What is it about building wealth that is so fraught? As we learn on this episode of Gratitude Through Hard Times, our relationships with money are deeply rooted in narratives that map back to our childhoods and often are mired in confusion or trauma. Lifting the veil on our complex dance with financial planning, respected industry leader Jamie Hopkins, Managing Partner of Wealth Solutions at the Carson Group, is sharing with Host Chris Schembra the framework on which he has built his latest bestselling book  "Find Your Freedom: Financial Planning for a Life on Purpose." Through the course of 23 carefully choreographed and info-packed chapters, we learn about some of the most common roadblocks to wealth building, how our personal money stories shape financial destiny and why it’s so important  to challenge patterns of thought that do not serve. This lively conversation touches on everything from the importance of selfishness to the power of community to the multidimensional nature of giving. Most importantly, Jamie underscores how truly rich, impactful lives start at the core of who we are – with what we believe we deserve. “You are worthy of great financial freedom. That is the most important thing,” says our guest, whose work is all about helping clients make the shift. “If you don’t believe that, all the other work, the investment strategy and tax tactics will be siloed off from the impact and your true meaning.” If – like so many of us – you’re stuck in scarcity, this episode is your first step towards abundance!

Did you know that we move better when we move within communities that align with our goals and support integral decision-making? Click here to get started exploring the important research and strategies featured in Jamie’s bestselling books, "Rewirement: Rewiring The Way You Think About Retirement!" and "Find Your Freedom: Financial Planning for a Life on Purpose."

If you’d like to learn more about Chris and his 7:47 Virtual Gratitude Experience, please visit this link. And clickhereto listen to previous episodes of Gratitude Through Hard Times.

KEY TOPICS:

• If you could give credit or thanks to one person in your life that you don’t give enough credit or thanks – have never thought to thank – who would you give that credit and thanks to? Two new friends who came into Jamie’s life unexpectedly and without any forced ties or premeditated reasons for being in each other’s orbits.
• Find Your Freedom: About the Carson Group’s brand evolution and focus on building wealth and creating impact through a codified financial blueprinting process.
• "Find Your Freedom: Financial Planning for a Life on Purpose:"How Jamie’s latest book reflects a macroeconomic movement towards more sustainable – and human-centric – market economies and financial planning as a profession.
• The Monster of Wall Street: Jamie takes a brief look back at his work on the Bernie Madoff case and the ways in which that “complete abuse of trust” shaped his career.
• Trust Is Everything: Why good faith is essential to the healthy, collaborative advisory relationships Jamie believes must extend across the entire financial planning industry.
• It Starts With Our Stories: Jamie shares the trauma central to his childhood, a working-class upbringing upended when his father died unexpectedly in a construction accident.
• Giving As a Mask: A look at some of the complex dynamics that can occur when we dissect the motivations and compensations associated with gifts and philanthropy.
• Distinguishing How We Give:
  • As the outgrowth (very often reflexive, even non-sensical) of a habit.
  • As the communication and manifestation of a Love Language.
• Two Key Chapters:
  • Chapter 23: Celebrate (and show gratitude) for your accomplishments for continued success. It’s key to maintaining positivity and momentum.
  • Chapter 20: The Power of Community. A look at why having a network that reinforces your values and long-term goals fosters kinder lives and better decision-making.
• Parting Words of Advice: You are worthy! Even if a sense of financial scarcity lurks, you have it within your power to claim impact, meaning and value. And if you struggle with it? That’s okay, too. You are in good company!

QUOTABLE

• “Part of your personality is to help those around you succeed by challenging the system.” (Chris)
• “I like this notion of having friends that don’t rely on me for money, aren’t asking me for things and (came into my life) serendipitously.” (Jamie)
• “(At Carson Group) we noticed that people the last couple of years were starting to crave more than a spreadsheet … They were craving meaning and impact on the world.” (Jamie)
• “(You) can have a lot of success and still live in fear … and I think it’s a natural fear that a lot of people hold from a scarcity background.” (Jamie)
• “Generally speaking, everybody make selfish decisions … That doesn’t mean that there aren’t some selfless acts out there, but I think most decisions are based around this core sense of ourselves and survival.” (Jamie)
• “You’ve got to be a little bit selfish sometimes and pay yourself first so that by the end of your career you’ve received the dividends of these little selfish acts of paying yourself along the way.” (Chris)
• “It’s not about the numbers. It’s about what we are able to do … That’s what financial planning and freedom is about for most people.” (Jamie)
• “We are not just individuals on an island. We are part of a community. We crave it and actually make better decisions inside of communities.” (Jamie)
• “As we become closer to more people, we actually make more altruistic and bigger picture decisions. When we become more isolated we actually make more selfish decisions.” (Jamie)
• “You are not determined by your net worth or your intellect or the job you have or even who’s around you. Your success is determined by whether or not you can have a positive mental attitude and believe that you are worthy.” (Chris)
• “You are worthy of great financial freedom. That is the most important thing … If you don’t believe that, all the other work, investment strategy and tax tactics will be siloed off from the impact and your true meaning.” (Jamie)
• “I’ve seen a lot of people – a lot of you listeners with some of the best networks and intellect in the world – completely squander it because you didn’t believe that you were worthy of it.” (Chris)
• “A lot of you are fast-growth founders. You need to be planning for your own personal retirement, even in the midst of trying to plan on the financial well-being of your company. You need to be doing both at once.” (Chris)

RELEVANT LINKS:

• Click here for Episode #72, “Learning from Failure,” featuring Ron Carlson.
• All about the Carson Group’s “Blueprinting” process at this link.
• Check out the new Netflix docuseries about Bernie Madoff here.
• Scientific research about why "Birds Fly Faster in Flocks."

ABOUT OUR GUEST:

Jamie Hopkins is the Managing Partner of Wealth Solutions at Carson Group, a national wealth management firm that offers coaching and partnership to financial advisors. A nationally recognized writer, researcher and educator, Jamie is a regular contributor for Forbes, InvestmentNews and MarketWatch. He has been published in dozens of financial, educational and legal journals, and he’s the media’s go-to expert on retirement income planning and tax law.

FOLLOW Jamie:

WEBSITE | LINKEDIN | TWITTER

ABOUT OUR HOST:

Chris Schembra is a philosopher, question asker and facilitator. He's a columnist at Rolling Stone magazine, USA Today calls him their "Gratitude Guru" and he's spent the last six years traveling around the world helping people connect in meaningful ways. As the offshoot of his #1 Wall Street Journal bestselling book, "Gratitude Through Hard Times: Finding Positive Benefits Through Our Darkest Hours,"he uses this podcast to blend ancient stoic philosophy and modern-day science to teach how the principles of gratitude can be used to help people get through their hard times.

FOLLOW CHRIS:

WEBSITE | INSTAGRAM | LINKEDIN | BOOKS