Wealthy Thinking Vocabulary
Use elevated language while building your communication skills and self-image, understanding that sophisticated vocabulary demonstrates education, while language habits program your mind for higher thinking and achievement levels. Vocabulary mastery builds both presence and self-concept.
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The Latest Episode - The Paul Truesdell Podcast
Business
Consumers pay minimum amounts on credit cards thinking they're managing debt well. Minimum payments are designed to maximize interest charges, not pay off balances.
Debt inhibits growth.
And…
Remembering John Thrasher
John Thrasher, the former president of Florida State University and a towering figure in Florida politics, died Friday morning, May 30, 2025, in Orlando after a courageous battle with cancer. He was 81 years old. Thrasher, who served as speaker of the Florida House and as a member of the Florida Senate, died Friday morning in Orlando, his family said in a statement. He had been battling cancer, according to a social media post last month from his former lobbying firm.
Born December 18, 1943, in Columbia, South Carolina, and raised in Jacksonville, Thrasher was a first-generation college student who transformed his life through education at Florida State University. He arrived at FSU in 1961 as a 17-year-old freshman who was the first in his family to finish high school and go on to college. After earning his business degree in 1965, he served with distinction in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War, receiving the Army Commendation Medal and two Bronze Stars for his service in Vietnam. He returned to FSU to complete his law degree in 1972.
Thrasher's political career spanned three decades of distinguished public service. Thrasher, a Republican, was a member of the Florida House from 1992-2000, serving as speaker during his last two years. He was elected to the Florida Senate in 2009 and stayed there until 2014. His legislative achievements included playing a pivotal role in establishing the FSU College of Medicine, which at the time was the nation's first new medical school in 20 years. Between his legislative terms, he co-founded The Southern Group, a prominent governmental relations firm, and served two decades as general counsel to the Florida Medical Association.
As FSU's 15th president from 2014 to 2021, Thrasher led the university to unprecedented heights. His presidency marked a period of historic momentum for the university, including a rise to No. 18 among public universities in the U.S. News & World Report rankings, a successful $1.16 billion fundraising campaign, and major strides in academic excellence, student success, and research. He was particularly passionate about supporting first-generation students like himself, working to eliminate graduation and retention disparities among undergraduates.
A private burial has been planned in Orange Park, Florida, with a celebration of his life to be held at Florida State University's Ruby Diamond Concert Hall in Tallahassee, Florida, on August 19th. He is survived by his wife of 60 years, Jean, three children, and eight grandchildren.
Semi-Private Podcast
The Retirement Planning Wake-Up Call That Should Have Happened Decades Ago
I spend considerable time reading, reviewing, researching, and analyzing business documents and forecasts. When I'm not immersed in financial analysis, I enjoy reading well-crafted legal thrillers and biographies. I also consume a substantial amount of content from financial services professionals, and frankly, about 50% of the time I finish shaking my head, rolling my eyes, and muttering "really?" or "dumbbell."
Recently, I encountered an article that perfectly exemplifies this frustration. The author presents what they consider groundbreaking insight: that one-size-fits-all retirement planning approaches don't work for today's new retirees or soon-to-be retirees, unlike what sufficed for the World War II and senior boomer generations. Their revolutionary discovery? People differ in longevity.
Well, no kidding, Gomer. Wow, what insight. I can't help but think of Gomer Pyle saying "Shazam!" to Sergeant Carter.
This person has the brilliant realization that people with higher income and greater net worth—erroneously equating these two as identical, which they're not—live longer, and therefore require different planning approaches than those with lower income and net worth. Here's my question: if you're legitimately performing your job as a holistic advisor, planner, and manager, shouldn't this have been fundamental to your practice from day one? To have this insight decades into your career is ludicrous.
The Questions That Should Always Be Asked
I've spoken with numerous people who recently became clients of our firm. They consistently tell me that no previous advisor ever inquired about their health, mortality, or morbidity factors like we do. They don't find our approach invasive because we understand how to ask and engage without being intrusive. We state upfront that we have no crystal ball regarding longevity. Historical mortality within families, combined with morbidity factors and life experiences—injuries, physical fitness, diet—all contribute to the core fundamental issue of wealth management.
I discuss this frequently, and sometimes I feel like I'm repeating myself. But I realize that while this is my daily reality, others aren't consuming everything I say constantly. Interest levels fluctuate as people check out and return periodically.
The Seven Components That Never Change
The seven components of wealth and status that I developed in the 1980s continue to hold true today and will remain relevant forever. These include both internal and external components that require awareness and attention. In order of importance: mindset, physical health, emotional well-being, intellectual capacity, relationships, income, and risk management.
Recently, I met several people in their mid-80s whose primary focus was estate planning documents. In one case, an 80-something individual was creating estate documents for the very first time, literally saying, "I guess it's about time." Another wanted major revisions because people named in their documents had become disabled or died. A third case involved someone whose designated representatives had shown their true colors—something had happened during the previous holiday season, and they were done with those relationships.
Each person held different views about mortality. One expected to die at 90, another declared they were "going as long as I can" while enthusiastically discussing their robust physical activity and social involvement. The third didn't know how long they'd live, hoping for longevity but not if cognitively challenged. This person had a profound realization during our conversations: they lacked genuine friends, recognizing this as what was missing in their life.
I define friendship completely differently from the traditional approach. Unlike the typical valley girl who overuses words like "friend" and "love"—"I love everything, I love this, you're my friend, she's my friend, the dog's my friend, I talk to my plant so the plant's my friend"—words should carry specific meaning. When you misuse language and remain lackadaisical about true emotions, they become meaningless. This resonated deeply with my 80-something client, creating one of those profound "aha" moments and prompting fundamental change.
The Real Problem with Financial Planning
Here's the key issue: I read these articles without discounting authors because they're younger—sometimes fresh eyes provide insights we might otherwise miss. However, having sudden realizations that wealthy people live longer, that people who care for themselves live longer, and that one-size-fits-all approaches don't work is precisely why I dislike the overwhelming majority of people calling themselves financial planners who rely on idiotic financial planning software programs. These tools are childish and ineffective.
This isn't rocket science. Everyone is unique and individual. The goal of a real professional is to discover facts, take appropriate action, and encourage behavioral continuations or changes to achieve two fundamental life objectives.
The Ultimate Goal
These objectives bring me to something that's both clever and profound. When we strip away all the complexity, all the sophisticated analysis, all the detailed planning, it really comes down to helping people achieve what a certain pointy-eared character from science fiction used to say while raising his hand in that distinctive split-finger salute.
Think about it: when he made that Vulcan hand gesture—fingers split while essentially giving a victory sign—he was communicating victory itself. Victory in life. It's reminiscent of Winston Churchill's iconic pose during World War II: that bulldog face, cigar in mouth, fingers raised in the V for victory. These become memes, visual representations that are never forgotten.
That's what real wealth management accomplishes when done correctly. It's not about complex software or sudden insights that should have been obvious decades ago. It's about understanding that each person's journey is unique, that health and relationships matter as much as money, and that the ultimate goal is elegantly simple.
Live long and prosper.