00:00:00 This is Episode 516 of the inspired Stewardship Podcast. This is a special rebroadcast of an interview I did with Matt Ham back in Episode one. Inspired Stewardship. If you truly desire to become the person that God wants you to be, then you must learn to use your time, talent and treasures for your true vocation inspired stewardship podcast. You will learn to invest in herself and in others to develop a positive influence so that you can impact the world this week. Matt Ham and I will discuss, redefine,
00:00:52 Rich how it applies to investing in yourself. We'll hear Matt talk about things like this. That richness is far more of a heart issue than it is a wallet issue. Join us on this journey to inspire story, so we're joined today by Matt Ham, insurance agent extraordinaire and Arthur of the Amazon best selling redefine Rich Matt describes himself not a guru, but as a fellow traveler on the journey of life. He shares that life is about the and that our whole life matters. Matt has been on a journey to discover what it truly means to be rich and then to challenge others.
00:01:35 To live a whole life and discover true richness. So, Matt, welcome to the show this morning. And thank you for joining us today. Hey, Scott. Man, I am so glad to be here. I appreciate you being kind enough to have me on Thanks. So Ah, let's just kind of roll into it and get started a little bit. Ah, let's start out by talking a little bit about you and your journey. Tell us how you came to discover these principles that you lay out.
00:01:59 Redefine Rich? Yes. Got so you know, my book, which you're referencing their redefined rich was published earlier this year. And it's kind of the, um it's an odd thing, you know? I mean, I am not the the author, right? I'm an insurance agent, a salesman, kind about trade, and in the midst of raising three kids and dealing with, you know, all of the joys of that and running my own insurance agency here. I really felt this, this longing,
00:02:28 this desire that was deep. Deep down, I could not shake it for the life of me. And one day my wife said something to me as we were getting ready for to go to work. She said, I totally could see you being a speaker one day. And I was like, Where in the world did that come from left field, you know, And I was like and it hit me right side ahead because it was the exact same thing that I've been wrestling with for the last month.
00:02:53 And I just didn't tell anybody because I was terrified. I was like, What in the world would I talk about? You know, what would I say? And so it really was one of those moments where I said, I'm gonna press into this a little bit not. I met with a really good friend who was a speaker, has been a speaker for 25 years. And and I asked him, you know, really, I told him and he said, and he was, like, so excited,
00:03:16 you know, he's like, Ha, ha, this is that moment, you know? And he was like, You need to grant. You need to grab a pin. And I was like a pin. What do you tell him? I don't want to speak. I don't want to write. And he said, You've got a story but you need to grab a pin and find it. And I was like, Okay, I'm not sure I know what that means, but I got a pin,
00:03:35 Scott, And this has been a couple years ago now and just started riding these things that were on my heart these things that were in my head, these experiences, and all of a sudden this this thing was birthed and started. Ah, blawg at Matt him dot com and about 30 days into that journey, realized and felt like I was supposed to write a book. And so the book really redefine Rich is a journey of uncovering this deeper meaning of what it means to be rich. I think if you and I are in conversation,
00:04:04 he say, Oh, man, that was rich. You know, you would say, Well, that didn't make you wealthy, right? You're you're talking about, like, the experience, right? And I would say, Yeah, but I don't think we put context on what that actually means. That definition of richness. And so the book is really about defining those things that make our life rich. And so it really, for me was a journey that, uh, took monetary wealth and well being in financial peace and all those you know things,
00:04:32 and it turned it on its head. And it said that richness is far more of a heart issue than it is. Ah, wallet issue. And it's been It's been so cool, man and Andi, you've been, you know, again, you've read the book and ah, just been been so encouraging on this process is folks continue to kind of read and the message continues to grow. It's just a wild, wild thing. That's it's very special, you know, that that's that's awesome. And I love what you said there that it's more of a heart issue,
00:05:04 that it is a money issue. Because then that's exactly I see that every day it's it's true. It's It's in your heart. Absolutely So So In the book, you Matt outlines what he calls the four principles of Richness.
00:05:17 I'd like for us to dig into these a little deeper, and so can we start with the first principle recognizing your broken.
00:05:24 Yeah, absolutely. Yes. Scott, what's really cool about the book is that started off and it was gonna be this.
00:05:29 You know, seven habits of highly effective people kind of feel right. It was these four principal. I'm a very linear thinker,
00:05:35 and everything has tohave You don't fit into this little box. And so I was like, all right to see the word rich and we're gonna put these principles with the word rich,
00:05:42 and that's what it's gonna be. But when I started to realize I was writing, it is is there is a story here,
00:05:47 a deeper story and in fact, there were many stories. And the crazy thing about this is as I started laying out these these principles that that really they highlighted what it means to toe live a rich life.
00:06:01 I saw that there were stories that came along with it, and people like showing up on my doorstep with stories,
00:06:07 you know, people I ran into online or are met at conferences or whatever. And it really began with a story about my aunt,
00:06:13 my aunt. I loved her dearly, and she had been diagnosed with cancer about eight years prior, and this was kind of the catalyst of these principles.
00:06:21 And basically she was on her deathbed with non Hodgkin's lymphoma at 49 years old, and it's a very sad moment for our family.
00:06:29 And I went to the hospital the night before she passed away, and that night I found myself in the hospital room with her alone,
00:06:37 and we were talking about her bedside. I was praying with her and just sharing a moment, and a nurse steps in to help my aunt get comfortable.
00:06:45 And as this happens, the nurse props my aunt up with a pillow and my aunt grabs a breath,
00:06:53 looks at her nurse and says, You make my life easy. And without hesitation, the nurse looks right back in Miami and says,
00:07:03 You make my life rich. And so that was the catalyst that set something on fire inside of me.
00:07:11 That's like, What in the world does she mean? Right? And so the principle's really go into the depth of kind of defining what that nurse meant and what we need to understand about richness.
00:07:26 And so the first principle is recognized. Your broken so Rich is an acronym. R I C. H and R is recognized,
00:07:34 her broken, and this for me, was really burst out of my own struggle because there's a young 20 something I left home,
00:07:40 you know, gonna blaze a trail and change the world and make a bunch of money. And it was really a noble pursuit,
00:07:46 Scott. I wanted to do great things. You know, I don't think any of us, like,
00:07:48 wakes up and wants toe, you know, have a book written about us in the loser section of elaborate.
00:07:52 I mean, we want we want to go and do something great. And I think culturally, we're taught,
00:07:56 though, that greatness equals, you know, being wealthy, Um, and it would have any influence impact.
00:08:02 We have to have money. And so, at 22 I started with this upstart real estate firm and and was,
00:08:07 you know, making a lot of money in a very young age and and then watch the market turn and I lost it all.
00:08:14 And that broke in a feeling that feeling of being broke like, not not broken, but broke. Reach in your pocket and you get dust,
00:08:21 right? There's nothing there that that for me was that moment has said that in order to aspire to be rich,
00:08:28 you have to first recognize that your broke that you're not rich, right? And So, in a personal sense,
00:08:34 this this deeper definition of richness starts with Brokenness these places in our life. He struggles these adversities, these parts of our story that we don't like talking about the things that we hide in the dark corner.
00:08:47 We've got to shine light on those things because those things are in fact what are going to be the cornerstones of our journey.
00:08:54 And we have to heal those places properly. You know, the Bible talks about the house built on sand versus the house built on the rock,
00:09:01 and that's operable and meaning that, you know water will wash sand away. But Iraq will stand firm.
00:09:08 And if we try to build our house and don't repair the broken places, our foundation will crumble beneath us.
00:09:14 And so we have to understand the importance of of healing broken places properly, so recognize your broken. It's kind of a twofold thing.
00:09:22 Number one. There has to be self awareness, like if you want to grow in life. If you want to expand your reach,
00:09:30 your capacity you have to have self awareness of the things that are broken. You know what's broken about your physical health what's broken about your mental stability,
00:09:40 What's broken about your marriage, what's broken about your past. What find what these things are. And don't dwell there because the problem is so many people live in regret and they live in that past,
00:09:50 and that past haunts them. It's like a little thing that sits on their shoulder, and it keeps them from moving forward.
00:09:55 What we need to do is we need to heal those broken places, and we talk about forgiveness and responsibility and and really allowing those things,
00:10:04 too, in fact, spur us on and not hold us back. And so that's really what recognize your broken is about.
00:10:11 Yeah, and when you think about that, I mean, I think that's something that we all struggle with,
00:10:15 recognizing our own Brooke Brokenness and yet not becoming discouraged, not becoming beaten down. So how can we find strength and recognizing our own Brooke broken nose?
00:10:25 Well, you know, for me, it has to Do you know, again, the book did not start from a faith or based or spiritual journey.
00:10:36 I mean again, I would have said when I was writing the book that I was a Christian and I believed in God,
00:10:41 but it really became a much different experience than I ever realized. You know, it was it was much deeper,
00:10:49 much more riel. And it was like I could faintly reach out and touch God for the first time in my entire life,
00:10:58 you know? And they have been these moments before. But this was like Stan Jubal. It was like,