00:13
Peter Dunn
Good day. Good day. Good day, everyone. It's peter Dunn. Pete The Planner, host of the Pete The Planner show. Welcome. Oh, I've got a special episode for you today. I'm going to bring both people on right now who are going to be on. So we've got Dave co host. We've got Joshua Becker, best selling author, gonna talk about his new book to start the show, Dame. I'll welcome you later. Joshua, hello.
00:36
Joshua Becker
How are you?
00:37
Peter Dunn
I'm good. It's good to be with you again. I don't know how many times we've spoken on this here's show, but this is at least three or four. Where are you at? Do you think I was going to.
00:50
Joshua Becker
Put it at two or three?
00:53
Peter Dunn
It's also worth noting I have a terrible memory. Yeah, it's all right. Damian, this is your first time talking to Joshua, correct?
01:01
Damian Dunn
It is. You usually don't let me talk to anybody that's popular or important.
01:06
Peter Dunn
So, Joshua, to give people a little background on you, many of our listeners do follow your work. You are primarily known for being one of the world's foremost experts on minimalism and sort of that entire world. You've got a very influential blog, Becoming minimalist, which has certainly influenced me and influenced so many others. How long have you been writing that blog?
01:31
Joshua Becker
I have been writing that blog for 13 years. 13 years. Trying to convince people that they'll be happier if they own less stuff.
01:41
Peter Dunn
What did you do before that? Did you have a crossover point where you had, like this gets into the weird, awkward question time. Did you have a full time job before that and then a crossover time?
01:53
Joshua Becker
I was a pastor. I was a pastor for 15 years. And yeah, I loved Pastoring. Always thought I would do it for the rest of my life. So, yes, there was a crossover time. I was probably writing about minimalism for about five years before doing it full time. Maybe three years of even debating if I was going to switch over and do this full time or not. But it occurred to me that there were a lot of better pastors than me in the world, but not a lot of people writing about minimalism, especially back then.
02:28
Peter Dunn
Yeah. I think your perspective as a pastor and this is going to be an awkward question in the faith world, certainly there are well known pastors that minimalism doesn't really jibe with what their message is. Did you think about that a lot at the time of, like, most popular pastors, there are about this sort of abundance mentality, even in material possessions. And here you are saying, get rid of your stuff and you'll be happier.
02:57
Joshua Becker
Oh, interesting. There was interesting probably not a ton of that in my own personal thinking. There was the individual side of my faith, hey, how can I be a pastor and teach what Jesus said about caring for the poor and taking care of others and yet still buying more and more stuff and bigger houses and just filling it with more and more clutter. Like, there was just that personal faith. There was probably a larger corporate view of the church as a whole. Like, hey, this is a part that we're all missing. Like, we're all just living pretty typical American suburban lives, at least where I was living at the time, and yet trying to say that we're separated from it. So there was those two the I always kind of knew, like, the health and wealth preachers that, hey, come to Jesus, and you'll have a lot of money and you'll never get always, never, always had a problem with a lot of that thinking, but never really applied it personally at the beginning to minimalism.
04:05
Peter Dunn
Well, awesome. Well, let's start the show here in a second, and we're going to talk about your book. So I will re welcome you to our radio listeners for this weekend and our podcast listeners, who will pick up the podcast this coming Tuesday, which also happens to be the day your book comes out. So this is all put together beautiful. Are you excited for the giant bump of seven additional sales that you'll get on Tuesday?
04:29
Joshua Becker
I will look for don't.
04:32
Peter Dunn
Please don't, because I don't want the email from you be like, hey, thanks. Nothing. All right, let's start the show in three, two, one. This week on The Pete the Planner Show, we answer your money questions. Here's how the show works. You email us, askpete@petetheplanner.com that's, askpete@petetheplanner.com, and here's what happens. Well, sometimes we don't even answer your question because we have a compelling guest and we're like, you know what? Forget your questions for one week. Let's talk to incredibly interesting people. Speaking of incredibly interesting people, more specifically, that person's husband, Damian Dunn. Hello, Dame.
05:07
Damian Dunn
I really did not think you were going to start with me. I thought you were going to lean into the guest.
05:11
Peter Dunn
No, I was saying that your wife's interesting and you're here too. Hello, Dame.
05:15
Damian Dunn
Hi. Hey, Pete. Good to be with you.
05:17
Peter Dunn
You're interesting, of course. And our special guest is best selling author Joshua Becker, primarily known for all of his work in the world of minimalism. His new book comes out April 19, things that Matter Overcoming Distraction to Pursue a More Meaningful Life. Welcome back to the show, Joshua.
05:36
Joshua Becker
Well, thank you. We were debating a little bit off air how many times I've been on, and usually no one has me back. So good to be here.
05:46
Damian Dunn
True.
05:47
Peter Dunn
So I got to think, I've seen the new book and I'm excited about it, and it feels so inspired from what we've all collectively just been through of redefining what matters. When everything's in chaos. Starting in March of 2020 and you're questioning everything, how can you not restack your life and reprioritize it? And I feel like that's what the book really gets at the heart of, like, how do you really determine things that matter? How influenced were you by 2020?
06:19
Joshua Becker
The book started before 2020. At least the idea for the book started before 2020. For me, the Pandemic 2020, I like to say I don't think it ever necessarily changed what was important to me, but it certainly made what was important to me more prevalent, more on the forefront of my mind. I think relationships were so interesting during the Pandemic, when relationships are always available and we can hang out with friends anytime we want at the coffee shop. We never do because it's just like, in the back of our mind and always available to us. But then relationships became almost a chore difficult. Like, how long do I have to wait to go out before I see someone? And what test do I need to get before I see someone? And it really said, hey, these are important to me, and it's worth going through these steps to get there.
07:25
Peter Dunn
So there are eight common distractions that you suggest prevent people from enjoying the things that truly true matter. I'd love to go through them, if that's okay. I don't know how this works. Is this like a spoiler alert? We, of course, want people to buy the book that comes out on April 19, wherever you happen to buy books, but can we go through some of these?
07:46
Joshua Becker
Absolutely. It'd be good because I think different distractions hit different people at different times and realize them. And so, sure, we can spoil the whole thing. I don't care.
07:55
Peter Dunn
All right, full disclosure here. Full disclosure. I was reviewing this list this morning, preparing for the interview, and dame that is surprising that I actually prepared for an interview entirely.
08:06
Damian Dunn
Josh should be very happy that you put very honored.
08:10
Peter Dunn
Joshua? I feel seen. I feel like when you decluttered your home with, like, security cameras or whatever, you put them in my home, and I've just looked into my soul for the last two years because many of these things that prevent people from really understanding what matters to them, they're all on this list. So go ahead and tell everyone what I struggle with. So start with number one.
08:32
Joshua Becker
The book is about how I asked the question, how do we get to the end of our lives with fewer regrets? Like, how do we get to the end of our lives and be satisfied, fulfilled with the decisions that we made? Not that we don't make any mistakes, but just in a general arching theme. And it came down to we choose things that matter, and then we remove the distractions that keep us from pursuing those things. So there's eight distractions in the book, and the first one is the distraction of fear. Fear of failure, fear of rejection, fear of getting started, fear of even pursuing those things that matter most to us.
09:12
Peter Dunn
What's interesting about this is a fear of failure. Very common topic people talk about. And for some, it prevents them from taking action. By the way, this is not about me, despite the fact that the show is named after me and I am all of a sudden making it about me, but I don't become inactive out of fear. What happens for me is fear is what ruins the journey. I'm always so aggravated because the fear that it's not going to go the way I want, despite the fact that I'm doing everything I can to make it go the way I want.
09:45
Joshua Becker
Yeah, fear shows up in a lot of different ways, keeps people from getting started. Some of the fascinating research I discovered in the book is that in a lot of ways, fear of failure causes us to set pretty small goals for our life because it's easier to think, oh, I can do this little thing without failing, as opposed to dreaming and really living up to our fullest potential. I interviewed a guy for the book who pretty high well ranking in most of the organizations and businesses that he's worked in. And yet he's like, man, I'm afraid every day. Afraid every day that I'm going to be found out that I'm actually a failure. And it was interesting how success didn't stop the fear. It was something that he had to battle with. Even the more successful he got, the more fearful he became.
10:40
Peter Dunn
I don't remember sitting for that interview, but I'm glad. You know, Elsa, the first time you and I spoke, you told the story of when your journey for minimalism started, of I think you were cleaning out your garage or something like that, or a particular room. And something you actually spoke about to me then was this concept of the fear of getting rid of something. Is that this fear that you're going to somehow miss it or that your meaning will be sucked out of your life because you've gotten rid of something. And the glory of minimalism is once you get over that hump and you get rid of the thing that you fear will somehow impact you in its absence, you realize it's sort of an irrational fear. I'm not going to miss it at all. It doesn't really matter.
11:20
Joshua Becker
Yeah. Or even there's a different fear I try to help people understand. Just the other day, someone stopped me and they're like, hey, how do I get rid of all this stuff I'm afraid that I'm going to need in the future? And I said, man, there's a part where we should probably be afraid of just keeping a whole bunch of junk that we don't need. It's worth the risk. I think in some ways, I'd rather not carry a burden full of clutter going forward every day of my life and maybe miss one or two things. But yeah, different ways to look at fear, for sure.
11:57
Peter Dunn
Next on your list of common distractions, you say past mistakes can bog people down.
12:02
Joshua Becker
Yeah, we did a nationwide survey for the book, and this was really the most heartbreaking of the survey results that at least in my estimation. 60% of Americans say that they are held back from the future they want because of past mistakes they've committed. And 55% of people say that they are held back from the future they want because of past mistakes committed against them. And that's a lot of potential being bottled up, either by something that we did on our own or something that was done to us, which is probably even more sad. And that's just the people who recognize it, right?
12:45
Peter Dunn
Yeah. You think about that and then it starts like, okay, are you extending grace to those that maybe did something against you? But then at the deeper, harder concept is, are you extending grace to yourself?
12:55
Joshua Becker
Yeah. Our past certainly shapes who we are in the present, but I don't think it needs to keep us from being our best selves in the future. Should help us get there. I mean, that's easier said than done, obviously, but certainly that's a mistake that wanted to talk about. Actually, that one came from my publisher and my editor. She was like, hey, are you going to talk about this issue? And I'm like, I am now because you're totally right. That's a big one for people.
13:25
Peter Dunn
That's a good editor, by the way. Did that person edit any of your past works or is this just a new editor?
13:30
Joshua Becker
You same editor on all of my books. All of my books.
13:34
Peter Dunn
You're a blessed man. That is phenomenal.
13:38
Joshua Becker
It's the one requirement I have of my publisher that I need to work with.
13:42
Peter Dunn
Well, let's do this, if it's all right. Joshua, if you hang out through the break, we'll come back. Hit the other common distractions. Joshua Becker joining us, talking about his new book, Things That Matter overcoming Distraction to Pursue a More Meaningful Life. We'll even let Dame talk coming up after the break right here on the Pete the Planner Show. I'm Pete, the planner. Dame. I love these segments.
14:03
Damian Dunn
I love it.
14:03
Joshua Becker
Let's get into some of Dame's issues, can we?
14:07
Damian Dunn
I was actually thinking, as you're talking, know, getting rid of stuff and them being scared of getting rid of stuff. And my dad passed away a number of years ago, and I inherited all his stuff. And he had a small business, and I recognized that he kept stuff around because he thought he might need it someday in his business. And then I inherited that stuff and I inherited the business, and then I couldn't get rid of that stuff because I thought I might need it someday too. And I knew he would never need it. I knew he would never need it. But then it was my stuff and I didn't want to get rid of it because I thought I would need it. So I'm like, Man, this is something that just you inherit. You inherit that stuff along or some of those fears, along with all the stuff that comes with it for any number of reasons, whether there's an emotional attachment or a professional attachment or whatever it is.
14:57
Damian Dunn
But I hadn't really recognized that in my life until you just started talking about.
15:07
Peter Dunn
Intense. That's that's good mean that's why being so introspective about what matters, I think, can, especially using something like Joshua's book to guide that conversation. I think that's why it's a helpful exercise. Otherwise, you're just sitting there in the dark listening to REM, getting sad. But if you're taking sort of some structure around it. Joshua, I want to ask you this not on the air, but on the podcast instead, because you can tell me to not ask you this. There's a very popular book that I've read that I was very reluctant to read because I hated the title. It was the subtle art of people call me a square. I didn't want to read it because I didn't like the title. I read it, and it really goes into these things of trying to give your attention to the things that impact you or that should impact you.
16:00
Peter Dunn
Curious. Have you ever read that work?
16:03
Joshua Becker
No. Similar I'm guessing you were same reason.
16:06
Peter Dunn
Same reason. I finally broke down. I had a coworker. She's like, Just read it. You'll like it? I'm like, I don't know. I got a grandma rule. I can't read stuff like that. When my grandma's living, I can't do it.
16:16
Joshua Becker
That's funny.
16:18
Peter Dunn
All right, let's come back. We are on to number three. Number three here, so let me take a note, and then we're good to go in three, two, one. Back on the Pete the Planner show, joined by Damien Dunn. Damien, it's good to be with you again.
16:35
Damian Dunn
Yeah, it's great to be here. Taking a week off and getting to talk every minute for a segment. It's a nice change.
16:42
Peter Dunn
Yeah. We've been off the air for two weeks. I was on vacation. I have a great bald eagle story to tell you when you and I talk again. But forget that. We're talking to bestselling author Joshua Becker, who joins us on the show again, I think it's two or three times in the last several years. Joshua's new book comes out April 19. I encourage you to get it's called Things That Matter overcoming Distraction to pursue a more meaningful life. Joshua is one of the foremost experts in the world on minimalism. His work has meant a lot to me personally. That's why I share it with you. Again, Joshua, we're talking about the eight common distractions that lead to people not living the satisfying, fulfilling life that they want. We covered fear and past mistakes in the first segment. Number three, you note that happiness itself can be a common distraction.
17:32
Joshua Becker
Yeah. Or as I define it in the book, looking for happiness in selfish pursuits. Pretty much every positive psychology study comes back with the same findings that when we live generous, giving lives that help others and serve others, that this is when we're when we always end up being the most satisfied in the long run with the life that we live and the way we spend our time and money.
18:02
Peter Dunn
Any chance in that chapter you touched on influencers and this pursuit of perceived happiness, which also seems really self involved.
18:12
Joshua Becker
Just the whole industry around it?
18:16
Peter Dunn
Yeah.
18:20
Joshua Becker
It comes up. I don't go into a deep dive into our current social understanding of happiness and whether it's rooted in history or mankind's experience for the last several thousand years. But yeah, certainly it sparked the idea and brought it up and it's good. I look at a lot of studies that I use in that chapter to try to make my point. 60% of people say they'll be happier if they live their lives helping others, but seeing the data behind it, I think, was pretty helpful. So I did a lot of that in that chapter, probably more than any other chapters actually.
19:01
Peter Dunn
I'm obsessed with that particular topic of the things people do to really have happiness be the end all, be all goal and how myopic that can be. I think about a personal conversation I had years ago with a friend and his personal pursuit of happiness and the means of which he was achieving it and the lives he was ruining to perceive his or to achieve his own happiness. And since then I've really been quite introspective about people's pursuit of happiness.
19:32
Joshua Becker
Yeah, I try to make the point in the book that I think that happiness is what follows a life lived for things that matter, knowing that we pursued things that bring our lives significance and meaning and fulfillment, that when we do that, then this is where we discover happiness the best.
19:54
Peter Dunn
I would also note that we just talked in a previous segment about past mistakes and letting those go sometimes that pursuit of fulfilling happiness, of serving others, you can get in your own head about how you used to do it and it wasn't the right way. And so that matters as well. The fourth thing you know, that can be a distraction, which, I don't know, Dame and I know a thing or two about this is money. Money can certainly be a distraction for people as they try to find out what really matters in their life.
20:23
Joshua Becker
Yeah, I think when people hear the book Things That Matter Overcoming Distraction to Pursue a More Meaningful Life, they think to themselves, oh, that's a book I need to read because I need to put my phone away more often. Which is true, and there's certainly a chapter on that. But as listeners can tell, the book goes into much deeper topics than how do I put my phone away? And so, yeah, money was going to be a big chapter for me, just not to jump the gun. But the next chapter is about possessions and found minimalism and started owning fewer possessions, which the next question became, well, what am I going to do with my money if I'm not using my money to buy a bunch of stuff that I don't need? What's the connection there? And even the connection to work? And what's the point of work if it's not to have a bunch of money to buy a whole bunch of stuff?
21:14
Joshua Becker
I've always been fascinated with the stat that 78% of Americans experience financial related stress. Probably a few years old by now. I'm not sure what the pandemic has done to that number, but we are the wealthiest nation in the history of the world, and somehow 80% of us are still stressed out about money. It's not because we don't have food. It's not because we don't have clothing. It's not because we don't have shelter. It's not because we don't have enough money, at least certainly in 78% of cases. And so what is it? Why is money never enough? How come I'm always stressed that I don't have enough money, even though I can look at my own life and make twice as much money as I did ten years ago, and for some reason I'm still stressed about money. The chapter dives into that a little bit more.
22:18
Peter Dunn
Possessions is next on the list of distractions, which really feels like it was the catalyst of your career as a minimalist writer. What do you do with the phrase my prized possession? That's a phrase that has always sat strange with me. And I get it. I have a prized possession. Mine happens to be in my studio. Here it is, the Pringles can that my grandfather left me when he passed away. It was where he kept his pocket change as an accountant, and it's where I learned to budget with this Pringles can filled with my grandpa's change. So this is my prized possession, but I'm guessing most people don't really go this route.
22:56
Joshua Becker
Don'T go this route with saving money in a pringles can.
22:59
Peter Dunn
Well, that I just like prize possession. It's like, oh, it's my Tesla. Oh, my prize possession is my golf clubs. I don't know.
23:08
Joshua Becker
Yeah, that'd be interesting, because when you said prize possession, I'm like, I don't really have one. If I had to have one, it would be this thing I grabbed from my grandfather's house when he passed away that I thought represented him most to me. So that is exactly what I thought of the same thing that came to your mind? Yeah, in those scenarios, I think the thing represents the person that we want to be, inspires us to want to be the person that we want to be. And I have a lot less contempt for that than someone whose sports car is their prized possession or whatever it might be. I just had someone just the other day send me an email, and they're like, what's the problem? If I have a really big house and a really fancy sports car, what's the problem? They bring me joy.
24:01
Joshua Becker
Is that a problem? Is what I said. Is what they said. And I wrote back and I said, I think you can do better. And I don't know if they took it the right way, but in my mind, I was just thinking, I think that there are better things that we can do with our money than just buy a really fancy car or a really bigger television or house. There are just some things that I think lead us to longer range fulfillment than nicer car and nicer house. So it's kind of how I treat that in the chapter.
24:35
Peter Dunn
Dame, what's your price possession? I figured this is a good opportunity to jump in for you to tell us about your Aston Martin or something.
24:42
Damian Dunn
Yeah, I don't know if I would even be ashamed if that was what my price possession was, if I actually had the chance of doing it. I was trying to figure out what my price possession was during the conversation, and one of the things that came back to was something that I inherited from my dad. It was a little 22 rifle that I learned to shoot on that he bought when he was probably 13 years old and has just been around and has a lot of sentimental value to it for me. Does it have any real significant monetary worth? No, not really. But it means the world to me. There was a period of time there's about a year that I couldn't locate it after he passed away, and I was distraught. It didn't really bubble up, but it tore at me that I couldn't find it.
25:34
Damian Dunn
Then one day I found it underneath a blanket. It had been just kind of tucked away, and I broke down, and it was just one of those things that it had finally come home and it was never going to leave my sight again.
25:47
Peter Dunn
Well, we're going to pick up with that and Joshua Becker right after the break. This is the Pete the Planet show. I let Dame talk, and he run me into the bumper. But you know what?
25:57
Joshua Becker
That's a perfect story.
25:58
Peter Dunn
It is the perfect story. Cassie just texted me, though, and she said, why did he not say his wedding ring? So I don't know. I didn't wear a weding ring for a long time because I lost it, and I got another one. It's $12, and it is certainly a price possession.
26:21
Joshua Becker
I had lost mine for a while too.
26:23
Peter Dunn
My son lost my wedding ring.
26:26
Damian Dunn
Yeah, I think mine's been off my finger once since I've been married.
26:31
Peter Dunn
Really?
26:32
Damian Dunn
Yeah.
26:34
Peter Dunn
What was the occasion? That was off. Why did you not have it on? That's even more curious.
26:41
Damian Dunn
No. So my knuckles are all messed up. And once it went on, it was not going to come off very easily. But my hands were really cold one day and I was just spinning it around and it just happened to slide off and I looked at it and put it right back on. Oh, my gosh. That was essentially it.
26:59
Peter Dunn
Josh, any chance you can do one more segment with mean we leaving? People got to know what the final three are.
27:09
Joshua Becker
Absolutely. No, I told you I'm hanging out all day if you want.
27:13
Peter Dunn
All right, we will do one more segment. Awesome. By the way, for those listening to podcast and watching the live stream, this is our friend Joshua. He and I have known each other I don't know, I think it's going to be longer than we really think about it. I feel like I first talked to you maybe 2015. When did you write the book? You wrote the housing one, but then the one before that, what was that one called?
27:38
Joshua Becker
The More of Less was the first one and that came out in May 2016.
27:43
Peter Dunn
That's when I talked to you, I think the first time. Awesome. Well, all right, let's get back to it. Pick it up with number six on the listicle. So here we go. In three, two, one. Back on the Pete the Planner show. Damien. Damien. Who are you? Dame, how are you?
28:07
Damian Dunn
I'm still here. I'm great.
28:10
Peter Dunn
Damien Dunn joins us, as always, no relation. And this week, joined by bestselling author Joshua Becker, author of the new book Things That Matter overcoming Distractions to Pursue a More Meaningful Life. Damon, it occurred to me with our growing company, where we almost doubled in size in the last month, I feel like I'm going to buy a copy of this for everybody because I think it's really culturally a good place where we want to keep our heads. Joshua before the break, we talked about some of the biggest distractions that people have in their lives that prevent them from feeling satisfied and fulfilled. Things such as fear, an obsession with past mistakes, the pursuit of happiness, potentially the wrong way, money, possessions, you note applause. This one's fascinating. Talk to us about why applause is a distraction.
29:03
Joshua Becker
Well, this is probably the one that I struggle with the most. I don't need to own a whole bunch of stuff anymore. I'm not even that fascinated with having a whole bunch of money in my life. But I always say accolades and applause get me every time, just wanting to be known when I see someone else. I tell a story in the book about writing about minimalism and having some success there in the evening, where I saw someone else write about minimalism and get a ton of national attention. And it really irked me even a couple of weeks focusing on, hey, how come that person is getting all the attention that I should be getting. And when there's nothing wrong with my grandpa used to say praise is like perfume. Smell it, but don't swallow it. Praise is nice. It's nice to be known. It's nice to be recognized for the work that you put in your life.
30:13
Joshua Becker
But when that becomes the goal, when I'm doing what I'm doing to get noticed or to gain followers or to grow in reputation, then I think this is when we make choices that we regret in the long run. Can't help but think of reality shows and what's been done for the purpose of attention, just to get on television. And probably in some small ways we do that with our lives, even if it's not just to get on television.
30:42
Peter Dunn
This one hits me right between the eyes because this is a journey that I've certainly been on and I feel very at peace with where I'm at, with my relationship, with accolades. At one point in time it was super important to me, you know, what I have to say. I feel like our journey in terms of being an expert at something and then having others get shine when you are going I think it seems pretty parallel and it's when I pulled back and I'm like, I just don't care. I used to get this one point where a person would people would often ask me about one particular person within my industry all the time. All the time. It used to drive me nuts. Now I sort of laugh about it because it is so predictable that I don't even care. So applause is one that I certainly have gotten better at.
31:32
Peter Dunn
How about leisure? How about leisure being a distraction? Isn't life about leisure?
31:39
Joshua Becker
Yeah. We'll see if I can ruffle some feathers. Culturally with this chapter? We'll find out. CNN called Early Retirement the New American Dream. And it's interesting when the goal of work becomes how quickly can I get out of work, I think that we sell it short and even our entire philosophy and approach to work becomes something that I only want to do so that I can stop doing it. And there's not a lot of joy in that. And so honestly, I think that we are most satisfied in life when we contribute to the world and when we do what we do well to help others and serve others. When we stop seeing work as this is what I do to get the paycheck so that I can buy the thing or go on vacation. But work is love in a lot of ways. I do what I'm good at so that someone else can do what they're good at and all of society benefits in the long run.
32:53
Joshua Becker
When this becomes my view of work, I think it becomes far more meaningful and significant. And this doesn't mean that we never take rest, but it means that we rest so that we can do better work. Not we do our work just so that we can rest and lay on a beach for the rest of our little different viewpoint than I think a lot of people would say. But this is my approach and I think a helpful way to think about work.
33:24
Peter Dunn
Dame you and I happen to share this view as.
33:33
Damian Dunn
There'S as Joshua was talking, I was thinking there's a number of people that will land firmly in the camp of you got to do something that's going to make money. Don't do what you love, do what you do. That's going to provide a good lifestyle for you. Then there's the other camp that says do what you love. The problem with doing what you love is when you expect to be able to live with the results of living or doing a job where you're getting a great income. But if you are taking Joshua's perspective at this, taking a real hard, introspective look at your relationship with things and money, doing what you love becomes very reasonable and a great opportunity for you. So it's all about recognizing what you want to do, what is meaningful, and living within those boundaries. And there's nothing wrong with that.
34:27
Peter Dunn
Josh, I got to guess that during your book tour here and your pre promotion of the book, that you're not going on a lot of Fire Pod casts.
34:36
Joshua Becker
I've been on a couple. I've been on a few, and it always goes well because they always say retire early doesn't actually mean retire early. They just say it means go do work you love. I'm like, well, that's not what retire means. But anyway, yeah. And I would say the same thing. If you're in that job where you're just making a ton of money and you'd much rather do something else that's more personally meaningful to you, but you would make less money, then I would say go do that, which is the exact thing that a lot of the Fire folks would say. So a few of them, but not a ton. It always works out.
35:17
Peter Dunn
Okay, the last thing you note in your book is one of the common distractions that prevent us from living a satisfying and fulfilling life is one that I think many of us consider and struggle with and get better at and then struggle with. Again, it's technology. And so how do you approach this in the book in a way that's maybe different than the typical look at this.
35:41
Joshua Becker
Yeah, the book offers, I always say, the hacks put a rubber band around your phone and change it to black and white, and there's some of those things in there, but we've all tried those and they don't work until we really try to reorient our thinking around technology. Like I say in the book, it's probably more about the distraction of the trivial rather than technology. I mean, I get to do what I do because of technology. We get to have this conversation because of technology. It's the more trivial sides of it. So I encourage people to do two things. Number one, take a tech fast. Take a month away from tech and just put it all away except what you absolutely need for your boss or your phone or whatever and reorient your thinking around that. The other thing is, I've always found it helpful to notice a difference between creating and consuming online.
36:41
Joshua Becker
Like, I write online and I create things for social media. And so there's good that we can bring into the world through technology and through social media. It's all just constantly scrolling, playing the next ten levels of Candy Crush, the Binging, the Brand new Season on Netflix, like, just constantly consuming content. So using technology as a tool to accomplish good things rather than just technology, using us as a tool, I think, is probably the way to think about it.
37:17
Peter Dunn
As people run out to get their copy of things that matter. Overcoming distractions to pursue a more meaningful life. Do you care where they buy the book? I always like to ask authors, do you have a preference if people are going to go on and get it today? I mean, this could get you in trouble with your publish. Sure, but do you have a I.
37:32
Joshua Becker
Know I don't have a preference anywhere and everywhere is fine and good and wherever they can find it.
37:38
Peter Dunn
All right, coming up after the break, biggest waste of money of the week and the news. I'm Pete the planner. All right, Joshua. I was going to say anywhere but the library. But before I let you go, first of all, thank you for being very generous with your time. Before I let you go, what are you reading right now? I'm just curious.
37:59
Joshua Becker
What am I reading right now? What am I reading right now? Oh, I'm reading a fiction book called The American War, which is I forget the name of the author, but it's a fascinating book. The best nonfiction book that I recently read is The Greatest Salesman in the World. Have you ever read that?
38:21
Peter Dunn
Greatest salesman in the world.
38:23
Joshua Becker
Yeah, it's an older book. I don't know. Fifty s. Sixty s, like kind of in that Dale Carnegie era. Interesting. And it's real good. That's the book that I bought for my staff over here. So very different than I thought it was going to be, but I really enjoyed it. So short, older book, and I don't know, billions of copies sold, something like that.
38:46
Peter Dunn
If you have not read Give and Take by Adam Grant I haven't. I think you would really enjoy it based on our discussion here today. So Give and Take, it talks about those that give of themselves consistently, those that take from the world consistently and what the outcome can be.
39:02
Joshua Becker
Yeah, I like Adam Grant, so I'm in. I'll read it for sure.
39:05
Peter Dunn
Awesome. Hey, man, thank you so much. When you're indy on your book tour this summer. Hit us up, and we'll try to get some people there for you as well.
39:13
Joshua Becker
Yeah, I'll let you know.
39:14
Peter Dunn
Great.
39:14
Joshua Becker
We'll be at one of the universities there doing all college campuses, so that'll be kind of fun.
39:20
Peter Dunn
Awesome. All right, everybody buy things that matter. It's a great graduation gift for college graduates or people in your life. Happy Good Friday to you, Joshua, and we'll see you another time.
39:31
Joshua Becker
You got it. Later.
39:32
Peter Dunn
Thanks, Dave. There we go.
39:35
Damian Dunn
Just like that.
39:37
Peter Dunn
I like him. I like listen to he is he makes me feel like I need to settle down, not be so a very balanced guy. All right, dame. Thank you for your generosity and letting me talk to Joshua with sort of one one. I appreciate that. You always take one for the team. Yeah.
39:59
Damian Dunn
You want to talk to an expert about something, or do you want to talk to me?
40:02
Peter Dunn
Well, you are an expert in many things. I just did want to talk to him. Dame, can I give you the story I've been wanting to tell you about my Florida experience?
40:11
Damian Dunn
Yes, please do.
40:13
Peter Dunn
So, Dame. I went on a vacation with my family, and on said vacation, there is a pickleball court in the community in which we vacationed in. I had never played pickleball in my entire life. Have you ever played pickleball?
40:26
Damian Dunn
I have. It was one of the things that we did in high school in PE.
40:31
Peter Dunn
What?
40:32
Damian Dunn
Yeah.
40:33
Peter Dunn
It's been around that long?
40:34
Damian Dunn
Yeah.
40:35
Peter Dunn
No. Why would I make that up? I don't just I believe it, but it's, like, unbelievable. Was it?
40:45
Damian Dunn
No, it's pickleball. Northeast Indiana had something over everybody else. Is that what you're telling me?
40:51
Peter Dunn
Possibly. Was it called a Gerkin ball, or was it actually it was pickleball.
40:55
Damian Dunn
It was pickleball.
40:56
Peter Dunn
Who knew? Anyway, we're playing pickleball. It turns out I'm either a dominant pickleball family or a person, or my family sucks at pickleball because that's who I was playing with. Right. So Mrs. Planner and my daughter are one side. Ted and I are on the other. Ted and I are killing them, and Mrs. Planner is about to serve, and she just stops, and her and Ollie look up over my head about 25ft, sort of at angle there, and just silent and just in shock. And I'm like, oh, my God, I'm in Florida. Who knows what I'm about to turn around and see. So Ted and I turn around like we're in Close Encounters of the Third Kind. We look up. There's this giant bald eagle flying slowly over my head, carrying a giant red fish, like a red drum in its hands. And it's like and it was unbelievable.
41:54
Peter Dunn
It was, like, shocking and ten. I turn around, and then we can't say anything because we're just like and then it gets by out of sight, and then all of a sudden, like, whoa. So that was the highlight of my vacation, seeing a giant bald eagle.
42:09
Damian Dunn
I was thinking how majestic that would have been right up until the point where you imitated the sound that it probably didn't make.
42:15
Peter Dunn
That's true. The only thing more Florida is if it had been open carrying an assault rifle or something like that, but turns know it wasn't.
42:24
Damian Dunn
Yeah.
42:26
Peter Dunn
All right, so, Dame, I am going to buy this book for everybody on the team.
42:32
Damian Dunn
I'm excited to see it.
42:34
Peter Dunn
Yeah. Was there one of those that stuck out to you most that maybe you want to dig a little deeper into personally when he was going through it? The list is fear, past mistakes, happiness, money, possessions, applause, leisure, and technology.
42:49
Damian Dunn
It was probably that fear that I just mentioned earlier. We're still on the podcast.
42:56
Peter Dunn
Yeah.
42:56
Damian Dunn
This is a podcast segment, not a radio segment. Yes. The more that I think about that, there's probably other underlying issues there as well. How many times may I use fear to allow me to dig into a safety blanket of well, I probably better not do that. And it's because I just don't want to risk something. And I'm comfortable with the status. Quo and I don't see the value in doing it. Whereas getting outside of my comfort zone and taking a chance on some things may end up paying off exponentially. So I think fear is one of the issues.
43:39
Peter Dunn
I've had a lot of growth in a lot of these areas, but I still lack some real clarity in a couple of fear. But as I talked about on the show during the segment, for me it's not about the fear which prevents me from doing something. It's the fear once I'm doing something and how it just beats the hell out of the joy of the journey. But you've now known me long enough and works alongside of me long enough to know that it's the truth.
44:08
Damian Dunn
Yeah. The other one I think that we could probably spend an entire segment talking on is technology and what a ridiculous distraction that is. I had never heard of put a rubber band around your phone.
44:23
Peter Dunn
He said that, and I was like, oh, that's interesting, too. But I think his whole point is, yes, we want tactics for little tricks and hacks, but it's a more philosophical, like, I got good at it during the pandemic. I got off social media for whatever. I'm in a bad spot, right? Not awful, but I'm in a bad spot right now.
44:50
Damian Dunn
I try and find ways to just make it more reasonable for me to use technology, like using filters on certain words or topics on different social media so I don't go down those rabbit holes. But wouldn't it just be easier just not to use social media than try and make it fit my perception of how I can responsibly use it?
45:17
Peter Dunn
My daughter's 13, and she came home from school the other day, and in her digital learning class, she said they talked about the dangers of social media and how to use it appropriately. And I was like, that's awesome. And so she goes, So when can I get it? And I was like, Man, I wish the class this turns into an abstinence versus safe browsing situation. But I was just like, here's the thing. Once you go down that path, there is no turning back. And as a 44 year old man who has some wherewithal about him, I can barely handle it being a 13 year old impressionable mind and the likes and the thumbs down. I just like.
46:01
Damian Dunn
If you had to pay to use social media sites oh.
46:04
Peter Dunn
That'S a great question.
46:06
Damian Dunn
How much would you have to fork out before? Or how much would you fork out until you said, you know what?
46:12
Peter Dunn
No, here's the weird thing. I am not a frugal person. I am not cheap, but I wouldn't pay a dime to use social media.
46:26
Damian Dunn
Yeah, but yet here we are.
46:29
Peter Dunn
Yeah, that's a great point.
46:33
Damian Dunn
So start taking a dollar out of your wallet every month and putting it somewhere, or put $5 somewhere you're feeding yourself to use social media. Or just lead them off your phone.
46:46
Peter Dunn
What are you, a guy who works at True Bill?
46:50
Damian Dunn
Yes.
46:51
Peter Dunn
God, they're spending all the money. How can we not get a sponsor?
46:54
Damian Dunn
You have to pay me half of it, though. You're going to have to pay me half of whatever you set aside, though.
46:58
Peter Dunn
I would not pay a red cent if social media is like, oh, Twitter is now 499 a month or whatever, and we're not going to talk about what's happening with Twitter. I can't do it. That's not in the news this week, is it?
47:13
Damian Dunn
No. I mean, it is in the news, but no, I don't think I put it in my news specifically because I didn't want to talk about how it single handedly tanked one of my stock picks.
47:24
Peter Dunn
Oh, that's true. From that angle it's fine. But what is going on, I only will talk about with very close personal friends off the air like you and I did yesterday, because my take is so hot I can't unleash it on anyone. I wouldn't pay a dime to use social media, which is why it's free, because a lot of other people are in that same boat.
47:47
Damian Dunn
Yeah, I would love for that to change that. Social media would think they could increase revenues by charging per interaction or something, but it's never going to happen because they make all their money off us anyway.
48:00
Peter Dunn
You ready to do some radio?
48:03
Damian Dunn
I can't wait for biggest waste of money of the week. After talking to a minimalist guy, you could pick literally anything at this point. It would be the biggest waste of money.
48:12
Peter Dunn
He's so calm. He's the anti me.
48:16
Damian Dunn
Doesn't his background make sense now?
48:18
Peter Dunn
Totally. I feel like, I knew that, but you know how my memory is.
48:23
Damian Dunn
Yeah.
48:25
Peter Dunn
Also kind of sucks that he's got amazing hair.
48:30
Damian Dunn
Yeah.
48:31
Peter Dunn
So good.
48:34
Damian Dunn
If you could just transplant that right onto your head, would you do it, Janice?
48:38
Peter Dunn
Absolutely.
48:39
Damian Dunn
My eyebrows wouldn't.
48:43
Peter Dunn
We were over the pandemic. We were cleaning out stuff. He was like, what are you going to do? Hey, let's clean out the bathroom. I'm cleaning out under my sink and in Sarah and I's bathroom and Ted's in there with me and I find this different baskets under your sink with crap in it or whatever, and I pull out a basket I set up. I clearly have not been through this basket in years. And there's a hairbrush in there and Ted grabs it and he goes, you won't be needing this. I was like.
49:12
Damian Dunn
Your time is coming, Ted.
49:14
Peter Dunn
Danza makes a brilliant point here. Joshua has no relationship with Miguel. Very calming. I'll note this. We do have several new people. A lot of growth going on here at Your Moneyline, including new branding and logo for those that are watching the live stream. James got it. We've got a new guy, Greg, who works here, loves the Miguel.
49:38
Damian Dunn
Really?
49:39
Peter Dunn
Yeah. So now we got to get more Miguel.
49:42
Damian Dunn
Well, see, he told me he's been listening to the show for a while. Did he pick it up because of the show?
49:48
Peter Dunn
Well, he drinks our Miguel here. The house Miguel. So now we need more Miguel.
49:56
Damian Dunn
All right.
49:57
Peter Dunn
But he's in business development, so I drink as much Miguel as you want miguel's proposers. How do you like that shirt?
50:06
Damian Dunn
You're right. This is incredibly comfortable. I picked it up and I was like I went through the box and looked at everything. A lot of nice stuff. This is hands down the winner.
50:17
Peter Dunn
It is. All right, let's do a show because I do have to have some coffee. Not that important, though. Okay, in three, two, one. Back on the Pete the Planner show. This week's biggest waste of money of the week. Right here on the Pete the Planner show is thera body, therapace Pro. Facial, massager. Massage guns have become commonplace for dealing with sore muscles. Timeout dame. You got a massage gun first and you told me about it. Then I went and bought one because you really enjoyed gunning your muscles.
50:56
Damian Dunn
Yeah. You like yours, don't you?
50:59
Peter Dunn
I do. Turns out there are muscles in the face as well. And Therabody's new Therapace Pro is designed to help those and the skin that covers them. Isn't that weird? Timeout. I know we all have skin on our face. That's a very obvious statement. But to say there's muscles in your face and then the skin that covers them feels like a horror film, doesn't it?
51:24
Damian Dunn
It's just a little quick anatomy lesson for those of you playing at home.
51:27
Peter Dunn
While it can deliver traditional percussive treatment, it also has Led and infrared light attachments along with a micro current attachment that can help reduce blemishes and wrinkles and tighten the skin. Another attachment is designed to remove buildup of dirt, oil, and debris. Man, I wanted to say debris. An FDA cleared type two medical device. It charges via USB and lasts up to 2 hours per charge. Dame, what do you think a face massager costs? $399 for a face massager? As frequent listener to the show says in the live stream right now, mr. Brian pinkens, aka a toddler, punches to your face.
52:15
Damian Dunn
Yeah, I really want to go inside after the show and have my TD use our full size massage gun on his face and record it with the slow mo capability on your phone.
52:29
Peter Dunn
I do feel the need to say, Thomas, if you happen to be listening right now, do not put the massage gun on your face. It will hurt you, my friend. Dame, there's something that you can use to massage your face, and I want to show it to you right now to do it. I mean, I know we're on the radio. I'm going to remove my glasses, so I now cannot see anything, but I want to show you a massage tool that I have for my face. You just rub your that's all you do is just rub your face. I know everyone doesn't have hands, and I'm not being insensitive to that. I'm just saying I can rub my face and it's like, yeah, that's fine. Why would I pay $400 to have something vibrate my face off?
53:11
Damian Dunn
Putting greasy, oily fingers on your skin, and it's clogging your pores, and it's not doing you good, Pete.
53:20
Peter Dunn
Oh, what's it going to hurt? My love life? What am I going to do, not get any more dates?
53:25
Joshua Becker
Who cares?
53:26
Peter Dunn
I'm an old man, IDA. Doesn't matter. Dane, what's in the news?
53:30
Damian Dunn
Skincare is very important.
53:32
Peter Dunn
No, it's not.
53:33
Damian Dunn
Tax day 2022 is arriving Monday, April 18, after having returned to its mid April home this year after two years of delays spurred by the pandemic. For those of you who haven't filed yet, the main thing that makes a practical difference is electronic filing. Taxpayers who file electronically and include direct deposit information typically get their refunds within 21 days. Those who file on paper are facing months long delays as the IRS raises to get through a backlog left over from the 2020 tax year.
54:05
Peter Dunn
That seems like quite the delay. Yeah.
54:07
Damian Dunn
So if you haven't filed first, clear your calendar. You still got a couple of days this weekend to get that taken care of and file electronically. That's your tip from your old Uncle Dame.
54:17
Peter Dunn
Uncle Dame always delivers. What else is in the news?
54:20
Damian Dunn
Well, Pete, one of our favorite topics, the cryptocurrency entrepreneur who bought a non fungible token that's an NFT of Twitter founder Jack Dorsey's first tweet was hoping to sell it for $48 million, more than 16 times the 2.9 million he paid for it. But after an auction that lasted a week, the highest bid offered was a mere you want to guess?
54:43
Peter Dunn
Yes, I love to guess. Okay.
54:47
Damian Dunn
He paid 2.9 million. He was hoping to sell it for 48 million after a week's long auction. What was the highest bid?
54:56
Peter Dunn
1.5 million. Look, I go out of my way to not scream, were right, you were wrong.
55:12
Damian Dunn
Additional bids rolled in after the fact, and it was up to around $6,200 as of the time that news article was published, but it was significantly lower than what the gentleman had hoped for.
55:26
Peter Dunn
Do you have his name?
55:28
Damian Dunn
I do. It's sina estavi. He owns a couple of Malaysia based cryptocurrency companies.
55:38
Peter Dunn
Well, he knows money. I mean, look, I would listen to him or her? Is it him or is it her? Like, I don't know that I believe.
55:47
Damian Dunn
It'S a him, but I well be wrong on that.
55:50
Peter Dunn
That guy knows what he's talking about.
55:52
Damian Dunn
Clearly. Clearly. Leases for 243,000,000 office space are set to expire in 2022, the most office space to hit the market in a single year. Since real estate services firm JLL began tracking this data in 2015, many office tenants whose leases expired last year or in 2020 negotiated extensions of only a year or two, rather than renewing at a typical length of ten years or longer, as they tried to determine how much less space they might need under a hybrid approach. Now a growing number of tenants are shrinking their offices looming lease expirations represent a 40% increase since 2018 and pose a new threat for office, landlords, and lenders. Pete?
56:35
Peter Dunn
Yeah? I know why you brought this story up. We're in the midst of this right now. We need to expand because we have more people joining us, and so we need more space. But then it's complicated. I actually got news on this morning I need to share with you when we're having a private moment.
56:52
Joshua Becker
Yeah.
56:53
Peter Dunn
Pretty interesting, because people like the remote and what you have to do. So what we've done, because I think is what you got to do. You do what's called hoteling. So there's a bunch of common space where everyone works, and then you just reserve call rooms or reserve meeting space. But then when you're hoteling, when you're at these common workspaces, you're basically on top of each other. Everyone has on headphones, and it's like, wow, it's different. Yeah. On this topic and many other topics, I certainly have my opinion of how I like it, but I don't think my opinion is right. It's just my opinion. I feel this way about everything now I'm trying to get my place where if I have an opinion about something, it's not that my way is right. It's just the way I like it, as opposed to my way is right and your way is wrong.
57:49
Peter Dunn
Your way is not how I think of it. I think of my way. But when it comes to I like an office. First of all, I want to be at work every day because I love it, but I also want to have an office with a door with a lot more insulation than we happen to have.
58:05
Damian Dunn
Well, there's always next time people can hear me snore.
58:08
Peter Dunn
What else is in the news?
58:12
Damian Dunn
Pete $110,000. Let me get the start. Go ahead.
58:16
Peter Dunn
The starting price for a new type of bicycle with a clock radio in it.
58:27
Damian Dunn
Almost. That's the starting pay for a Walmart truck driver. $110,000 world class supply chain doesn't come cheap. And that's why the Arkansas based retail giant is paying bookoo bucks to attract new drivers and poaching employees from other departments. Little cannibalism inside of Walmart getting people to transition to truck drivers. Pete, let's leave pay out of this conversation. You ever wanted to jump up into a big rig and drive cross country?
58:55
Peter Dunn
Absolutely. Yeah. Does this surprise you?
59:00
Damian Dunn
Yeah, it does. Yeah. Because I'm the same way I would do it.
59:05
Peter Dunn
Yes. There's a lot of jobs I would love to try and just experience and not as a novelty, but I would love to know what that's like. I mean, I don't want to commit months to it or weeks to it, for that matter, but by the training, I'd like to do it.
59:22
Damian Dunn
Yeah, me too. I think it'd be a great experience.
59:26
Peter Dunn
Yeah. It's funny. There's certain jobs, even construction. I love to work. I loved working at my dad's plumbing shop back in the day and installing air conditioners and stuff. I like that stuff. The work I do now is not with my hands, other than occasionally I do write with my fingers. That got weird. But, yeah, there's a lot of jobs I try out. Nothing in the medical field, though I think we talked about a couple of weeks ago. I don't want to do anything in the medical field whatsoever, ever, anytime. Can't do it.
59:56
Damian Dunn
I'm still hung up on installing air conditioners at a plumbing shop.
01:00:00
Peter Dunn
It was a plumbing in HVAC shop. That's all we have time for this week by Joshua Becker's book, if you work for me, you're getting one. Dame, thanks for your contributions. Sending good vibes. Because good vibes are all that's in the budget. I'm Pete the planner. This is the would I have to end the show? Dame. And it's one very practical reason. Do you want to guess the practical reason?
01:00:25
Damian Dunn
A visit to the little cowboys room?
01:00:27
Peter Dunn
Yes. I need to go draw.
01:00:36
Damian Dunn
Interesting phrasing.
01:00:39
Peter Dunn
I'm going to just go. Goodbye, every oh, stay getting money. Bye.
