The Bigger Picture: The February Rover Scout Group meeting featuring Guest Speaker Katie Dunsworth-Reiach
Chances are, you had a vision or even a set goal of becoming somebody different from who you were when you first decided to join the rover crew. We all want to change for a better future and create a satisfying and fulfilling life for ourselves. However, it is extremely easy to lose sight and be distracted from the visions we first set out to achieve. On Sunday February 12th, 2012, Katie Dunsworth-Reiach from Smart Cookies, reminded us that our dreams are possible.
Katie introduced four basic steps for better money management. One of which resonated with me in particular: The Rather Factor. In this step, you re-evaluate yourself and make a picture of your life 5 or 10 years from now. Ask yourself what you want in your life and prioritize. Katie showed us a picture of a poster board she made with a collage of all the things she wanted to have in her life, and put it against a collage of things she wanted in the moment but could live without. This was her rather factor. Inspired by Katie’s suggestion, I am going to create my own Rather Factor to remind myself that I have a bigger purpose in life than purchasing that ridiculously overpriced special edition Louis Vuitton purse. Where I want to be is to fulfill that bigger purpose in my life (and then proceed to own all the ridiculously overpriced special edition junk I want!).
The personal development plans and leadership and management skills we develop in the Rover Scout Group are relevant skills to help us achieve our goals, but we must not forget the bigger picture in our lives. We must have a clear vision of what we are fulfilling so that our expectations can meet reality. If I became the best painter on the planet, but I actually wanted to sing, my expectations and reality will never coincide to make happiness. With that, I challenge each of you to make your own rather factor. Whether it be a collage, a list, a song, make a formal declaration to yourself.
Whether or not you are in the rover crew, having a clear picture in our heads will enable us to fly to our goals. Join me and let us bloom as we get one step closer to realizing our dreams. Thank you, Katie, for being a living, breathing reminder that we can all take control, bounce back from lows, and turn it around to make wonderful highs for ourselves.
Katie is one of the 5 bright women who founded Smart Cookies, a group who pulled themselves out of debt and now help others with financial advice. Their success landed them an opportunity to appear on the Oprah Winfrey show in 2007. They have also published two national best-selling books filled with advice on personal financial management. The Smart Cookies now have a TV show on the W network.
Katie is currently the Head of Business Development and Marketing at Talk Shop Media, one of the top PR companies in western Canada. She also serves on the Board of Directors of TEDxVancouver, and mentors a group of young professional in public relations and communications.
*Remember to check out www.smartcookies.com to learn more about the money management strategies you can benefit from.
Written by Stephanie Chan