This article is a written adaptation of the video available on our YouTube channel, LIFE180.

In this article, we’ll explore the concept of aligning your financial decisions with your core values and beliefs. To support this, I’ve developed a tool called the Values and Beliefs Workbook. While the title might not be the flashiest, the transformative impact of its content more than makes up for it. I genuinely believe it has the power to change your life.

When developing the LIFE180 sales process, one of my primary goals was to create a client-focused education experience. This process is designed to provide value regardless of whether someone chooses to work with us, purchase our products, or hire our services. My aim is simple: ensure that going through the process leaves a lasting, positive impact on their life. Ideally, the experience should be so meaningful and beneficial that it inspires clients to share a glowing review, purely because it added value to their journey.

This process is a win-win for everyone involved. It all begins with one foundational exercise: the Values and Beliefs Workbook. When I work personally with clients, I always emphasize this point: You don’t have to fill this out. I’ll never require anyone to complete it, it’s your life, and as an adult, you’re free to make your own decisions. But I do challenge them to consider something important.

If you don’t feel it’s vital for the person managing your finances to truly know and understand you on a deeper level, then that’s a red flag, not for me, but for you. Taking the time to work through this exercise allows you to dig into the core question: How do I align my money with my values and beliefs? Giving it the attention it deserves could help you build a sense of clarity and alignment that makes managing your finances feel purposeful and intuitive.

A Process For REAL Financial Success

For a long time, I’ve said, The reason people struggle with money is that their finances aren’t aligned with their values and beliefs. But my wife once stopped me and said, Chris, nobody knows what that means. And honestly? She was right. That feedback made me rethink how I communicate this concept.

It pushed me to create a process, a practical, step-by-step way to help people not just understand what alignment means, but actually achieve it. That’s why I developed the Values and Beliefs Workbook. In this article, I want to walk you through the essence of this process, because if you take the time to engage with it fully, I truly believe it can transform how you approach your money.

Let me be upfront: this process isn’t meant to be quick. After all, we’re talking about your money and, more importantly, your financial future. These are life-defining topics that deserve your time and attention. In my view, taking the time to truly engage with this process is not just worthwhile, it’s essential.

You can approach this process however you’d like, dive deep and reflect intensely, or keep it more surface-level. It’s entirely your choice. That said, my recommendation is to complete it and then discuss it with the person you’re working with. Personally, I would never take financial advice from someone who didn’t genuinely understand me, my values, my life, my vision for the future, and even my vision for my legacy. These insights are crucial, and that’s precisely the purpose of what I’m about to outline here.

What Is Your Money Paradigm?

So, without further ado, let’s dive in. I want to briefly walk you through this process so you can understand exactly what you’ll be getting and how it can provide clarity and alignment for your financial journey.

On this page, you’ll also find a free download of the Values and Beliefs Workbook. I strongly encourage you to take advantage of this resource, fill it out thoughtfully, and invest the time needed to complete it. As I mentioned earlier, this process is foundational and can truly help you align your financial decisions with what matters most to you.

V&B Guidebook

To begin this journey, it’s essential to define your money paradigm, in other words, what you believe about money and its role in your life. This starts with understanding your personal definition of wealth. And no, this isn’t about how many zeros or commas are in your bank account. Instead, wealth might mean something deeper: is it money, time, lifestyle, or contribution that fulfills you?

For example, in my life, lifestyle freedom, contribution, and time freedom rank far higher than money. I prioritize time with my family and personal fulfillment over financial gain. It’s important to get clear on what drives your fulfillment so you can make financial decisions aligned with your values.

Over the past decade, I’ve been intentional about building my life in a way that aligns with my values and priorities. As a result, I’ve been fortunate enough to reach a place where I can enjoy the lifestyle and freedom I’ve always aimed for. But let me emphasize, this didn’t happen by accident. It was the result of deliberate planning, clarity of purpose, and consistently making choices that supported my vision for my life.

Next, I want you to really take a step back and think about your own paradigm. Have you ever paused to reflect on what a "paradigm" even is? I encourage you to go ahead and Google it, dive into its definition, and really ponder its meaning. Understanding your paradigm is crucial because it shapes how you approach money, success, and ultimately, your life choices.

What is your current wealth and money paradigm? How do you feel about money in relation to your life and your definition of wealth? What beliefs do you hold about money? Remember the ant and elephant analogy I shared in my last video on the LIFE180 YouTube channel: the human brain can only fully commit 100% of its effort to something it believes, with absolute certainty, it can succeed at.

So, take a moment to reflect on your own paradigm, what do you truly believe about money, and more importantly, why do you believe that? Understanding these underlying beliefs will help you align your financial decisions with your true values.

As I mentioned earlier, we learn things from our parents, from the generation before us, from the media, and from teachers and mentors. Often, the beliefs and lessons we’ve absorbed along the way have served us at one point in time, but they might not be helping us move forward anymore. In fact, many of these old beliefs can hold us back from achieving new levels of success. It’s important to recognize when these learned behaviors no longer align with our current goals and values.

I would encourage you to take a moment to reflect on your own money paradigm and identify the top four priorities in your life. Once you’ve defined them, ask yourself: How much of your time are you actually dedicating to these priorities? This exercise helps you understand if your actions align with your values, and whether your time is being spent in a way that truly supports your most important goals.

Then, think about the ten most important people in your life. How much time are you truly spending with them? What I’ve found is that there's often a significant gap between what people claim is important to them and how they actually show up in their daily lives. This incongruence can create a subconscious barrier, where the actions don’t align with your values, causing internal conflict. This misalignment can impact your overall sense of fulfillment and purpose, so it’s important to recognize and address it.

When we revisit the elephant analogy, it's crucial to recognize the immense power of the subconscious mind. It fires off four billion neurons per second, while the conscious mind operates at a mere four million neurons per second. This overwhelming disparity can create a disconnect between our conscious thoughts and subconscious beliefs.

When we fail to act in alignment with our true values and beliefs, this gap becomes like a Grand Canyon, causing us to feel like impostors. We lose confidence, struggle with imposter syndrome, and begin doubting our ability to succeed. This internal conflict directly impacts our ability to achieve our goals.

Subconsciously, if we don’t believe success is possible, we won’t put in the effort needed to reach it. The brain simply won't allow it. This concept is at the heart of the book Identity Shift by Anthony Trucks, where he explores how shifting our identity (aligning our subconscious with our conscious goals) is key to overcoming these obstacles. It’s a powerful reminder that success starts from within, by first aligning our beliefs with our actions.

Take a moment to reflect on this: Who do you work for, and what do you do for a living? How does your work align with your top four priorities and the ten most important people in your life? Are your actions and your professional choices truly in sync with what matters most to you?

By evaluating the alignment between your career and your core values, you can uncover whether your work supports or detracts from your personal goals and relationships. This awareness is key to creating a life that feels more congruent and fulfilling.

What Do You Believe About The Future Of The US Dollar, Inflation, and Political Risk?

Now, let's dive into some critical questions about your financial outlook. What are your values and beliefs regarding government debt? Do you think the national debt will continue to rise, or do you believe it will decrease? How concerned are you about the future of the US dollar? Do you anticipate that federal taxes will go up or down, and why?

What are your thoughts on unfunded liabilities, such as Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security? And finally, on a scale from one to ten, how in control do you feel about achieving your personal financial goals? These are key questions that can help you assess your financial mindset and prepare for future challenges.

To truly align your finances with your values, it’s crucial to ask yourself tough questions about your beliefs regarding key financial factors. What do you really believe about the national debt, the future of the US dollar, and taxes? These variables, along with concerns like unfunded liabilities (Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security), have a direct impact on your financial decisions.

If you’re just passively following conventional advice (like putting money into a 401k or IRA) without considering these broader economic factors, you may not be in alignment with your own financial goals. This disconnect often leads to self-sabotage.

The reality is, life isn't just a set of numbers on a spreadsheet. You might come across a financial strategy that looks great on paper, but it doesn’t always take into account the emotional and human side of money. As much as we try to model optimal financial decisions logically, we must also recognize that, at our core, we are emotional beings. Financial strategies should consider both the numbers and how they align with your values, emotions, and long-term goals.

To achieve true financial success, we must align our subconscious behaviors and daily habits with our goals. This requires intentionality, knowing exactly what we want to accomplish and starting with the end in mind, as Stephen Covey advises in his book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.

By reverse-engineering our lives, we can ensure that our actions are in alignment with our desired outcomes. When we know where we want to go, we can make intentional decisions about how we show up each day and which financial tools or assets will help us reach those goals. This process is about living with purpose and making sure every action is aligned with our long-term vision.

Be intentional about your future. Picture your life 10 years from now, what does it look like? What actions do you need to take on a daily, monthly, and yearly basis to make that vision a reality? Consider the thoughts and beliefs that may be holding you back from achieving your ideal life.

What changes are you willing to make, and how will you start implementing them today? Take time to journal about these questions for at least 60 minutes. Find a quiet space, sit with your thoughts, and really reflect on your goals. If you have a family, a spouse, or business partners, I highly encourage you to involve them in this process.

Here’s the thing: I’ve heard some feedback like, "Chris, I can’t even think 10 years ahead; that's just not how my brain works." And that’s okay. If thinking that far out seems difficult, start with just thinking about three years from now, or even just one year. The key is recognizing that you are where you are because of who you are, and where you are now is not going to get you where you want to go in the future.

This applies to everyone, me, you, and anyone else in this world. Growth is a constant process; if we’re not growing, we’re stagnating, and if we’re not moving forward, we’re moving backward. There is no such thing as staying neutral in life. That’s just the reality.

It doesn’t matter whether you’re thinking 10 years out, three years, or whatever timeframe works best for you. The question is: what changes are you willing to make today to start achieving that goal? You get to decide the timeline, but here’s what I know for sure: if you start today and make intentional changes, you could be financially free in 10 years. That’s something I absolutely believe to be true.

So, do you have a personal vision statement? One of the first things we do is help you create a vision statement for your life, so you have a clear, guiding purpose. But before that, we start with your core values. These values are the foundation upon which your vision statement is built and will guide all of your decisions moving forward.

What Are Your Core Values? Vision & Mission Statement?

In the Values & Beliefs Guidebook, I want you to go through and check off all the core values that resonate with you. Core values like authenticity, consciousness, boldness, independence, and energy are just a few examples, but everyone’s list will look different. Go through the entire list and identify the ones that are most important to you.

Once you’ve checked off the values that matter most to you, I want you to narrow it down to your top five core values. This step is crucial because it helps you focus on what truly drives your decisions and actions. After identifying your top five, take the time to create a value statement for each one. Write down why each value is important to you, and what it means for your life and your decisions.

There’s a guide in the workbook to help you with this process, but the key is to be thoughtful and intentional as you break down what these values represent and how they align with your vision for your life.

Once you’ve identified your core values, the next step is to use the Life Vision Template. This will help you create a vision statement based on those values, guiding your decisions and actions. Then, using your core values and vision, you’ll craft a mission statement, defining your purpose and the impact you want to make in the world.

By the time you complete this process, you’ll have a clear mission statement and vision statement that reflect your core values. This clarity will allow you to fully align with your personal goals and confidently communicate your vision to others, whether it’s to your business partners, the people you spend time with, or your financial advisors. Your mission and values will act as a filter, helping you make every decision (from business choices to financial investments) in alignment with what matters most to you.

When I left one of the top IUL companies in the country, where I was serving as the Director of Business Development, it was because I no longer believed in what I was doing. That decision marked the beginning of a tough transition. For several years, I struggled to pivot into entrepreneurship, launching my own agency and forging my own path. It was a difficult period, there was a lawsuit, a non-compete battle, and a lot of challenges. Even though I won the lawsuit, the journey was still incredibly hard.

During that transition, I was offered several lucrative opportunities at other companies, with salaries of around a quarter million dollars, plus bonuses and other perks. However, I chose not to take those positions. The reason was simple: my core values made it clear that if I took those jobs, I would be compromising my greatest value, freedom. For me, freedom means the ability to spend time with my wife and kids, the flexibility to do things I love, and the autonomy to communicate and coach in my own way, not being confined to someone else’s vision or agenda.

Having clarity on my core values gave me the strength to stay true to my path, even when it meant enduring some tough times. It wasn’t easy, but it was worth it. I built something that many people dream of creating, not because I’m special or have unique talents, but because I was determined and had the clarity to show up every day and execute on my vision. It’s about dedication, staying focused, and doing the work, even when the road gets rough.

That’s what I want for you, to have complete clarity about your goals, your mission, and your vision for your life. When you’re clear on your core values and can articulate them to others, you’ll be empowered to make decisions that align with who you truly are.

With that level of clarity, you’ll not only achieve your personal and financial goals, but you’ll also attract the right people and opportunities into your life. It’s about living with purpose and intention, and when you do that, everything falls into place.

Live Intentionally For Excellence To Turn The Results In Your Life Around

LIFE 180 stands for Living Intentionally for Excellence. Having clarity on your core values allows you to show up more intentionally in your life. When you're clear about what matters most to you, your decisions, actions, and relationships naturally align with that vision. This alignment helps you live more powerfully and with greater purpose.

By living intentionally, you'll start to see changes in your world—whether in your career, finances, or personal life. It’s about making decisions from a place of authenticity and clarity, leading to real success.

And when you do this, if you've ever read James Clear's book “Atomic Habits”, you'll know that small, consistent changes each day lead to massive results. It’s not about making bold moves, but about showing up just a little bit more powerfully every day. A year from now, you'll look back and be amazed at how far you've come.

So anyway, I hope this helps. I encourage you to scroll down, download the workbook, and dedicate the time (two to three hours, maybe even four) to go through it thoroughly. It's an investment in your future.

It's one of the most important things you can do. And as I mentioned earlier, a key element of this whole process is that, regardless of the coach or agent you're working with, you walk away from the experience thinking, "Wow, working with the LIFE180 team was powerful and impactful." That’s the kind of transformation we aim for, something that sticks with you long after the process is over.

And you'll have nothing but positive things to say because it’s not about selling you a product. Honestly, that's not our focus. While I know that the right financial products will eventually fall into place to help solve your problems and move you closer to your goals, it can’t be about the products themselves.

It has to be about you, your goals, your values, and your objectives. From there, we look for the products that align with your vision and have the attributes that will help you achieve what you're striving for. It’s really that simple.

Values&Beliefs Guidebook

So, anyway, I hope this has been helpful. Have a blessed and inspirational day!mmmmmmmmmmmmm