Intentional Living with Brittany Anderson and Bryan Sweet

george grombacher 0:15
weapon. This is George G. And the time is right welcome today’s guests strong and powerful Brittany Anderson and Brian. Sweet. Welcome Brittany and Brian.

Unknown Speaker 0:23
Thank you, George. We are so excited to be here.

Unknown Speaker 0:26
Yeah, it’s gonna be great fun. Thanks, George.

george grombacher 0:28
Let’s go. Brittany and Brian are financial advisors with sweet financial partners. They are the authors of dare to dream design and retirement, you can’t wake up from burning Brian, tell us a little about your personal lives more about your work and why you do what you do.

Unknown Speaker 0:45
All right, well, first, I’ll jump in on this, I got to add a little clarity here. As much as I would love to take credit for being the advisor in the firm. I’m currently the president. And I like to say I’m the people person. Brian, on the other hand, is a wonderful wealth advisor is our founder and our leader too. So I want to get a little clarity there. Yeah, so a little bit of our personal journey. I started in the company about 14 years ago. Brian, how long have you been here now? Couple years, two or three?

Unknown Speaker 1:17
Around 43 ish years? I started when I was five. Yeah.

Unknown Speaker 1:23
Right. Right. So a little bit of my background, I actually started here in client service, job ad posted. There was something about it. Looking back now I realized it was the entrepreneurial nature and just the vision of the company kind of worked my way up through the ranks Director of Operations, COO and now President and partnered with Brian and a couple of different really cool things. And Brian, I think you might be able to say, Well, the book that you talked about, George was actually our first book, our latest, Mr. Sweet,

Unknown Speaker 1:59
called Dream architecture. And so it’s a it’s kind of a spin off of dare to dream. And when we started thinking about it, it probably should have been the first book that we wrote and talking about the intersection of mindset, and money, but now it’s pretty, you know, mentioned I’ve been in the business 43 years, you know, got to start a long time ago, right in college. And I think, you know, my interest in, in financial planning came from several sources. One, I grew up with a single mom, so, you know, I, I saw the struggles that she had, and wanted to make, you know, not only her life, but my life better. And then I have some great onsen, an uncle who really, he was a business owner. And he really gave me some interest in being an entrepreneur. And my aunt was a principal. And so she gave me this lifelong learning education focus. And I think with the combination of those three, it just developed. And I’ve had lots of great mentors from time to time that kind of pushed me forward and with, you know, lots of help, but also taking somebody’s advice, some taking action, lots of great things happen.

george grombacher 3:23
Well, I appreciate that. And thank you for the clarification. I was joking at the top before we hit record that I was going to screw things up. And I managed to do that a couple of times there. So

Unknown Speaker 3:36
we have your back, George, thank you.

Unknown Speaker 3:39
That happens. That’s pretty amazing.

george grombacher 3:41
Yeah. So dream architecture. Tell me a little bit more about that.

Unknown Speaker 3:45
Yeah, I think kick this off. You know, like Brian said, when we wrote the original book, dare to dream design, the retirement you can’t wait to wake up to, you know, we really went through what is our four step process. So going back about 1011 years ago, Brian had this vision for focusing more on the people pursuing possibility, and really realizing their dreams, not just thinking about him, but realizing them. So that’s how our four step process was actually born. So in the first book, we laid out the value that that can add to people’s lives and the thinking that goes behind it, and a little bit more of the technicalities. Well, after we produced it, as Brian mentioned, we realized that there was a step that was missed, because so much of quality decisions around somebody’s wealth plan around essentially their life savings, their purpose, and the possibility they’re moving into. It starts with their mindset. And then it spills over into who they’re surrounding themselves with, what type of information they’re consuming, and really how they’re spending their time, their energy and their attention. So that’s what this book is about. It’s interesting. We’ve had some feedback that wow, you guys or it’s a wealth planning firm and you’re not writing anything about, you know, the, the numbers, the returns the models, all the fancy behind the scenes stuff. And what we found is that that’s not really what people care about what they care about is being taken care of, and they care about what’s fulfilling to them. Anything to add their Brian?

Unknown Speaker 5:19
No, I think she did a great job, I would just say, it also came out in some of the things we continue to work on, really comes from, for other problems that we continually saw from clients. And what we saw is that clients could accumulate, you know, amazing amount of wealth, but four things kept jumping out at us. One was issues with purpose, especially if they were, you know, retiring, and their whole being is tied up and being, you know, a business owner or whatever. And then there’s health and longevity, so you can have all the money in the world. But if your health isn’t what it should be, you know, what does it matter? My favorite quote is, He who has his health has 1000 wishes or dreams, He who doesn’t have one, then there’s legacy. And then there’s experiences. And so, you know, part of the journey and the book is trying to help people with those issues other than wealth, and create some collaborations with outside people that are experts in those areas, also,

george grombacher 6:36
that makes no sense in the world, to me, are definitely reading up the same script I am, I’ve spent so much time thinking about the value of making sure that we’re being good stewards of our time, attention, money, and certainly energy. And so the more we can be cognizant of those things, and again, intentional with it, I think the better and certainly money touches every aspect of that in some way.

Unknown Speaker 7:02
You know, it’s interesting that you use the word intentional. We talked about intentionality all the time, and how, you know, the most, and I use this term loosely, but the most successful people, the people who really are grounded, and they’re in flow, and they just radiate positive energy, it’s really because they have a certain intentionality in their life. So that’s something I mean, we talk about that in the book, we talked about that on our podcast. I mean, this is something that we’re constantly encouraging people to just really make decisions for what you want in your life, and get the right people in your corner to help make it happen.

george grombacher 7:37
So that seems so obvious when when we hear it, but but but why don’t we, it seems like a lot of people aren’t doing that.

Unknown Speaker 7:47
That’s loaded. And I know, Brian, you’ll have something to say about this, too. But, you know, it’s interesting. And it goes back to the adage of, you know, you are the five people that you spend the most time with, or you’re the product of the cumulative. You know, that’s the biggest issue that we probably see is that when people aren’t taking action, when people aren’t moving into what they want to do or what the possibility is for their life. It’s typically one of two things, it’s fear, or it’s not having the right people in their corner to help them kind of move closer to it, to encourage them and not to hold them back. So Brian, what else? What else am I missing there?

Unknown Speaker 8:26
Well, I think one of the things that happens is, you know, life gets hectic. So you just accept kind of what comes next, instead of creating what it is that you really desire. And I think the other part is, unfortunately, people aren’t aware of people that have these different thinking patterns. Brittany and I are really fortunate we are in a lot of great masterminds, where there’s just really upbeat, killer thinking processes that we get exposed to. And by thinking and understanding, like what you want your future to be, or what your possibilities are, what we have found is just the simple fact of thinking about it, all of the things that you need to do to help you get there just kind of pop up. And if you recognize that and then take action, it’ll help you get there. So you know, we want to be a resource that if you don’t know who can help you with that, you know, we can give you some guidance, if you don’t have that currently.

george grombacher 9:36
I love it. Start thinking about what it is you really want. I know I fall into the trap of spending too much time thinking about what I don’t want, and then I tend to get more of that. So making that simple, that easy shift to think about what I do want and then making sure that I’m evaluating Who am I spending time with because it is easy to just get carried along by the current and I’m just doing what I’ve always done and what we know that we’re done. Gotta keep getting what we always got kind of a thing. But that’s not easy to decouple my life or get rid of people that I’ve been with for a long time.

Unknown Speaker 10:11
That’s a That’s a loaded question. And it’s one that we’ve actually had people inquire about quite often. You know, this is something that we do talk about in the book as well is that, you know, it’s hard. And we speak from personal experience. I mean, I’ve had to break ties with close family members, you know, kind of go separate ways with certain friendships. And it’s not that they’re bad people. And I think that’s where we get stuck is we feel like we’re putting them down. It is not that they’re a bad person, it’s just that they’re not the right fit for you in your life right now and in your future. So I think that mindset shift of, I’m just paying attention to where my time is going, that that really helps people make those decisions and not feel that have the guilt of, oh, well, I think I’m better than them, or I think that I’m beyond and above them, or whatever the case is, because that’s not that’s not what we’re saying here.

Unknown Speaker 11:06
Yeah, and I think it’s really difficult, especially if it’s like a relative or something like that to just completely, like cut them out of your life. But you can be very, we use the word intentional, again, about just not spending as much time. And it’s really all about kind of creating a habit or being aware of these are the people that helped me get to where I want to go. And these are the people that maybe don’t provide that, you know, positive energy that I need. And let’s just cut down the amount of of time that I spend with those, and then use that time to spend it with the people that actually are helping me.

Unknown Speaker 11:48
And I want to add, I’m going to add one more thing that I personally have been trying to do in the last year especially, there’s a quick kind of self check, I think that we can all do when you’re around people and you’re trying to assess, is this somebody that I should be spending more time with? And the question that I asked myself is, can I shine and truly be me? Like, can I talk about my ambitions and not feel like I have to hold back at all? Can I talk about what I see as possibility for the future? And not feel like I’m having to play small? So if I can answer well, actually, no, like I can, I can completely be me. And it’s perfect. And it’s great. And they’re excited, too, then that tells me something. And if I catch myself playing smaller, I catch myself holding back. That’s a little bit of an antenna for me to say, Ooh, why am I doing that? Is it me? Or is it because of the relationship? Or because of maybe their their thoughts, their feelings, their mindset? So that’s one thing that tactically people could take away and try?

Unknown Speaker 12:49
Yeah, I think that’s so key Brittany is, is, you know, you just want to spend time with people. I’ll give you an example. You don’t want to spend time with somebody that if you’re sharing point, I’ve got this big ambition. And I got this really hairy, audacious goal and they go, What are you thinking of doing that for? You’ll never be able to accomplish that. And that’s a good sign that maybe that’s not the person you want to spend any time with.

george grombacher 13:20
Yeah, I think that that’s really well said. And it makes a ton of sense. And I was just thinking about people I have in my life, that, that I probably don’t, there’s no probably, that I don’t feel like I can express myself or talk about the things that I really want to accomplish. And so that is a that’s a huge red flag. And he’s not a bad person. Maybe some of them might be but they’re not normally bad people. And I don’t need to cut them out of my life. It’s just maybe pared down the amount of time and my attention that that I’m giving to them, because those are finite.

Unknown Speaker 13:56
Amen. Yep.

george grombacher 13:58
So I like it. Alright, so as I am decide that that I’m interested in engaging in this process, how, how do I start? I just get a pen and paper and start writing? Is there. Walk me through that?

Unknown Speaker 14:15
So when you talk about the process, are you talking about kind of what we flow through the book? Is that is that really like the mindset shift? Or make sure I’m answering your question? Okay. Yeah, so Well, first of all, I would say start off by reading the book. I think that is a great roadmap. And I don’t say that out of, you know, selfishness of wanting you to get a copy of the book. I say that truly, because what we do at the end of each chapter, is we actually give a mini toolbox, and it helps you to actually work through and spend the time so it becomes more of a working manual versus just some great hypothetical ideas that you can maybe throw into your life if you can figure out how to incorporate them. So that’s what I would say is take the time when You’re going through the different mindset exercises, when you are, you know, looking at and assessing how you’re spending your time, when you’re looking at your own decision making mechanisms and your own thought processes go through do the work. You know, they say that, you know, nothing worthwhile comes easy, and it’s so darn true. So that’s, that’s the first step. And we have, I mean, we have a whole plethora of resources. My suite financial.com, it’s a totally free tool box, we call it our retirement readiness center. But the thing is, is that it’s really a life readiness center. It’s helping you to prepare for your future, regardless of what stage you’re at. So that you can methodically think through what you want what your dreams are. It’s amazing how often people don’t spend time on their own lives because they are so busy. So Brian, I’m sure I left something out there. Well, the

Unknown Speaker 15:51
only thing I would add is that are unique trademark process that we use in our firm is called the dream architect. And all of the principles that are in the book are actually part of the process. So you know, for the clients that work with us and go through that all the things in the book they get exposed to, but obviously everybody can’t work with us. But the principles in the book are so life changing, that what Brittany said and the process to go through is key for really anybody and everybody will benefit by just even if you took one principle and made a change, or you said, I’m going to do one this month and one next month. If you just did that, a year from now you look back, I’d love to talk to you, because you’re gonna have a whole different life than you did a year ago. And a really, really positive way.

george grombacher 16:52
That’s a real thing. Right? Is a year can sound like a short amount of time or a really long amount of time. But it’s enough time to make a substantial difference.

Unknown Speaker 17:05
Yeah, and again, this word pops up all the time, but it’s the intentionality. You know, the Brian has a great thing to where he’s talked about conversations he’s had where people are like, well, you know, I don’t know, I’m too old, I’m too it’s too late. It’s past my time. It’s like, well, tomorrow’s coming, whether you don’t whether you like it or not, and why not try? Why not, you know, take one step further, you’re gonna have even a little bit of progress. those baby steps are where people make the most progress. It’s when you start looking at just how much in the whole picture you have to do that people can stay on me and not take action.

george grombacher 17:45
Yeah, when I hear that, that it’s too late for me, or why would I bother with that at this point in my life? I mean, that’s just evidence that they need to engage in a process like this more than anybody else does.

Unknown Speaker 17:57
Absolutely. And I think about Brian’s gene that he mentioned, she was 90 years old. So we have a journal that we created to it’s called Imagine, act Inspire. And it’s basically it’s got a positive quote, a space to write down your top two dues, and then a space to write down what you’re most grateful for each day. So this woman at 90 years old, she had, like, it was like her Bible, like she had this thing filled out in the margins. She literally took time, every single day, morning and night to put down what happened in her day, what she was grateful for the things that she had to do. She was taking painting classes at nine years old. I had a conversation with her. And she was like, Well, I’ve wanted to learn how to paint and I figure I may not be any good at it, but I assured Well, I’m gonna try and like, yes, that is the mindset. That is the mindset to embrace. And that’s the way to live.

george grombacher 18:50
Yeah, amen. That that’s not that’s awesome. What a, what a perfect, perfect example of what’s possible. And, and, and why not? So? Well, Brittany and Brian, thank you so much for coming on. Where can people learn more about you? And where can they get a copy of the new book.

Unknown Speaker 19:11
So a couple different places, and Brian, be sure to to fill in any gaps here. Sweet financial.com is really the hub where you can learn more about the dream architects process. My sweet financial.com is the fastest way to get to the retirement readiness center that we mentioned. And then also to go deeper on these pillars that Brian really briefly touched over. Dream architect.com has got some really interesting information on it too, on some cool stuff that we’re working on the book where you can actually find it on Amazon. We’ve got different links to it too, as far as on the sites go so there’s a couple different ways you can access it. whatever is most convenient for you.

Unknown Speaker 19:54
Nobody thing I would add to that is we were very fortunate in Forbes had this really Nice write up about a saying, you know, one of eight books that can significantly impact your life. And so we were honored that, you know, a publication like that would, you know, reach out and say something really good about our message? Yeah,

george grombacher 20:16
no doubt. Excellent. In what is the name of the book again?

Unknown Speaker 20:20
Dream architecture,

george grombacher 20:23
Dream architecture. Excellent. Well, if you enjoyed as much as I did show, Brittany and Brian your appreciation and share today’s show with a friend who also appreciates good ideas, go to Sweet financial.com Check out dream architect.com And also my suite financial.com. And then pick up a copy of dream architecture. Wherever you buy your books. And start this process wherever you are at in your life. Now is the right time to get started. Thanks again, Brian and Brittany. Thanks so much,

Unknown Speaker 20:54
George. George has been a pleasure. Thank you.

george grombacher 20:57
And until next time, remember, do your part by doing your best