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Published on:

23rd Jun 2025

Season Premiere: The Core Four

Welcome to the premiere episode of Live Well, the podcast where financial clarity meets real-life transitions. Host Matt Wilson, financial advisor, business owner, and coach, shares the personal story behind the podcast, what it truly means to "live well," and why mindset is just as crucial as money. Drawing from nearly two decades of helping others through career shifts, loss, retirement, and reinvention, Matt introduces the Core Four principles that form a foundation for meaningful living.

Whether you're navigating a major life change or simply want more alignment in your finances and purpose, this episode lays the groundwork for what’s to come.

Chapters

00:00 Intro

00:36 - Navigating Life's Changes and Challenges

09:57 - The Core Four: Foundations of Success

10:54 - Changing Your Financial Mindset

18:37 - Navigating Life Changes and Financial Planning

About Matt Wilson

Matt Wilson learned the value of investing early, inspired by seeing his grandfather’s careful planning provide security for their family. As a financial advisor since 2008, Matt guides clients through his 3D Investment Process (Discover, Design, Deploy), helping them reach personal goals from education funding to retirement planning. Matt joined Cornerstone in 2021 to independently grow his practice. Outside of work, he enjoys golfing, traveling, and family time.

Contact

Website: http://www.mattwilsonfinancial.com/

Email: matt.wilson1@lpl.com

Transcript
Matt:

Hi.

Welcome to Live well, the podcast where we explore how to navigate life's biggest changes, overcome challenges, and build a future that aligns with your values. I'm Matt Wilson, financial advisor, coach, and business owner of my practice at Cornerstone Wealth Services here in South Bend, Indiana.

And I'm so glad that you're here.

This podcast was born out of one simple but powerful belief that you are can live a life that is grounded, healthy, and aligned, even in the middle of big transitions. Whether you are facing retirement, career changes, the loss of a loved one, or just wondering what's next, then this podcast is for you.

Each episode, I plan to sit down with experts, professionals, and real people who've lived through the hard stuff and come out stronger because of it. And we're going to unpack what it looks like to truly live well. But what does that actually mean? Live well isn't just a phrase that I came up with.

What I think it is is really just a mindset, a rhythm, maybe a personal benchmark. It starts with balance, financial, emotional, and spiritual.

It also starts with honesty about what's working in your life and maybe what's not, maybe where you need to grow. Living well is hard. It's not easy in any respect. So let me just explain a little bit about where this came from.

So recently, not too long ago, I was driving. And it's funny, because a lot of the thoughts that I have that stick with me for a long time seem to happen. I'm driving. I guess I talk to myself.

So I'm driving along one day, and I am trying to get better at golf. I have a performance coach. I have a real coach. I'm trying to get better musically. I'm taking bass lessons.

I'm taking karate with my family, hired a personal trainer. And I just started thinking to myself, what am I doing? Like, I'm doing all these different things.

I'm trying to get better at my job, looking at certifications, and it just kind of hit me. I'm just trying to live well. I'm trying to live as well as I can. You know, this is an interesting year for me because I'll be 46. My dad died at 46.

He died because of some personal choices, but he. He just couldn't overcome some of the illness that he had.

And maybe we'll talk more about that in the future, but I'm his age, and this was it for him. So as I was thinking about it, I was just thinking about the fact that I just did not want to be the one to Cause it to cause the end.

And so I'm just trying to do everything I can to live as well as I can. And then I got to thinking about, what is it that I'm actually doing with my job?

What am I doing in my career as a financial advisor, as a coach, as a. As a business coach? And that's it. I'm just trying to help them live as well as they can as well.

You know, my retirees have earned the right not to worry about a paycheck. My business owner clients have earned the right not to worry about what happens if they. If they should pass early.

I have young families that they have planning, and they have earned the right to not have to worry about their kids in their future. And they want their kids to live well. Business owners want to live well.

That's why they got into business, so that they could maybe have unlimited income potential and things like that. Long and short of it is I'm just trying to live as well as I can, and I'm trying to help all of my clients live as well as I can, as they can.

And the bottom line is I'm just trying to live as well as I can, and I'm just trying to help all of my clients live as well as they can. That's the whole idea. You know, there are real pressures and real concerns in life. Things happen.

You know, somebody said one time, life is what happens when you plan something else. And I just continue to think about that. You know, I. I really wouldn't be here if it wasn't for some of the challenges that I've had.

I remember when my father died and I was about 16 years old, and my faith is very important to me. So you'll hear that throughout this.

But I remember as my grandfather got out of the car and he was 83, 85 years old or something, and he comes out, he says, hey, your father died just like that. And I remember thinking, you know, I don't know what to think.

But I remember hearing the voice, the still small voice, and he says, look, I'm taking your father so I can do some things in your life that I couldn't do otherwise. There's a reason I've always had that belief that through difficulty and through hardship, that's what makes you, and that's what forms your path.

You know, there's a great book called the Obstacle Is the Way and the Obstacle is the Way many times. So we're going to dive into that. That's what this whole podcast is about.

And I'll tell you that my greatest fear in life is, is I get to the end of it all, and you just ask the question, what was that all about? What was I doing? So I'm setting out to find out for myself.

I became a financial advisor because, you know, when I was a kid and had some money, nobody would help me. You know, I had a few thousand dollars left over from the Social Security income that I got from my. My dad passing.

And I called all the names you could think of, and nobody would help me invest that money. So I said, I'm going to set out to find out how to do this for myself, and I want to help as many people as I can. Nobody told me how to invest it.

I'm still mad about it because there's some great things I could have bought back then in the late 90s. So here I am. I'm helping people invest their money, navigate life's most challenging events, and helping people through it all to live well.

Why did you push play? Why did you choose this podcast today? What is it that you're seeking? What are you worried about?

You know, I ask people this question when I'm in meetings, and I. And I often get a response like, they've never been asked this question before, but they've thought about it.

And the question is, what do you want to do before you die? Whoa. Let's dial it back a little bit. I think. I think this podcast getting a little too deep, so we'll. We'll get into that stuff a little bit.

But what I want to do during this podcast is not only discuss purpose, but unlocking your purpose, putting it down, making sure that you understand the decisions that you make are forming your path. Live intentionally. But overall, just how can you live as well as you can?

So we'll talk a little bit about financial health and wellbeing again, some of the overcoming, maybe personal challenge, maybe some things that you just didn't plan in life. Losing that child, losing that spouse, losing that career, maybe it's losing money.

You know, whatever it is, you know, we're going to talk about how to get through it. And again, my plan is to have some experts that we could sit down and talk through some of these things. But here's what I want to do today.

I want to give you a little bit of a taste of kind of what we aim to do each episode, and that is give you some things that can help you succeed in life.

You know, whether that is in marriage, in your business, in your career, maybe with Kids, I really think that what I'm going to share with you today is going to help you, but I also want to provide you with a statistic each episode. And that statistic today is going to be about budgeting.

And I know that it sounds very foundational, but I want to talk a little bit about budgeting, and I'm going to tell you how many households in America actually have a budget and run and operate on a budget. So I'll come back to that. But today I want to share with you, there's four things, and what I call these four things are the core four.

If you nail these, if you get these things down in life, I don't think there's any way you can't be successful. I really don't. And unfortunately, I've had to learn some of these things the hard way.

I think that some of these things are so simple and so fundamental. It's kind of like losing weight, right? I mean, losing weight is a super easy formula. I just had a conversation with somebody yesterday about this.

Losing weight is a really easy formula. But how hard is it? It's really hard to do. How many people spend money on it?

They hire a coach, they read books, they listen to podcasts, you know, but they just can't seem to move the needle. And I, I think that this is really an easy formula for success in life.

So what these are, it's called the core 4, and the core 4 are 4 knows, not n o. It's K, N O W. So what are the four things that you need to know in order to be successful in life and really in anything and through any challenge?

The first thing is that we need to know how to give. Very fundamental. And I think Americans have a really tough time with this. You know, you gotta know how to give. But it's not just time.

It's maybe attention. It's. It's your energy. But mostly we don't really know how to give of our, of our finances. Some of it's just a mindset.

And the mindset that I think some people are challenged with is the fact that, hey, look, give. I'm. I'm the one that's supposed to receive. I'm not supposed to be given. And, and that's kind of most people's mindset through life.

And, and you know, we can park on the, the mindset here.

And I want to talk through some money mind, some money matters and the mindset that it takes to be wealthy and to, to get out of debt and all those things. That people want. Right. Life financially. But sometimes it isn't a. A spending problem. Sometimes it isn't a, you know, an emergency issue.

Sometimes it's just a mindset issue. Sometimes we just need to change the way we think. So I'll give you an example. I had a. Had a client that one time.

Well, first of all, they would come in, in every review, they would sit down and they would talk about this credit card and that credit card and this balance and this debt and this loan and everything else. And they just always had this cloud of frustration on them. Every.

Every meeting, yeah, they were putting $50 into this account or $50 into that account, something small. But every time we would meet, it was a little bit more of a cloud, just frustrating. And then all of a sudden, it changed.

And every time they would come in, this was maybe over several years, they came in and all of a sudden they. Their. Their wealth had ballooned and they had no debt. And. And I just kind of looked at him and I said, what changed for you? Like, what happened?

And he looked back at me and he says, well, something that you said to me several years ago. And I said, okay, I'm curious. What. What did I tell you? I can't remember. And he goes, you told me that there's two kinds of people in the world.

There's people that make interest, and there's people that pay it, and you need to decide which one you want to be. And I was like, that's it. Like everything else I said didn't. Didn't register. It wasn't necessarily that, but he's like, that's what did it for me.

And it woke him up. And what it did was it changed his mindset. It changed the way he thought about his finances. And then he. Be he.

Then he got on a desperate mission to get debt free, and he got on a desperate mission to build his own wealth. And. And we'll explore why that's important. You know, money isn't everything, but it is a lot like oxygen. Everybody needs it, right?

So we need to figure out how we can not depend on other people. And. Because that's your greatest risk, right?

Your greatest risk isn't the fact that who's in the White House or who's in Congress or what's going on in the Middle east, although very important things. I get that. But that's not your greatest risk. Your greatest risk is having to depend on somebody else.

And you just need to change your mindset sometimes when it comes to debts, which is a tool I get that. We'll explore that too. But the bottom line is you just have to have a good mindset. And the first mindset you need to have is. Is about giving.

You know, good book says it's better to give than to receive. Right? That's the first know that you need to. To. To have down in order to be successful. The second one, you need to know how to receive.

How many times has somebody said, hey, I want to do this for you, or I want to give this to you, and you said, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. And you've robbed them the ability to be a blessing. How many times does that happen? And you're.

Maybe you're sitting there going, I've never had that happen, but there are a lot of people who do. So understanding how to receive is crucial. And being grateful.

Just a simple line of gratitude during your day, if somebody helped you or somebody you know contributed to your success, just hey, I just want you to know how thankful I am. Just a little bit of gratitude. So being able to receive those kinds of things, you know, love, support, even just a compliment.

How can you take a compliment? It's vulnerable, and people tend to resist that. So those. That's the second thing. And then the third no that we need to.

To get down is actually we need to know when to say no. So know how to give, know how to receive, know when to say no.

This is interesting because this might be the most powerful skill that you can develop, unfortunately, and there's a lot of data to back this up.

There's kind of a mentality that people have that when they're not doing something well, they tend to take on more and more to mask their inability to do other things well. So learning how to say no to something is a healthy boundary.

And maybe you're not great at this, maybe you're not great at setting boundaries, but just being able to set boundaries in life is. Is really crucial. So again, that might be the most powerful skill that you can develop. So know when to.

Or know how to give, know how to receive, know when to say no, and then finally know when to ask for help. This is huge because it's not weakness. In our culture, we associate asking for help as a sign of weakness. It is not. It's a sign of wisdom.

If you can get this down, know when it's time to ask somebody for help, to reach out. Do you have somebody close to you that no matter who. What happens or what time of day, they'll pick up the phone for you? Do you have that person?

If you don't, I encourage you to find them. Our clients, the people that we work with, they know that I will be there for them.

I'll help them, I'll listen, and if I'm not available, I'll get with them as soon as I possibly can. And so I want our clients to ask for help. But in general, most people have never really. They've never really been taught how to. How to do that.

And most people just. They just would rather suffer. And it's not weakness. So those are the four keys to success, in my opinion. And I. I would call these the core four.

And I think we'll come back to these. So know how to give, know how to receive, know when to say no, and know when to ask for help.

So what I want you to do right now is just take a moment and reflect. Which of those come naturally to you, which one's the hardest? So throughout this podcast, I think we're going to come back to those, Those core four.

And I believe that those are the skills that can really help you navigate anything that life throws at you. Starting a business, hey, know when to ask for help, know when to say no to things, all that sort of stuff. Welcome to the Money minute with Matt.

Your dose of financial clarity in under a minute. Here's something shocking. Only 32% of American households operate on a budget. That means they're operating without a plan.

And most people are wondering where all the money went. But a budget doesn't have to be complicated. So try this. Track your last 30 days of spending just to see where your money's going. I have clients.

They don't know where it's going, and I say that's okay. The average person doesn't. And my job is to make you not average. Set three key categories. Your needs, your wants, and your goals.

Then you use the 50, 30, 20 rule as a starting point. 50% to needs, 30% to wants, and 20% to savings or debt payoff. The goal isn't perfection. It's just awareness.

A budget gives you control, and control gives you peace of mind. That's your money minute with Matt. Budget better and live well.

So I just want to take a moment here, and I just want to say that maybe you're in the middle of a big life change and you're wondering what's next. Well, I want to help. Everybody's life is different. So why shouldn't your financial plan be tailored to you? Why shouldn't your plan be.

Be different as well? So I offer more than just generic advice. I offer one on one coaching that can help build your financial plan and unlock your purpose.

We develop a purpose statement so that everything that you do, every financial decision that you do, is clear and is aligned with what your overall purpose and values are. You can visit me at matt wilson financial.com and book a free consultation there and be happy to speak with you.

So what kind of episodes can you expect? So you know, there's a lot of things that we can talk about.

There's a lot of things that just come up through the years in my almost two decade career as a, as a financial advisor and as a coach.

So we're going to bring on therapists, attorneys, financial professionals, business owners, and a lot of folks that have helped people through transitions on their own.

Others are going to be solo episodes like this one where I break down different tools or different things that we can use to navigate like retirement and financial independence, changing careers, starting a business, becoming an empty nester. Maybe you're going to be downsizing your home. Well, what are the steps that you need to take?

Have you even thought about the steps that you might need to take? Navigating divorce or, or grief. Prioritizing your health, your purpose and maybe your legacy.

So all of those things that we're going to talk about, we'll talk strategy, but also mindset because money is just one piece of the puzzle and we are aiming for a full and a meaningful life. Like I said before, I think it was Zig Ziglar that once said money isn't everything, but it's a lot like oxygen. So we need it to live.

So how do we make it work for us? So those are the things that you can expect in the future. And we will have some more solo episodes, but that's my intention.

Maybe you have an idea or maybe you have a, a subject that you would like to hear about to help you navigate something in your own life. And I'd be glad to listen to that. So you can contact me@matt wilsonfinancial.com and reach out to me. Love to hear from you.

That's it for today's episode of Live well with Me, Matt Wilson.

I hope this conversation gave you some new insights and some confidence to help you with whatever challenges or next steps you need to take in your own life. If you enjoyed today's episode, please subscribe and share with a friend. Share with somebody who might be able to benefit.

You can also find more resources and some more financial guidance @matt wilson financial.com and if you're looking to start a business or take one to the next level, join our email list to stay in the loop as we prepare to launch our business financial coaching platform. That's to come. Just head to matt wilsonfinancial.com to sign up.

You can also reach out to schedule a free financial audit and see how we can help you live well financially. Until next time, take care and live well.

Show artwork for Live Well - Tools for a Healthier, Wealthier Life

About the Podcast

Live Well - Tools for a Healthier, Wealthier Life
Welcome to Live Well!, the podcast where we explore how to navigate life’s biggest changes, overcome challenges, and build a future that aligns with your values. I’m Matt Wilson, financial advisor and owner of Live Well Financial, and my goal is to help you become the best version of yourself—both financially and personally.
Each episode, we dive into real conversations with experts and individuals who have faced hardship, transition, and growth. Whether you’re dealing with a major life change, seeking financial clarity, or just simply looking for ways to live well through it all, this podcast is here to guide and encourage you.
You can do this! And I’m here to help. Let’s get started!”