“You’re in the solution now.”
That’s what Ray Donovan says to reassure an actress panicked by a stalker on the Showtime series, “Ray Donovan.”
Take that phrase in, just for a moment. Imagine having your own fixer who’s telling you he’s going to handle whatever problem you just gave him. In a single sentence, he’s got you covered. Are you breathing easier already?
Guess what? You can be your own fixer. You just need to blend your instincts with your intellect. We’ll talk about how to do that in the October series, In the Solution Now.
Where do you land on the head vs. heart spectrum? Are you in the “show me” bucket, where you only believe what you can prove?
Or are you on the opposite end of the scale where it’s about how you feel, not about what you know? You spend a lot of time hanging out with the muse, bearing a passing resemblance to T.D. Jakes’ joke, “We’re so heavenly minded that we’re no earthly good.”
Finding the right answers in a complex world requires using both sides of our brain. Think of it this way – when you combine insight and logic, you’re doubling your chances for a full, unlimited solution.
This is what happened for celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain. In an interview with Wealthsimple.com, Bourdain described how he transformed his financial life.
For decades, money was a constant struggle as he scraped by, living paycheck to paycheck. Intuitively he knew he was off course, but change seemed impossible. If anything, he became a pro at drowning out his subconscious, regularly numbing himself with gambling and drugs. He explained, “In my daily life, the goal was to muffle the anxiety that I’d feel as I tried to drift off to sleep knowing that, at any point, what little money I had in my bank account could be garnished by the IRS or the credit card company. The landlord could kick me to the curb. That was my reality for many years.
After two false starts in publishing, he left the famous Les Halles restaurant following the release of his smash book, “Kitchen Confidential.” However, the windfall didn’t solve all his problems. His mindset was just as critical as the royalty checks.
Bit by bit, he got his financial house in order. He started by filing over 10 years of back taxes with the IRS. He paid bills on time and in full. And he quit drugs and developed a new habit: being obsessive about remaining debt free.
Are you ready to be in the solution? Your challenge throughout this series is two-fold: listen to your subconscious, then act.
You’re probably already aware of the problem, just like Tony Bourdain was. However, are you shouting down the choices you know you need to make?
Decide that today’s the day you’re going to face down that dragon. Your past may be filled with cries of, “Whatever” or “Later!”, but it’s time to adopt a new mantra: “Handled”.