It is no surprise coming from a Financial Planner that the end of the year is an effective time to take inventory of where we are on course toward our goals. December allows us to evaluate the year behind us and our accomplishments. We also open our imaginations to the year ahead and adjust to stay ‘on track’ toward the big vision around which we’ve centered goals and objectives. 

Identifying goals and steps to achieve more prosperity is an exercise that can benefit anyone, whether you work with a financial planner or not. This is entirely doable if we have a PROCESS. With the right steps, we can carve out some space to envision, evaluate our current course, and create objectives that align with our vision.  This process was developed by my friend and financial planning process goddess, Lucila Williams of The Intentional Advisor. I’m calling this exercise The Prosperity Pie.

• First, define prosperity and why this is more than just money. 

• Next, adopt a process to envision a fulfilling life that doesn’t revolve around the status of your bank and investment accounts.

• Then, evaluate and reflect on where you are today.

• As a result of this work, explore areas of your life that require more investment to shift your sails toward this meaningful and purposeful life you desire. Take small, actionable steps toward your vision in the new year.

Defining Prosperity: Money Isn’t Enough.

 It has been proven that money isn’t enough to create happiness. Studies point out that happiness does increase in tandem with our net worth to a certain point. This is all about having ENOUGH. This is defined as the dollar amount of income we receive meets our needs, and there is enough available excess to make decisions and investments toward our future. Once our basic human needs have been met, more money does not equate with more happiness.

Why should we seek prosperity over wealth?

 Wealth, or abundance, is only one slice of the prosperity pie. We need connection, vitality, purpose, and financial well-being to feel like our lives are truly rich and full. Each of these prosperity centers contains three pie slices to evaluate and consider.

VITALITY encompasses the care of our mind, body, and spirit. Vitality is more than health- it is about feeling energized and how energy flows through our lives.  

CONNECTION includes the quality of time and energy directed toward our family, friends, and community and the fulfillment this offers.

ABUNDANCE, or wealth and money, includes our cash flow, net worth, and protection of our hard-earned assets, like insurance or estate planning.

PURPOSE incorporates our impact on those we care about or the world, opportunities for growth, and enriching experiences.

Here is a workbook for you to print and complete this exercise: Purpose-Driven_Prosperity_Workbook.pdf

Think about the three slices assigned to each of the four prosperity centers and visualize what a perfect representation of each slice would look, feel, and be like for you. Stating your vision as if it has already happened is the magic of this practice. You want to imagine and visualize what a perfect score of 5 (on a scale of 0-5) in each prosperity area looks and feels like. How would you know when you have achieved a 5? Write it as a sentence for each. Try:

I Am So Happy & Grateful Now That…

Take the time to envision and write down an ideal expression of each slice of the prosperity pie.

Example Vision Statements: 

Spirit: I am so happy and grateful now that I spend 15 minutes meditating and journaling each weekday morning.

Friends: I am so happy and grateful now that our friends rotate homes for a quarterly dinner party.

Protection: I am so happy and grateful now that I know our bills can be paid even if I become disabled. 

Experiences: I am so happy and grateful to have learned to scuba dive.  

Once you’ve crafted 12 vision statements, one for each of the 12 prosperity pie slices in the wheel, you’ll place a dot in each corresponding slice of the prosperity pie on lines 1 through 5 (or in between!) to identify where you currently sit in relationship to your vision.  

For example, you spend money and are fairly good about tracking it. Most of the time, you stay within your budget, but not all of the time. Sometimes, you splurge when you are feeling overwhelmed or emotional. You give yourself a 4 out of 5 in the cash-flow slice by marking the fourth line from the center in the slice of the wheel labeled “cash-flow.”  

You move on to each slice in the major prosperity centers and add a corresponding dot representing how you’d currently score each slice of prosperity pie. Once you are done, it may look something like this: 

Connect the dots around your circle and have a look at its shape. It may look something like this:

How close is your shape to a circle? 

Which of the 4 segments of prosperity are areas of strength for you? 

What are some areas for growth according to your prosperity pie?

Consider 2-4 areas/slices you could work on expanding your prosperity pie circle into an actual circle. You are defining the areas that need your investment. This is a tactical way to create meaningful and empowered goals with the “why” at the center of your action plan. 

Empowerment is about developing small, measurable ways to support the slice you want to expand in your circle. In the example, we could create some trackable habits in the areas of spirit, family, net worth, or experiences. You may choose one habit to add to each prosperity center. In this example, perhaps the following are 2024 action steps toward prosperity: 

Vitality: Meditate for 15 minutes each work-day morning after my first cup of coffee

Connection: Establish a weekly game night where a board game is played between dinner and bed with the whole family.

Abundance: Calculate a debt avalanche to eliminate my lingering credit card debt by deploying an extra $250 toward this goal each month of 2024.

Purpose:  Learn to scuba dive before spring break by taking classes at the local dive center starting in February. 

The exercise should help identify some areas that could use your investment. I recommend this is where you start when coming up with resolutions and goals in the new year. Adding small, actionable, trackable habits will gradually expand your prosperity pie until you start to see an actual circle. This doesn’t happen without time, intention, and investment.  Sharing your commitment with your partner or family will add accountability. Revisiting your goals and doing this activity regularly will help you stay on track, as well.