Halal Money Matters Podcast

Episode 16 – Aligning Goals With Personal Values

[music intro]

CHRISTOPHER PATTON: Welcome to Halal Money Matters, presented by Saturna Capital. I’m Christopher Patton.

MONEM SALAM: And I’m Monem Salam. Happy new year, Chris!

CHRISTOPHER PATTON: Thank you, yes. To you as well.

MONEM SALAM: I was in the very bitter cold Chicago. There was a conference I was attending.

CHRISTOPHER PATTON: Oh, right.

MONEM SALAM: If you remember from the last episode, I told you that I was going to be going and spending the Christmas holiday at a conference and I did. And it turned out to be really good.

CHRISTOPHER PATTON: It’s New Year’s... are you setting goals? Are you a resolutions guy?

MONEM SALAM: Not particularly. I do have things that I’d like to be able to do by the end of the year, but I don’t typically write them down. I just constantly keep them in my head. Certain things. And I know other people are those that actually write them down and maybe kind of stick to them and kind of come up with a game plan. That type of thing. How about yourself?

CHRISTOPHER PATTON: I’m somebody that likes to make maybe too many goals.

MONEM SALAM: You can always roll them over into the new year.

CHRISTOPHER PATTON: Yeah. Exactly. But some people get into making very specific goals and there’s an economy built around New Year’s resolutions. Making changes. Changing your life and that sort of thing.

MONEM SALAM: Absolutely. How many people sign up for a gym membership for like 12 months and then go two days?

CHRISTOPHER PATTON: Yeah. Exactly.

MONEM SALAM: There’s a whole economy built around that.

CHRISTOPHER PATTON: We have a guest today that’s all about maximizing potential. He wrote a book called Chasing 100 which is about getting the most out of every day. It might sound somewhat similar to an episode we recently did about productivity. I can tell you it’s not the same vibe on this one.

MONEM SALAM: I think what we learned after—or at least what I did—is that they are coming at it from two different perspectives. And you could maybe adopt both or you could take good things from one or the other. But I think, hopefully, it will benefit a lot of people.

CHRISTOPHER PATTON: Yeah. We spoke with Adnan Jalali, CEO of the Jalali Group. He focuses on leadership coaching and training. He’s got a background in education, a Master’s in Education. He’s got a different vibe about kind of making your goals work for you. I think that probably would help a lot of people, as we get into the new year, who feel obligated to set very specific and kind of arbitrary goals.

MONEM SALAM: Yeah. Let’s do this.

[music interlude]

MONEM SALAM: Welcome, Adnan. It’s great to have you on the show.

ADNAN JALALI: Thanks so much for having me. It’s an honor.

MONEM SALAM: Happy New Year and I hope you had a great holiday season.

ADNAN JALALI: Yeah, absolutely. Likewise. Likewise.

MONEM SALAM: So, you know, I wanted to start off and really talk about... you know, during the beginning of the year, people always are of the mind frame of, “I want to be able to set some goals for myself,” or, “This is the year I’m going to be a different person.” Those types of things. But I really, in our conversations we’ve had in the past, I really like your angle of the way you come into this kind of whole framework of really redefining who you are. So, if you don’t mind just kind of starting off and kind of telling us a little bit about that framework.

ADNAN JALALI: So, you know, one thing I always say is the hardest thing to do in life is to change ourselves. Right? That’s the greatest challenge. And I think that’s actually ultimate challenge in life. Getting the most out of ourselves. Right? That’s where the whole concept of Chasing 100 was born. Right? So, in redefining ourselves, I think, first of all, you have to really dig deep and understand... what is it that you want? Right? A lot of times, we don’t achieve our goals because they’re not really calling to us. It’s goals that we make because other people would be happy if we reach them. Right?

MONEM SALAM: And that other person could be like anybody: your family...

ADNAN JALALI: It could be your parents. Depending on the age, right? When you’re younger it’s more your parents. When you’re older, it might be your spouse, right? But whatever it is, a lot of times our motivations are too driven by external factors rather than internal factors. I think the pace of life—in the US in particular—is so fast that we’re just “go, go, go, go, go,” and so, you know, what I suggest everyone do is to take a step back and really dig deep and think about what it is that you really want. Because once you really find that deep inside, the motivation factor becomes exponential. Because now it’s, “You know what? This is who I need to become. I need to accomplish this because it’s part of me reaching my best self.” It’s not from my wife’s encouragement. It’s not her dream. It’s not my husband’s dream. It’s not my parents’ dream. It’s my dream. It’s what I need to do. Right? To reach my best self. So, I would say the first thing in redefining ourselves is to make sure that vision of our new self is driven from a deep, deep internal desire. 

CHRISTOPHER PATTON: I noticed on your website you have a piece about the importance of making a personal mission statement, which, to me, I hadn’t quite thought of it that way before. You know, it doesn’t have to be long, but something that you’ve dialed in to define that you can compare your actions against every day or whenever. That kind of spoke to me. Sounds like something I should do.

ADNAN JALALI: Yeah, I mean, you know, every company... if you look at organizations, the great companies, like Saturna and others, they have a powerful mission statement. Why do we exist? Why us and not anyone else? So, they have a powerful mission statement. But a lot of times in our own lives, we don’t have our own personal mission statement, you know? And you guys know that when you work in good companies or good organizations, all of your actions lead back to that mission statement. They have to be aligned. When your actions are misaligned, your decisions, are misaligned with your mission statement, then you know you’re veering off track? And you need to come back. Right? So, it kind of guides you. So, I feel the same thing as individuals. We need to have a personal mission statement that kind of... when we go off track, it kind of pulls us back to where we need to go. Because it’s normal. As human beings, we are going to get off track. It’s not an “if,” it’s “when.” So, for example, my personal mission statement is to positively impact as many lives as possible through leadership, education, and love. Right? So, I have to, you know, from time to time, look at my actions and say, “Okay, are my actions aligning to my personal mission statement?” And if they’re not, that’s when I have to take a hard look at the mirror and make the kind of changes that I need to make.

MONEM SALAM: Adnan, that’s a great statement. I’d love to adopt it for myself. But how long do you think it took you to come up with that? And the second thing is how often do you revisit it?

ADNAN JALALI: Great questions. You know, this whole concept of Chasing 100 or what I really want in life in defining who I am and defining my core values, my personal mission statement, all of these things... it’s a process. I don’t want to throw out a timetable because for everyone, the process is going to be different. Some people, it’s going to take years. Right? Some people, it’s going to take months. Some people, it’s going to be automatic. My process was probably—in terms of defining who I wanted to become ultimately and what really drove me—probably took between six to nine months. Me, personally. Second part of your question... so, I’m a little different, right? Monem, I think you’re super—I can tell, I’ve known you for a long time—you’re super organized and very much like, “Hey, at this time on this date I’m going to revisit.” That obviously works well for you. I would say, organically, it probably happens every couple of months, but I don’t have it in my calendar per se. I’m not against that. I think that’s actually a better idea. See, just being around Monem makes you a better person! You see that?

[laughter]

ADNAN JALALI: You’re not even saying anything, you know? I would say for me personally, every couple of months.

MONEM SALAM: It’s really funny. Way back about 20 years ago... it’s not a mission statement. I didn’t do a mission statement. But I did write down, like, most would call it a “bucket list,” but I called it a wish list. I broke it down into spiritual, social, and then personal. And the interesting thing is that I don’t look at that thing but once every two or three years but it’s subconsciously in my mind. 

ADNAN JALALI: Yes.

MONEM SALAM: Just the fact of me writing it down made it subconscious enough that you look at it and go, “Oh wow, I did it. I was able to finish it.” That kind of thing.

ADNAN JALALI: That’s very powerful, what you just said. Obviously, I have them written down from a long time ago. And I do... as a matter of fact, I do write little things in my journal very often. It used to be daily when I first started, you know, kind of redefining myself and changing my life. I needed to do it daily. Right? But now, it’s kind of like you said... once you do it so often, it kind of just becomes part of who you are, right? It’s like that statement that we say, you know... “Until you make what’s unconscious conscious, you will keep getting the same results you’ve always gotten.” So, you have to turn that unconscious... you have to consciously rewire your unconscious. I’m sorry, this may be a little confusing for your audience because it’s a deep concept.

MONEM SALAM: I don’t know. I think it’s very powerful what you just said. And so, just kind of taking that into the new year that we are in now. We’ve been living through fairly unprecedented times.

ADNAN JALALI: Absolutely.

MONEM SALAM: And people have had the opportunity to revisit themselves and really try to figure out what’s really important in their lives, as well.

ADNAN JALALI: Yeah. To add to that, so consciously, in the beginning when you’re trying to redefine yourself and you’re trying to change yourself and you’re trying to make a new direction, you have to consciously do that on a daily basis. Whether it’s writing in a journal, whether it’s... you know, those habits... you have to be extremely conscious of it and cognizant of it, initially, until you do it so often that it just becomes part of who you are, how you roll. Right? Or what we say is your unconscious.

CHRISTOPHER PATTON: How much of the work you do with people is professional versus personal? And can you even separate those two things?

ADNAN JALALI: Another great, great question. You guys are asking phenomenal questions. So, it’s both. It’s always both. I’m a big believer in... you can’t be an absolute beast at the workplace—and just super positive and amazing and fantastic—and then you go home and you’re just the complete opposite person. I just... that doesn’t... you can’t do it. You can’t do that for an extended amount of time. You can fake that for a little while but that doesn’t last. You are who you are. I always say that people can’t hide from who they are. So, the work that I do, in terms of coaching, is always both. It’s always a mix of professional and personal. And at the end of the day, you know, there’s a very powerful saying that I live by, and I teach my clients. That is, “the world doesn’t give you what you want. It gives you who you are.” So, the more you become... the more you work on yourself... right? The results in your life are going to change drastically.

MONEM SALAM: Have you seen Ted Lasso?

ADNAN JALALI: I have, yes. Of course.

MONEM SALAM: What you said about... nobody can be all bubbly on the outside and then go home and... it kind of makes me think of Ted Lasso, as an example of that. That has an outward personality and things going on in his life that kind of break him down.

ADNAN JALALI: Yeah, absolutely. One of my favorite shows.

MONEM SALAM: Chris do you have anything?

CHRISTOPHER PATTON: Not a follow-up on that exact point.

MONEM SALAM: Okay.

CHRISTOPHER PATTON: I haven’t seen Ted Lasso yet, guys. Busted.

[laughter]

ADNAN JALALI: What? Come on. You’re slipping, man. You’re slipping.

CHRISTOPHER PATTON: Yeah.

MONEM SALAM: It’s interesting. I started watching the show after reading an article in the Wall Street Journal about it. I’m waiting for your article, “10 lessons you can learn from Ted Lasso.”

ADNAN JALALI: You know what? That’s a great idea. Monem... you see. Thank you for doing me this favor of having me on your podcast, because I’m going to do that. I’m going to do that.

MONEM SALAM: Let’s kind of bring it down a little bit, maybe closer to earth, and really talk about... lists or, you know, things that you want to do. Is it about lists? Is it about writing down, “These are the ten things I want to change in my life,” or is it something more kind of nuanced than that?

ADNAN JALALI: So, I look at it in a couple of ways. Right? I break life down into different categories. Kind of like what you said earlier. You have your categories. So, I do believe that we should think about different areas of our life and think of them as almost like departments, as you would in an organization. Right? As the CEO of an organization, you have to have all your departments working well to get the best from the company. I think the same as a human being. You have your career, which in the US, is a huge, huge part of who you are. I mean, everywhere in the world but specifically more, I think, in the US because productivity and accomplishment is so much a part of our DNA. Right? As Americans. So, I think, you know, career is one thing. Then you have your finances. I separate those two. You guys are the experts in that. Then you have your spirituality, which I think is extremely important, obviously, as a Muslim. Then you have your family and friends. How are your relationships with your family and your friends? I think that’s a huge, huge thing. So many people that I’ve worked with as business owners, leaders behave a certain way because they never addressed certain issues that they had in their relationships. And that seeps into their business life. Right? So, relationships is another bucket that I look at separately. How can I improve my relationships with family and friends? And I think friends, especially as men, as we get older, I think sometimes we get caught in our silos and I think we lose the... we forget how important having close friends are, and spending time with friends. As a matter of fact, I just had a meeting this weekend with real estate entrepreneurs throughout the state of Texas. So, they came together here in Dallas. And we just had a conversation. And you know, you could see that everyone values that because they don’t have that. Everyone is in their own little silos. And you know, they have their families, and they have their employees and that’s their world. Right? And so, anyway, I’m sorry I’m going into a little tangent. That’s kind of how my mind works.

CHRISTOPHER PATTON: I think that’s... I mean, if we’re talking about the different departments and we’re talking about not really being able to fully separate your professional side from your personal side, it’s all part of the same thing. I know that for me, throughout the pandemic, trying to manufacture safe ways of getting together with friends. That has become, for me, it’s disc golf. Just got way into it. We can be outside; we can stand far apart. We can hang out. I need that bucket to get filled somehow. 

ADNAN JALALI: Absolutely.

CHRISTOPHER PATTON: And it just gets harder and harder every year to do it, and especially the last year and a half.

ADNAN JALALI: Absolutely. And you know, they’ve done extensive research on talking to people on their death beds. And what is it that they regretted? Right? You know, the main thing that they regretted was not spending more time building their relationships. Meaning it was the relationships that they really, really valued more than anything. So, that’s a huge bucket. So, friends and family. And then I put your relationship with your spouse in a different bucket because that’s a huge... that’s a huge other aspect of life that requires its own focus and attention. And then on top of that, you know, you have your health. So, yeah, that’s how I look at it, Monem. I look at it as all of these different areas and then I kind of work out how I want those areas to look. And then the second thing I do, once I look into all of these areas, then I look internally. Who do I need to become to fulfil all of that? What books do I need to read? What podcasts do I need to listen to? Right? Who do I need to be around? What kind of relation do I need to have with God? To be able to fulfil those things.

MONEM SALAM: And I want to focus on one area that you talked about which is your finances since this is a financial podcast.

ADNAN JALALI: Sure.

MONEM SALAM: So, typically, most people... what are they looking for? Okay, they want to get out of debt.

ADNAN JALALI: Yeah.

MONEM SALAM: They want to maybe have a better idea of where their money is going on a yearly basis, right? And then the other one is they want to be able to save money so that... they’re getting out of debt and getting into that hurdle of saving the money.

ADNAN JALALI: Yeah.

MONEM SALAM: So, what are some pitfalls that you’ve seen in regard to that? Is it an overreach? They ask for too much right away? What are some pitfalls that you’ve seen people falling into?

ADNAN JALALI: You know, in terms of finances or money, I mean... You guys are the experts on that. You guys have seen it all. In terms of what I have seen, most of my clients are extremely wealthy. All of my clients, not most. All of them are extremely wealthy. It’s interesting, I worked in education. My career was a teacher for many years. And a principal, a school principal in small, private schools. So, you know, I was not wealthy by any means. We all know the teacher’s salary, especially a teacher who likes to travel a lot. So, I needed to make a change financially if I wanted to be more successful moving forward.

MONEM SALAM: So, I do make a distinction between wealth and income.

ADNAN JALALI: Okay, yeah. Absolutely.

MONEM SALAM: For example, a person can have a lot of income and still be dead broke. Right? 

ADNAN JALALI: 100%.

MONEM SALAM: They’re constantly living off the paycheck. Whether you’re making $20,000 or $200,000, you can still do that, whereas wealth is something you accumulate over time. And it’s something that you fall back on. So, how are you defining when you say... because, again, and the opposite is true, too. I know people who make less, but you would think they are wealthy because of the way they live and the way they treat money.

ADNAN JALALI: 100%.

MONEM SALAM: So, when you’re talking about your clients being wealthy, are they truly wealthy or do you come across people that have income but they’re not really... they’re in debt and trying to pay off whatever they have in debt?

ADNAN JALALI: So, my clients, the ones I deal with, are very wealthy. They are truly wealthy.

MONEM SALAM: Okay.

ADNAN JALALI: But my point in kind of talking about my background was that I had to get around wealthy people to understand money. And this is how they became wealthy, was my doing what you were just talking about. They took their income, whatever that money was, and they put a lot of that into investments. They invested a lot of that. Right? They were building their net worth.

MONEM SALAM: But I think you’re raising a good point. I’m just trying to think about it from a perspective of... let’s supposing you did have a client that was, you know, in debt whenever they came to you. And said, “You know, Adnan, this is really eating me alive.” And it does, right? Debt, especially with the interest part of it, it sucks out everything from your life. We have an episode on Barakah of money, so it sucks out the Barakah of the money that you have. So, what would you tell these people? What would be the advice for them?

ADNAN JALALI: So, I mean I’m not a financial coach.

MONEM SALAM: Sure.

ADNAN JALALI: So, I would probably tell them to call you, to be honest with you.

MONEM SALAM: Good answer. Very good answer.

ADNAN JALALI: Honestly. But you know, I think even from a spiritual lens, we’re very much against debt. The Prophet Muhammad, sallallahu alayhi wa salaam [prayers be upon Him and peace], made a prayer asking God’s protection from being in debt. So, what does that say? That debt is not ideal. And as a matter of fact, I’m glad you mentioned that. Out of the 11 guys that were in the room this weekend—the real estate entrepreneurs—almost all of them work purely on cash.

MONEM SALAM: Wow.

ADNAN JALALI: ... which is very rare to meet people who are buying commercial properties on cash.

MONEM SALAM: And so goes the myth, about you having to get into debt, goes out the window.

ADNAN JALALI: Because they believe in that aspect of Barakah. That, look... okay, it may hurt me initially. It may be harder. Not hurt me but it may be more difficult, but there is an unseen blessing in making those efforts.

CHRISTOPHER PATTON: Regardless of whatever level you’re at, if you want to build better habits... I mean, it seems important to have goals, whatever those goals may be. So, how important is it to set specific goals, regardless of whether the goal is to leave a massive legacy or to just get out of debt?

ADNAN JALALI: Sure, sure. You’re talking about specifically, financially?

CHRISTOPHER PATTON: I mean, not what the goals might be, but just... in any of the buckets, like setting a goal for... I mean, how do you stick with your goals regardless of what the goals are?

ADNAN JALALI: Sure, so again, I look at things in a very different way. Again, that’s just my personality. I think everyone has to know who they are. Some people work very well on very strict, tight ways of doing things. I’m a much more organic person. My goals are large goals and I have them, always, with me. And I end up accomplishing all of them. I mean, thank God. Right? Hamdullah. I accomplish all of them. But it’s not in a necessarily the time frame that I have laid out. I’m just not that way. I don’t function that way. I’m a much more organic, free-flowing person.

MONEM SALAM: And you don’t have to make this your goal. But it could be somebody else’s that you saw, or whatever it is. Give us an example.

ADNAN JALALI: So, financially, I’ll give you a little story about my background. When I left teaching, and I’m not advising this to anyone who is listening... when I left education, I had $5,000 to my name. And I launched my business. And I said, “You know what? I’m going to go through the process of not only redefining myself from an educator to a leadership and executive coach, but I’m also going to change my financial situation in that process. So, that’s what I changed. I started investing rather than spending because I’m very good at spending. I was really good at spending.

MONEM SALAM: We all are.

ADNAN JALALI: Really good at spending. But I was not good at investing. Right? And so, any time I would get a check, rather than saying, “Alright... I got that thing... that car... whatever purchase I wanted to make.” Rather than that, in my head, it was, “Okay, I can purchase this amount of stock.” So, that’s where the shift for me, financially, happened. And I started investing. And I think doing that for a number of years... so goals, for me, are more... they’re bigger. I set them for a year and for five years. And then, of course, I have like an ultimate where I want to get at the end.

MONEM SALAM: Yeah.

ADNAN JALALI: Right? And so, that’s how I work. I don’t... I’m not that stickler. You know? And I know people—a lot of people—need that. They need that discipline. They need that. Just the way I function, I more think about the concept in general. Like hey, I’m not going to spend. I’m going to invest. So, I don’t have a specific goal tied to that but as I’m doing that, the goals are accomplished in the process.

MONEM SALAM: I guess it’s kind of like, you know, if I sat down today and said, “Okay, I want to do these five things by the time this year ends.”

ADNAN JALALI: Yeah.

MONEM SALAM: The question becomes them, and what you’re basically getting to, is, “Why?” Right? The ultimate goal has to be that answer to why. Why are you doing these five? Because where are you trying to get to?

ADNAN JALALI: Yeah.

MONEM SALAM: That’s kind of the idea. So, maybe, for our audience, maybe it is good for you to write down, like, you know... you want to get out of debt. You want to increase your balance in your Roth IRA. Whatever it is. You need to be able to step back and also ask that question, “Why do you want to do that?”

ADNAN JALALI: Yup, absolutely.

MONEM SALAM: And maybe that will help to motivate you, maybe, to get you there. Because ultimately, for you, when that decision was, “I got money; do I invest it or do I spend it?” You already had the why answered and that’s why it was easier for you to be able to do that.

ADNAN JALALI: Exactly. Yeah. Absolutely. I wanted to change the trajectory. My “why,” in terms of finances was that I want to be the hand on top, not the hand on the bottom. You know?

MONEM SALAM: And so, why is it, do you think... I think there was a statistic I was reading that said something like 70% of all goals that are written down in January are forgotten about by February. Maybe it wasn’t 70% but it was a really high number, right?

ADNAN JALALI: You know why? Because it’s superficial, bro! Like I said in the beginning, so the way I approach things? It may seem a little loose and a little free-flowing, but that’s after I’ve done the digging. This is where I need to get to. This is my “100.” This is my best self. Right? And I’ve dug and I’ve thought about it so deeply that goal setting, for me, is just a process of getting there. I’m more concerned about habits. So, like now, just the fact that I changed my mindset, and I changed my habits... as you know, as investors, as veteran investors, much more than I know, one investment can change everything. So, what happens is I look at it like that. I need to change me. I need to change my habits. As I change my habits, then the way that I deal with money... those goals are going to come. Hamdullah. I hope you understand what I’m saying.

MONEM SALAM: Totally.

ADNAN JALALI: It’s kind of conceptually...

MONEM SALAM: You’re right and I just want to make one clarification, and that is... I can totally understand... if you put it into the context of, “If I don’t answer the question of ‘why’ then obviously my goal is going to fail because I don’t know why I’m motivating myself to wake up at six o’clock in the morning to go work out.” Or, “Why am I not spending it on my latte rather than putting it into investments?” So, there’s the motivational factor that’s there, right?

ADNAN JALALI: Yeah.

MONEM SALAM: But then, at the same time, you also mentioned... I think you said that personally you have these one-year and five-year goals to be able to get to that ultimate.

ADNAN JALALI: Yes.

MONEM SALAM: So, tell me again, tell me more about this one-year goal. What’s the accomplishment? Is that the baby steps you’re taking to get to your ultimate thing? Is it something else that’s going on?

ADNAN JALALI: Exactly. I’ll set one-year goals. I know—and this is very counterintuitive what I’m going to say—most of what we hear is the complete opposite. My approach is based on who I am. I live a very free flowing life, as you know, Monem. Right? And so, my one-year goals, I have those set goals but to me, it’s about progress. More than reaching those exact goals, it’s more about progress.

MONEM SALAM: So, instead of beating yourself over the head if you didn’t accomplish it, it’s more about how far have I come?

ADNAN JALALI: More importantly, what’s underlying those goals? You see, that’s why what you just said... the 70%... that 70%, they don’t know what’s underlying that goal. Right? They don’t have that big picture in their life. They don’t have that vision of their roadmap ahead. They don’t have that clarity. So because they don’t have that clarity and they don’t have that underlying understanding of themselves and where they want to take their lives, that goal becomes very... not heavy. Right?

CHRISTOPHER PATTON: If you’re somebody who’s caught up in the New Year’s... “I’ve got to make a list of five things,” or someone told you that you should make a list of things that you need to accomplish... I guess what it seems like you’re saying is rather than get caught up in that to just look inside yourself. What do you want long-term? And to think about ways to move in the right direction that you know work for you and are not on someone else’s terms.

ADNAN JALALI: Sorry, I know it’s very unconventional...

MONEM SALAM: It’s not.

ADNAN JALALI: I know everyone talks about this and this and doing it structured and doing it this way. I’m just very different. Right? And in that process, all of those goals will be accomplished because I am someone different.

MONEM SALAM: So then, I do want to ask you one thing, kind of tying a little bit together and moving it to the next level, which is... for yourself, you mentioned you were able to accomplish that. You’re also hanging out with wealthy people... a lot of those people didn’t get their habits from their parents. They developed them on their own.

ADNAN JALALI: Exactly.

MONEM SALAM: And now there will be... obviously, they’re going to eventually pass away and there’s going to be a generational wealth transfer that’s going to happen. So, what kind of habits do you think you would want to tell them to try to instill into their children? So that they’re not back in the same cycle and, you know, they’re not talking to little Adnan Jr. about changing their life.

ADNAN JALALI: Sure. Well, I think, you know, again you guys are the experts in this in terms of, you know, finances. I think it’s having those conversations. The only conversation about money I had growing up was, “Money is not important.” That’s all I heard. Right? I think, you know, it was said with good intention. “Hey, your faith, your family, all of those things are priorities in life,” and I think God for that lesson. But money is important. And I think economic empowerment as individuals and as a community is wildly important.

MONEM SALAM: If money wasn’t important, why would we be taxed on it from a zakat perspective? So, you’re absolutely right.

ADNAN JALALI: 100%. So, I would say to have those conversations. Teach them. Teach them about financial intelligence, about being financially intelligent. Teach them about investing. Recently, my niece got married and instead of giving her money, I gifted her stocks. Things like that. You know? So that they start understanding that, look, if you’re thinking long-term, you need to start now. I’m not a productivity hack guy. I’m not about that. I’m about, “Do you really understand you? What you want? Where you’re going?” Live that way and then eventually, all of your goals will be met.

MONEM SALAM: Thank you for your time.

ADNAN JALALI: I appreciate you guys, man.

MONEM SALAM: Alright, take care.

ADNAN JALALI: Alright. Nice meeting you Chris.

CHRISTOPHER PATTON: Good to meet you, too. Thank you.

ADNAN JALALI: Alright, man. Take care, guys.

[music outro]

DISCLOSURES (read by Christopher Patton):

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