Thank you to Chris Misner for joining the podcast to share from his intangible balance sheet. We dive into the below topics as well as a few others. Listen in for more!
Please check out and subscribe to my Youtube Channel and Newsletter!
JOSH KLOOZ, CFP®, MBA
WEALTH ADVISOR
Phone 281.719.0036
Text 281.699.8691
Fax 281.719.0156
jklooz@carsonwealth.com
1780 Hughes Landing | Suite 570
The Woodlands, TX 77380
Music by bensound.com
Thank you to Chris Misner for joining the podcast to share from his intangible balance sheet. We dive into the below topics as well as a few others. Listen in for more!
Please check out and subscribe to my Youtube Channel and Newsletter!
JOSH KLOOZ, CFP®, MBA
WEALTH ADVISOR
Phone 281.719.0036
Text 281.699.8691
Fax 281.719.0156
jklooz@carsonwealth.com
1780 Hughes Landing | Suite 570
The Woodlands, TX 77380
Music by bensound.com
Hello and welcome in again to the wisdom of wealth podcast and yet another intangible balance sheet episode in our intangible balance sheet episode series. I'm Josh clues and today I have the distinct pleasure of introducing Chris Misner to the podcast. Chris comes with a very rich background and I can't wait to dive into the countless stories that are on his intangible balance sheet. Chris, thank you so much for joining us and can't wait to hear a little bit more about you.
Speaker 2:Josh, thanks for having me great podcast. By the way, it's just an honor to be here with you today.
Speaker 1:Likewise, and so, for those listeners that may be joining us for the first time, we call this the intangible balance sheet series, because I believe that all of us are a little bit irrational when it comes to our balance sheet and typically people have heard you know the, you know your net worth or your network statement or just a regular balance sheet. But I believe we have an intangible balance sheet comprised of the life experiences, the life stories and, more importantly, the first principles by which we live our lives. That is more important to us than any amount of money and, furthermore, I believe that most of those first principles come to life through stories and they sit in the memories of our descendants best when they're transmitted via story format. So that's a long way of introducing our topic today, but, chris, would you mind introducing yourself just briefly to our listeners before we get going formally.
Speaker 2:Yeah, no, absolutely, and again, thanks for having me on.
Speaker 2:So yeah, chris Meisner, retired naval aviator.
Speaker 2:I spent 30 years in the Navy and we're down here in Texas with my lovely bride of the celebrate our 25th anniversary and our two kids and our three horses and a cat down here in Texas.
Speaker 2:So, you know, really enjoyed the first you know, I guess really 34 years counting military school of you know my time serving the Republican uniform and we're really enjoying my time retired in 2019 and really enjoying my time in a, I guess, a second career, working for a large defense contractor here in the Dallas Fort Worth area. But really spending my time getting to do the things I didn't get to do when I was in the military for 30 years what you know, great sacrifice with the family and the kids right now. So we get a little more time to ride the horses, spend time with the kids, do some hunting, so just really enjoying that sort of second chapter of my life. And then also getting to pour into a lot of the things with the volunteer things you do in the church and the people that we get to mentor and helping a lot of people out with some of their financial goals and financial decisions and helping other organizations around Texas and the United States.
Speaker 1:Thank you for that introduction. So how many horses did you say you have again?
Speaker 2:Yeah, so I think we do three Liberty, justice and independence. And we recently just sold rebellion, so you can. Obviously it's a very thematic training operation. My daughter is a rodeo kid, so we rodeo, we train horses and she gives rodeo lessons and stuff. So Liberty, justice and independence, so clearly a theme there.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it sounds like a lot of fun. So, chris, one of the themes that I explore with guests is those stories that come to us and those principles that come to us by way of our grandparents or maybe even great grandparents. Do you have any intangible balance sheet deposits that come to you by way of a previous generation?
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's interesting. So I've listened to a lot of your podcast and I love that question and my answer is going to be a twofold really on that. So not unlike probably most of your guests that I've heard, just hard. My mom came over from a different country. I got to actually go to her high school graduation just because it took her a while to kind of assimilate and graduate Right and just sort of that ethics of hard work. But I would also include my wife in that too.
Speaker 2:She's a military we call it a brat in a positive, fun way, and so just seeing what her family, the lineage of her parents and grandparents, and the hard work, or her dad's a military senior officer, like I was, and her grandfather was a pilot, like I am. You know he was killed in World War II. So those intangible things that they gave us hard work, the value of money, the value of service. But on the other end of the equation though I don't know that, everything that you have, some of it may come from a lap of storage because in my case I feel like, for what better, for worse, for what have you?
Speaker 2:we could kind of give them to more at age 18, kind of being on my own, really being on my own, and having to go to military school on my own, find my own way, find my own money and for reasons that we don't really talk about today. But just life happens right and so sometimes you don't have that lineage to fall back on, you really have to go, do it yourself and you have to sort of explore. Really, what I say is like sort of alternate paths, right, I have a lot of people that were in my life that I call parental figures or grandparental figures, that aren't related by blood but just by happenstance or just by mentorship, right, and those kind of stories that come to light for me. So it's not always where you're at, where you came from, but sometimes just circumstances where you wound up.
Speaker 1:And so that's a perfect lead-in to the next question that I typically explore with guests is what about the mentors that are in your life? And so I'm really excited to explore this with you. Coming from the military, I believe you're probably the most senior ranking military member I've had on Talk to me about some of those early years, or maybe even some of those hinge points in your career, and who were some of the mentors and I know that's a tough question to ask, because to name or include is to exclude, because there could be a lot of them, but I mean, take a stab at it.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I always will, and that's, yeah, you're right when you include you, but it's easy to do. I just remember in high school we'll just call him Larry just a teacher who just was a great mentor so like, maybe I've been like almost 40 years now since high school, right, 35, 40 years who just kind of took me under his wing, was a civilian pilot, took me under his wing to wanna learn how to fly, and that's when I started flying, was in high school. So clearly a mentor there. Right, he wasn't a military pilot but he sent me down on a path even in high school, wanting to fly my own airplane, and it really became a father figure and to this day still is a father figure to me, right, so that would be one on the civilian side. You know we, the kids call him grandpa, right, so that's been a lasting relationship over the decades.
Speaker 2:But then I think to my military career. You know the mentors that I've had now and you know it's interesting, josh, I'm not sure a lot of time that people know their mentors I've been blessed to work for I don't wanna drop names on the podcast, but let's just say you know I've been assistance and aids to some of our most senior ranking people in our government. I've been to have the privilege of flying around on the big blue and white airplane that says United States of America, right, and sometimes the people that are in senior positions I don't even know that you're the mentor, right they just they impart on you wisdom and ways to think about things and do, and so I've had those in my life. But then I've also had the ones that I've known about right. We recently laid to rest our commandant of cadets when I was at military school. We'll just call him Colonel Tim.
Speaker 2:Recently laid him to rest in Arlington and memorialized him, actually last week at home coming up at our school putting up a name on our wall, and it's where I went to school at New York University. So a guy like that right 35 years ago, a mentor to me at the military level in military school. And then the mentor, then the guy that let me stay at military school when I didn't have a nickel to my name when the bursar wanted to throw me on the street. You know, when you go through the line, when you check in second semester and your bills not paid, and then I just remember the general who I told, hey, look, I'm almost at the top of my class, let's not throw. You know, don't let me go.
Speaker 2:And he took a chance on me to keep me in school when you just, you know, for really just because I had good grades, right. So that guy is a mentor, but to this day he probably wouldn't recall the story, right, but to let me stay at school. And then just the other folks, and my twin brother is a mentor. I have a twin brother who also spent 30 years in the Air Force and flies as well. So mentors don't have to be older, they can be younger. I coached high school baseball with my son and I learned things from my son every day on the ball field that I would never thought of on my own. So we sometimes think of mentors as older folks, but you can gather a few things from the next generation.
Speaker 1:So not an identical twin, because you know you went to the Navy and he went to the Air Force, right, I mean?
Speaker 2:Right.
Speaker 1:Identical, except for that.
Speaker 2:We are so identical to this day. People were both in the industry now and the other day I was in a major trade show in Reno and an Air Force guy walked up to me and said aren't you somebody else? I'm like, no, that's my brother. So to this day you're that identical so Wow, that's pretty unique.
Speaker 1:Is that obviously probably not the first time that that's happened, but is it the first time in the industry that that's happened?
Speaker 2:It happens at every trade show.
Speaker 2:Now every trade show I go to I come across an Air Force guy. That happened a lot at the Pentagon. So I worked for some senior folks in the military and so did he. It's just, it's kind of comical at this point the senior people who you run into that just says are you sure you're not him? I'm like, no, I'm not that guy. So the mentor to me as a twin brother, just having the same shared experiences family wise, growing up, and then financially too, and then are just similar situations in the military.
Speaker 1:Now, Chris, what do you consider to be the pivotal events of your life? I feel like there are always we'll call them hooks in our memory, that we are pegs in our memory that we hang a lot of value on because of the way that they pushed us a certain direction or they shaped our character. Do you have any of those types of stories that you would like to do?
Speaker 2:Yeah, for sure, I mean we'll go with the easy one, right? I mean, I, you know, being a Christian, so you know, having Christ in our life as part of our center of our life, you know, back maybe in sixth grade, that's certainly a pivotal moment, right, because that's the foundation for everything that, at least in my life, whether it's financial, family, you know, career, et cetera, right, just that kind of north star of your life. And then, so that was certainly one. You know two, we sort of looted up just now, you know, going to school, going to a rather expensive New England school, with no money in my pocket, knowing that I'm not going to stay here unless I can pull off some amazing grades for the first semester, because they're going to try to kick me out and that's going to be the only wild card to play, right, so that pivotal moment in my life, having to say, hey, I need someone at this school to take a chance on me and keep me here, which then obviously led to a, I suppose you know, a solid, decent military career, and then you know where I am today, so that you know a life changing moment.
Speaker 2:And now I throw this out there too, I'm sure every lot of guys on your podcast will say this. I'll say number three, three and four the family stuff. Right, you know I met my bride in San Diego during a Navy tour, but we just can't discount the support that you get from your spouses when you do a 30 year career. So you know, I shouldn't say picking, but finding the right person to share that journey, you know, with you was pretty amazing. So I see those three right now. Then obviously all the other ones that come after that right, the birth of your kids, and you know things like that. But for sure those are three of the pivotal moments of my life.
Speaker 1:So, yeah, you can't get off that easy. You got to tell the story of how you met and Maybe even tell it, you know, from her perspective, and then your perspective too, just kidding, or marry the two together.
Speaker 2:You know it's not, you know, kind of. You and I were kind of joking about Top Gun before we started recording. So we're San Diego country, you know. Obviously horses were in the country here. So San Diego 19, you know, 96 country, western bar I. I don't drink alcohol that much. I'm not against it per se, but she just kept noticing on the guy going back and forth for a glass of water. Frankly, that's another part of our discussion. I don't drink alcohol just because I want to save the money, frankly. But she noticed the guy not drinking the liquor and then struck up a conversation on the dance floor and then the next thing, you know, 25 years later, you know two kids, three horses and a cat, right, that's neat.
Speaker 1:So are there any stories within your or events, hardships, maybe even or difficulties that you encountered across your career, chris, that you're willing to to dive into in greater detail?
Speaker 2:Yeah, we sort of touched on the initial part, right, just trying to get my career started and staying in school. But then, you know, you know I would say Daily, it seemed like it could have been a challenge, right. I just I didn't come from, you know, great wealth growing up. I feel like I was kind of out there on my own. So just getting through flight school and getting through all the challenges of an early military career and your deployments were just, it was just challenging every day and I'm just, you know, grateful that I had, you know, like you know, a god to be there with me and pray to and kind of Give me to the day. But for me it was really just the challenge of Just keeping up with your peers in such a high level of fast-paced environment as naval aviation. Right, and sort of that self-doubt that comes across, comes across every day, right. That and it's just from day one or to 30 years later. It just didn't ever seem to go away. It was always challenging. Every day was hard.
Speaker 1:Mmm, yeah, now, chris, is you. I want you to think four generations from now, you know, lord willing, great-grandchildren's generation of your community. What are some of the principles that you feel or life lessons that you feel would be most Informative and instructive for them? Would you mind diving into that for for a little bit here? Hang on we dropped. We dropped there right before that question off, no worries, so I can pick up right back off where we left off.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I was a question, yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah. So, chris, I want you to think, say, four generations from now. What are some of the the stories and or Principles that you want your great-grandchildren's generation and their, their community To learn from? Or what do you, what do you feel most strongly about, what are some of those principles that you hope pass on to that fourth generation?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I mean absolutely. Number one is faith. Right, I mean every generation beyond us, going to the fourth, I hope they're living their life as a Christ-centered life. That's a hundred percent. If I could define, I think our family, like my twin brother's family, my wife's family, it's really just service. And I really hope our children of that next generation four you said four from now live a life of service to something, whether it's our nation or their neighborhood or their church. I don't want to make everything here about the military. Right, it could be. I mean, if you pick up my trash and you do a great job, what do you think about those people in your life? What would life be like in your neighborhood if someone didn't do that? And so, whatever they do, do it to the best of their ability and do it with value and ethics and morals and to the best of their ability. That's four generations from now. That's what I want for them.
Speaker 1:Yeah, absolutely. Now the next piece. Some people may take this a little bit morbidly, but I like to think of, and even encourage clients to write their own eulogy, and so I want you to look backward and you know, I don't know if you have done this or not, but I want you to, for a moment, talk through some of the elements that you hope are a part of your own eulogy personally. Would you mind sharing some of that with us?
Speaker 2:Yeah, absolutely. I've given that some thought at times, just as we do self-reflection, and I'd sort of alluded to it just now. I really hope they say he lived the life of service and different people saying it for different reasons. It's like my wife and I mentor a group of four 30-year-old couples you newly married, no kids. I hope they would say that he lived a life of service, mentoring to us and pouring into us. I would hope that my military folks, friends, past shipmates would say he lived a life of valued service to his nation. Right, we're very involved in my university raising money and organizing things and volunteering. I sit on the board at my university. I hope those people would say he poured into this organization, a service. So I use that word over and over selfless sacrifice and service and I would hope that that would be that you're that citizen soldier for whatever battle space you're in the church, the baseball field, your family or the work. And he just said you kind of went the extra mile, serving others like good and faithful servant.
Speaker 1:Absolutely, Chris. Thank you so much for your time today. I really enjoyed the conversation. Is there anything that we haven't had a chance to get to in our time today?
Speaker 2:I think we covered a lot. I would say it's just important that the folks that come behind us really understand what the folks that came behind them did or are doing to create wisdom and wealth in their lives. We didn't talk about wealth that much To my wife. It's interesting that my wife and I it is so extremely important to us to give back and to pour into other organizations financially. I wonder if in the world or in America we're starting to lose that sense of wanting to give back financially.
Speaker 2:I always say the three T's right Time, talent and treasure but sometimes I do wonder how equally. I mean, obviously some people have limited means. You love when they give their time and you love when people are talent, but at the end of the day, sometimes it's the hardest to sometimes commit your treasure. I think somewhere in the Bible it says where your dollars go, there goes your heart. I'm also I'm paraphrasing and I'm not doing it well. I always tell people in business you know what a company cares about, where they put their dollars right. That's what I would hope the kids that come after us, or even the kids that are with us now generations, understand that building wealth is more than about just building wealth for personal gain or to make oneself wealthy. It's about making a difference.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I think we've. We as a society undervalue what I'll call institutional wealth or relational wealth. We value it less than tangible things. But there is a currency to building institutional values right, and you can tell who those people are. They walk in the door and they're they're a joy to be around and you can't. You can't pay them enough to stay, to stay there, because they they build morale and they build culture while they're there. So I love that you hit on that. Chris, thank you so much for your time in sharing with us from from your story. I really appreciate your just generosity in this particular way. Thank you again for joining us and know that we are wishing you and your family nothing but truth, beauty and goodness on the road ahead.
Speaker 2:Thanks for having me, josh, and continued good luck with this podcast. I think it's a great avenue for a lot of folks to pour into and get a lot out, and thanks for doing it, thank you and for more weather products, and I'll see you there.