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Hey, there, you set that
specific financial goal

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yesterday, and that's fantastic.

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That's a great place to start.

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But when the going gets tough,
what keeps you pushing forward?

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See, knowing what you're
aiming at is great.

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But knowing why that's even
more powerful today, let's

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uncover your deeper motivation.

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Hey there.

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Welcome back to Your Daily Ask Ralph.

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I'm Ralph, and it's just absolutely
wonderful to connect with you again

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as we continue our series, the
Joy of Living Below Your Means.

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We keep moving forward to break
that cycle of financial shame

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and do it with confidence.

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Now, as you know, yesterday was
all about setting a clear target.

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Today we're gonna change gears
and we're gonna talk about

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fueling the journey to reach it.

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So you've got your smart
goal written down for you.

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Maybe it's paying off that first
debt, or maybe it's saving that first

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$500, but perhaps deep down you still
feel a lack of that oomph and when it

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comes time to make another sacrifice.

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Maybe saying no to an outing
or packing your lunch again or

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sticking to that budget category.

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Maybe the goal itself doesn't
just feel like enough motivation.

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And here's the truth, goals
based purely on numbers, They

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can sometimes feel colder.

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They can feel disconnected
from what truly matters to us.

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When sacrifices feel hard,

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Willpower alone often isn't enough
to keep us going long term if we

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haven't connected the goal to some
deeper meaning within ourselves.

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That struggle with staying motivated,
especially during difficult patches,

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because the goal lacks a strong
emotional or spiritual connection.

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Well, that's the single challenge
that we're gonna be exploring today.

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Here's the thing, lasting motivation
rarely comes just from logic or numbers.

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It just doesn't it, it
comes from the heart.

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It comes from connecting our actions to
our core values, our deepest desires,

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and our relationship with God himself.

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We've gotta ask ourselves
some really tough questions.

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Why do you really want to get outta debt?

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That's a tough question.

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Why do you really wanna save money?

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Or why do you really wanna
live below your means?

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See, understanding and articulating your
personal why that provides incredible

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resilient fuel for the journey you're on.

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It reminds you why the
sacrifices are worthwhile.

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It reminds you why aligning your daily
actions with a purpose that truly

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matter and honor God are so important.

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So what can we do?

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How do we tap into that deeper,
that more resilient motivation?

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How do we fuel our financial journey
with a purpose that lasts well, in my

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opinion, the single vital solution is to
identify and write down your personal why.

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The why behind your financial goals
and the changes that you're making.

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And this process involves   asking
yourself , why you wanna achieve

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the specific goal you set yesterday.

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And keep asking why until
you get to the core reasons.

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Here's some great examples.

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Let's say you have a goal.

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You wanna, you wanna pay off a a
thousand dollars credit card balance.

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You start by asking yourself why?

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Why do I wanna do that?

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Why I wanna do that?

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Because I wanna reduce stress.

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So then the next question is,
why does reducing stress matter?

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Why does that matter?

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Well, so I can sleep better and,
and be more patient with my wife

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or my husband or my children.

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Okay, that's great.

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But why else?

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Well, I, I wanna free up money.

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Okay.

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Well, why is that important?

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Why is freeing up money important to you?

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Well, so I can be more generous
and save for the future.

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Okay.

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Well, why is that important to you?

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Why is it important for you to be more
generous and safer for the future?

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'cause I want to be a better
steward and trust God more.

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So maybe you're sitting there
thinking, well, okay, Ralph.

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What?

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What?

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Well, maybe your why might
be to find peace or your why.

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Might be to strengthen my family
and and be free to honor God through

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generosity and through wise stewardship.

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Let's look at another example, or
maybe your goal is save that $500 baby

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emergency fund we talked about last week.

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Start by asking why.

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I wanna do that because I wanna be
able to handle small emergencies

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without going into debt.

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Okay, great.

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Well, why does that matter?

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Why does not going into
debt matter to you?

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Well, because I wanna protect
my debt payoff progress.

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I wanna feel more secure.

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Okay, that's great.

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But why else?

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Well, because I wanna rely less on
credit and I wanna rely more on God's

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provision and wise planning and see
your why might be to create stability.

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To protect our financial progress
and to practice prudent planning.

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In the end, the solution
is deep motivation.

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Connect your goal to your why now.

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Okay, this requires some quiet reflection.

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So here's your one action step for today,
or maybe find 15 or 20 minutes this

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weekend if you haven't done it already.

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I wanna encourage you
to do number one thing.

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Set your goal.

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Get your goal out.

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Look at that specific smart goal
you wrote down yesterday, and

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then ask yourself the first why.

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Ask yourself, why do I truly
wanna achieve this specific goal?

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And then I want you to write that
first answer that comes to mind.

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And then I want you to ask why again?

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Ask why about that answer, and I want
you to keep digging maybe three or four

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or five, Hey, for you, maybe it's seven
or eight levels deep until you hit the

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core values, those core desires or those
core faith principles that matter to you.

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And then step three, I want
you to write down your why.

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I want you to summarize your core
motivation or motivations in a sentence,

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or maybe for you a few bullet points.

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You know, what is the fundamental
reason driving this effort?

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And then the four step, I
want you to keep it visible.

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I want you to write your why down and keep
it somewhere that you'll see it often.

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Maybe right next to your smart goal,
you're gonna want to revisit this.

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So now you're likely asking
Ralph, but why uncover your why?

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A lot of why's there?

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Well, because it directly combats the
difficulty of faltering motivation.

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And you're gonna have those times when
the, when the daily actions feel hard,

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they feel like they're impossible.

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Remembering your deep why
is going to be critical.

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It's gonna be the fuel for this journey.

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And maybe your why is I'm doing this
for peace, or I'm doing this for my

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family, or I'm doing this for freedom.

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I'm doing this to honor God.

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See that provides powerful,
emotional and spiritual fuel

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that mere numbers often can't.

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It truly makes the journey meaningful and
we all want to go on meaningful journeys.

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Well, let's pray together.

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Father God, you know our hearts and
you know our deepest motivations.

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Lord, help my friend listening right
now as they reflect on their why.

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We ask that you would guide their
thoughts, reveal their true heart

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desires, and help them connect their
financial goals to purposes that honor

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you and Lord, may their motivation be
rooted, not just in personal gain, but

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in love for you and love for others,
and a desire for faithful stewardship.

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Lord we ask that you would
fuel their journey with your

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purpose and your strength.

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Especially when things feel difficult
or impossible or tough, and we just

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thank you for giving our efforts
meaning, and we ask this in Jesus' name.

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Amen.

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Alright, well take that time
for reflection and spend some

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time and uncover your why.

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Write it down.

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Because knowing your deeper
motivation is like having high octane

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fuel for your financial engine.

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It's going to make all the difference.

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Now, understanding your why is powerful,
but sometimes other hidden motivations,

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things that have taken too high a
priority in our hearts can get in the way.

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So be sure to join me back here tomorrow
on Ask Ralph as we ask the tough question,

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our hidden idols affecting your finances.

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We're gonna discuss
that on tomorrow's show.

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If this episode helped you connect
with your motivation, helped you

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find your why, I wanna encourage
you to share it with somebody else.

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Share it with somebody
that can benefit from it.

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You can find resources and links in
the show notes at our new website,

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financially confident christian.com.

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So until tomorrow, know your why and
then just keep seeking him first.

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Let's keep working to become
financially confident Christians.

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Stay financially savvy and God bless you.

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Have a great day today
and get to your why.

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It's gonna make all the difference.