001: George Kinder - Making Money the Servant, Not the Master
Mindful Money
The Price of Leadership
Jonathan Mayer: I had been meditating, but I didn't really bring meditation or mindfulness into the financial practice. For me, I was afraid it was too squishy that I would be judged by the industry. You can't help it feel shaky at times when you get those kinds of reviews," he says. "It's the price of leadership"
George Kinder is the Founder of The Kinder Institute of Life Planning and the author of multiple bestsellers, including The Seven Stages of Money Maturity and Life Planning for You. He has revolutionized financial advice for more than 35 years by training over 4,000 professionals in 30 countries in the field of financial Life Planning. George has won many awards in the financial planning industry, and was named one of the thirty-five most influential people in financial services.
Today, Jonathan and George talk about the psychology of money and where George’s unique perspective on money originated. George expounds on The Three Domains of Freedom and why he believes that life outcomes are more important than financial ones. Finally, George talks about his current project, Reflections on Spectacle Pond, which is being released serially (for free) via email.
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Key Takeaways
00:43 – Jonathan introduces today’s guest, George Kinder who joins the show to share some of the early lessons he learned about money growing up
05:32 – George expounds on his views on money
07:48 – Where George’s unique perspective on money originated
10:52 – Why life outcomes are more important than financial outcomes
12:10 – The Three Domains of Freedom
16:13 – The transition from financial advisor to training financial advisors
22:31 – The psychology of money
25:45 – Financial tips and best practices
30:35 – What people should ignore when it comes to finances
31:50 – The art of inner listening
35:37 – Jonathan thanks George for joining the show and asks a couple of closing inquiries
Tweetable Quotes
“As I’ve grown older and explored more, I think that the lessons were deeper, and earlier, and richer, and went back even before money was a conscious thing for me.” (03:39)
“Money is an abstraction. What’s important is life, each of our lives, and the freedom we feel in life.” (04:57)
“I want to live with my writing, with my spirit, with my graphics, with my art. I want to live like an artist. I want to live completely free in that world so that what I bring into the world is pure, and unusual, and intriguing, and not governed by financial forces.” (11:27)
“I think the Dalai Lama said this, but I completely concur. I think it’s an enormous moral failure in America, and in the West, that three men own as much as half of the American population own.” (15:36)
“Saving is really valuable. The more you can save, the better. And the more early on you can save and put it to use so it compounds, it’s just amazing.” (26:58)
“When I think about what I would love as a tombstone - what people might say about me - is that he encouraged us to be more of who we are. He encouraged us to be more ourselves.” (37:07)
Guest Resources
George’s Websites – https://www.kinderinstitute.com/george-kinder/
Reflections on Spectacle Pond: The Weekly Edition
George’s Books:
Seven Stages of Money Maturity –
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B006V3E2YU/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00KOEXZIQ/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i2
Transforming Suffering Into Listening –
https://www.amazon.com/Transforming-Suffering-into-Wisdom-Mindfulness/dp/0979174333
Mindful Money Resources
For all the free stuff at Mindful Money: https://mindful.money/resources
To buy Jonathan’s first book - Mindful Money: https://www.amazon.com/Mindful-Money-Practices-Financial-Increasing/dp/1608684369
To buy Jonathan’s second book – Mindful Investing: https://www.amazon.com/Mindful-Investing-Outcome-Greater-Well-Being/dp/1608688763
Subscribe to Jonathan’s Weekly Newsletter: https://courses.mindful.money/email-opt-in
Capture the most important benefit of an advisor – behavioral support – without the 1% fee: https://courses.mindful.money/membership
For more complex, one on one financial planning and investing support with Jonathan or a member of Jonathan’s team: https://www.epwealth.com/our-team/berkeley/jonathan-deyoe/
Website: https://mindful.money
Jonathan on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathandeyoe
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