Kay:
Well, hello! And, welcome back to The Mentorship Quest! We’ve got Episode 142 for you today, here on July 21st, with a quote from one of our dearest mentors, Mr. Paul Martinelli…
Shi:
…Who has said, time and time again, “If you want to know what someone’s priorities are, you can look in two places to find out. Their checkbook and their datebook.”
Kay:
Ooh, we love this quote because of its practicality, and because it helps us in understanding not just where someone else’s priorities are, but turning that mirror on this quote and maybe looking at our own priorities as well!
Shi:
I remember the first time I heard Paul say this – (and Kay, you’re probably remembering the same moment) – in 2015. We were at the International Maxwell Certification in Orlando, and we had begged Paul for the credentials to their social media, because we were at the event for the John Maxwell Team, and there was nothing happening on social media so far. So, he says, “All right, you guys have at least enough cred through your mom and through your business accolades that I can trust you with this.” And so, once we got those credentials, we were like, “Oh, you’re going LIVE, Paul…you’re going to go LIVE and you’re going to pitch for the John Maxwell Team!” And so, there we are, in the hall of the Orlando World Center Marriott, and we get the phone, and Paul starts talking – and of course he’s so phenomenal that your face just starts melting right away – but he’s imploring people to invest in themselves, whether it’s JMT or not. But, he says this quote, and I remember just like experiencing one of those “mind blown” moments.
Kay:
Oh, it was like the light bulb came on…The trumpets sounded…And, we realized this is a really important life lesson, because it really does help you to reflect on where you spend your time and money! Because, when you think about the two currencies that you have in human life – you’ve got the time currency (which is the one that you own unequivocally, unless you are dead…welcome to the human race!) And then, the other currency is the money currency, which is the currency we’ve created as a species in order to do exchanges between one another – so we need it for food, and we need it for our homes, and we need it to live a life! And so, if you really, really, REALLY want to know which things you are prioritizing…whether it be clubbing or book clubs – this quote really helps you find that out!
Shi:
Ooh, that was a good turn of phrase…I like that!
Kay:
Well, thank you!
Shi:
Very clever! And, it goes along with this clever quote as well, because it’s talking about how you find those hard facts, and that true data that can show where our priorities and values really are. Because, sometimes those things really get theorial, right? Like, we can all say what it is that we prioritize, but how do we measure it? That can be a real issue! And so, through this quote, we can see two definitive, objective ways that you can measure what it is that you’re prioritizing – by looking at someone’s checkbook and their date book! Because, if you’ve blocked out the time and you’ve paid the money, then you know what you’re prioritizing – whether it is clubs or book clubs, or whether it is Starbucks every day, or a contribution to your Roth IRA (which is another good rhyme there…so we’ll just slide those into our pocket books too 😉 – these two things really reflect with hard data what it is that we prioritize in a way that’s unequivocally inarguable!
Kay:
This is something that you can also use to get a good feel for somebody else’s character as well. Like Shi said, it’s really easy to talk about the things that we like, and not necessarily talk about our values – because values might go a little bit deeper than you think they do. For example, we might say that we really value giving back to our community, but if you never go out and actually give back to your community, all you value is the idea of community service. And so, if you really want to know what your values are, and what it is that you hold dear – not just what you like, or what you prefer, or what you think is nice to talk about – you can take a look in these two places to really see if you are aligning with the values that you set forth in your life! So, just a reminder of today’s quote from our dear mentor, Paul Martinelli, he says, “If you want to know what someone’s priorities are, you can look in two places to find out. Their checkbook and their datebook.”
Shi:
And, that brings us to today’s quest – which is an exploration quest! So, your quest for today is to: Look at your last 30 day spending statement, and see what your main charge card is. If you’re a debit card person – or maybe you got that special Chase card where you get the points and that’s like your main charge card – look at your main charge card for your last 30 days statement, AND also examine your last 30 days on your calendar…We all have the calendar on our phone and we all use it. So, you’ve got the data to be able to look at both of those and check out what your priorities are. And, we want you to answer this question after you look at your data: If you didn’t know you, what would you say your priorities are, based on what you see in the data? This is your exploration quest for the day, so we really hope you’ll get out there and…
Kay & Shi:
Let’s quest!
