Douglas Lennick - Leveraging your financial intelligence: at the intersection of money, health, and happiness

1. Chapter 1
2. Chapter 2
3. Chapter 3
4. Chapter 4
5. Chapter 5
6. Chapter 6

Doug Lennick, Roy Geer, and Ryan Goulart

Copyright 2018 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.

Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey.

Published simultaneously in Canada.

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It was nearly 43 years ago when I first met co-author Roy Geer. Roy passed away on March 8th, 2017, shortly before we had completed writing this book. You can imagine how sad this turn of events was. Roy would have been 90 years of age on his next birthday.

I was 22 when I first met Roy, and he was 47. Roy first became my mentor, and ultimately a friend and colleague. We shared a lot over the years, and one of the most important things we shared was a passion for making a difference. Our first book, How to Get What You Want and Remain True to Yourself, published in 1989, grew out of that passion. Several years ago, we decided it was time to work together on another book. Last year we realized our new book would be stronger if we added the perspective of a younger author, and that's when Ryan Goulart, a Millennial, joined the team as a co-author. Ryan, who had already been helping us with research, is now 29 years old. Among his many skills is a deep understanding of the Millennial generation's values, which in turn drive positive life choices; but even more important, Ryan shares our passion for making a difference. In addition, Ryan has deeply researched, and understands from personal experience, how Millennials experience the intersection of money, health, and happiness. As you'll see throughout this book, different generationsMillennials, Generation X, and Baby Boomershave both similar and unique ways of optimizing happiness by leveraging financial intelligence to promote positive health and happiness practices.

Roy Geer was an inspiration for many, including Ryan and me. As Roy got older, he also got wiser. Roy knew how to age well, and that had a lot to do with knowing how to behave young. He remained an interested and active learner throughout his life. In fact, at the time of his death Roy was not only working on this book, but he was also in the process of completing the requirements for his PhD. For decades I had thought Roy had a PhD in industrial psychology, and he didn't correct my assumption quickly. About 10 years ago, feeling guilty, Roy admitted to me that he didn't have a PhD, but that he was inspiredin part by my mistaken beliefto pursue his doctorate. Though Roy didn't complete his PhD before he left us, I believe that his PhD studies greatly enhanced his happiness, longevity, and purpose. Richard Leider, bestselling author of The Power of Purpose and Repacking Your Bags (co-authored with David A. Shapiro), notes that aging is changing and that purpose matters more. Leider speaks about the language of living, not the language of aging. Words like discovery, learning, opportunity, meaning, and others represent the language of living. Roy was all about that, and so is this book.

Our subtitle, At the Intersection of Money, Health, and Happiness, sets the stage for what you are about to experience. Research and the individual experiences of the authors and the many people we have coached or interviewed led us to conclude that indeed there is a clear connection between one's financial well-being, one's physical well-being, and one's happiness. As is true with the chicken and the egg, it is hard to know which comes first, but happiness expert Dan Buettner of Blue Zone fame states, When it comes to health and wealth and happiness, it's hard to be happy if you don't have good health. We certainly agree with that, though there are many heartening examples of people facing extraordinary health challenges who, despite their circumstances, demonstrate remarkable emotional resilience, find joy in life, and spread positive energy to those around them. We also know that it's harder to be healthy if one is under financial stress, which countless studies and surveys indicate that up to 90 percent of Americans experience. Hence the significance of the title Leveraging Your Financial Intelligence: At the Intersection of Money, Health, and Happiness. Happiness may be one's ultimate goal, but we believe the fastest way to achieve happiness is to begin reducing financial stress by using the strategies presented in this book.

My book, Financial Intelligence: Making Smart, Values-Based Decisions with Your Money and Your Life, written several years ago with the support of my long-time, incredible collaborative writer, Kathy Jordan, was designed to help people understand and develop financial intelligence. Financial intelligence is the ability to make smart, responsible, values-based decisions with and about money in the face of competing and difficult to deal with emotions.