Do you appreciate simple advice?
Or do you appreciate a refreshing viewpoint?
The Behavior Gap was created by artist and speaker Carl Richards. They are clear and simple whiteboard illustrations.
BBK’s unique spin? Each week Tyler Smith, founder of BBK Wealth, will provide a whiteboard illustration from Carl along with a quick commentary. Interested? Check out our latest and sign up at the bottom of the page.

I want to make an important but relatively overlooked point about investing.
This is going to sound obvious, but most people don’t understand it. Be a teacher, right? SWBATs?
The point I want to make is this:
There’s a difference between investment returns and investor returns… and only one of them matters.
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Let me tell you a little story about an #entrepreneur.
We’ll call him Bob.
(I think you’ll feel this hard if you run a business, but it’s got a solid lesson even if you don’t.)
Listen, I realize any discussion of goals can be tricky. But at least for this discussion, I find it helpful to think of a goal simply as an object of desire. It’s something I want.
But here’s the rub: We are really bad at knowing what we actually want.
Here’s a tough question:
Is it hard for you to talk about money with your spouse or partner?
Is it hard to ask for help with your money?
For most people, the answer is “YES!”
She spent too much.
He spent too much.
Was it aligned with our values?
What are our values?
It’s challenging for us to talk about money. Not just with each other, but with our parents, our children, even our siblings and friends.
And you know what? That’s OK.
This, my friends, is one of the keys to talking about money: knowing that it’s going to be hard. Sometimes, it’s going to be painful. And that’s OK.
Talking about money may not be necessary for all couples. If you’re one of those rare people, great! More power to you. But I doubt that is the case for the vast majority.
My own experience is that talking about money is unavoidable. Like taking out the trash and doing the laundry, it’s just one of those things that has to happen.
And if that rings true, then you really have just two options:
- You can end your relationship with someone, and then you won’t have to talk about money with them ever again.
- You can keep trying.
My advice?
Keep trying.
When tackling big, audacious goals, you don’t need big, audacious actions. All you need is the contagious magic of micro-actions. Because micro-actions spread.
Here’s a paradox:
1 – I know people who have more money than they will ever need, but are totally insecure.
2 – I know people who have almost nothing, but are totally secure.
The conclusion this forces me to draw is that if security exists at all, it is a feeling… not a number.
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