The Life You're Building While You're Busy
It is so easy to spend our lives preparing for the next chapter.
When our work reaches a certain level, things will feel easier.
When the kids are a little older, we'll have more flexibility.
When we've saved enough, we'll finally be able to relax.
When the house projects are finished, we'll have more time to enjoy our home.
...There's always something.
And if you're anything like me, you find deep satisfaction in having something meaningful to work toward.
I love that feeling.
But I also recognize there can be a hidden cost to always looking ahead.
I'm in a particularly full season of life right now.
Two young kids.
A growing business.
A house that always has another project waiting.
Athletic goals that require an unreasonable number of early mornings.
Most days, there are more things I'd like to accomplish than hours available to accomplish them.
And I genuinely enjoy almost all of it.
But I've caught myself doing something that I suspect you might recognize.
I'll be sitting on the floor playing with my kids, mentally running through tomorrow's to-do list.
Or enjoying dinner with my family while thinking about a client problem I want to solve.
Or looking around our home and seeing the next project instead of appreciating everything we've already done.
Physically present.
Mentally somewhere else.
Here's what I've been realizing.
This isn't the season before life gets good.
These are the years I'll eventually look back on as the good old days.
The years when our kids were little.
When my business was still growing and finding its path.
When our home was full of noise and toys and unfinished projects.
When there was always something happening and never quite enough time.
Someday, I suspect I'll miss parts of this season terribly.
Even the parts that feel exhausting today. Perhaps especially the parts that feel exhausting today.
I think there's a financial parallel here that's worth exploring.
So much of traditional financial advice is focused on the future.
Save for retirement.
Invest for long-term growth.
But first, build your emergency fund.
And before that, pay down debt.
And man do you need to increase your income!
And those things matter enormously.
I spend much of my professional life helping people do exactly that.
But there's a question that deserves just as much attention:
What are we building all of this financial security for?
Because money has an interesting relationship with time.
We spend much of our working lives exchanging time for money.
We save and invest that money in hopes of eventually buying back some of our time.
And if we're not careful, we can spend decades preparing to enjoy a life that was happening all along.
I don't think the answer is to abandon ambition.
Or stop saving.
Or spend recklessly because tomorrow isn't guaranteed.
Quite the opposite.
I think thoughtful financial planning is what makes it possible to enjoy the present without compromising the future.
It's what allows us to say yes to the family vacation.
Or take an afternoon off.
Or invest in a hobby that brings us joy.
Or simply enjoy an ordinary Tuesday without worrying about whether we can afford to.
Not every meaningful experience requires money.
But financial clarity can create the freedom to recognize and enjoy those experiences when they arrive.
One of the things I appreciate most about coaching is watching people's relationship with money evolve.
At first, the focus is often on getting organized.
Understanding where the money goes.
Building savings.
Creating stability.
But eventually, something changes.
The conversations become less about what they can afford and more about what they want their lives to look like.
And that's where I think the really meaningful work begins.
Because the goal was never to accumulate the largest possible number.
It was to create a life they're excited and proud to be living.
So here's something I've been reminding myself lately.
I can work toward a better future without treating the present like a waiting room.
I can pursue ambitious goals while appreciating what I've already built.
I can be excited about who my children are becoming without wishing away who they are today.
I can grow my business without needing every season to be bigger than the last.
And I can make thoughtful financial decisions that support both the person I'll be twenty years from now and the person I am today.
Those things aren't mutually exclusive.
In fact, I think learning to balance them is the whole point.
So here's the question I'd love to leave you with this week:
What part of your life today might you someday wish you'd appreciated more?
Maybe it's something big.
Maybe it's something wonderfully ordinary.
Either way, I hope you give yourself permission to enjoy it.
Because the life you're working so hard to build?
You're already living it.
In your corner,
— Andrew
P.S. Financial clarity isn't just about preparing for tomorrow. It's about having the confidence to make the most of today, too. If you'd like help building a financial life that supports both, I'd love to help.
Talk with Andrew
If you want help applying these ideas to your own finances or business, we can talk it through.
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