Twenty Years from Now
The concept of Reframing Capital as a blog/website was sparked after listening to a conversation between Carl Richards and Chip Gaines. (No, I wasn’t there in person, but Carl does such a great job hosting that he makes you feel like you are sitting right there next to he and his guest).
On Episode #5 of the 50 Fires podcast—a project co-produced by Chip and Joanna Gaines—Carl wraps up the episode by asking Chip one final question.
“Let’s pretend 20 years from now I’m still doing this show. And your 5-year-old son, Crew, comes on as a guest, and I ask him what money means to him. What would you hope he would say?”
Chip’s response was encouraging, and the entire episode is very much worth a listen. Yet, because Chip’s son and my son are just three months apart in age, it caused me to put myself in Chip’s seat in trying to answer that question.
I thought about it for days and weeks and, still to this day, don’t have a definitive answer to the question. I’m not sure I’ll ever have a singular answer. However, it prompted in me the desire to capture some of my own thoughts about money—both past and present—to begin instilling some of these ideas into my kids.
And thus, Reframing Capital was born.
Consider it a digital journal or archive to one day be passed down to my kids. In fact, if my wife and kids are the only ones who ever lay eyes on these writings, it will be considered a success and have been well worth my time. If it happens to help anyone else along the way, that’s simply a bonus.
Why the Name Reframing Capital?
A while back I stumbled upon this post from Carl Richards on X (formerly Twitter) where he defined capital as time, money, energy, and attention. It immediately caught my attention and has stuck with me ever since. I love it because, in a way, it shrinks the power and importance of money as a resource. Or maybe it elevates time, energy, and attention to the same level as money. Or maybe both.
It also brought to mind the old saying: “Some people are so poor, all they have is money.” (I could spend hours exploring this thought alone).
So, while there are most definitely certain things I hope my kids say about money 20 years from now, perhaps a great starting point is repositioning money’s place on the hierarchy of resources we have to save/spend/give/steward/invest.
Enter the concept of reframing.
To reframe means “to change the way something is expressed or considered.” Thus, to reframe one’s view of capital means to broaden its definition to much more than just money. Think about the word health. It encompasses far more than simply adhering to the Food Pyramid of how many servings of each food group we should eat daily. While nutrition is certainly a part of health, it also includes sleep, resistance training, movement, mobility, mental stability, etc. Attention to each one of these areas is needed to be fully healthy.
The concept of reframing is also very relevant to the stage of life both me and my wife are currently in. Raising a 5-year-old and an 18-month-old is simultaneously the hardest and most rewarding thing we’ve ever done. During the challenging times (aka - every day) one of the practices we’re trying to implement as parents is reframing situations and how we view them. We’re also training our son, Grayson, to do the same. When he says something to the effect of, “I always get this wrong” or “I’m horrible at everything!” we’re working diligently to help him reframe his thoughts by putting his feelings in their rightful place. He may not have stayed perfectly within the lines when coloring a picture in his coloring book, but that certainly and obviously does not mean he is horrible at everything. It simply means it’s an area he needs to work on.
Justin Whitmel Early, one of my favorite authors, writes about the benefits of reframing in his book The Common Rule: Habits of Purpose for an Age of Distraction. He believes our daily habits and liturgies—specifically the habit of kneeling prayer at morning, midday, and bedtime—reframe the way we view our day. Even the tiniest shift in our perspective can help us reframe our day and place our many burdens/tasks in their rightful place.
The progressive form of reframe—reframing—also signifies an ongoing process. Meaning, our views on capital will most likely evolve over time. As our stage of life changes, so will our perspectives on time, money, energy, and attention.
It’s important to note that, while I resonate deeply with Carl’s definition of capital, I recognize that his four sources of capital are not necessarily an exhaustive list. There are other sources I believe are important and should be thought of when considering what assets we have to save/spend/give/steward/invest. A post by Steve Manuel on The Secret of the 5 Capitals offers another perspective on various forms of capital. So, while Carl’s four sources are not the end-all-be-all, I believe they are a great start and, more importantly, create awareness that money isn’t the only asset we possess.
Actions Speak Louder than Words
While this site is intended to serve as a place where I can capture thoughts I want to convey to my children, I’m aware that talk is cheap. What my children see me do with my time, money, energy, and attention will have far more of an impact on them than what I say they should do with their time, money, energy, and attention.
My actions will always—and should always—speak louder than my words.
As Robert Fulghum puts it, “Don’t worry that children never listen to you; worry that they are always watching you.”
While I hope the words written on this site resonate with them one day, I know they will only “stick” if they see them played out in my own life.
So why even make the effort to spend so much time writing if words alone carry very little weight? I suppose putting words on paper—err, on the internet—is my attempt at holding myself accountable to living them out. It’s also possible—and even probable—that sharing my thoughts publicly will reveal to me the areas in which I need to improve.
Carl Jung once said, “If there is anything that we wish to change in the child, we should first examine it and see whether it is not something that could better be changed in ourselves.” Writing down my thoughts will undoubtedly generate self-awareness of the very behaviors I need to change in myself.
With that said, I encourage you to do two things:
1) Listen to this episode of the 50 Fires podcast between Carl Richards and Chip Gaines.
2) Ask yourself, “Twenty years from now, what do I hope my kids would say about why money is important to them?” (or even ask, “What is important about money to me?”)
From personal experience, I can almost assure you that doing both of these will lead to several realizations that surprise you.
