Show Notes
In this episode, Carl challenges the familiar advice to “keep your options open.” While optionality can be valuable, he explores the situations where refusing to choose may actually be the greater risk, because commitment itself creates possibilities, information, relationships, mastery, and meaning. The real question isn’t whether options are valuable, but what kind of terrain you’re in: one where value comes from preserving the choice, or one where value only appears after you make it. Want more from Carl? Get the shortest, most impactful weekly email on the web! Sign up for the Weekly Letter from Certified Financial Planner™ and New York Times columnist Carl Richards here: https://behaviorgap.com/
More from Behavior Gap Radio
In this episode, Carl explores a fundamental problem with planning: we’re not very good at knowing what we actually want. Through a conversation with a friend who's tracked his goals for 25 years, Carl reflects on how often our imagined futures change, and why that doesn’t mean we should stop setting goals. It’s an exploration of what goals can give us, even when we’re almost certainly wrong about where we’re headed. Want more from Carl? Get the shortest, most impactful weekly email on the web! Sign up for the Weekly Letter from Certified Financial Planner™ and New York Times columnist Carl Richards here: https://behaviorgap.com/
In this episode, Carl reflects on the kickoff retreat for Cohort 2 of The Collective and what makes this experience so different from traditional professional development. Rather than chasing tactics or business growth, the focus is on discovering what matters and learning to align our money, energy, time, and attention with it. Carl shares what he learned about the power of carefully curated peer groups, skilled facilitators, honest accountability, and creating a place where people feel safe enough to see the gap between what they say matters and how they actually live. Want more from Carl? Get the shortest, most impactful weekly email on the web! Sign up for the Weekly Letter from Certified Financial Planner™ and New York Times columnist Carl Richards here: https://behaviorgap.com/