Episode 144: A Holiday Reflection on Five Years of the Journey Toward Whole Wealth.

Reflecting back to a certain Christmas Eve five years ago, we embarked on a journey that reshaped our approach to finances by aligning them with life's true purpose. That pivotal moment, intertwined with unexpected connections and encounters, taught us the value of authenticity and vulnerability. With stories rich in serendipity and meaningful coincidences, we celebrate the unpredictability of life and the profound impact of embracing it with gratitude.

As we continue to navigate the aftermath of global events, effects from the pandemic like supply chain disruptions and the memorable toilet paper shortages, we've unearthed profound lessons in gratitude and resilience. These challenges have been catalysts for personal growth and have altered societal relationships, pushing us towards self-reliance and away from codependency. Our discussions mirror a hero's journey, emphasizing the strength developed through trials and the determination to face future uncertainties with confidence, amidst political and economic anxieties.

Finally, we close with a festive reimagining of a reading by Matthew of his interpretation of "Twas the Night Before Christmas," reflecting the Gebhardt Group's unique approach to to your whole wealth journey. As we embrace the joy and gratitude of the holiday season, let's celebrate the power of partnership and our shared mission to help you achieve your dreams and leave you with a greeting for a very merry Christmas holiday.

Chapter Highlights

(00:00) The Whole Wealth Journey
Gratitude for connections made on our financial journey, reflections on health challenges, and embracing life's unpredictability.

(14:40) Lessons of Gratitude and Resilience
Past global events have shaped behaviors and relationships, fostering personal growth and resilience amidst uncertainties.

(26:51) The Wealth Journey Festive Celebration
How about that night before Christmas?

(33:36) Investment Advice Disclaimer

You can learn more about The Whole Wealth Journey by visiting The Gebhardt Group. You can follow us on Instagram @thewholewealthjourney

Transcript

00:00 - Jeff Holden (Host)
Hey, tribe, ace and the Elves here. Well, here we are. It's Christmas Eve, exactly where it all started five years ago today. The elves in the studio whispered there was something very special about these guys and this program, and I have to agree. So for this episode, Matthew's got a very unique surprise, a holiday gift, if you will, along with a healthy dose of gratitude, appreciation and excitement for what lies ahead. Come on and jump in the sleigh. We're about to take flight as we enter into this glorious, silent night. 

00:49 - Matthew Grishman  (Co-host)
Welcome to the whole wealth journey. Wealth with a Y. What does that mean? 

00:54 - Amy Bingham (Announcement)
What does that mean? 

00:56 - Matthew Grishman  (Co-host)
Are we spelling it funny? 

00:58 - Jeff Holden (Guest)
No, I think it's spelled. We're using the word Y, the word Y, right? 

01:00 - Matthew Grishman  (Co-host)
Okay, cool Not the letter Y, the actual word Y. Well, I know why. Why? Because we want to help people get on their path. Then the path is all about their why, and it's about aligning your finances with the people, the experience and the passions that give their lives true meaning. It's getting way beyond the bank statements, the brokerage statements, the trust documents, the life insurance, and taking a deeper dive into your why. Well, admittedly, we're not for everyone. This is different. We're for the bold ones who really want to dive deeper and seek a life that resonates with who they really are at their core. Who finds value in vulnerability? Well, you and I do. You and I do, and that's where we want to play, but not everybody is comfortable with that vulnerability. Maybe we should introduce ourselves. What do you think? Oh, that's a good idea. 

01:51
Jim Gebhardt and I'm Matthew Grishman. We are the co-creators of the podcast, the Whole Wealth Journey. Ready to find your why? Then let's get started and get you one step closer to unlocking your inner wealth and well-being. So, what are we grateful for today, on this lovely Christmas Eve, I think we should have Ace kick us off with gratitude. Today, you and I go on ad nauseum on the subject. Let's have Ace on mic and studio with us today. Kick us off with the gratitude. 

02:21 - Jeff Holden (Guest)
It would be a very special listener who would understand where I'm going to start, because I'll start five years ago with gratitude for a couple of guys that I was referred to or referred about. When we have a conversation, and on Christmas Eve five years ago, you show up in the studio for the first episode of, at the time, what was financial sobriety? Now the whole wealth journey, and what a five years it has been in so many ways personally, professionally, change technology, the markets, you name it. Just an amazing five years. You want me to get more on that, don't you? 

03:05 - Matthew Grishman  (Co-host)
No, that's awesome. 

03:06 - Jeff Holden (Guest)
I'm just staring at it, because I do have some more to offer here. 

03:08 - Matthew Grishman  (Co-host)
Oh, I know, let the gratitude flow, brother. Today is the day I would hope. 

03:13 - Jeff Holden (Guest)
Who would think that through the course of the studio, in just whatever set of non-coincidence, coincidence, happenstance, we have a cardiologist come through as a guest to tell his story of recovery and working in the ER and the stress, and a heart doc and two days later I have a heart attack. Not even two days, less than 48 hours. And it's that same guy that gets me to the corrective surgery for a congenital heart condition I never knew I had. And a year later that same guy is on the phone with you, matthew, talking about a heart condition you have after a heart episode you had and the surgery you're going to have, which we both got opened up the same way. And here we are talking about it. That's gratitude in the most sincere, authentic appreciation of life way. And you think about these things I say coincidences, no coincidences. Celestine Prophecy, wonderful book why, how do these things occur? How do they happen? And, jim, your health issues over the course of the last year and a half. Yeah, looking at us going, oh. 

04:28 - Matthew Grishman  (Co-host)
Don't leave me out. I don't want any of that. 

04:31 - Jeff Holden (Guest)
Yeah, are you kidding? 

04:32 - Matthew Grishman  (Co-host)
me. He was envious, he didn't want to be left out. He's like wait, wait, give me some health shit to deal with. 

04:37 - Amy Bingham (Announcement)
I had my own little heart. 

04:39 - Matthew Grishman  (Co-host)
It wasn't. I mean, mine was very amateurish relative to what you fellas went through. You made up for it in other ways. 

04:46
I did, you did yes, I had my own little heart episode in April of 22 that I had no idea what it was. I didn't think it was a heart attack, but it ended up just being called some kind of a stress attack. I'd just gotten back from my dad being in the hospital. My mother was in a different hospital, my sister was with her, but I came back to go to a memorial service for some of our closest friends whose daughter took her own life, and I just wasn't right. And you know me, me being me, I wake Beth up and I'm like honey, I'm, I don't, I don't feel so well, I'm going to take myself to the emergency room. We were in San Diego visiting family. She's like what? No, it's not a big deal, not a big deal. And it really wasn't a big deal of it because I knew it wasn't a heart attack, but it was something, and so, yeah, and how did you know it wasn't a heart attack? 

05:36
Did you guys like? 

05:37 - Amy Bingham (Announcement)
stay in a Holiday Inn Express the night before. 

05:39 - Matthew Grishman  (Co-host)
We were actually staying in a Holiday. 

05:40 - Amy Bingham (Announcement)
Inn Express. Yeah, there you go, good, good, good. 

05:42 - Matthew Grishman  (Co-host)
So you were qualified to make that diagnosis. 

05:44 - Jeff Holden (Host)
Yes, yes, way to go. I was completely qualified. 

05:46 - Matthew Grishman  (Co-host)
I'd watched enough YouTube videos and knew that it wasn't that. Well, come on, of course. I mean after sitting on the floor at Lifetime Fitness in full supraventricular tachycardia, where, thank you where my heart was going at 249 beats a minute for an hour when they finally converted that and got it to slow down, you know, through a process of hey, if we don't fix this, you're going to die today, right? But once they fixed it, great, I'm good. I'm going to go back into yoga now, right, because I stayed in a Holiday Inn Express and I knew it wasn't anything serious. So why did I need to go to the hospital and deal with it? That was a bunch of crap. So I totally get why you would know that's not a heart attack, because I knew what I had wasn't that serious, true? Why, until I was told it was serious. 

06:32 - Jeff Holden (Guest)
It's only as serious until somebody tells you it's serious Exactly, and I was told it wasn't serious. 

06:37 - Matthew Grishman  (Co-host)
So I didn't worry about it Exactly. It's beautiful. It's beautiful, but it is amazing how these little cardiac episodes opened up for lack of a better term Pandora's box for all of us on the health front. Right, they were almost like these little blessings that happened for us, right? These little heart moments that said, hey, wake up, pay attention to what's going on with you, because there's more serious shit going on with you that we were not aware of because we were all kind of just walking around doing our thing, and I'm so grateful we all woke up. Even more. 

07:14
So, I mean, I would say that, the three of us what I appreciate about both of you two, and why I like hanging out with you, is because you tend to walk around life with your eyes open. You tend to walk around life with your eyes open, you tend to walk around paying attention, and you're both aware of your human consciousness and your ability to pay attention and be present. I appreciate that about you both. Yet all three of us got a lesson in wake the F up even more. So, right, hello, right, yeah, not stuff that happened to any of us, stuff that I think we would all agree has happened for us, every bit of it. 

07:51 - Jeff Holden (Guest)
Absolutely. It spawned so many things as a result of just the recognition and the appreciation for the fact that you're still here and you get to still be here, you get to still do so many of the same things and even in my own case, I don't think I recognize it enough because it's so easy to fall into the same patterns of what you've done and you continue to do and you stop and you go. Wait a minute, I'm lucky to be here. If it wasn't for the grace of God and technology today, I wouldn't be and everything feels fine. Everything seems fine. 

08:29
So you forget, you know that pain of the heart attack or that emotional trauma of that situation, and you reflect back on it. And I'm looking at you, jim, I think wait a minute. I remember your kids graduating from high school. They're graduating from college, yes, over the course of this five years. Yes, I remember in the room my dad passing first. Yes, in Chicago doing things remotely while he was in the hospital, then your parents over the course of the last couple of years Both in 2022. 

09:01
Yeah, and I mean, these are big life changes. And here we all are still and we're actually talking about it. And for the people who are listening to the episode, same thing. Think about the course of the last five years. What's changed? So many things. And that's just personal. You start to put it out into the ether and the globe. You know our country. I can't help it. We had a Trump term end and we had a Trump term coming back. Yeah, right, right. 

09:33 - Matthew Grishman  (Co-host)
Unthinkable, unthinkable, unthinkable, right yeah, oh, by the way, there's one small thing you've forgotten in all of your glorious gratitude we had a pandemic. Oh, that too, when the world was shut down for two and a half years You're talking about a retirement planning pandemic where we don't have enough money for everybody to retire. Is that what you're talking? 

09:55 - Jeff Holden (Host)
about that's a crisis. 

09:56 - Matthew Grishman  (Co-host)
Oh, what are you talking about? Oh, the plague thing that would be called COVID-19. The coronavirus. Yes, right, holy cow, that was in the last five years. 

10:07 - Jeff Holden (Guest)
How easy it was to forget that, and we did the show remotely. 

10:12 - Matthew Grishman  (Co-host)
We did the show remotely for two plus years of these five we snuck in a couple of times, thank goodness, perhaps it was easy to forget about. I don't think the people that are losing their jobs over not coming back to the office are forgetting about it. They're being reminded pretty quickly about how the hidden blessing that came out of that whole experience there were a number of hidden blessings that came out of the whole COVID experience. Again, my gratitude today is all for this. Way we get to see how things happen for us. 

10:47 - Jeff Holden (Guest)
Are we on you now? I didn't know I was done. 

10:48 - Matthew Grishman  (Co-host)
No, we're not done, but we're still on you and it's all going to be about you today, but I love this conversation about how we can look at things like COVID and some of the harder things the last five years and have a way of seeing how did that happen for us? What were some of the blessings that came out of some of this hardship right, the sweetness on the other side of the sour and that, I think, is some of the best takeaways we got from COVID. Yeah, it sucked. It was hard. We were taken away from being able to spend time in person with the people we enjoy spending time with what your parents had to go through Unbelievably scary. 

11:24 - Amy Bingham (Announcement)
Yeah. 

11:25 - Matthew Grishman  (Co-host)
Scary. We didn't know, yes, we didn't know what it looked like, where it was, how you got it, what it did to you, because it was different. If it happened to you and you and you and you, it was different. Sure, right, absolutely. And there was no vaccine, there was no treatment, there was no. I was just. That was scary stuff. Yes, I don't know anybody who died directly from COVID. Yes, you do, I do. Mm-hmm, wait, who Sue, wait, covid's what took her? Mm-hmm, why did I think it was a heart thing? Yeah, wow, well, it was, but it was. 

12:00 - Amy Bingham (Announcement)
COVID-induced yes. 

12:01 - Matthew Grishman  (Co-host)
Oh, okay, so I see. 

12:02
Correct me if I know From a cruise that she went on in Australia in January of 2020. Oh, okay, yep, okay, she was. And then we also had a client in uh in New York who passed away. Unfortunately, she had been living independently her entire life and six months before that moves into an assisted living facility that one of the employees brought it in and it took down like a dozen of the residents of the community. So we know a couple people. Ironically, there were a lot of. I knew more people who died during COVID than probably the last 10 years. That wasn't related to COVID, but it just kind of happened when all that was happening. For some reason. I don't know if loneliness and isolation may have accelerated some of those. 

12:55
Well, I know of more divorces that happened during COVID than any other time in my adult lifetime. 

12:59 - Jeff Holden (Guest)
Well, there you go Talk about accelerating. Yeah, yeah, yeah, oh, not to mention the emotional trauma and the fear of uncertainty that each individual weighed through that entire period yeah, whether it was for a parent or a child or whoever wasn't with them, to where they can control and see what's happening to the individual or self. 

13:20 - Matthew Grishman  (Co-host)
In our case the grave concern out of running out of toilet paper. Well, that too, and the little underground black market that existed in our neighborhood and our community with. Hey, I got a couple rolls off, I'll put them by your back stoop. 

13:35 - Jeff Holden (Guest)
Well, I really like the kids. They used to be Kool-Aid stands yeah, Remember they were paper stands. Yeah, They'd go and they'd Sure oh cow. And some got to a bidding, I'll give you $1.99 a roll. Oh no, no, I need a $250 a roll. 

13:51 - Matthew Grishman  (Co-host)
These kids were making a fortune enough to put themselves through college. Never in my life was I more grateful for how my wife would go hunt and hoard from Costco, because we never fell into the toilet paper issue. We were always amply supplied. We could have been that household that could have sold it out the back door for a lot of money, but we just decided to hang on to it. I think we had, you know, the big bundles at Costco they sell with like 400 rolls in it. 

14:15
I was going to say, the 150 roll pack. I think we had four of those Right and they just they lasted for us. It was lovely. I mean we're coming up on five years. I mean you probably still have another 52 to go. We do, we do. I haven't had to buy toilet paper in years. Is this gratitude for toilet paper? Why not, of course? Why not Coming out of that and seeing how it affected us? On the positive right and this is a choice I've seen plenty of people who came out of that whole experience with a whole bunch of anger, a whole bunch of scarcity right. That whole toilet paper incident kicked off a whole new like scarcity thing Mine, my resources right, and look at what's going on in the world today as a result of that, sure. 

15:02
Oh, the supply chain issues are still rippling Five years later. You threw whatever that three, four years later, sure. 

15:09 - Amy Bingham (Announcement)
Yeah. 

15:14 - Matthew Grishman  (Co-host)
And you just see how that's showing up in the world with all the conflict and divisiveness that exists today. 

15:16 - Jeff Holden (Guest)
So I really see how we have developed a little more of an appreciation for, you know, the variability of life, the uncertainty of life, the fragility of life, the variability of life, the uncertainty of life, the fragility of life, and I don't want to forget the significance of significant others Amy, your wife, challenging health issues at the same time as you were going through yours oh yeah, you know. And Jim Beth, supporting you through yours, yours, and Teresa, through mine. I couldn't have done it without her. No, could not have done it without her. 

15:58 - Matthew Grishman  (Co-host)
No, I mean they always say you know your greatest success in life comes from having great parents and then, if you didn't get that right for whatever reason, having a great partner and then, if you didn't get that right for whatever reason, having a great partner. Totally agree. I just can't even express enough gratitude for all the support that I get from Beth. Yeah, totally agreed, not just in the marriage concept, but also we're in business together, right? I mean, she's in the business as a Medicare advisor and she probably is one of the most strategic people that I know and how she supports us with some of our thinking in the business. And I just can't express enough gratitude for Beth. 

16:38 - Jeff Holden (Guest)
That's awesome, same for. 

16:39 - Matthew Grishman  (Co-host)
Teresa, yeah, and the same for Amy for the fact that she was able to support me at all through the process, given her own health challenges she was going through. It probably challenged our relationship more than our relationship's ever been challenged, because here you go through a major health crisis and I don't know if expectation's the right word, but there's this hope that this person that I had shared some vows with on the altar a whole bunch of years ago in sickness and in health till death, do us part that. Okay, now we're going to get to use some of that shit. Right, we talked about this For better or worse, For better or worse. We talked about all this for better or worse, and here we are. 

17:23
But, holy cow, you're going through yours and I'm going through mine and I'm not capable, and she's not capable, of showing up. And the blessing in that how that happened for us is it's turned the two of us into more capable individuals who are more capable of self-care, taking care of me, being okay on my own two feet and knowing that the next time I'm going to need the support of my partner. It's more of an invitation than an expectation has torn some of the codependency out of our relationship, like forced it out to where we've become more whole as individuals who can now come together at times and be a little more co-creative in our relationship. I mean just seeing how that has happened for us. A year or two ago I wasn't as clear on seeing that. Well, yeah, there's a lot of conversations in this conversation that are not small conversations. 

18:31
No, we're hitting some highlights here, and that is certainly one of them. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I mean this whole concept of we're expressing it in the context of gratitude, yes, and a lot of the Dan Sullivan stuff that we talk about. It's measuring progress, yes, right, and as I think I might've said in the last episode, this I get really reflective this time of year and being able, in the context of our show, to look back five years and measure all of this progress and frame it in gratitude is extraordinary, right, I was thinking about this yesterday, just as I look back over these five years, going back to, you know, pre-pandemic. What we're sharing here in terms of what has gone on inside and outside of the podcast studio, inside and outside of the offices of Gebhardt Group, is a hero's journey worthy of a movie. 

19:22 - Jeff Holden (Host)
Mm-hmm. 

19:23 - Matthew Grishman  (Co-host)
And yet, as you know I don't know who's famous for saying this, but you know, life is predominantly about showing up and if we can give ourself any credit, it's for the fact that we have consistently showed up here in studio, at the office, at home, with our families, consistently through all of this. Because when we've looked at our own hero's journey with Gebhardt Group and what we've been able to accomplish as a business year in and year out over the last 12 years I mean the business is almost 20 years, but in terms of measuring our own progress in a business setting with, you know, 11 out of the last 12 years being records, yep, with the backdrop of your health, my health, a death, a disease, you know a pandemic. 

20:07 - Jeff Holden (Guest)
A pandemic. 

20:07 - Matthew Grishman  (Co-host)
You know, it's just astonishing to me and that, as people, our process has been tested multiple, multiple, multiple times in 20 years. From a planning standpoint, our investment thesis process has been tested, but ultimately, at the end of the day, it's we, the people, that have been tested the most. Yeah, and that's where I get just an unbelievable amount of confidence at whatever is coming next. Right, because here we sit on December 24th, but if you rewind the tape to a year ago not even, yeah, a year ago, so you know, call it the holidays of 23. All of the anxiety that existed around what was coming in, 24. The election and what's going to happen with inflation and, oh my God, interest rates are sky high and I mean. 

21:04 - Amy Bingham (Announcement)
Wars all over the place. 

21:05 - Matthew Grishman  (Co-host)
We got more awards than we got warts. I mean it's just unbelievable. All over the place we got more awards than we got warts. I mean it's just unbelievable. 

21:13 - Jeff Holden (Guest)
And yet here we are a year later With the same considerations, to some degree. 

21:15 - Matthew Grishman  (Co-host)
Yeah, same headlines Same headlines. 

21:17 - Jeff Holden (Guest)
They really haven't changed. Now the election's over. Now what, now what? The war in Ukraine, now what? Right, the Middle East, now what? 

21:27 - Matthew Grishman  (Co-host)
It's the same. It's the same. I think it was either our friends at American Funds or your former employer, Lord Abbott, that used to have the wall of worry. Oh yeah, that was American Funds American. 

21:37
Funds climbing the wall of worry, yes, with the backdrop of what the stock market has done over the 72 years since. Right, yes, and not to make light or belittle any of the headlines, but it is a little bit of same clowns, different circus. Oh yeah, it's part of the way. I have to kind of de-stress, or as one of our consultants has taught me the word, you know, when I'm dysregulated, oh yes, yes, when you're dysregulated, when I'm dysregulated. 

22:07 - Amy Bingham (Announcement)
Yeah. 

22:08 - Matthew Grishman  (Co-host)
I mean, they're like Metamucil for that, don't they? Well, yeah, For me it's restless, irritable and discontent, and you slug a big thing of Metamucil, or for some people it's a big old thing of vodka. Right, that settles that dysregulation. 

22:20 - Jeff Holden (Guest)
You said that so easily Restless, irritable Discontent. 

22:26 - Matthew Grishman  (Co-host)
Those are the three Sounds like a commercial for that's dysregulation. 

22:28 - Jeff Holden (Guest)
Middle-aged IBS, IBS absolutely. Absolutely that is restless, irritable and discontent, but we know he's okay because he still has toilet paper left over from the pandemic. Absolutely. 

22:38 - Matthew Grishman  (Co-host)
I'm going to your house in the next pandemic. We might've been out of it after today, but I digress. It's my way of being able to kind of process and cope with all the stress in the world. Sure, but it's unbelievable what 2024 has been like in the context of our business, right, the stock market and what it's done, the economy and what it's done. Right, ultimately, the consumer and what they've been able to do, because the consumer is still 70% of the economy. The consumer is still consuming, right, I mean, and as I think we said on the show at some point, the voter votes with their wallet. Yes, and they did. Yes Again, yes. So let us all remember the next time we have an election are we going to have an election anytime soon? Thank God, no Well two years. 

23:31 - Amy Bingham (Announcement)
When we do in two years they will vote with their wallet. Let us remember that people. 

23:37 - Matthew Grishman  (Co-host)
They'll either be reelected or they'll all be kicked out and the new people will come in Right, and we can take on the new German government and the French government and the English government All the new governments out there, absolutely and the English government and all the new governments out there, absolutely Well, and so much of what we're going to be doing on the show in 2025 is addressing directly all of this uncertainty, recognizing that we have so little control over these outcomes. So if we can all come together, despite the differences we may have in the solutions we may see, but if we can all kind of come together and realize together that there is uncertainty out there, there are challenges out there. We have very little influence over fixing them or, I don't know, making sure they don't turn into big old shit shows in our lives. How do we deal with that? How do we manage the uncertainty? 

24:32
Ooh ooh, I know, I know, yeah, yeah, we have a playbook for that. Well, and that's what we're going to spend a lot of 2025 working on. Right, how do we treat our money, how do we look at our financial resources? How do we engage in our relationships with others? How do we deal with the person we see looking back at us in the mirror and how do we show up in those three complex relationships? We all have to deal with all of the uncertainty. What is in our control, what is within our power? And to keep showing up, and to keep showing up, and to keep showing up, absolutely. How do you do that Against the backdrop of all the unknowns, all the scarcity, all the worry, all of the what were they? Irritable bowel syndrome, uh-huh, restless, irritable discontentment, all of that, yeah, how do you keep showing up? 

25:30 - Jeff Holden (Guest)
Well, I'm going to add one more piece that is a grateful notion and that's for meeting you guys five years ago, because so many podcasts don't survive the first 10 episodes. And, aside from the podcast, the relationship that we feel, the value of what we discuss in this studio, which most people don't get to hear so many times. But the ability to do that with people like you is something I'm certainly grateful for. But it's a blessing and I can't tell you how much I appreciate it. 

26:10 - Matthew Grishman  (Co-host)
Thank you, jeff. That's wonderful, very cool, yep. I appreciate that there are times when I come in here and, given that we're in a rather small room that's mildly padded, mostly for acoustical purposes, it does, as I've thought about this, remind me a little bit of a confessional, does it not, yep? And there's no windows. We have headphones on, it's very silent, it's very peaceful. Headphones on, it's very silent, it's very peaceful. And there are many conversations that we've had that I've enjoyed immensely, that I so desperately wish were actually recorded. Oh yeah, well, if we recorded all of those episodes, then we'd have a new show called the Jew and the Gentiles. 

26:56 - Jeff Holden (Guest)
I knew you were going to bring that up today, which is how appropriate is that? It just freaking happened? 

27:02 - Matthew Grishman  (Co-host)
I just knew that was going to come out today. 

27:04 - Amy Bingham (Announcement)
We have to launch that show at some point, right? 

27:07 - Matthew Grishman  (Co-host)
Well, all right. So I'm unofficially putting it out there in the universe that one day we're going to capture all of our pre-show and post-show banter and that's going to be produced as the Jew and the Gentiles at some point, and then you, as the listener, can figure out who's who. Oy vey, that's going to be fun. What a puzzle that's going to be to figure that out. Well, ironically speaking, this Jew has got a present for you two Gentiles. Today. I decided that, instead of hearing Ace the Elf craft a little Twas the Night Before Christmas. I did that this year. How about it? Twas the Night Before Christmas. I did that this year. How? 

27:43 - Amy Bingham (Announcement)
about it. 

27:43 - Matthew Grishman  (Co-host)
I decided to craft a little Twas the Night Before Christmas, a la Whole Wealth Journey, gebhardt Group style. Wow, how about it? Yeah Right, can I go get my jammies on first, please? And some chocolate. Emily made some ginger snap cookies last night in our house. Oh my God. 

28:03 - Jeff Holden (Guest)
Oh, nice, I need a couple of those Not after 8 pm Hang on. 

28:06 - Matthew Grishman  (Co-host)
No. 

28:07 - Jeff Holden (Guest)
Hang on. 

28:08 - Matthew Grishman  (Co-host)
Wait, I might have brought something that'll help this along, but wait, there's more. But wait, what the oh? Yes, you got these, right, yes, we did, and I love chocolate and potato chips, because I can't. No, it's been in my. That is impressive that it's been in your bag that long and it's not open yet. Yeah Well, the key is it's not open, right Well, and Because if it was open, it wouldn't have been in your. Exactly, it'd be in my belly. 

28:42 - Amy Bingham (Announcement)
In my belly. 

28:42 - Matthew Grishman  (Co-host)
So a little shout out To our friend Bennett, if you're listening. Sure, that was really really nice. 

28:47 - Amy Bingham (Announcement)
It was If you'd bring us. 

28:48 - Matthew Grishman  (Co-host)
Chocolate covered potato chips. 

28:50 - Amy Bingham (Announcement)
And please send me Fresh spinach next year. 

28:52 - Jeff Holden (Guest)
You rat bastard yeah. 

28:53 - Matthew Grishman  (Co-host)
Thanks. Well, on that happy note, what do you guys think About a little, a little homage? 

28:58 - Amy Bingham (Announcement)
To the launch. 

28:59 - Jeff Holden (Guest)
I got my slippers, my jammies and my hot cocoa. I was trying to buy time. I hear the crackling and I can see the beautiful flames. 

29:06 - Matthew Grishman  (Co-host)
Thank God for the production we have, with Ace here getting all that background music going for it. Okay, ready. Twas a wealth journey night at Gebhardt Group's place, where the entire team worked with uncommon grace. Financial plans hung by the whiteboard with care, while protected growth strategies brought calm to the air. The clients were nestled all snug in their beds while visions of freedom danced in their heads. Jim with his wisdom and Matt with his heart had just settled down to make planning an art. 

29:39
When out of the market arose such a clatter, they sprang from their desks to see what was the matter. Away to the research, they flew like a flash, protecting their clients from losing their cash. The light in the office on fresh-fallen snow gave luster to spreadsheets all lined in a row. When what to their wondering eyes did appear? But opportunities for growth in the coming new year, with Jim at the helm, so focused and quick, and Matthew sharing stories that help clients click More rapid than eagles, their solutions. They came as they whistled and shouted their principles by name Now protection, now growth, now values, and why? On purpose, on planning, on dreams that can fly From the depths of your story to goals, big and small. Now grow away, heal away, thrive away, all as partners who knew that it's not just the money. They tackled each challenge some quite funny, with stories unpacked and futures well planned. Each client's true purpose was carefully scanned. 

30:39
Jim and his quarter zip, matthew and black tea two styles so different, yet both meant to be. As they drew up their plans and were turning around their five to thrive, principles proved quite profound. Matthew spoke of sobriety and finding one's way, while Jim crunched the numbers throughout the day. Together they made such a powerful team, helping clients achieve their impossible dream. A number two pencil held tight in jim's teeth while spreadsheets and charts circled his head like a wreath. Matt's face glowed with joy from helping folks heal their partnership, stronger than cold, polished steel. They spoke not a word but went straight to their work, aligning folks money with values, no quirk, and laying the groundwork for all their tomorrows, transforming their traumas, their fears and their sorrows. 

31:29
Then off to their families. They finally flew, jim to his loved ones and Matthew to his crew. But we heard them exclaim as they drove out of sight whole wealth to all. May your why shine so bright. That was awesome, absolutely awesome. That is fabulous. That was fun. That had to take a minute or two or three. That took a minute or two or three. Oh my goodness, yeah, that was fun. That just turned into an annual and you don't even know it. I see the storybook, I see the artistry, I see the turn of La Page, nice. I see a reel that has all these great images and the words spoken coming up with the audio. That was incredible, absolutely incredible. New Christmas social media host Unbelievable. Thank you, that was fun. 

32:21 - Jeff Holden (Guest)
Yeah, that was so fun. 

32:23 - Matthew Grishman  (Co-host)
When I'm feeling the love and gratitude that I've been feeling lately, you two fill my heart up. That was easier than it sounded. That just started to kind of flow. That's awesome. So, thank you. Thank you, that's just absolutely awesome. Well, merry Christmas. Merry Christmas, this is an honor and a joy. And ooh, bonus, we might even have some more for New Year's Eve next week. How cool is that. And with that, that's a wrap. Thanks for joining us today on the whole wealth journey. Whatever your path may look like, our purpose is to make sure that your way forward aligns with your core values and intentions. Are you ready to start planning for a future that's rich in wealth and well-being? Then click like and subscribe and make sure you don't miss a single episode of the whole wealth journey. So if we've struck a nerve with you today, where do people go? You can find us at gebhardtholewealthcom that's G-E-B-H-A-R-D-T wholewealthcom. And once you get there, make sure you connect with us so you can take the first steps to finding your why. We'll see you next time. 

33:36 - Amy Bingham (Announcement)
Jim Gebhardt is a registered representative of, and securities offered through, Brokers International Financial Services LLC, member SIPC. Jim Gebhardt and Matthew Grishman are investment advisor representatives of Gebhardt Group Incorporated, a registered investment advisor. Brokers International Financial Services LLC and Gebhardt Group Incorporated are not affiliated. The opinions in this podcast are for informational purposes only and are not intended to provide specific advice or investment recommendations. To determine which investments or financial advice may be appropriate for you, consult a financial advisor prior to investing. Any reference to market performance is based on historical information and there is no expressed or implied guarantee of future performance. Opinions expressed on this program do not necessarily reflect those of Brokers International Financial Services LLC. The topics discussed and opinions given are not intended to address the specific needs of any listener. Gebhardt Group Incorporated does not offer legal or tax advice. Listeners are encouraged to discuss their financial needs with the appropriate professional regarding your individual circumstance, James.