Bookmarks
Not too long ago, I took a leap. I left a job I had held for the better part of two decades. I needed the space to figure out my “what’s next”: to try things, to find my joy again, to reconnect with the thing that gets me excited about what I do, and why I do it.
Two books made a profound impact on my life over this stretch. The first I picked up one on my own, and my husband handed me the second. I did not plan for them to arrive together, and I certainly did not expect them to answer, each in its own way, the many questions I was turning over in my head about my own life. They did.
As an avid reader, I am often asked what I am reading. So, I thought I’d start this series I’m calling ‘Bookmarks’. This is the first of what I hope will be a regular thing here on the blog: books worth passing along.
Jumping off a cliff
If you’ve ever stepped off a stable path on purpose, you know it’s a rollercoaster ride – emotionally. Exhilarating and terrifying all at once…emotions that take turns spinning in your head, leaving you questioning everything.
For me, after I jumped, there were days wrapped in anxiety, self-doubt and plain fear. Did I do the right thing? Who am I to do this? Will I have enough? Have I messed up our family’s long-term financial plans?
And then, just as real, the flipside. The sheer excitement of the unknown. The chance to own and create. To be learning again, to get creative, to set out to do something I never quite believed I would. The chance at an uncapped upside. Talking to so many people outside my ‘traditional’ day to day corporate life kindled sparks. The support and encouragement of people who told me I could. There were weeks of pure elation. Getting to create again fuelled me.
[An aside on the value of advice]: Through the anxiety-ridden days, I was grateful I had an advisor I could talk to. He let me cry without judgement, and he helped me see more clearly when the fog rolled in. That is the quiet yet enormous value of the right advisor-client relationship. Not just the plan on paper. Rather, the human who helps you think straight when you’re standing at a threshold.
If you know someone who’s at a critical juncture in their lives (e.g., just sold a business, recently laid-off or retired, suffered a significant loss), and they love reading, send them a copy of either of these books. It would make them feel seen and show that you’ve been listening.
1. What to Make of a Life, Jim Collins
Yes, the Good to Great Jim Collins. This is the one my husband put in my hands.
So much of Collins’ book was relatable and insightful. Collins will leave a reader inspired, and reassured that they are not alone in their emotions after jumping off a cliff.
For me, two ideas stuck. The first is ‘clicking into frame’: the notion that when you click into doing the thing you are meant to be doing, that is when you are happiest.
The second is ‘inverting the arrow of money’: when you are doing what you are designed to do, the money follows, and the money then lets you do more of what you are meant to do.
Collins fills the book with research-backed stories of people who did exactly this, and lived more fulfilling lives doing the work they were built for. He writes about walking through the fog (which can take years), taking the next best step (simplex stepping), extending out and circling back to move forward.
Get it: Amazon.ca · Indigo · Audiobook on Audible
Podcast Listen: There’s also a great Oprah Podcast episode with Collins. Oprah sat down with Collins to talk about the book and his findings, and she was candid about her own cliffs and time in the fog.
>> The Oprah Podcast episode with Jim Collins.
2. The Soul of Wealth: 50 Reflections on Money and Meaning, Daniel Crosby
Crosby is a psychologist and behavioural finance expert, and this is not a book about beating the market. It is 50 short reflections on what wealth is actually for.
For me, it reaffirmed (and reminded me of) the meaning of money and wealth. Crosby writes about the psychology of money, and he gets you thinking about your own relationship with it: where your happiness actually lives, and what wealth is really worth when you sit down and think honestly about your life and what matters most. Read alongside What to Make of a Life, for me, it was a powerful companion.
[An aside for the whole-life planning advisor]: Crosby’s book is a genuinely good one to share with clients and prospects. It can help you illustrate how you work with clients to create positive outcomes on their whole life, not just their portfolio.
Get it: Amazon.ca · Indigo · Audiobook on Audible
Let me know if you like the idea of this series. If you have a book that’s made an impact on your life, I’d love to hear about it.
Cheers,
