Emphasizing our Spiritual Bond with God for a Meaningful Life - Seth Streeter
[00:00:00] Math Potter: So many of us feel alone, disconnected and deep within. We feel this ache, this sense that something is missing because it is. We long to connect, to belong to a community, to have friends and family surrounding us who understand and support us on our journey through life, and we long to connect with God.
[00:00:25] This yearning comes because we know deep down that God never intended for us to be alone or separate. He made us for connection. He wants us to open our hearts so we can know deep spiritual connection with Him. God also wants us to connect with each other. He knows the pain and suffering of this broken world, but in honest, loving, and trusting relations with each other, we can ease our heartache and enduring anything.
[00:00:53] This week on Relentless Hope, Seth Streeter, founder and Chief Impact Officer of Mission of Wealth teaches us about connection and he shows us how to connect our spiritual lives with our professional lives, and he explains how everything in our lives stems from having a strong spiritual connection.
[00:01:13] As Seth says, we do not have to keep our spiritual connection in a separate container from the rest of our lives, instead, we can use our connection with God to inspire and motivate all our actions.
[00:01:27] We hear how Seth learned to blend his spiritual and professional lives after he overcame debilitating panic attacks that threatened his career and the company he founded, Mission Wealth, and Seth shows us how he's helping people lead more inspired and fulfilled lives through the Trojan Horse of money conversations. Seth also teaches us to be great leaders, we need to connect to our spiritual selves and our people. He shares how he starts every morning in spiritual connection and how leadership is about knowing our people, understanding their strengths and weaknesses, natural roles, abilities, and having realistic expectations for what we can achieve together.
[00:02:13] We also learn what Seth's doing to leave his legacy and the three areas he's focused on through his company. This includes caring for his team, caring for his clients, and caring for the communities where his company serves. Seth also shows us when we prioritize our spiritual connection to God, that our lives begin flowing in perfect divine order, and we are able to bring God's light, his love, and his will to everyone we meet.
[00:02:41] As we connect to God, we're able to develop deeper and more meaningful and more fulfilling connections with ourselves and each other.
[00:02:54] When Seth Streeter was about to present his company for a national partnership, he found himself in the midst of his first panic attack on stage.
[00:03:04] Seth Streeter: And all of a sudden I felt like I was in the audience looking at me, and I became hyper, hyper aware of my physical sensations. I started to feel my heart race my chest, I started to feel my breath shallow, as my breathing really become shallow and my hands became clammy. And by the time he handed the microphone to me, I was staring at the audience in just sheer terror. I, I, I grabbed the mic and I tried to speak into it and I couldn't even say a word. I was like, oh, oh. I was like, I was choke, choking.
[00:03:40] I can actually remember it now.
[00:03:43] And I remember I looked to the man who introduced me and I handed him back the microphone and I said, "excuse me" in a whisper, and I ran off the stage. And as I ran off the stage, I remember going out through the back and I saw an exit door and just everything in me wanted to just keep running and just go right out that door in my suit and lucky tie and just get the heck out of there.
[00:04:03] But somehow I forced myself to go to the bathroom, which was also nearby, and I went into the bathroom and I splashed water in my face and put water in my mouth, and I looked my soul in the eyes and I'm like, Seth, get your shit together.
[00:04:19] Math Potter: In part one of this three-part series on Relentless Hope. We'll hear from financial advisor Seth Streeter, as he explains the most pivotal moment in his life. Through blending his professional and spiritual life, he learned to overcome his fears and begin to help others.
[00:04:41] Seth Streeter: I was raised in a high performing family. Both my mom and dad were professionals as teachers and teacher instructors, and my dad was a biologist in the Fish and Wildlife Service and worked his way up in the government ranks, and my brother and I were raised to be the same. We were raised to really excel in school, sports, student government, our chores.
[00:05:07] We had, uh, livestock and a farm and lots of responsibilities there. And so we were raised to be super productive and it served me, it allowed me to thrive in school. Uh, it allowed me to get into a great university and to continue that path in in college, to be in student government, to be involved in intramurals, to be a double major with honors, uh, to have jobs throughout college.
[00:05:35] And it allowed me to get a great career. I started working one week after graduating in the world of financial services and I. Was completely determined to continue to thrive and excel. And I share this, uh, just brief background with everyone because my life was really about achieving performance because I thought that's where my sense of worth came from.
[00:06:00] I thought that if I was productive, I was worthy and even loved. If I could show accomplishments through, you know, running a marathon or an Ironman, or, uh, hitting a certain sales goal or a certain career goal or a certain award, well then, you know, I had those external validators that I was, I was somebody, you know, I had roof.
[00:06:24] And all of this really, I would say kind of climaxed with the most traumatic experience or one of the most traumatic experiences of my life. I, and it happened when I was 40 years old. I was very involved with my. Financial services company. I have a wealth management company that had, uh, really grown and achieved a, a great deal of success in the traditional sense.
[00:06:49] And I opened up this incredible opportunity to form a national partnership with a huge financial services partner. And after a couple years of opening up the doors to this opportunity, uh, the brass at this big partner said, okay, Seth, you can come and present your company to us and let's form this partnership.
[00:07:10] And so I was so excited. I thought, finally, I've built this national partnership. This is gonna really launch our company to the next level. And so I prepared for this talk as I would any others. And I had, you know, done a significant, uh, amount of public speaking up to this point. And so I, you know, prepared my, my words, I wanted to say some slides.
[00:07:35] And the morning of, I had my normal kind of pregame. Uh, best practices. I went for a quick run. I took a shower. I had a healthy breakfast. I put on my lucky suit, my lucky tie. I listened, listened to some rock music on my way to the venue, and I was ready to rock it. You know, I had that kind of pregame excitement as I went to the auditorium and as I was in the auditorium waiting to be introduced, ready to just rock it and kind of realize this huge national partnership that I'd worked so hard to form for my company.
[00:08:07] It felt like the introduction went way too long. They just kept saying, well, Seth, Streeter, blah, blah, blah, and Seth, Streeter, blah, blah, blah. And, you know, talking about accolades. And I was, I remember I was standing there looking at the audience as this gentleman was introducing me, and all of a sudden I felt like I was in the audience looking at me, and I became hyper, hyper aware of my physical sensations.
[00:08:34] I started to feel my heart racing my chest. I started to feel my breath shallow as my breathing really become shallow, and my hands became clammy. And by the time he handed the microphone to me, I was staring at the audience and just sheer terror. I, I grabbed the mic and I tried to speak into it, and I couldn't even say a word.
[00:08:57] I was like, oh, oh. I was like, I was choke, choking. I can actually remember it now. And I remember I looked to the man who introduced me and I handed him back the microphone and I said, excuse me in a whisper. And I ran off the stage. And as I ran off the stage, I remember going out through the back and I saw an exit door and just everything in me wanted to just keep running and just go right out that door in my suit and lucky tie and just get the heck out of there.
[00:09:24] But somehow I forced myself to go to the bathroom, which was also, uh, nearby. And I went to the bathroom and I splashed water in my face and put water in my mouth. And I looked my soul in the eyes, and I'm like, Seth, get your shit together. You have this one moment. Don't waste it. And so I somehow overcame my fear and my heart, my racing heart, and I went back into that auditorium and, and the guy who was introducing me had a glass of water.
[00:09:50] And the audience was kind of standing there or sitting there wide-eyed. And he gave me the microphone again. And I remember I started to talk, but I was staring at my feet because I couldn't even stand to look them in the eyes because I felt like I was being so judged. And that it, it was just such a terrifying feeling to have those, you know, hundreds of eyes staring at me.
[00:10:12] And I somehow managed to just keep talking and keep talking to a point where I could feel the fear kind of subside out of me. And maybe it was two minutes, but you know, it felt like a lifetime. And I was able to get through that talk. And after that talk, I talked to a friend who was in the audience, and I just said, oh my gosh, you know, what was that like for you?
[00:10:36] And he said, you had like a frog in your throat, right? You have a cold or something? I said, no, I just went through the scariest, you know, five minutes of my life and I can't even tell you how horrifying it was inside my body during those five minutes. And so he said, well, it wasn't, you know, that noticeable, you got it back together.
[00:10:56] And, you know, the talk went fine. And we actually formed that national partnership, which today is a significant driver of growth for my company. But at this point in time, I, I was dumbfounded. I went home. And I was shellshocked that that had occurred, that I had actually frozen and was completely disabled from communicating, uh, for that period of time.
[00:11:20] And I tried to research what it was and I said, okay, gosh, it sounds like I had a panic attack. Why the heck did I have a panic attack? I've, you know, I've talked hundreds of times before and why did I freak out today? And so I tried to just ignore it and just shut it off to being a bad day. Maybe I, you know, had too much tea that morning or, you know, just a bad day.
[00:11:41] And so I went to work the next day kind of just trying to sweep it under the rug. I didn't tell anyone about it. And I was, uh, going in to a morning meeting with, uh, four people in the room. So not a huge audience, just four people in the room. And as I went into the room, uh, I met these clients or potential clients, and I, you know, shook their hand and I sat down, and this is something I'd done again hundreds of times before.
[00:12:08] And as they asked me a question and, and the kind of spotlight was on me as I felt the spotlight was on me to answer the question, all of a sudden I started to feel my mind scanning for the same physiological symptoms I had experienced the day before. Like, wait, Seth is your heart racing racing? Wait, Seth, is your breath shallow?
[00:12:27] Wait, Seth your hands feel kind of clammy. And sure enough, it was almost like I invited those symptoms to be a reality. It was almost like I was scanning my body, looking for any clue that it could then go into a fight or flight response. And sure enough, you know, if you scan long enough, uh, you, you, you're gonna find, you're gonna find what you're scanning for.
[00:12:50] So here I am in this room with four, you know, prospective clients and actually a coworker, three prospective clients and a coworker. And I became completely unable to speak again. And I said, excuse me, I've used the restroom. And I went to my restroom at my office again. I looked my soul in the eyes, and I'm like, what is up?
[00:13:11] You can't even talk to flipping four people in a room. Get it together. And I did the same thing as last time. I kind of like scolded myself. I, I, I felt such disgusted with my inability to just overcome this. I, you know, I prided myself on being someone who could overcome things. And I pushed through, you know, again, endurance races.
[00:13:33] I'd pushed through tough business challenges. Uh, you know, I pushed through going through a challenging divorce and health challenges. I mean, I'm, I'm a guy who's tenacious, who can persevere. What the heck is happening? So I had this little discussion with myself. Wasn't a really kind one, I can tell you.
[00:13:51] And I went back into the room with the clients and I. Somehow mustered through. I kind of asked my coworker to communicate and then I eventually got to where I could breathe normal and I was able to get through it. But it began, uh, a whole pattern of six months where I truly thought I was gonna have to quit my career.
[00:14:13] I was going to have to completely change my lifestyle, maybe move my family to Mexico or somewhere that I could afford to live because I wasn't gonna be able to make any money. You know, as a financial advisor, I could lose an arm, I could lose a leg, and I could still do my job, but if I can't communicate with people, I truly can't earn a living.
[00:14:37] So during those six months, I really dove into what the heck was happening. I went and saw a therapist, I read a ton of books and, you know, watched videos and I really learned about panic attacks. And, you know, what triggers could be. And you know what, you know, were the ways to overcome. Uh, the sensations when I was feeling them come on and I came up with a three step process of how I could overcome them.
[00:15:03] Um, I would need to acknowledge my sensations as I first felt them. So, oh wow, Seth, you're feeling a little bit nervous right now. You can't deny those feelings because the body's gonna turn up the volume if you do. So I would just acknowledge, oh, Seth, you're feeling kind of some nerves right now. Your heart's racing a little bit.
[00:15:20] And then the second step is, I would assure myself, Seth, you know, there's no saber tooth tigers in this room. These are just nice people who wanna be educated, or this is a friendly audience. Uh, you know, these are people that I can really help and serve and I had to kinda get out of myself and have empathy for the people that I was communicating with.
[00:15:41] And then the third step, uh, I came up with is to have a coping technique. So, a coping technique is just a way, frankly, to ground me. In the moment, maybe I'm holding a cold glass of water and I fill that cold, uh, sensation through my fingertips, or I fill my feet on the ground, or I look at a tree outside through a window, or I look at a person in the audience and I actually have empathy for them.
[00:16:03] I make up a story that, you know, maybe she just lost her husband or, uh, you know, maybe they're suffering with a real financial, uh, hardship right now. So I, I came up with a process to overcome that fear, but it was something that from that day forward, and it's been eight years since that time, I still always carry a significant amount of humility in me over, uh, you know, just how close any of us can be to that point of no return, where we truly allow our mind and our fears, uh, to take over us.
[00:16:37] And I have to say that as I look back now, that was truly a huge blessing in disguise for me. It completely shaped, uh, the person that I am today and the person I know I'll continue to evolve to be going forward. And my, uh, whole kind of mindset prior to that panic attack was that I was a, a professional who was achieving, who was, you know, all about execution.
[00:17:02] And on the side I had a, a, a spiritual si, a deep spiritual part of my life. And I was really into community service. And I did a lot of service work and, uh, you know, developing countries. I would go down to Latin America and, you know, volunteered orphanages and even take my kids to volunteer with me. But I saw those two worlds as being distinct.
[00:17:23] I had my professional life where I was a successful financial ceo and I had my service work and my spiritual life was, you know, over on the other side. And the biggest blessing out of the whole panic attack lesson from me was I learned to blend those two worlds. I learned that I could be of service deeply connected to my vulnerable spiritual self in my career.
[00:17:51] And it's completely allowed me to evolve my business forward to being in the world of transformation, human transformation through the Trojan horse of a money conversation. And I have completely, uh, opened up new incredible gateways in my life, both personally and professionally as a result of this new blended spiritual, combined with my career dimension.
[00:18:16] And I have to say that, uh, a year after my panic attack, I was, you know, still kind of struggling a little bit, but I was able to do my work. And as I was moving forward, I wrote in my journal, I said, Seth, you know, you're gonna completely overcome this fear. And in fact, it's gonna be a catalyst to take you to a whole new level.
[00:18:35] And I want you to think what would be the scariest thing you could do? As someone who would, you know, freak out with just a couple people in a room and not able to talk to them, what would be the, the biggest reach goal? The biggest Harry Reach goal I could think of, and that Harry Reach goal when I journaled was to give a Ted talk.
[00:18:55] I thought, my God, getting up on stage for 16 minutes in front of a huge audience with, you know, live video footage without any notes would be the flipping, scariest thing I could imagine. I mean, that would be prime time for a panic attack. And I wrote in my journal that Seth, one day you'll give a TED talk and that will be your sign that you've progressed forward with this.
[00:19:20] What I thought at the time was like a debilitating, uh, tragedy. And so sure enough, flash forward to 2016 and I didn't sign up out of the blue through serendipity or through divine intervention. Uh, I had someone contact me from the TED organization and say, Seth, we'd like you to give a TED talk. And I thought, oh man, shoot.
[00:19:43] Gotta be careful for what you wish for in this life. But I knew I had to say yes. I knew it was my destiny to say yes to this. And so I leaned in to this opportunity to give a TED talk and I spoke about this blending of my spiritual life into my professional life and how I see it as kind of a manifesto for people to move forward and find more consciousness, more love, more purpose and fulfillment in their lives.
[00:20:07] From this kind of mindset of looking at, at wealth through these 10 dimensions, looking at your spiritual, uh, level of wealth, looking at your physical, emotional, social, intellectual, the, the degree of impact, a number of dimensions beyond just the financial. And this has been my launching pad going forward, and it's really been what's gonna allow me.
[00:20:30] To have the most aligned legacy that I could have ever, ever hoped for, all because of this panic attack, which truly ended up being a blessing in disguise. When unexpected events happen, that's when leadership skills can be the most valuable, and I've had the opportunity to have to step up in these circumstances.
[00:20:54] A recent example of this was then in late 2017, there was a major fire in Santa Barbara County called the Thomas Fire. And then in early 2018, after the fires had charred the hills, there were some major debris slides, landslides that actually ended up taking the lives of 23 of our local residents. And it was an extremely stressful time in our community.
[00:21:18] Uh, roads were closed, uh, resources were shut off, like electricity, uh, phone lines, internet access. And there was flooding. There was just a real huge confusion around, uh, information access. And so as a service business, again, a financial services company, we've always been committed to doing the very best we can for our clients and for the communities that we operate in.
[00:21:47] And so this was the time where we had the opportunity to shine
[00:21:55] Math Potter: in part two of this three-part series on Relentless Hope. Seth explains how vulnerability creates power in leadership roles. By connecting to those who you lead and understanding their strengths, you'll have a more productive team.
[00:22:15] Seth Streeter: For me, being a leader is being an example. We know that actions speak louder than words, and so as leaders, we need to truly walk the walk. And for me this means showing up as what I call the chief energy Officer, the c e o. And as a Chief Energy Officer, I know that as my wellbeing, as my positivity, as my sense of possibility goes, there'll be a ripple effect through my entire organization and through all the community groups that I lead.
[00:22:46] So I work on myself being the best person I can be and putting myself in the best state possible so that I can go out there and help others be in the best state possible. And I do this through having time in the morning for spiritual connectivity, to get grounded in a framework beyond myself, and to know that I'm here to serve the world, to use my gifts and my fullest expression to truly impact people and help transform the planet.
[00:23:16] And I see myself as being a catalyst for good. And I want to put myself in the best state possible. To create the greatest good I can. And it comes even on the, the small parts of the day, you know, on commuting into the office, uh, smiling at a stranger or, uh, being kind to an animal, or, uh, the music I listen to or the podcasts I listen to, the food I put into my body.
[00:23:44] Uh, I try to just be mindful of the choices that I make and the consequences they have all add up to be the collective, uh, impact that I'm able to bring. So, as a leader, uh, my goal when I deal with team members or clients or partners is to truly be vulnerable because I've learned there's such power and vulnerability.
[00:24:09] I don't need to try to have all the answers. I can just truly be present with people and listen and be kind. And that goes so far. You know, I'm in, I'm in an industry of financial services and I've led, you know, large groups of other, uh, financial executives, over 2000, uh, executives in one group I led, uh, from around the globe.
[00:24:31] And unfortunately, in, in our industry and in other industries, we've kind of been taught to be so connected to the left side of our brains and to be so, uh, almost unemotional and to, uh, you know, think about facts and figures and data and, and metrics, which is all critical to the job. But we also are human beings, not just human doings.
[00:24:54] And so remembering the, the human part and, and working on, you know, my own emotional intelligence and my own ability to be connected to humans in a deep way. Has allowed me to take those facts and figures and, you know, the dashboards that are inherent in any business and apply them and relate them in a way to people that they will be able to really connect with and be able to be motivated by and, and wanna be part of.
[00:25:25] So as a leader, I see, uh, the connectivity with human beings as being really the most important part of my job. Because if I don't have an empowered team, then, you know, we're not doing anything as a business. And also I realize after many years of, you know, trying to be so serious, especially starting off in a young age when you're trying to build trust with people and, you know, let them believe that they should, uh, you know, give you their wealth to manage when you're only 22 years old and kind of pretend to know it all.
[00:25:57] So I was so lucky once I finally lost my hair because boy, that made me look older. I remember actually thinking that, uh, So the thing I've learned is that you can actually be playful. You can have fun and still be productive. So as a leader now, I try to be playful with my team and, you know, have a smile and, and connect with them on a personal level and, and not just always be about execution and about the job task.
[00:26:24] We do need to get things done. We do need to have a, you know, a, a degree of accountability and obviously a work ethic, but we can also have some levity in our day and have some levity in how we relate to other people. And so for me, a leader is being positive, being playful, uh, listening, caring, and knowing that I have to be the example, that my actions will always speak louder than my words.
[00:26:50] For me, this is the key to being an empowered leader. When unexpected events happen, that's when leadership skills can be the most valuable. And I've had the opportunity to have to step up in these circumstances. A recent example of this was then in late 2017, there was a major fire in Santa Barbara County called the Thomas Fire.
[00:27:17] And then in early 2018, after the fires had charred the hills, there were some major debris slides, landslides that actually ended up taking the lives of 23 of our local residents. And it was an extremely stressful time in our community. Uh, roads were closed, uh, resources were shut off, like electricity, uh, phone lines, internet access, and there was flooding.
[00:27:43] There was just a real huge confusion around, uh, information access. And so as a service business, again, a financial services company, we've always been committed to doing the very best we can for our clients and for the communities that we operate in. And so this was the time where we had the opportunity to shine, and we did so by really becoming a command post, uh, for our over a thousand clients.
[00:28:12] Um, we contacted them. We shared evacuation notices and locations. Uh, we let them know about emergency resources that were available and even offered to take clients' pets, uh, for our clients who were out of town at the time. We offered to try to get, uh, photo footage of their homes to see if they were still okay and, and standing and kinda what the current status was of the fire movements.
[00:28:39] And we personally got involved. Uh, we ran a donation where we collected household goods and clothing that we donated to local families that had been, uh, evacuated from their homes. And we also, uh, volunteered, uh, with some different organizations that were there supporting, uh, the. Kind of crisis control that was happening.
[00:29:03] So, you know, as a service culture in our company, our focus is just always on how we can best serve our clients and the communities we operate in. And so this was the way that we could be of the best service. And as a leader, uh, it was amazing to see my team come together for our clients. And the tremendous loyalties that it brought for our clients, uh, I think will just never be replaced.
[00:29:25] Uh, they could tell that we truly, truly cared for them and that we're willing to step up in that time of need. And so oftentimes as a leader, uh, we have the ability to really step up in a time of crisis and take drastic measures and to really, uh, use the organizational assets for the greater good. And this was an example that, uh, my company, mission Wealth definitely stepped up in this way.
[00:29:52] If there's one thing, a leader has a great deal of experience in its failure, you know, leaders are just really good at not quitting. They're really good at just being tenacious and persistent and trying and trying again. I've had all sorts of failures as a leader, and of course, I look at failure as just simply an opportunity to grow and learn and reapply it in the future and not make the same mistakes twice.
[00:30:21] Uh, I'd say the top couple failures I've had as a leader, if I had to look at the mass groupings in, in themes, would one be, uh, being overly ambitious. Not always setting realistic goals with, you know, bitesize actions that can be taken, but instead setting really a lofty vision without the nailed down strategic plan to get there.
[00:30:45] And that really doesn't, you know, set a team up for success when you're just setting a huge, lofty goal without a realistic way that they can achieve it. Uh, the second area I think I've failed is I'm such a people person. Oftentimes I overweight my relationship with someone versus taking a really honest assessment of their natural strengths and, and the roles in which their strengths can be best utilized.
[00:31:12] So something that I've seen as an example is I will come up with an idea of maybe an event we're going to put on or. Uh, a new growth opportunity will be tackling, and I might share it with someone who I think has the ability to implement that. But in actuality, that person might be looking for really a black and white nail down plan.
[00:31:33] So what I feel is a clear directive to them feels like a lot of gray without a lot of the, you know, meat on the bone. And so, uh, they don't have a clear way in which to implement, and I've left thinking that I've delegated. And so then both parties end up getting frustrated. So, as a leader who prides himself on learning from these mistakes, I've learned to really identify people's strengths across four key areas, and the four areas are as originators, those who are really good at, you know, creating the big vision, creating unique solutions or innovations.
[00:32:11] Number two is as advancers. People who can take the idea from a, an originator and kind of refine it further. Uh, the third group I call refiners, they're the people who say, that's not gonna work because, and they bounce the idea back up and say, that's not gonna work because, or that doesn't work within our system.
[00:32:29] Or, you know, they bounce it back up to the advancers and the originators and make 'em really get it nailed down. And then the fourth group are the implementers. These are people who do like things to be black and white, and they are great at executing when you give them a very clear action plan of what to do.
[00:32:45] So as a leader, I want to make sure I understand the strengths and the natural roles and abilities of my team members so that when I do have a big vision, I make sure I speak to one of my advancers first. And then from there we bounce it down to the refiners and then ultimately get it to an implementer.
[00:33:05] And I've learned to really understand who people are, and it has nothing to do with how much I like them or maybe have a personal connection with them. I, I work really hard to find personal connections with all of my team members, but it's more about really understanding their unique roles and how we all need each other to work together toward achieving our long-term vision.
[00:33:27] So leadership is about knowing people. It's about understanding their strengths and weaknesses and having realistic expectations, and for being able to put a group together based on their strengths to achieve the desired outcome. As human beings, we all have different fuel that gets us up in the morning.
[00:33:49] And as a leader, I know that one of my greatest sources of fuel has actually been criticism, or when people have told me that something isn't possible, that that really just gets me up and makes me want to prove them wrong. An example of that was I, uh, wanted to bring to Santa Barbara a unique and innovative community building program called Fast Pitch.
[00:34:12] What Fast Pitch is, is it's where we take nonprofit leaders typically have nonprofits that are under the radar and not really highly exposed in the community, and we put their leaders through a two month communication coaching exercise so that they can give a very compelling three minute pitch about their organization.
[00:34:34] Specifically, they talk about the history of their organization, why it exists, and what their greatest need is to launch their organization to the next level. We then, after coaching these leaders over two months, prepare a large community event where we put them in front of 350 plus community members who get to vote by text for their favorite pitches, and then there's cash prizes that are given out.
[00:35:05] Two, the top performing leaders. And there's also a panel of judges that give very valuable feedback. So it's essentially like Shark Tank meets American Idol for the nonprofit sector. Well, I saw tremendous value in this concept for our community. And when I first got sparked with the idea to bring this to Santa Barbara, I had a whole host of, uh, naysayers who said, you know, Seth, this will never work.
[00:35:34] Santa Barbara is way too small of a community for this. If you wanna pull it off, it's gonna take two or three years to organize. Uh, we have limited resources to make this happen. There's already so many nonprofits, there's not room in the, in the calendar to try to put on another big event like this.
[00:35:52] Seth nonprofit leaders do not have two months of time to dedicate to pitching, uh, you know, one three minute, uh, speech. And so on and so on. And the more I heard these critiques, the more I said, we need to do this. Our community needs this. We will prove that we can do it. And sure enough, it took us only nine months to put together our first fast pitch event, and we had 40 nonprofits go through this program over two years, we did it two back to back years.
[00:36:23] We had tremendous success. Uh, amazing synergies opened up not just to the community directly, but in between the nonprofits that each were pitching and in theory competing against each other. There was beautiful collaboration where they supported each other and the outcome couldn't have been better. I was so proud to see our community rally, especially our nonprofit community, and I was so happy that I was able to override, uh, the negative feedback that I was getting as I was starting to put this together.
[00:36:55] And again, those critiques ended up being my fuel that allowed me to be the Chief Energy Officer for Fast Pitch sb. Uh, which is something that I'm really proud of, uh, that has really helped shape the Santa Barbara community. So what we're doing is we're bringing the community together around these campaigns and we're highlighting the top actions or programs that these organizations, businesses, or, you know, city agencies have to help support progress.
[00:37:22] And then we're tracking the collective results. So my vision is that we're gonna start by making Santa Barbara County the home of the first Earth Day, a shining example for sustainability. And then we're gonna be spreading this out into other counties all over the country and hopefully eventually across the globe.
[00:37:38] So I wanna make a difference, uh, for our planet, which I care so deeply for. And it all comes from micro actions that we can each take each and every day.
[00:37:50] Math Potter: In part three of this three-part series on Relentless Hope Seth explains how he's leaving a legacy through helping others achieve their full potential by applying experiences from his past companies and the book that Seth wrote, he's helping his employees and clients learn about themselves and how to achieve their dreams.
[00:38:14] Seth Streeter: I am so excited about the legacy that I know I am leaving behind, and that I want to continue to expand my footprint of legacy throughout the remaining years of my lifetime. For me, it really comes in three broad areas beyond being a parent because I just love my son and daughter so much, and I feel like they in so many ways are my ultimate legacy.
[00:38:38] But beyond being a parent and, and for my, my seeing my kids launch into the world and bring their unique gifts into the world, my main legacy will be the way in which I left a footprint. And the, the main ways that I see myself leading this footprint will be, first of all with my company Mission Wealth.
[00:38:57] Uh, as a national firm, I know that we're really helping families all over the country find and enjoy financial freedom and even more to have deep fulfillment in their lives. So we are. Using, again, the money conversations as a way to help people find greater connectivity in their lives, maybe with family and friends, or to explore their artistic side and go take a photography class or write a book or to take that dream trip to Bali or to, you know, really develop meaningful friendships or to get super involved in the community and have community impact.
[00:39:33] So I just love the connection and the transformation that I see with the clients that we serve. And I also really am grateful for our team, and I want to know that we empowered our team members and that we continue to maintain a fantastic culture and had, you know, top, uh, awards for that, knowing that we were truly caring for our team members and seeing them have their own career development.
[00:39:58] And then also to know that we were improving the communities that we operated in, that we always gave back, and that we, you know, led, led the cause, uh, of, of various, uh, nonprofits and, and community building opportunities that our team members had passions around. As a founder in Leader, I am very excited to see my business Mission Wealth become a key part of my legacy.
[00:40:24] I see that happening really in three key ways. First of all, how we care for our team and how we're expanding our team across the country. We truly invest in our culture. We provide fully paid for education for our team members. We promote a collaborative environment where we do a lot of training and, and team building exercises.
[00:40:47] And we have a really fun, uh, culture as well. We'll go do community service events together. Uh, we'll go get involved in all sorts of social activities in the community. And we really support the whole family of our team. We do retreats twice a year where partners and spouses are invited. We invite children to events.
[00:41:07] So we see our team and its expansion and the deepening of our team as being a key part of our legacy. In our most recent retreat, uh, we had my friend Sean Thompson, who's a world renowned, uh, surfer and business leader, and also a, a TEDx speaker and author come and share, uh, an exercise he calls developing your I will statements and these are 12 per personal declarations or affirmations of things you're truly committed to in your personal life.
[00:41:37] And we had our team go through an exercise to each write their 12 personal I will statements. We had every team member stand up and share vulnerably what their 12 I will statements were and then select their one most important personal I will declaration. We then took all of those top I will declarations and we've put them on a really nicely created board that we've put on our wall.
[00:42:03] So it just showcases that we're not just here to achieve the company goals and to serve our clients, but that we truly care about the top personal goals of our team members as well. And this creates a tremendous loyalty and connectivity across the whole organization. The second form of legacy, uh, for Mission Wealth is really how we care for our clients.
[00:42:27] You know, we're growing out our national presence all across the United States, and our passion is not just to help people find more optimization on their personal finances, their balance sheet, their investments, their cash flow, their estate plans. But it's to help them off the balance sheet as well, to spark greater fulfillment, maybe to, uh, make it a, a career change into a more aligned career.
[00:42:53] And really looking for ways that we can help them have more joy and impact in their lives. You know, it might come from helping them really think about their bucket list and nudging them forward to tackle some of those things on their bucket list. Uh, we just had a client who retired after a 40 year career, and we were sitting down with she and her husband and I was kind of talking about some of these potential bucket list wishes, and she said, you know, my dream is always to be in a hot air balloon.
[00:43:19] I've never been on a hot air balloon ride. And her husband of almost 50 years said, I had no idea he wanted to go on a hot air balloon ride. And so as a retirement gift, uh, we took both of them on a hot air balloon ride and it sparked so much joy in her to have this, uh, dream come true. And sometimes it's just the little things, but we love helping our clients.
[00:43:39] Find deeper meaning, purpose, and joy in their lives. And if we can support that in any way, uh, to coming to fruition, we feel like we're really helping to create a legacy in that way. And then the third, uh, form of legacy generation that I'm proud of that Mission Wealth is really creating on a daily basis is a service work that we do in the community.
[00:44:02] Every one of our team members is encouraged to volunteer and we will support their charity of choice. We do group volunteer days, we'll go do food sorting at a local food bank. We've, uh, worked on building a home for Habitat for Humanity. Uh, we've done, uh, relay marathons for charities. Uh, we always come up with unique ways that we can get involved and contribute and give back, you know, along with some of the community building efforts that we've actually organized for the entire community.
[00:44:32] Uh, with Fast Pitch SB as well as sustainable future. And even a recent example is we're involved with the local Museum of Natural History and they have a really incredible, uh, sea center museum that's out on the wharf of Santa Barbara. And as a way to give back and to promote our values around sustainability, we are actually sponsoring for them to get solar panels put onto this sea center museum so that they will have electricity provided in perpetuity.
[00:45:02] And that'll help, uh, with their utility costs, it'll help promote sustainability. We're gonna be able to highlight in the community, you know, the importance of solar into becoming more renewable as a country. And so it's a way to give back and to, you know, help educate and empower people to just become more aware of other options.
[00:45:21] So being able to care for our team, caring for our clients, and caring for our community are always that we feel we're able to really promote a super positive legacy. From Mission Wealth. So that's my company and that's just one area that I know I'll leave a legacy. I also know that the workshops that I've been doing and the retreats, and I'll be writing a book on this Life 3.0, uh, vision, uh, will be another form of legacy for me.
[00:45:48] And essentially what I came up with was a framework that in life we have 1.0 phases when we're kind of getting our sense of identity. You know, are we the athlete, are we the academic? Are we the funny guy? Are we the introvert? Are we the musician? We kind of get our sense of identity eventually, and we go into 2.0 where we start our field of study.
[00:46:09] We start our career, we maybe get married. We have children, we buy a home and get a mortgage, and 2.0 is a phase of responsibility. When our head is down and we're essentially growing our families, we're growing our careers, we're maybe starting a business and we're in that responsible phase. But there comes a time when our kids become more independent and maybe launch into the world where we've achieved a lot of what we wanted to professionally, and we start to think about what's next.
[00:46:38] And in that phase of 3.0, it's really a phase of freedom. And it's a phase where we want to think about our legacy, we want to think about the relationships and did we invest in them enough? We think about maybe improving our health or taking that bucket, uh, list trip to uh, Africa. And so what I find is a lot of people who've been working so hard in their careers and raising their families, they've been so dutiful for others that they get stuck around 2.8 or 2.9.
[00:47:08] They, they look back and a lot of their sense of identity is caught up in their past accomplishments or, you know, in their past, you know, family experiences. And they really don't know how to launch forward into a 3.0 where they feel alive and excited and still growing and evolving. So my legacy work in this area of 3.0 planning is to help people design and ignite the most meaningful and exciting and joyful and impactful 3.0 phase they could ever imagine.
[00:47:39] And I'm really loving holding retreats and, uh, putting together different exercises and programs to help people find more joy. Meaning in this third phase of life with the developing Your Life 3.0 vision work that I do, both with large group presentations as well as small group facilitations, we also are doing one-on-one coaching with our clients.
[00:48:03] And what I'm really excited about in spreading this message through these workshops as well as through a book that I look forward to publishing. Is to highlight real life examples of where everyday people have dared to reinvent themselves and to be able to find ways to live a more aligned life. Maybe it's a career change.
[00:48:24] You know, I had a client who was a corporate attorney who really wasn't passionate about his work that required a lot of travel away from his family, and, uh, intense stress of always having, uh, a deal after a deal. And through working with their family, we were able to help them imagine a life and where he was living close to home, not traveling and working in an area of passion of his, which is becoming a history teacher.
[00:48:49] And so now he's a high school history teacher. He has summers off to spend time with his wife and, and two teenagers. They have really evolved as a family, uh, through this career change. And in this 3.0 work. We also love to help people, uh, develop what we call their inspired life purpose. And the inspired life purpose is really when you find a way to intersect between your natural gifts, your acquired skills, your greatest passion, and with what you feel is a huge trend or need in the world.
[00:49:21] We help our clients and individuals go through a visioning exercise where they really identify their greatest gifts. These are the things that have come just natural to them their whole lives. Maybe you've just always been a strong communicator or you've always been, uh, great at developing, you know, first impressions, or you've always been good at math or problem solving, and then you think about your skills.
[00:49:43] These are the talents that we've gained through maybe hands-on experience or through education. And so these are acquired skills that we've honed over the years. The third circle has to do with our passions. This is what we really love to do. If we had all the time and all the money in the world, this is how we would spend it.
[00:50:04] And then the fourth circle has to do with what you think the world needs most. What is a cause that you're deeply touched by? What is a trend that you see happening in the world that you really want to get in front of? It's maybe, uh, you know, something around automation or robotics or AI or climate change, or any trend or movement could be positive or negative that you see really as being, uh, imminent.
[00:50:29] How can you get in front of that? How can you help move the needle on illiteracy in Africa or clean water in Haiti? So where people's natural gifts intersect with their acquired skills, intersect with their greatest passions and what they believe is a trend or what the world needs most. This is where their inspired life purpose resides.
[00:50:51] And if we can help people kind of awaken to what this inspired life purpose might be. Well then it's pretty amazing to see how excited they get the energy they find and just the opportunities they can create when they're working from this space. So I love to talk to clients and ask them, you know, what purpose is truly worthy of your life?
[00:51:12] We all have these infinite gifts and we need to be fully expressing them into the world to be making the greatest impact. And when we can help people light up and find this in their 3.0 vision and in their 3.0 phase of life, well then that is part of what our true legacy really is. And it's something I'm super passionate about helping people to find or, you know, add fuel to what they're already doing to take it to the next level.
[00:51:39] So these are some of the exercises that we will push forward in the 3.0 visioning work that we do. We will look at all 10 dimensions of wealth and help people identify where they feel they need to put more resource, whether it's intellectual growth, spiritual development. Improving their physical, uh, state, how their body looks, feels and functions, their career alignment, how much fun they have.
[00:52:03] You know, are they having a lot of fun in their life, their emotional wellbeing, which is kind of their general levels of stress. Or, you know, how they, they wake up their, their general attitude, uh, the quality of their family and friendships, their social capital. And then the amount of impact that they really feel they're having.
[00:52:21] Are they satisfied with the level of impact they're having in the community or in the world at large? So as we all take a look at this holistic, you know, lens of ourselves, we can find areas that we can put more energy and time and attention into, and then as a result, feel more well-rounded and feel a greater sense of, uh, meaning and fulfillment in our lives.
[00:52:44] And then the final, uh, area that I am super passionate about, uh, continuing to build my legacy. Is in an organization called sustainable future.org that I founded, and sustainable future.org is an organization that's here to help combat, uh, human-induced climate change. You know, I've been, uh, passionate about the environment for, for my lifetime really.
[00:53:09] And I've worked on so many different nonprofits and I saw this silo effect that existed where these great nonprofits were doing great work, but they're each kind of operating in their silo from each other and they weren't really collaborating. And I saw the same thing in the business community and the public sector and in schools and universities and even faith-based organizations.
[00:53:28] I thought if somehow we could unify these big pillars of the community and all the organizations within each of those pillars, so all the nonprofits and all the businesses into one rally cry. Then we could really have incredible impact. And so there's an African proverb that says, if you want to go fast, go alone and if you want to go far, go together.
[00:53:51] And so sustainable future.org was really a way in which we could all go further to together. And what it is, is, is it's a platform. It's a, an app that allows us to use gamification and technology to bring awareness and empowered actions around all sorts of various campaigns. So currently we have campaigns around minimizing single-use plastics.
[00:54:16] We have campaigns around water conservation, around smart transportation, you know, ways that we can be more mindful of, uh, ride sharing or using mass transit or using electric vehicles or biking to work. We have a campaign around food waste. Did you know that 40% of food in the United States is wasted?
[00:54:36] It, and there's so much we can do to help with food rescue programs and to be smarter with, uh, our food practices and even with our food that we get rid of to become posting that food instead of just putting it into the landfill. So what we're doing is we're bringing the community together around these campaigns and we're highlighting the top actions or programs that these organizations, businesses, or, you know, city agencies have to help support progress.
[00:55:03] And then we're tracking the collective results. So my vision is that we're gonna start by making Santa Barbara County the home of the first Earth Day, a shining example for sustainability. And then we're gonna be spreading this out into other counties all over the country and hopefully eventually across the globe.
[00:55:19] So I wanna make a difference, uh, for our planet, which I care so deeply for. And it all comes from micro actions that we can each take each and every day, the small choices of how we shop, how we eat, uh, how we dispose of things. We can be the difference in our daily, daily steps. And if we can do so in a way that we feel empowered and educated and we get pure validation and it's all happening from an app that's super simple from your phone, then we can actually have a ripple effect throughout the world.
[00:55:51] So for me, legacy is about continuing to grow myself, about continuing to invest in my, my children and my friendships and my family. It's about, uh, growing into my partnership, uh, with my romantic partner. It's about being able to make a difference through my business, through the coaching work I do on the side and through the nonprofit sustainable future.org that I've grown.
[00:56:15] And I feel so grateful to be of service and every day to show up as a light for the world. And that's really what I wish for everyone, is that everyone would be able to really feel that spark within themself that is their true gift. And to be able to lean into that spark and allow it to grow and illuminate even brighter.
[00:56:34] And then bring that fully into the world. Express it into the world. Dare to be vulnerable, dare to be truly authentic to yourself and to those gifts, and then just express them with a huge smile on your face, because that's what the world needs.
[00:56:52] Math Potter: God never intended for us to be alone, to feel disconnected or experience separation. Instead, God created us for connection. He wants to be relation to us and through Jesus. He gave us a path to be connected to him. Always. This connection is our foundation for how we live our lives, including all of our actions and words we speak.
[00:57:15] And God also wants us to be in connection with each other. He made us for relationships and to create community. He made us to love, honor, and cherish each other, to uplift, unite, and draw strength, courage, and conviction from each other. By ourselves. We can do nothing but with God and with each other.
[00:57:34] Anything is possible when you connect with God. We bring his light and love into everything we do, to everyone we meet, and God has given us amazing tools to help nurture and grow our connection to him and each other. From daily prayer to reading scripture, God shows us how to relate to him and to each other.
[00:57:57] This week on Relentless Hope, Seth Streeter. Founder and Chief Impact Officer of Mission Wealth showed us the meaning of connection and what happens when we make our spiritual connection the foundation of our days. Seth taught us how he learned to blend his spiritual and professional lives, and how it opened in incredible gateways personally and professionally for him.
[00:58:21] And he showed that by connecting our spiritual and professional lives, it acts as a kind of manifesto, helping us to find more consciousness, love, purpose, and fulfillment. We learned how to be great leaders. We need to value our spiritual connection and connection to our people. Seth taught us how he begins each morning in spiritual connection, which helps put him in the best possible state so he can create the greatest good throughout his day.
[00:58:51] And we learn how Seth prioritizes, empowering and getting to know his people. And he encourages us to work on our emotional intelligence so that we can better connect to people. By doing so, we can better lead and motivate people to be a part of what we're creating. And Seth taught us how he's working to leave a lasting legacy of care through his company Mission Wealth.
[00:59:18] Every day, Seth tries. To care for his people, care for his clients, and care for his community. His company serves in. And we learned about what Seth calls 3.0 planning, which is a phase in our lives that's about freedom and thinking through our legacies, and designing and igniting the most meaningful, exciting, joyful, and impactful 3.0 lives we could ever imagine.
[00:59:46] When we prioritize our connection to God, then our relationship not only deepens, but it also spills into all areas of our lives, making everything and everyone we meet better. Through our connections to God and each other, we come to know love, peace, and hope.
Emphasizing our Spiritual Bond with God for a Meaningful Life - Seth Streeter
[00:00:00] Math Potter: So many of us feel alone, disconnected and deep within. We feel this ache, this sense that something is missing because it is. We long to connect, to belong to a community, to have friends and family surrounding us who understand and support us on our journey through life, and we long to connect with God.
[00:00:25] This yearning comes because we know deep down that God never intended for us to be alone or separate. He made us for connection. He wants us to open our hearts so we can know deep spiritual connection with Him. God also wants us to connect with each other. He knows the pain and suffering of this broken world, but in honest, loving, and trusting relations with each other, we can ease our heartache and enduring anything.
[00:00:53] This week on Relentless Hope, Seth Streeter, founder and Chief Impact Officer of Mission of Wealth teaches us about connection and he shows us how to connect our spiritual lives with our professional lives, and he explains how everything in our lives stems from having a strong spiritual connection.
[00:01:13] As Seth says, we do not have to keep our spiritual connection in a separate container from the rest of our lives, instead, we can use our connection with God to inspire and motivate all our actions.
[00:01:27] We hear how Seth learned to blend his spiritual and professional lives after he overcame debilitating panic attacks that threatened his career and the company he founded, Mission Wealth, and Seth shows us how he's helping people lead more inspired and fulfilled lives through the Trojan Horse of money conversations. Seth also teaches us to be great leaders, we need to connect to our spiritual selves and our people. He shares how he starts every morning in spiritual connection and how leadership is about knowing our people, understanding their strengths and weaknesses, natural roles, abilities, and having realistic expectations for what we can achieve together.
[00:02:13] We also learn what Seth's doing to leave his legacy and the three areas he's focused on through his company. This includes caring for his team, caring for his clients, and caring for the communities where his company serves. Seth also shows us when we prioritize our spiritual connection to God, that our lives begin flowing in perfect divine order, and we are able to bring God's light, his love, and his will to everyone we meet.
[00:02:41] As we connect to God, we're able to develop deeper and more meaningful and more fulfilling connections with ourselves and each other.
[00:02:54] When Seth Streeter was about to present his company for a national partnership, he found himself in the midst of his first panic attack on stage.
[00:03:04] Seth Streeter: And all of a sudden I felt like I was in the audience looking at me, and I became hyper, hyper aware of my physical sensations. I started to feel my heart race my chest, I started to feel my breath shallow, as my breathing really become shallow and my hands became clammy. And by the time he handed the microphone to me, I was staring at the audience in just sheer terror. I, I, I grabbed the mic and I tried to speak into it and I couldn't even say a word. I was like, oh, oh. I was like, I was choke, choking.
[00:03:40] I can actually remember it now.
[00:03:43] And I remember I looked to the man who introduced me and I handed him back the microphone and I said, "excuse me" in a whisper, and I ran off the stage. And as I ran off the stage, I remember going out through the back and I saw an exit door and just everything in me wanted to just keep running and just go right out that door in my suit and lucky tie and just get the heck out of there.
[00:04:03] But somehow I forced myself to go to the bathroom, which was also nearby, and I went into the bathroom and I splashed water in my face and put water in my mouth, and I looked my soul in the eyes and I'm like, Seth, get your shit together.
[00:04:19] Math Potter: In part one of this three-part series on Relentless Hope. We'll hear from financial advisor Seth Streeter, as he explains the most pivotal moment in his life. Through blending his professional and spiritual life, he learned to overcome his fears and begin to help others.
[00:04:41] Seth Streeter: I was raised in a high performing family. Both my mom and dad were professionals as teachers and teacher instructors, and my dad was a biologist in the Fish and Wildlife Service and worked his way up in the government ranks, and my brother and I were raised to be the same. We were raised to really excel in school, sports, student government, our chores.
[00:05:07] We had, uh, livestock and a farm and lots of responsibilities there. And so we were raised to be super productive and it served me, it allowed me to thrive in school. Uh, it allowed me to get into a great university and to continue that path in in college, to be in student government, to be involved in intramurals, to be a double major with honors, uh, to have jobs throughout college.
[00:05:35] And it allowed me to get a great career. I started working one week after graduating in the world of financial services and I. Was completely determined to continue to thrive and excel. And I share this, uh, just brief background with everyone because my life was really about achieving performance because I thought that's where my sense of worth came from.
[00:06:00] I thought that if I was productive, I was worthy and even loved. If I could show accomplishments through, you know, running a marathon or an Ironman, or, uh, hitting a certain sales goal or a certain career goal or a certain award, well then, you know, I had those external validators that I was, I was somebody, you know, I had roof.
[00:06:24] And all of this really, I would say kind of climaxed with the most traumatic experience or one of the most traumatic experiences of my life. I, and it happened when I was 40 years old. I was very involved with my. Financial services company. I have a wealth management company that had, uh, really grown and achieved a, a great deal of success in the traditional sense.
[00:06:49] And I opened up this incredible opportunity to form a national partnership with a huge financial services partner. And after a couple years of opening up the doors to this opportunity, uh, the brass at this big partner said, okay, Seth, you can come and present your company to us and let's form this partnership.
[00:07:10] And so I was so excited. I thought, finally, I've built this national partnership. This is gonna really launch our company to the next level. And so I prepared for this talk as I would any others. And I had, you know, done a significant, uh, amount of public speaking up to this point. And so I, you know, prepared my, my words, I wanted to say some slides.
[00:07:35] And the morning of, I had my normal kind of pregame. Uh, best practices. I went for a quick run. I took a shower. I had a healthy breakfast. I put on my lucky suit, my lucky tie. I listened, listened to some rock music on my way to the venue, and I was ready to rock it. You know, I had that kind of pregame excitement as I went to the auditorium and as I was in the auditorium waiting to be introduced, ready to just rock it and kind of realize this huge national partnership that I'd worked so hard to form for my company.
[00:08:07] It felt like the introduction went way too long. They just kept saying, well, Seth, Streeter, blah, blah, blah, and Seth, Streeter, blah, blah, blah. And, you know, talking about accolades. And I was, I remember I was standing there looking at the audience as this gentleman was introducing me, and all of a sudden I felt like I was in the audience looking at me, and I became hyper, hyper aware of my physical sensations.
[00:08:34] I started to feel my heart racing my chest. I started to feel my breath shallow as my breathing really become shallow, and my hands became clammy. And by the time he handed the microphone to me, I was staring at the audience and just sheer terror. I, I grabbed the mic and I tried to speak into it, and I couldn't even say a word.
[00:08:57] I was like, oh, oh. I was like, I was choke, choking. I can actually remember it now. And I remember I looked to the man who introduced me and I handed him back the microphone and I said, excuse me in a whisper. And I ran off the stage. And as I ran off the stage, I remember going out through the back and I saw an exit door and just everything in me wanted to just keep running and just go right out that door in my suit and lucky tie and just get the heck out of there.
[00:09:24] But somehow I forced myself to go to the bathroom, which was also, uh, nearby. And I went to the bathroom and I splashed water in my face and put water in my mouth. And I looked my soul in the eyes, and I'm like, Seth, get your shit together. You have this one moment. Don't waste it. And so I somehow overcame my fear and my heart, my racing heart, and I went back into that auditorium and, and the guy who was introducing me had a glass of water.
[00:09:50] And the audience was kind of standing there or sitting there wide-eyed. And he gave me the microphone again. And I remember I started to talk, but I was staring at my feet because I couldn't even stand to look them in the eyes because I felt like I was being so judged. And that it, it was just such a terrifying feeling to have those, you know, hundreds of eyes staring at me.
[00:10:12] And I somehow managed to just keep talking and keep talking to a point where I could feel the fear kind of subside out of me. And maybe it was two minutes, but you know, it felt like a lifetime. And I was able to get through that talk. And after that talk, I talked to a friend who was in the audience, and I just said, oh my gosh, you know, what was that like for you?
[00:10:36] And he said, you had like a frog in your throat, right? You have a cold or something? I said, no, I just went through the scariest, you know, five minutes of my life and I can't even tell you how horrifying it was inside my body during those five minutes. And so he said, well, it wasn't, you know, that noticeable, you got it back together.
[00:10:56] And, you know, the talk went fine. And we actually formed that national partnership, which today is a significant driver of growth for my company. But at this point in time, I, I was dumbfounded. I went home. And I was shellshocked that that had occurred, that I had actually frozen and was completely disabled from communicating, uh, for that period of time.
[00:11:20] And I tried to research what it was and I said, okay, gosh, it sounds like I had a panic attack. Why the heck did I have a panic attack? I've, you know, I've talked hundreds of times before and why did I freak out today? And so I tried to just ignore it and just shut it off to being a bad day. Maybe I, you know, had too much tea that morning or, you know, just a bad day.
[00:11:41] And so I went to work the next day kind of just trying to sweep it under the rug. I didn't tell anyone about it. And I was, uh, going in to a morning meeting with, uh, four people in the room. So not a huge audience, just four people in the room. And as I went into the room, uh, I met these clients or potential clients, and I, you know, shook their hand and I sat down, and this is something I'd done again hundreds of times before.
[00:12:08] And as they asked me a question and, and the kind of spotlight was on me as I felt the spotlight was on me to answer the question, all of a sudden I started to feel my mind scanning for the same physiological symptoms I had experienced the day before. Like, wait, Seth is your heart racing racing? Wait, Seth, is your breath shallow?
[00:12:27] Wait, Seth your hands feel kind of clammy. And sure enough, it was almost like I invited those symptoms to be a reality. It was almost like I was scanning my body, looking for any clue that it could then go into a fight or flight response. And sure enough, you know, if you scan long enough, uh, you, you, you're gonna find, you're gonna find what you're scanning for.
[00:12:50] So here I am in this room with four, you know, prospective clients and actually a coworker, three prospective clients and a coworker. And I became completely unable to speak again. And I said, excuse me, I've used the restroom. And I went to my restroom at my office again. I looked my soul in the eyes, and I'm like, what is up?
[00:13:11] You can't even talk to flipping four people in a room. Get it together. And I did the same thing as last time. I kind of like scolded myself. I, I, I felt such disgusted with my inability to just overcome this. I, you know, I prided myself on being someone who could overcome things. And I pushed through, you know, again, endurance races.
[00:13:33] I'd pushed through tough business challenges. Uh, you know, I pushed through going through a challenging divorce and health challenges. I mean, I'm, I'm a guy who's tenacious, who can persevere. What the heck is happening? So I had this little discussion with myself. Wasn't a really kind one, I can tell you.
[00:13:51] And I went back into the room with the clients and I. Somehow mustered through. I kind of asked my coworker to communicate and then I eventually got to where I could breathe normal and I was able to get through it. But it began, uh, a whole pattern of six months where I truly thought I was gonna have to quit my career.
[00:14:13] I was going to have to completely change my lifestyle, maybe move my family to Mexico or somewhere that I could afford to live because I wasn't gonna be able to make any money. You know, as a financial advisor, I could lose an arm, I could lose a leg, and I could still do my job, but if I can't communicate with people, I truly can't earn a living.
[00:14:37] So during those six months, I really dove into what the heck was happening. I went and saw a therapist, I read a ton of books and, you know, watched videos and I really learned about panic attacks. And, you know, what triggers could be. And you know what, you know, were the ways to overcome. Uh, the sensations when I was feeling them come on and I came up with a three step process of how I could overcome them.
[00:15:03] Um, I would need to acknowledge my sensations as I first felt them. So, oh wow, Seth, you're feeling a little bit nervous right now. You can't deny those feelings because the body's gonna turn up the volume if you do. So I would just acknowledge, oh, Seth, you're feeling kind of some nerves right now. Your heart's racing a little bit.
[00:15:20] And then the second step is, I would assure myself, Seth, you know, there's no saber tooth tigers in this room. These are just nice people who wanna be educated, or this is a friendly audience. Uh, you know, these are people that I can really help and serve and I had to kinda get out of myself and have empathy for the people that I was communicating with.
[00:15:41] And then the third step, uh, I came up with is to have a coping technique. So, a coping technique is just a way, frankly, to ground me. In the moment, maybe I'm holding a cold glass of water and I fill that cold, uh, sensation through my fingertips, or I fill my feet on the ground, or I look at a tree outside through a window, or I look at a person in the audience and I actually have empathy for them.
[00:16:03] I make up a story that, you know, maybe she just lost her husband or, uh, you know, maybe they're suffering with a real financial, uh, hardship right now. So I, I came up with a process to overcome that fear, but it was something that from that day forward, and it's been eight years since that time, I still always carry a significant amount of humility in me over, uh, you know, just how close any of us can be to that point of no return, where we truly allow our mind and our fears, uh, to take over us.
[00:16:37] And I have to say that as I look back now, that was truly a huge blessing in disguise for me. It completely shaped, uh, the person that I am today and the person I know I'll continue to evolve to be going forward. And my, uh, whole kind of mindset prior to that panic attack was that I was a, a professional who was achieving, who was, you know, all about execution.
[00:17:02] And on the side I had a, a, a spiritual si, a deep spiritual part of my life. And I was really into community service. And I did a lot of service work and, uh, you know, developing countries. I would go down to Latin America and, you know, volunteered orphanages and even take my kids to volunteer with me. But I saw those two worlds as being distinct.
[00:17:23] I had my professional life where I was a successful financial ceo and I had my service work and my spiritual life was, you know, over on the other side. And the biggest blessing out of the whole panic attack lesson from me was I learned to blend those two worlds. I learned that I could be of service deeply connected to my vulnerable spiritual self in my career.
[00:17:51] And it's completely allowed me to evolve my business forward to being in the world of transformation, human transformation through the Trojan horse of a money conversation. And I have completely, uh, opened up new incredible gateways in my life, both personally and professionally as a result of this new blended spiritual, combined with my career dimension.
[00:18:16] And I have to say that, uh, a year after my panic attack, I was, you know, still kind of struggling a little bit, but I was able to do my work. And as I was moving forward, I wrote in my journal, I said, Seth, you know, you're gonna completely overcome this fear. And in fact, it's gonna be a catalyst to take you to a whole new level.
[00:18:35] And I want you to think what would be the scariest thing you could do? As someone who would, you know, freak out with just a couple people in a room and not able to talk to them, what would be the, the biggest reach goal? The biggest Harry Reach goal I could think of, and that Harry Reach goal when I journaled was to give a Ted talk.
[00:18:55] I thought, my God, getting up on stage for 16 minutes in front of a huge audience with, you know, live video footage without any notes would be the flipping, scariest thing I could imagine. I mean, that would be prime time for a panic attack. And I wrote in my journal that Seth, one day you'll give a TED talk and that will be your sign that you've progressed forward with this.
[00:19:20] What I thought at the time was like a debilitating, uh, tragedy. And so sure enough, flash forward to 2016 and I didn't sign up out of the blue through serendipity or through divine intervention. Uh, I had someone contact me from the TED organization and say, Seth, we'd like you to give a TED talk. And I thought, oh man, shoot.
[00:19:43] Gotta be careful for what you wish for in this life. But I knew I had to say yes. I knew it was my destiny to say yes to this. And so I leaned in to this opportunity to give a TED talk and I spoke about this blending of my spiritual life into my professional life and how I see it as kind of a manifesto for people to move forward and find more consciousness, more love, more purpose and fulfillment in their lives.
[00:20:07] From this kind of mindset of looking at, at wealth through these 10 dimensions, looking at your spiritual, uh, level of wealth, looking at your physical, emotional, social, intellectual, the, the degree of impact, a number of dimensions beyond just the financial. And this has been my launching pad going forward, and it's really been what's gonna allow me.
[00:20:30] To have the most aligned legacy that I could have ever, ever hoped for, all because of this panic attack, which truly ended up being a blessing in disguise. When unexpected events happen, that's when leadership skills can be the most valuable, and I've had the opportunity to have to step up in these circumstances.
[00:20:54] A recent example of this was then in late 2017, there was a major fire in Santa Barbara County called the Thomas Fire. And then in early 2018, after the fires had charred the hills, there were some major debris slides, landslides that actually ended up taking the lives of 23 of our local residents. And it was an extremely stressful time in our community.
[00:21:18] Uh, roads were closed, uh, resources were shut off, like electricity, uh, phone lines, internet access. And there was flooding. There was just a real huge confusion around, uh, information access. And so as a service business, again, a financial services company, we've always been committed to doing the very best we can for our clients and for the communities that we operate in.
[00:21:47] And so this was the time where we had the opportunity to shine
[00:21:55] Math Potter: in part two of this three-part series on Relentless Hope. Seth explains how vulnerability creates power in leadership roles. By connecting to those who you lead and understanding their strengths, you'll have a more productive team.
[00:22:15] Seth Streeter: For me, being a leader is being an example. We know that actions speak louder than words, and so as leaders, we need to truly walk the walk. And for me this means showing up as what I call the chief energy Officer, the c e o. And as a Chief Energy Officer, I know that as my wellbeing, as my positivity, as my sense of possibility goes, there'll be a ripple effect through my entire organization and through all the community groups that I lead.
[00:22:46] So I work on myself being the best person I can be and putting myself in the best state possible so that I can go out there and help others be in the best state possible. And I do this through having time in the morning for spiritual connectivity, to get grounded in a framework beyond myself, and to know that I'm here to serve the world, to use my gifts and my fullest expression to truly impact people and help transform the planet.
[00:23:16] And I see myself as being a catalyst for good. And I want to put myself in the best state possible. To create the greatest good I can. And it comes even on the, the small parts of the day, you know, on commuting into the office, uh, smiling at a stranger or, uh, being kind to an animal, or, uh, the music I listen to or the podcasts I listen to, the food I put into my body.
[00:23:44] Uh, I try to just be mindful of the choices that I make and the consequences they have all add up to be the collective, uh, impact that I'm able to bring. So, as a leader, uh, my goal when I deal with team members or clients or partners is to truly be vulnerable because I've learned there's such power and vulnerability.
[00:24:09] I don't need to try to have all the answers. I can just truly be present with people and listen and be kind. And that goes so far. You know, I'm in, I'm in an industry of financial services and I've led, you know, large groups of other, uh, financial executives, over 2000, uh, executives in one group I led, uh, from around the globe.
[00:24:31] And unfortunately, in, in our industry and in other industries, we've kind of been taught to be so connected to the left side of our brains and to be so, uh, almost unemotional and to, uh, you know, think about facts and figures and data and, and metrics, which is all critical to the job. But we also are human beings, not just human doings.
[00:24:54] And so remembering the, the human part and, and working on, you know, my own emotional intelligence and my own ability to be connected to humans in a deep way. Has allowed me to take those facts and figures and, you know, the dashboards that are inherent in any business and apply them and relate them in a way to people that they will be able to really connect with and be able to be motivated by and, and wanna be part of.
[00:25:25] So as a leader, I see, uh, the connectivity with human beings as being really the most important part of my job. Because if I don't have an empowered team, then, you know, we're not doing anything as a business. And also I realize after many years of, you know, trying to be so serious, especially starting off in a young age when you're trying to build trust with people and, you know, let them believe that they should, uh, you know, give you their wealth to manage when you're only 22 years old and kind of pretend to know it all.
[00:25:57] So I was so lucky once I finally lost my hair because boy, that made me look older. I remember actually thinking that, uh, So the thing I've learned is that you can actually be playful. You can have fun and still be productive. So as a leader now, I try to be playful with my team and, you know, have a smile and, and connect with them on a personal level and, and not just always be about execution and about the job task.
[00:26:24] We do need to get things done. We do need to have a, you know, a, a degree of accountability and obviously a work ethic, but we can also have some levity in our day and have some levity in how we relate to other people. And so for me, a leader is being positive, being playful, uh, listening, caring, and knowing that I have to be the example, that my actions will always speak louder than my words.
[00:26:50] For me, this is the key to being an empowered leader. When unexpected events happen, that's when leadership skills can be the most valuable. And I've had the opportunity to have to step up in these circumstances. A recent example of this was then in late 2017, there was a major fire in Santa Barbara County called the Thomas Fire.
[00:27:17] And then in early 2018, after the fires had charred the hills, there were some major debris slides, landslides that actually ended up taking the lives of 23 of our local residents. And it was an extremely stressful time in our community. Uh, roads were closed, uh, resources were shut off, like electricity, uh, phone lines, internet access, and there was flooding.
[00:27:43] There was just a real huge confusion around, uh, information access. And so as a service business, again, a financial services company, we've always been committed to doing the very best we can for our clients and for the communities that we operate in. And so this was the time where we had the opportunity to shine, and we did so by really becoming a command post, uh, for our over a thousand clients.
[00:28:12] Um, we contacted them. We shared evacuation notices and locations. Uh, we let them know about emergency resources that were available and even offered to take clients' pets, uh, for our clients who were out of town at the time. We offered to try to get, uh, photo footage of their homes to see if they were still okay and, and standing and kinda what the current status was of the fire movements.
[00:28:39] And we personally got involved. Uh, we ran a donation where we collected household goods and clothing that we donated to local families that had been, uh, evacuated from their homes. And we also, uh, volunteered, uh, with some different organizations that were there supporting, uh, the. Kind of crisis control that was happening.
[00:29:03] So, you know, as a service culture in our company, our focus is just always on how we can best serve our clients and the communities we operate in. And so this was the way that we could be of the best service. And as a leader, uh, it was amazing to see my team come together for our clients. And the tremendous loyalties that it brought for our clients, uh, I think will just never be replaced.
[00:29:25] Uh, they could tell that we truly, truly cared for them and that we're willing to step up in that time of need. And so oftentimes as a leader, uh, we have the ability to really step up in a time of crisis and take drastic measures and to really, uh, use the organizational assets for the greater good. And this was an example that, uh, my company, mission Wealth definitely stepped up in this way.
[00:29:52] If there's one thing, a leader has a great deal of experience in its failure, you know, leaders are just really good at not quitting. They're really good at just being tenacious and persistent and trying and trying again. I've had all sorts of failures as a leader, and of course, I look at failure as just simply an opportunity to grow and learn and reapply it in the future and not make the same mistakes twice.
[00:30:21] Uh, I'd say the top couple failures I've had as a leader, if I had to look at the mass groupings in, in themes, would one be, uh, being overly ambitious. Not always setting realistic goals with, you know, bitesize actions that can be taken, but instead setting really a lofty vision without the nailed down strategic plan to get there.
[00:30:45] And that really doesn't, you know, set a team up for success when you're just setting a huge, lofty goal without a realistic way that they can achieve it. Uh, the second area I think I've failed is I'm such a people person. Oftentimes I overweight my relationship with someone versus taking a really honest assessment of their natural strengths and, and the roles in which their strengths can be best utilized.
[00:31:12] So something that I've seen as an example is I will come up with an idea of maybe an event we're going to put on or. Uh, a new growth opportunity will be tackling, and I might share it with someone who I think has the ability to implement that. But in actuality, that person might be looking for really a black and white nail down plan.
[00:31:33] So what I feel is a clear directive to them feels like a lot of gray without a lot of the, you know, meat on the bone. And so, uh, they don't have a clear way in which to implement, and I've left thinking that I've delegated. And so then both parties end up getting frustrated. So, as a leader who prides himself on learning from these mistakes, I've learned to really identify people's strengths across four key areas, and the four areas are as originators, those who are really good at, you know, creating the big vision, creating unique solutions or innovations.
[00:32:11] Number two is as advancers. People who can take the idea from a, an originator and kind of refine it further. Uh, the third group I call refiners, they're the people who say, that's not gonna work because, and they bounce the idea back up and say, that's not gonna work because, or that doesn't work within our system.
[00:32:29] Or, you know, they bounce it back up to the advancers and the originators and make 'em really get it nailed down. And then the fourth group are the implementers. These are people who do like things to be black and white, and they are great at executing when you give them a very clear action plan of what to do.
[00:32:45] So as a leader, I want to make sure I understand the strengths and the natural roles and abilities of my team members so that when I do have a big vision, I make sure I speak to one of my advancers first. And then from there we bounce it down to the refiners and then ultimately get it to an implementer.
[00:33:05] And I've learned to really understand who people are, and it has nothing to do with how much I like them or maybe have a personal connection with them. I, I work really hard to find personal connections with all of my team members, but it's more about really understanding their unique roles and how we all need each other to work together toward achieving our long-term vision.
[00:33:27] So leadership is about knowing people. It's about understanding their strengths and weaknesses and having realistic expectations, and for being able to put a group together based on their strengths to achieve the desired outcome. As human beings, we all have different fuel that gets us up in the morning.
[00:33:49] And as a leader, I know that one of my greatest sources of fuel has actually been criticism, or when people have told me that something isn't possible, that that really just gets me up and makes me want to prove them wrong. An example of that was I, uh, wanted to bring to Santa Barbara a unique and innovative community building program called Fast Pitch.
[00:34:12] What Fast Pitch is, is it's where we take nonprofit leaders typically have nonprofits that are under the radar and not really highly exposed in the community, and we put their leaders through a two month communication coaching exercise so that they can give a very compelling three minute pitch about their organization.
[00:34:34] Specifically, they talk about the history of their organization, why it exists, and what their greatest need is to launch their organization to the next level. We then, after coaching these leaders over two months, prepare a large community event where we put them in front of 350 plus community members who get to vote by text for their favorite pitches, and then there's cash prizes that are given out.
[00:35:05] Two, the top performing leaders. And there's also a panel of judges that give very valuable feedback. So it's essentially like Shark Tank meets American Idol for the nonprofit sector. Well, I saw tremendous value in this concept for our community. And when I first got sparked with the idea to bring this to Santa Barbara, I had a whole host of, uh, naysayers who said, you know, Seth, this will never work.
[00:35:34] Santa Barbara is way too small of a community for this. If you wanna pull it off, it's gonna take two or three years to organize. Uh, we have limited resources to make this happen. There's already so many nonprofits, there's not room in the, in the calendar to try to put on another big event like this.
[00:35:52] Seth nonprofit leaders do not have two months of time to dedicate to pitching, uh, you know, one three minute, uh, speech. And so on and so on. And the more I heard these critiques, the more I said, we need to do this. Our community needs this. We will prove that we can do it. And sure enough, it took us only nine months to put together our first fast pitch event, and we had 40 nonprofits go through this program over two years, we did it two back to back years.
[00:36:23] We had tremendous success. Uh, amazing synergies opened up not just to the community directly, but in between the nonprofits that each were pitching and in theory competing against each other. There was beautiful collaboration where they supported each other and the outcome couldn't have been better. I was so proud to see our community rally, especially our nonprofit community, and I was so happy that I was able to override, uh, the negative feedback that I was getting as I was starting to put this together.
[00:36:55] And again, those critiques ended up being my fuel that allowed me to be the Chief Energy Officer for Fast Pitch sb. Uh, which is something that I'm really proud of, uh, that has really helped shape the Santa Barbara community. So what we're doing is we're bringing the community together around these campaigns and we're highlighting the top actions or programs that these organizations, businesses, or, you know, city agencies have to help support progress.
[00:37:22] And then we're tracking the collective results. So my vision is that we're gonna start by making Santa Barbara County the home of the first Earth Day, a shining example for sustainability. And then we're gonna be spreading this out into other counties all over the country and hopefully eventually across the globe.
[00:37:38] So I wanna make a difference, uh, for our planet, which I care so deeply for. And it all comes from micro actions that we can each take each and every day.
[00:37:50] Math Potter: In part three of this three-part series on Relentless Hope Seth explains how he's leaving a legacy through helping others achieve their full potential by applying experiences from his past companies and the book that Seth wrote, he's helping his employees and clients learn about themselves and how to achieve their dreams.
[00:38:14] Seth Streeter: I am so excited about the legacy that I know I am leaving behind, and that I want to continue to expand my footprint of legacy throughout the remaining years of my lifetime. For me, it really comes in three broad areas beyond being a parent because I just love my son and daughter so much, and I feel like they in so many ways are my ultimate legacy.
[00:38:38] But beyond being a parent and, and for my, my seeing my kids launch into the world and bring their unique gifts into the world, my main legacy will be the way in which I left a footprint. And the, the main ways that I see myself leading this footprint will be, first of all with my company Mission Wealth.
[00:38:57] Uh, as a national firm, I know that we're really helping families all over the country find and enjoy financial freedom and even more to have deep fulfillment in their lives. So we are. Using, again, the money conversations as a way to help people find greater connectivity in their lives, maybe with family and friends, or to explore their artistic side and go take a photography class or write a book or to take that dream trip to Bali or to, you know, really develop meaningful friendships or to get super involved in the community and have community impact.
[00:39:33] So I just love the connection and the transformation that I see with the clients that we serve. And I also really am grateful for our team, and I want to know that we empowered our team members and that we continue to maintain a fantastic culture and had, you know, top, uh, awards for that, knowing that we were truly caring for our team members and seeing them have their own career development.
[00:39:58] And then also to know that we were improving the communities that we operated in, that we always gave back, and that we, you know, led, led the cause, uh, of, of various, uh, nonprofits and, and community building opportunities that our team members had passions around. As a founder in Leader, I am very excited to see my business Mission Wealth become a key part of my legacy.
[00:40:24] I see that happening really in three key ways. First of all, how we care for our team and how we're expanding our team across the country. We truly invest in our culture. We provide fully paid for education for our team members. We promote a collaborative environment where we do a lot of training and, and team building exercises.
[00:40:47] And we have a really fun, uh, culture as well. We'll go do community service events together. Uh, we'll go get involved in all sorts of social activities in the community. And we really support the whole family of our team. We do retreats twice a year where partners and spouses are invited. We invite children to events.
[00:41:07] So we see our team and its expansion and the deepening of our team as being a key part of our legacy. In our most recent retreat, uh, we had my friend Sean Thompson, who's a world renowned, uh, surfer and business leader, and also a, a TEDx speaker and author come and share, uh, an exercise he calls developing your I will statements and these are 12 per personal declarations or affirmations of things you're truly committed to in your personal life.
[00:41:37] And we had our team go through an exercise to each write their 12 personal I will statements. We had every team member stand up and share vulnerably what their 12 I will statements were and then select their one most important personal I will declaration. We then took all of those top I will declarations and we've put them on a really nicely created board that we've put on our wall.
[00:42:03] So it just showcases that we're not just here to achieve the company goals and to serve our clients, but that we truly care about the top personal goals of our team members as well. And this creates a tremendous loyalty and connectivity across the whole organization. The second form of legacy, uh, for Mission Wealth is really how we care for our clients.
[00:42:27] You know, we're growing out our national presence all across the United States, and our passion is not just to help people find more optimization on their personal finances, their balance sheet, their investments, their cash flow, their estate plans. But it's to help them off the balance sheet as well, to spark greater fulfillment, maybe to, uh, make it a, a career change into a more aligned career.
[00:42:53] And really looking for ways that we can help them have more joy and impact in their lives. You know, it might come from helping them really think about their bucket list and nudging them forward to tackle some of those things on their bucket list. Uh, we just had a client who retired after a 40 year career, and we were sitting down with she and her husband and I was kind of talking about some of these potential bucket list wishes, and she said, you know, my dream is always to be in a hot air balloon.
[00:43:19] I've never been on a hot air balloon ride. And her husband of almost 50 years said, I had no idea he wanted to go on a hot air balloon ride. And so as a retirement gift, uh, we took both of them on a hot air balloon ride and it sparked so much joy in her to have this, uh, dream come true. And sometimes it's just the little things, but we love helping our clients.
[00:43:39] Find deeper meaning, purpose, and joy in their lives. And if we can support that in any way, uh, to coming to fruition, we feel like we're really helping to create a legacy in that way. And then the third, uh, form of legacy generation that I'm proud of that Mission Wealth is really creating on a daily basis is a service work that we do in the community.
[00:44:02] Every one of our team members is encouraged to volunteer and we will support their charity of choice. We do group volunteer days, we'll go do food sorting at a local food bank. We've, uh, worked on building a home for Habitat for Humanity. Uh, we've done, uh, relay marathons for charities. Uh, we always come up with unique ways that we can get involved and contribute and give back, you know, along with some of the community building efforts that we've actually organized for the entire community.
[00:44:32] Uh, with Fast Pitch SB as well as sustainable future. And even a recent example is we're involved with the local Museum of Natural History and they have a really incredible, uh, sea center museum that's out on the wharf of Santa Barbara. And as a way to give back and to promote our values around sustainability, we are actually sponsoring for them to get solar panels put onto this sea center museum so that they will have electricity provided in perpetuity.
[00:45:02] And that'll help, uh, with their utility costs, it'll help promote sustainability. We're gonna be able to highlight in the community, you know, the importance of solar into becoming more renewable as a country. And so it's a way to give back and to, you know, help educate and empower people to just become more aware of other options.
[00:45:21] So being able to care for our team, caring for our clients, and caring for our community are always that we feel we're able to really promote a super positive legacy. From Mission Wealth. So that's my company and that's just one area that I know I'll leave a legacy. I also know that the workshops that I've been doing and the retreats, and I'll be writing a book on this Life 3.0, uh, vision, uh, will be another form of legacy for me.
[00:45:48] And essentially what I came up with was a framework that in life we have 1.0 phases when we're kind of getting our sense of identity. You know, are we the athlete, are we the academic? Are we the funny guy? Are we the introvert? Are we the musician? We kind of get our sense of identity eventually, and we go into 2.0 where we start our field of study.
[00:46:09] We start our career, we maybe get married. We have children, we buy a home and get a mortgage, and 2.0 is a phase of responsibility. When our head is down and we're essentially growing our families, we're growing our careers, we're maybe starting a business and we're in that responsible phase. But there comes a time when our kids become more independent and maybe launch into the world where we've achieved a lot of what we wanted to professionally, and we start to think about what's next.
[00:46:38] And in that phase of 3.0, it's really a phase of freedom. And it's a phase where we want to think about our legacy, we want to think about the relationships and did we invest in them enough? We think about maybe improving our health or taking that bucket, uh, list trip to uh, Africa. And so what I find is a lot of people who've been working so hard in their careers and raising their families, they've been so dutiful for others that they get stuck around 2.8 or 2.9.
[00:47:08] They, they look back and a lot of their sense of identity is caught up in their past accomplishments or, you know, in their past, you know, family experiences. And they really don't know how to launch forward into a 3.0 where they feel alive and excited and still growing and evolving. So my legacy work in this area of 3.0 planning is to help people design and ignite the most meaningful and exciting and joyful and impactful 3.0 phase they could ever imagine.
[00:47:39] And I'm really loving holding retreats and, uh, putting together different exercises and programs to help people find more joy. Meaning in this third phase of life with the developing Your Life 3.0 vision work that I do, both with large group presentations as well as small group facilitations, we also are doing one-on-one coaching with our clients.
[00:48:03] And what I'm really excited about in spreading this message through these workshops as well as through a book that I look forward to publishing. Is to highlight real life examples of where everyday people have dared to reinvent themselves and to be able to find ways to live a more aligned life. Maybe it's a career change.
[00:48:24] You know, I had a client who was a corporate attorney who really wasn't passionate about his work that required a lot of travel away from his family, and, uh, intense stress of always having, uh, a deal after a deal. And through working with their family, we were able to help them imagine a life and where he was living close to home, not traveling and working in an area of passion of his, which is becoming a history teacher.
[00:48:49] And so now he's a high school history teacher. He has summers off to spend time with his wife and, and two teenagers. They have really evolved as a family, uh, through this career change. And in this 3.0 work. We also love to help people, uh, develop what we call their inspired life purpose. And the inspired life purpose is really when you find a way to intersect between your natural gifts, your acquired skills, your greatest passion, and with what you feel is a huge trend or need in the world.
[00:49:21] We help our clients and individuals go through a visioning exercise where they really identify their greatest gifts. These are the things that have come just natural to them their whole lives. Maybe you've just always been a strong communicator or you've always been, uh, great at developing, you know, first impressions, or you've always been good at math or problem solving, and then you think about your skills.
[00:49:43] These are the talents that we've gained through maybe hands-on experience or through education. And so these are acquired skills that we've honed over the years. The third circle has to do with our passions. This is what we really love to do. If we had all the time and all the money in the world, this is how we would spend it.
[00:50:04] And then the fourth circle has to do with what you think the world needs most. What is a cause that you're deeply touched by? What is a trend that you see happening in the world that you really want to get in front of? It's maybe, uh, you know, something around automation or robotics or AI or climate change, or any trend or movement could be positive or negative that you see really as being, uh, imminent.
[00:50:29] How can you get in front of that? How can you help move the needle on illiteracy in Africa or clean water in Haiti? So where people's natural gifts intersect with their acquired skills, intersect with their greatest passions and what they believe is a trend or what the world needs most. This is where their inspired life purpose resides.
[00:50:51] And if we can help people kind of awaken to what this inspired life purpose might be. Well then it's pretty amazing to see how excited they get the energy they find and just the opportunities they can create when they're working from this space. So I love to talk to clients and ask them, you know, what purpose is truly worthy of your life?
[00:51:12] We all have these infinite gifts and we need to be fully expressing them into the world to be making the greatest impact. And when we can help people light up and find this in their 3.0 vision and in their 3.0 phase of life, well then that is part of what our true legacy really is. And it's something I'm super passionate about helping people to find or, you know, add fuel to what they're already doing to take it to the next level.
[00:51:39] So these are some of the exercises that we will push forward in the 3.0 visioning work that we do. We will look at all 10 dimensions of wealth and help people identify where they feel they need to put more resource, whether it's intellectual growth, spiritual development. Improving their physical, uh, state, how their body looks, feels and functions, their career alignment, how much fun they have.
[00:52:03] You know, are they having a lot of fun in their life, their emotional wellbeing, which is kind of their general levels of stress. Or, you know, how they, they wake up their, their general attitude, uh, the quality of their family and friendships, their social capital. And then the amount of impact that they really feel they're having.
[00:52:21] Are they satisfied with the level of impact they're having in the community or in the world at large? So as we all take a look at this holistic, you know, lens of ourselves, we can find areas that we can put more energy and time and attention into, and then as a result, feel more well-rounded and feel a greater sense of, uh, meaning and fulfillment in our lives.
[00:52:44] And then the final, uh, area that I am super passionate about, uh, continuing to build my legacy. Is in an organization called sustainable future.org that I founded, and sustainable future.org is an organization that's here to help combat, uh, human-induced climate change. You know, I've been, uh, passionate about the environment for, for my lifetime really.
[00:53:09] And I've worked on so many different nonprofits and I saw this silo effect that existed where these great nonprofits were doing great work, but they're each kind of operating in their silo from each other and they weren't really collaborating. And I saw the same thing in the business community and the public sector and in schools and universities and even faith-based organizations.
[00:53:28] I thought if somehow we could unify these big pillars of the community and all the organizations within each of those pillars, so all the nonprofits and all the businesses into one rally cry. Then we could really have incredible impact. And so there's an African proverb that says, if you want to go fast, go alone and if you want to go far, go together.
[00:53:51] And so sustainable future.org was really a way in which we could all go further to together. And what it is, is, is it's a platform. It's a, an app that allows us to use gamification and technology to bring awareness and empowered actions around all sorts of various campaigns. So currently we have campaigns around minimizing single-use plastics.
[00:54:16] We have campaigns around water conservation, around smart transportation, you know, ways that we can be more mindful of, uh, ride sharing or using mass transit or using electric vehicles or biking to work. We have a campaign around food waste. Did you know that 40% of food in the United States is wasted?
[00:54:36] It, and there's so much we can do to help with food rescue programs and to be smarter with, uh, our food practices and even with our food that we get rid of to become posting that food instead of just putting it into the landfill. So what we're doing is we're bringing the community together around these campaigns and we're highlighting the top actions or programs that these organizations, businesses, or, you know, city agencies have to help support progress.
[00:55:03] And then we're tracking the collective results. So my vision is that we're gonna start by making Santa Barbara County the home of the first Earth Day, a shining example for sustainability. And then we're gonna be spreading this out into other counties all over the country and hopefully eventually across the globe.
[00:55:19] So I wanna make a difference, uh, for our planet, which I care so deeply for. And it all comes from micro actions that we can each take each and every day, the small choices of how we shop, how we eat, uh, how we dispose of things. We can be the difference in our daily, daily steps. And if we can do so in a way that we feel empowered and educated and we get pure validation and it's all happening from an app that's super simple from your phone, then we can actually have a ripple effect throughout the world.
[00:55:51] So for me, legacy is about continuing to grow myself, about continuing to invest in my, my children and my friendships and my family. It's about, uh, growing into my partnership, uh, with my romantic partner. It's about being able to make a difference through my business, through the coaching work I do on the side and through the nonprofit sustainable future.org that I've grown.
[00:56:15] And I feel so grateful to be of service and every day to show up as a light for the world. And that's really what I wish for everyone, is that everyone would be able to really feel that spark within themself that is their true gift. And to be able to lean into that spark and allow it to grow and illuminate even brighter.
[00:56:34] And then bring that fully into the world. Express it into the world. Dare to be vulnerable, dare to be truly authentic to yourself and to those gifts, and then just express them with a huge smile on your face, because that's what the world needs.
[00:56:52] Math Potter: God never intended for us to be alone, to feel disconnected or experience separation. Instead, God created us for connection. He wants to be relation to us and through Jesus. He gave us a path to be connected to him. Always. This connection is our foundation for how we live our lives, including all of our actions and words we speak.
[00:57:15] And God also wants us to be in connection with each other. He made us for relationships and to create community. He made us to love, honor, and cherish each other, to uplift, unite, and draw strength, courage, and conviction from each other. By ourselves. We can do nothing but with God and with each other.
[00:57:34] Anything is possible when you connect with God. We bring his light and love into everything we do, to everyone we meet, and God has given us amazing tools to help nurture and grow our connection to him and each other. From daily prayer to reading scripture, God shows us how to relate to him and to each other.
[00:57:57] This week on Relentless Hope, Seth Streeter. Founder and Chief Impact Officer of Mission Wealth showed us the meaning of connection and what happens when we make our spiritual connection the foundation of our days. Seth taught us how he learned to blend his spiritual and professional lives, and how it opened in incredible gateways personally and professionally for him.
[00:58:21] And he showed that by connecting our spiritual and professional lives, it acts as a kind of manifesto, helping us to find more consciousness, love, purpose, and fulfillment. We learned how to be great leaders. We need to value our spiritual connection and connection to our people. Seth taught us how he begins each morning in spiritual connection, which helps put him in the best possible state so he can create the greatest good throughout his day.
[00:58:51] And we learn how Seth prioritizes, empowering and getting to know his people. And he encourages us to work on our emotional intelligence so that we can better connect to people. By doing so, we can better lead and motivate people to be a part of what we're creating. And Seth taught us how he's working to leave a lasting legacy of care through his company Mission Wealth.
[00:59:18] Every day, Seth tries. To care for his people, care for his clients, and care for his community. His company serves in. And we learned about what Seth calls 3.0 planning, which is a phase in our lives that's about freedom and thinking through our legacies, and designing and igniting the most meaningful, exciting, joyful, and impactful 3.0 lives we could ever imagine.
[00:59:46] When we prioritize our connection to God, then our relationship not only deepens, but it also spills into all areas of our lives, making everything and everyone we meet better. Through our connections to God and each other, we come to know love, peace, and hope.
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