Video Transcript: "How to Avoid Money Panic," an Original SpendLessTV.com video from Sean Stephenson and Garrett B. Gunderson

- G: Hi this is Garrett Gunderson,
- S: and and and I'm Sean Stephenson if I an get in a word edgewise...
- G: He may not because this is a money topic. And I gotta tell you a lot of people go through money panic, money crisis, I mean all you gotta do is turn on the news for like two seconds before you feel like the end of the world is coming, right? I mean that's kind of the situation and the pitch that people have painted and this is what happens: A recession is only a reality through our conversation and our experience when we turn on the news... unless I guess you're in mortgages or real estate, because most people had no clue it was coming. but then some newscaster says, crisis! and we go Oh no! Crisis! Ah, I better call everyone! And I begin the conversation about the problems in the world today. And we shift our mindset. Not to one of service, value creation and growth, but one to scarcity, fear and concern. And this is how the crisis builds because now when we go to sleep, we go to sleep with that worry and we've planted that seed, we wake up in the morning, and look I've been there, where the first thought on our minds is Am I going to have enough money? Can I, can I pay my bills? Are my kids are going to be able to do the things....
- S: I'm not his kid, so don't point to me...
- G: yeah, yeah, but I mean, thank you Sean...(giggle) So, am I going to be able to put them in the school they deserve? Am I going to be able to get them the swimming lessons? Am I going to be able to go on that trip that I always wanted to go on? Am I going to have a job tomorrow? It's like, we start to get in those situations...
- S: Panic
- G: ... and I gotta tell you that panic, you know the biggest problem with that panic? Is we become selfish.
- S: Um... I'd like to talk about panic from a psychological standpoint, as a therapist. Garrett's talking from the financial side, we're going to talk about the psychology of panic related to money. You never talk to somebody who is really really wealthy and say, "Hey so, how did you make your multi-millions?" and hear them say, "You know what? I panicked. I panicked a lot. I panicked so much it got me rich." In fact, you'll never hear when somebody talks about how they got out of a burning building, "Oh I panicked, and I found the exit." You will never hear about, oh, how did you stop your divorce, it was really getting convoluted and and fall back in love with your wife? "Well, I panicked and then the marriage just worked." You will never hear, "Oh I helped my children by panicking". Panic causes destruction. Financially, it's the same way. When we panic with our money, it's no different, it's like setting our hair on fire. We're just so freaked out about what's going on we start running into walls and doors, we start tripping all over the place as opposed to just saying, "Woa, one step at a time, let's find a place to stop drop and roll let's have a system." That's how you, how you avoid, see it's not about stopping panic, it's about avoid panic. And that's what Garrett teaches. Is how to you avoid panic? You live your soul purpose.
- G: Yeah, and so as you get panicked by the way, and I'm saying you're becoming selfish.. selfishness doesn't mean that you're like, sitting around and and you you look selfish or even sound selfish, it's just that you're constantly worried about your situation. And that survival mode... if you get in survival mode you know what the best you can do? Survive! You know how many people are trying to survive who are continuing to survive? They think, "Oh, this is going to happen and what's gonna..." and the next day, they're still okay! The next day, there's till possibility!
- S: Let's look at the flip side: You'll find a lot of people in life, they'll say, "How did you get in that accident?" "I panicked." "So, how did you lose all that money?" "I panicked." "Why did that relationship fall apart?" "I panicked." You will find.
- G: You get irrational when you panic.
- S: Right. When you panic you're basically giving free reign to have your fear control your behavior, your actions, your thoughts, and your words.
- G: So here's the formula. If you want to get out of that selfishness that panic creates, what you gotta do, and this sounds a little bit crazy at first, but follow me, is you gotta actually focus on others. I know you're getting so focused on yourself, but this is the thing: The bigger the problem the bigger the payoff. Why is it that in recessions and depressions you hear about people making a ton of money even though there's a lot of people not? It's because people are looking for some level of guidance to help them out, but if you're in panic you can't think about helping anyone else out. So if you want to avoid that panic here's what you do: #1 Gratitude. What are you grateful for each and every day? #2 You invest in yourself. I call this a power hour every single day, exercise, education and enlightenment. Look, if I'm starting to feel stress and I exercise, it helps me deal with that stress. If I'm educating myself on what I can do to expand value creation that I can offer out there in my expertise, I'm now more equipped to avoid the panic. #3 Enlightenment: I would say is more like meditation, maybe it's that gratitude, prayer, maybe it's just taking some time to yourself. And if you do those things, now, the next piece is: you've gotta get a hold of people and you gotta have a conversation where you find what is it that they truly value. So if I talk to Sean, it's not saying, "Sean how can I create value for you?" See that puts a lot of pressure on him. But if instead, I say, "What are you up to today? What's going really well for you? What's not working for you?"
- S: What are you spending your time on?
- G: "What are you spending your time on? What's really important?
- S: What are your challenges?
- G: What are your challenges? And when I get one that I can tell, oh this is a hot button for him, this is the equation: How can I help? Maybe I can't, maybe it's not my expertise, but the second thing i can ask is: who do I know who could? And I'll make the connection. And when you're doing that service, and you're in these actions you can't panic when you're in the process when you're helping someone out! How am I going to panic doing that? I'm going to feel that gratefulness, I'm gonna feel that energy! And then all of a sudden, this is where the the beauty happens... he appreciates me. And what happens when things appreciate? What happens when stock appreciates happens? When real estate appreciates, what happens?
- S: The value goes up.
- G: The value goes up. So all of a sudden by shifting off my survival mode and shifting into a mode of how can I create value for people in tis world, I build and appreciate my level of awareness, my level of functionality, and avoid panic, so...
- S: I'm Sean Stephenson and this is Garret Gunderson, and this is your 4 minutes on SpendLessTV.