients and creating content.

So, I asked her: why?

Why push herself so hard at two demanding jobs?

Her answer was immediate: to make more money.

Her side hustle was not a passion project or a bridge to a new career. It was simply income.

I asked her again: WHY? Why did she want to make more money?

She considered this, then told me she wanted to save for a rental property to get invested in the real estate market and make some residual money while building equity.

So, I asked her one more time: what was she trying to achieve with her wealth other than accumulating it?

That question caught her off guard.

She was working so hard every day to make more money but wasn’t entirely sure why. When it came down to it, a beefy savings account and substantial portfolio made her feel safe. It made her feel successful.

But real success comes from achieving your own personal goals. Not the goals vaguely set by society at large about how much money you should have in your savings or retirement funds. Your goals. Where you want to live, where you want to travel, and what experiences you want to have.

She had general goals about being “comfortable” in retirement and being able to go on a nice vacation every year. But she had never truly clarified what that meant to her and what exactly would be required to make that happen financially.

And what she truly wanted, deep down, was to slow down. She wanted to stop and smell the roses, enjoy the fruits of her labour, and just take a breath. She had been chasing more, more, more for so long that she had lost track of what would actually make her happy.

When we ran numbers and scenarios and mapped everything out clearly, there was absolutely no reason she needed to be working as hard as she was to achieve her goals. Being much more strategic with her investments, adjusting her long-term goals, and making sure her assets were protected meant she didn’t need the income she was bringing in. In fact, she’d end up keeping more of her hard-earned money in her own pocket.

Instead of a side hustle, she could take up a hobby.

As it turns out, she is quite a talented photographer!

You don’t necessarily need more income to create a more fulfilled life. You do, however, need more strategy and planning.

Book a call with me to get both.