Episode #48 – Nancy Phillips – Wealth & Well Being: The Wela Way

“The Wela Way is really all about bringing together information and sharing it in a way that people can create really abundant, extraordinary lives that have meaning. They’re going to be happy at the end of their life; they’re not going to have regrets.” – Nancy Phillips

Nancy Phillips hails from Toronto, Ontario where she grew up in a family of six, with a healthy understanding of money and saving for the future. She was managing her money (her allowance) at the young age of seven, started working for her father at fourteen and had two additional jobs by time she was sixteen. After a life-changing motorcycle accident at the age of eighteen, Nancy’s competitive sports ambitions were set aside, and bigger questions emerged about how she could contribute to the world.

For over twenty-five years, Nancy worked in the sports medicine and international corporate medical world. She became a financial health author and speaker after a series of major life events left her questioning what exactly she needed to teach her children for them to lead meaningful, happy and successful lives. She wanted a comprehensive and simple program that combined personal values and success concepts with basic financial skills and could not find what she was looking for. Nancy has combined her global research, personal experience, and desire for simplicity and relevance to develop effective methods which help people create a life of meaning and financial well-being.

Nancy’s Wela Way resources are for both adults and youth. Her Steps to Success guides for young adults and parents have been successfully reviewed by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) and are used internationally by families and financial professionals with their clients. She also developed a series of Zela Wela Kids financial storybooks which have been successfully piloted with over 1,900 elementary school children. Nancy’s work has been featured in media outlets such as ABC news, CBC news, Yahoo Finance, the Chicago Tribune and CNN.

Nancy’s passion is fueled by her adamant belief that early financial education should be accessible to all families and her motivation is fueled by the positive impact her resources create.

  • Show Notes
  • [02:02] Patrick introduces his next guest, Nancy Phillips
  • [04:47] Nancy and Patrick kick it off!
  • [05:03] Nancy gives us her elevator pitch plus a little bit about why she’s doing what she does.
  • [06:03] Witnessing the many gaps that exist around financial life skills, Nancy created a concept for teaching financial literacy to kids which became The Wela Way.
  • [07:39] Nancy describes how lack of education around money, finances and having a healthy relationship with these concepts is triggering serious mental and physical health issues and contributing to what she sees as a “catastrophic situation” in our society.
  • [11:53] Nancy takes us back to the events and challenges in her life which compelled her to start the financial education path with her own kids, then broaden her reach to help other families.
  • [15:54] Surviving a life-altering motorcycle accident at 18 intensifies Nancy’s understanding that she was meant to contribute to the world in a big way.
  • [19:46] Nancy talks about the competitive sports she was involved with prior to the accident and the subsequent corporate career she chose as a kinesiologist working to develop products to help orthopedic patients and people with injuries.
  • [21:57] Reflecting on the physical and emotional pain she experienced from her injury, her divorce and the faltering economy, Nancy recognizes the gifts and awareness that all of these challenges brought to her life.
  • [26:57] What was Nancy’s financial landscape as she embarked on her journey of financial literacy for her kids?
  • [28:38] Nancy describes how one conversation with a woman when she was 21 years old changed her financial trajectory which eventually resulted in Nancy developing the GISS method: Give, Invest, Save, Spend.
  • [30:56] The Wela Way: helping people bring together information to create abundant, happy lives with meaning, love and well-being.
  • [32:33] Both passion and anger over the lack of life skill resources in the educational system fueled a fire in Nancy to create the resources herself, get the conversation started early and make the information accessible to everyone regardless of a person’s socio-economic status.
  • [36:02] Nancy offers her insights into why the education system is not including critical life skills in their curriculum.
  • [39:47] Nancy explains how her programs can first help parents understand fundamental financial life skills for themselves, so they can then use these fundamentals as a starting point in their kids’ development.
  • [44:55] Differing money belief systems is very common between couples, and Nancy describes how pre-marital financial courses could change lives.
  • [47:28] Instilling the GISS Method at a young age, can set up a powerful financial framework for a lifetime.
  • [50:01] Nancy illustrates the increasing phenomenon of financial infidelity between couples and the tension that conflicting money mindsets can create.
  • [53:39] Patrick shares an epiphany he had about consumerism in society and self-observation around his changing values.
  • [55:03] While Nancy may not feel like she’s “winning the war” just yet, receiving letters from families with their success stories and achievements keep her going.
  • [58:30] Nancy imparts some guidance around creating a significant impact on our life and success: break down simple step by step actions to take every day, develop awareness around how our innate physiology breeds consumerism, exercise self-compassion and don’t give up when we make a mistake.
  • [62:47] Nancy discusses the issue of detachment from tangible money and the psychology of spending with plastic vs. handling real currency.
  • [67:30] Nancy and Patrick talk about research that shows the disconnect from reality that children experience, significantly since 2012, due to the increase in digitization of money and constant exposure to technology.
  • [68:11] Nancy explains the psychological mechanisms that drive our money decisions such as fear, ego and oxytocin.
  • [72:08] Being an objective resource for kids to have conversations about money allows Nancy to engage them and facilitate the discussion in a way that many kids can’t hear when it comes from their own parents.
  • [74:15] How does the conversation about money work between Nancy and her own kids?
  • [76:21] Patrick emphasizes for listeners the importance of having pragmatic and wholistic conversations about money with our kids.
  • [77:13] Circling around to Nancy’s upbringing and her early relationship with money and entrepreneurialism.
  • [79:21] Nancy describes her family’s philosophy around money.
  • [80:27] Patrick and Nancy hit home the increased urgency of educating and sharing the fundamentals of finance with our kids in a time of increased speed and decreased emotion.
  • [82:56] Nancy offers some last nuggets of wisdom about the money conversation for adults to have with kids, the core of which is: just begin.
  • [86:00] Rapid fire time: recommended book, favourite swear word (and why she doesn’t swear much!), an alternate profession in art, messages at the pearly gates, where Nancy ranks on the weirdness scale, room-desk-car, favourite tune and favourite movie.
  • [89:12] Nancy’s great gratitude.

Connect with Nancy Phillips:
LinkedIn
Twitter
Instagram
Facebook
Speaking Engagements

Selected Links and People Mentioned from this episode:
The Wela Way
Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki
Real Estate Investment Network
Zela Wela Kids Story Books
Breaking The Habit of Being Yourself by Joe Dispenza

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