An Inspiring Book and Mental Model to Help Achieve Happier, Healthier and Wealthier New Years

Recently I had the privilege and pleasure of meeting Dr. Daniel Crosby, author of several excellent books including his latest, The Soul of Wealth. We met to discuss it but Dr. Daniel shared an additional point tangentially related to its themes that we did not specifically cover during our meeting.
Must Read At Amazon.com I invite you to enjoy an Amazon exclusive: the equivalent of discovering Nirvana’s Nevermind album after listening to “Something in the Way”, or perhaps as part of its next great work by David Crosby himself: this amazing mental model for leading a healthier, wealthier and happier life this New Year.

Belief. Belonging. Becoming.

Simply stated: investing your time–and potentially even money–into beliefs, belonging, and becoming can yield exponential returns in 2025.

Belief
According to Harvard social scientist Arthur Brooks and author of From Strength To Strength, you don’t have to believe everything I believe, but at least some form of faith should form part of our foundational belief systems if only in order to cope with life’s inevitable hardships and daily frustrations. At least having some sort of belief or worldview which attempts to illuminate unknown is vital.

Crosby made an important point by noting how money speaks a loud and clear language about our beliefs: its allocation and expenditure. An analysis of spending to see whether actions match up with expressed beliefs provides both diagnostic insight and, more importantly, can guide how we direct it in line with life goals.

At our core, humans appear wired for connection; that is why it seems we were also created this way. Brene Brown puts it perfectly: “A deep sense of love and belonging are an irreducible need of all people; biologically, cognitively, physically and spiritually we’re programmed to love, be loved and belong.”

Crosby invites us in Soul of Wealth to make this connection: If happiness truly lies in loving and being loved, shouldn’t our money reflect this? In fact, studies suggest we might experience nearly twice more joy from spending it on experiences than goods! Plus – sharing these experiences only magnifies their value!
As we enter into the holiday season, that might just be something worth testing this year. Try exchanging one or more gifts you’d typically give someone for an experience–ideally something shared among multiple participants or memories made together!
Personal Experience When suggesting to my then teenage boys that we spend half our Christmas budget on family experiences instead of tangible presents, their response surprised me; that experience became one of our favorite and most unforgettable parts of each holiday season since.
Becoming But where are we heading or, more accurately, who or what are we becoming? The first two Bs teach us that what and who we believe matters greatly when experiencing life together; yet the third B–Becoming–is more personal in its significance than before. Now this mental model should seem less individualistic because becoming doesn’t need to be pursued individually but can instead bring people together through its pursuit.

Who do I aspire to become in this world, and for the people whom I wish I were more connected?

Abraham Maslow (of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs fame) explained it like this: “To fulfill oneself is the primary need. Self-actualization is what allows humanity to realize its fullest potential.”
Dr. Daniel Crosby uses three powerful words here – needs, needs and more needs- to underscore his message of personal and financial development: This trio of terms aren’t simply nice ideas that provide temporary pleasure- they reflect human needs that we often choose to ignore despite knowing it can have lasting repercussions for ourselves and those we love. According to research studies:

Human beings need a sense of connection with something bigger than ourselves and belong to an tribe which represents this existential whole.
And we must strive constantly to change, to fight against inertia of inaction or uncertainty and create momentum toward something greater.

Therefore, in addition to adding my endorsement for Daniel Crosby’s book The Soul of Wealth, I suggest answering three key questions before setting goals or resolutions for next year:

What Do You Believe, What Do You Belong, Who Am I Becoming, And If 2025 is going to be about optimizing deployment of resources then funding answers for each of those three questions could only increase success!