You Can Make Better Decisions By Borrowing Wisdom

We share a simple life hack that cuts stress and improves decision-making: build a personal board of directors for your life. We walk through the exact roles to fill, how to find the right people, and how to use a quick checklist to avoid emotional mistakes. 
• treating yourself like the CEO of your own life 
• creating a personal board of directors as a decision-making tool 
• picking a money person who stays calm with numbers 
• choosing a balanced relationship person who tells the truth 
• adding health and wellness voices instead of trusting internet advice 
• finding a career and life advisor for strategy at any age 
• leaning on a travel person for smarter, easier trips 
• keeping a reality check person who stops bad choices fast 
• avoiding an echo chamber by seeking different perspectives 
• using a checklist for emotional, expensive, permanent decisions 
• following the HALT rule hungry, angry, lonely, tired 
You can find it at marcybackhusmedia.com,  
If you put one together and you want to tell me about it, marcybackhusmedia@gmail.com. 

Transcript

Welcome And The Life Hack

SPEAKER_00 0:04

Hello, and welcome to Inside Marcy's Mind. My name is Marcy Backis and I am your host. And today I want to share one of the best life hacks I've ever stumbled across. Nope, not a cleaning hack, not a money hack, not a protein hack, although Lord knows we all need that after 60. This is a life hack, a decision-making hack, a stress-reducing hack, and honestly, it may save you from some really bad choices. Because here's the truth most of us are trying to run our lives like a Fortune 500 company with absolutely no advisors. And that is crazy when you think about it. Every successful business has a board of directors, people with experience, people with different perspectives, people who help leaders avoid expensive mistakes. Yet when it comes to our lives, we just wing it. We make decisions about money, relationships, careers, health, retirement, moving, family drama, all while sitting alone at our kitchen table with a cup of coffee and anxiety, or in the shower, or driving your car, or wherever you make your big major decisions. The shower seems to always be a place I think. Not so much now because I take most of my showers at the gym. I digress. Anyways, today I want to suggest something different. I want you to create your own board of directors. And yes, I actually have one.

A Quick Week Check In

SPEAKER_00 1:35

All right, before we get into the board of directors and what a board of directors is and why we all need one, let's talk about my week. I always like to fill you in. Life is going really good, and I'm going to enjoy it. I'm going to brag about it. Yes, I am. Because life can be hard at times, and we all have hard times. And I share with you my hard times. I have never shied away from that. But right now, you know what? Things are good. Craig's still a pain in the ass, but what husband isn't. And uh kids are doing good, I'm doing good, cats are doing good. A lot of weather here in Chicago yesterday and today. But other than that, life is really good. And I think sometimes it's important to recognize it, to look at it, and to enjoy it. Okay. Now that I've told you about how great life is right now, and that can change on a dime, as we all know. I want to talk to you about

What A Personal Board Does

SPEAKER_00 2:35

this week's subject: a personal board of directors. And I do have one. Imagine for a moment that you are the CEO of your life, because guess what you are? You manage your finances, your relationships, your health, your future, your happiness, your goals. That is a pretty big job. Now imagine that whenever a major decision comes, you have a group of trusted advisors you can consult. Not people who tell you what you want to hear, people who tell you what you need to hear. That is your board of directors.

Money And Relationship Advisors

SPEAKER_00 3:14

So let's start with person number one. The money person. Everyone needs one. Not necessarily a financial advisor, just somebody who is good with money. Do you have a friend like that? Do you have a parent like that? Do you have a sibling like that? You know the person. They have a budget, their retirement account exists, they understand interest rates, they don't finance patio furniture for seven years. When you're about to make a big purchase, call them. When you're thinking about retiring, call them. When you're panicking over money, call them. Sometimes we need somebody who can look at numbers without emotions attached because money decisions made in a panic are usually expensive. Okay? So get your money person. Find that person. Can you think about that person? Do you know that person? It doesn't even have to be a friend. It could be just somebody that's in your life, somebody you know at church, somebody you know at the gym. You don't have to have a super personal relationship with them. If they're good with money, they can be your money person. All right, the next person, the relationship person. Now, this is really important. Choose carefully. This should not be the friend who thinks every disagreement means divorce, nor should it be the friend who thinks every problem should be tolerated forever. You need somebody balanced, somebody who understands relationships, somebody who sees both sides, somebody who tells the truth. The friend who says, Marcy, you're right about this. And also, Marcy, you're being ridiculous. That's a valuable friend. And that is your relationship person. Think about it. Think about it. Who is that person in

Health And Career Guidance

SPEAKER_00 5:12

your life? Okay, the health person. Every board needs a wellness expert. This doesn't have to be a doctor. Maybe it's a friend who actually understands nutrition. Maybe it's the person who exercises consistently. I have a couple of health people in my life, not just one. Maybe it's somebody who successfully turned their health around. The person who says, Have you called your doctor? instead of just ignore it. Because WebD, WebMD is not your friend. And neither is that random Facebook group. And I have to be honest, I am just insane with people who come with medical problems to TikTok or Instagram, you may not know, but they ask for people's opinions. I'm like, good God, go to the doctor or have a health person in your life. All right, next person you need on your board of directors, the career person. For younger listeners, this one is huge. Who do you call when you're can when you're considering a promotion or trying out for a promotion? Who do you call when you're changing careers, starting a business, going back to school? Everybody needs somebody who thinks strategically, someone who can see opportunities you might miss. Even retirees need this because retirement isn't the end. It's just a different chapter. So make sure you have your career person in line. I bet you can think of someone,

Travel Smarts And Reality Checks

SPEAKER_00 6:47

the travel person. Now, I tell I think I am the travel person for a few people. Um this one may be my favorite. Every friend group has one: the travel wizard, the person who somehow finds flights for cheap, knows what to pack, knows where to stay, knows the tricks, never checks a bag, magically arrives relaxed. I love these people. Borrow their wisdom. If you have a travel person in your life, use them. Look, anybody that has a comfort level in a subject, money, relationships, travel, they're always happy to help. They're always happy to share information. Anybody asked for advice, very rarely are you gonna get somebody that doesn't want to share. And then don't put them on your board of directors. All right, do you have a reality check person? This position is absolutely critical. This is the friend who loves you enough to tell you the truth. The person who says that's a terrible idea before you text your ex or quit your job without a plan or spend money you don't have, start a fight on Facebook, or uh buy a timeshare. These this is the person we all need to be reality check. Now I love a timeshare. I stay in them all the time, but Craig and I have never bought one. Did you ever know you can stay in them without owning them? Well, you can. See, I'm the travel person. But you need a reality check person, a person will slap you and say, snap out of it. You know the person. You've got them. Okay.

Avoiding Echo Chambers And Panic

SPEAKER_00 8:38

Now, here's what most people get wrong. Your board of directors isn't supposed to agree with each other. Different perspectives are the point. If everyone thinks exactly like you, you don't have a board. You have an echo chamber. An echo chamber creates bad decisions. When somebody is putting together a board, they look for people that are smarter than themselves in other subjects. What if you don't have these people? I know some of you were thinking, Marcy, I don't have a board. Neither did I at one point. You build it over time. Sometimes it's family, friends, mentors. Sometimes it's people 10 years older than you, 20 years older than you. Sometimes it's people 10 years younger than you. The important thing is to have a voice of wisdom in your life. Do you get that? Do you do you see what I'm trying to show you? You want to surround yourself. And like I said, these don't have to be people you hang out with all the time. Surround yourself with a board of directors. I am not making major life decisions while emotional. I am not making a major purchase when angry. Um, no relationship decisions in the middle of a fight, and that's a tough one right now. No quitting things on a bad day, no life-changing choices when exhausted. This is the current what I'm not doing this week. I want wisdom before action. And sometimes wisdom comes from borrowing someone else's perspectives. So your board of people is going to help you see things in a different way. The older I get, the less interested I am in pretending I know everything. The smartest people I know ask for advice. They seek wisdom, they learn from others, they gather information, and they make the best decision they can. You don't have to carry life's big decisions alone. Create your board, use your board, trust your board. Because every successful organization has an advisory board. Maybe it's time you do too.

The Worksheet And Decision Checklist

SPEAKER_00 11:03

All right, so I have created a build your personal board of directors fill-in sheet. This is it's from me. It's every successful company has a board of directors. Step one is identify your board members. We have our money advisor, right? We have our relationship advisor, we have our health and wellness advisor, career and life advisor, travel advisor, reality check advisor. You're gonna find those people, you're gonna write them down on my little handy dandy sheet. You can find it at Marcybacchusmedia.com, Marcybacchusmedia.com. You can find this there. You can you can download it and print it out free of charge. And then you might look at areas where you can help others. Identify those. And always before making a big decision, use this quick checklist. Is this decision emotional, expensive, permanent, life-changing, affecting others, or keeping me awake at light? If you have checked one of those boxes, you need to call one of your board of directors. My personal decision rule is sleep on it, talk to at least one trusted advisor, gather facts, avoid making decisions when it's you're in the halt stage, hungry, angry, lonely, or tired. Remember that asking for advice is a strength, not a weakness. All right, so that printable is going to be on my website, inside Marcy's Mind. I mean, sorry, Marcybacchusmedia.com. Marcybacchusmedia.com. This isn't a very long episode today, but I think it's a really important one. I think it cuts to the chase. I don't want to drone on and on about these things. But if you don't have a board of directors, I want you to get one. If you put one together and you want to tell me about it, please, you can Marcybacchusmedia at gmail.com. You can email me anytime. You might be in surprise to discover your board is already there. You just haven't identified it as one. So

Final Takeaways And Goodbye

SPEAKER_00 13:25

until next time, be kind to yourself, be curious, and remember, life is a lot easier when you stop trying to figure out everything by yourself. I'll see you next week right here. Inside Marcy's mind. Go out and spread some positivity.