What the book is about:

We believe when successful families, business owners and corporate executives live their life by design, they have the clarity, confidence and time to focus on what really matters in life. We also believe it's totally possible to live your life by design, and really be intentional about that.

What we mean by living life by design and focusing on what really matters in life is intentionally designing the things in life you cannot delegate like time with your family, career, hobbies, spiritual life or your health.

We frequently run into successful business owners, corporate executives and even pre-retirees who are often worried they're not being as intentional about their finances as they could be. They're making good money but their house is not in order or they assume it is, since they don't know what they don't know. They may be frustrated and know they should be further along at their current stage of life financially but are not sure how to break through to more clarity and confidence in this area of their lives.

They often encounter what we call a ceiling of complexity that ties up their time and keeps them from living life by design and allowing them to focus on what matters most in life.

Complexity can be caused by several things, like making more money, complicating your taxes or by having multiple or previous advisors that sold you insurance or investments that you're not sure how they fit into your current plan.

Or more commonly it can come from having several siloed issues: like investments, taxes, insurance that are not coordinated together properly. If you make a decision in one area, do you know how it will impact these others?

We absolutely believe in being really, really intentional with your planning and it's my hope that the ideas contained in this book will help you remove the complexity so you can live your life by design.

Who should read the book:

It doesn't matter where you are in life, it's never too late to get serious about making smart or even smarter choices with your money. You may be a thirty-something corporate executive just finding your groove in the corporate world and now beginning to make enough income to get moving on your planning. But you're not sure how to get started or who to trust.

You may be a small business owner in your mid-fifties and your company is crushing it with consistently growing profits and cash flow, but you've hit that "ceiling of complexity" and your company is running you vs. you running your company. You're not sure how to keep the work-life balance and coordinate your business and personal finances. How do I take control again and manage it so I'm in control and have the freedom to focus on what really matters in my life?

You could be a single female having recently experienced a painful divorce or spouse's passing and you're in a state of shock and uncertainty with so many aspects of your life, but the biggest worry is your finances. Your spouse may have handled all the money matters and now you're on your own trying to figure it all out. Where do I begin, who can I trust to help?

You could also be a well-intentioned "do-it-yourselfer" where you initially thought you had the time and temperament to juggle all the pieces of your financial world on your own. You've tried all the online resources and self-help sites but once reality set in, you've come to the realization that finding the right-fit financial team may not be such bad idea after all. But you're not sure about how to find a competent, trustworthy person/team that puts your interests first.