135. The MeaningFirst Method™: Financial Goals You Want To Follow Through On

What if the way you're asking clients about their goals is actually making it harder for them to follow through?

Most coaches ask what their client wants to accomplish, get an answer like "I want to get out of debt" or "I want to save more," and then move straight into strategy. Goal identified, check. Time to build the plan.

But here's what's missing: connection. Not your connection to their goal, THEIR connection to it.

People don't take action because they have a goal. They take action when that goal feels meaningful. When they can picture what shifts on the other side of it. When they understand why it matters right now, in this season of their life.

In this episode, I'm walking you through the MeaningFirst Method™, a conversation framework that helps clients move from pressure-driven goals to goals rooted in personal truth and desire. This is the foundation that makes everything else easier: the follow-through, the consistency, the willingness to come back after a setback, the sense of ownership.

You'll hear exactly how to guide this conversation, what questions to ask, when to pause and let silence do the work, and how to help clients uncover what they actually care about, not just what they think they should want.

This isn't about adding more to your session checklist. It's about creating the clarity that makes every other conversation more effective. Because when meaning comes first, strategy has something real to build on.

Links & Resources:

• Ultimate Growth Guide
• Join the Facebook group
• Meaning First Method Conversation Guide (one-page downloadable)
• Client Creator Challenge (90-day program starting January 8th)

Key Takeaways:

• Your job isn't just to ask about goals; it's to help clients connect to them. People follow through when goals feel meaningful, not simply when they've been stated out loud.
• Sometimes the stated goal isn't the real thing that matters. It's the doorway to what actually drives them: more freedom, calm, choice, breathing room.
• The client's goal is both the North Star and the map. It shows you where you're going and informs every choice you recommend along the way.
• MeaningFirst helps clients shift from "I should fix this" to "I want to build a life that feels aligned." That's a fundamentally different, and far more sustainable, experience.
• Let silence work for you. After asking what makes a goal important right now, pause. Give them space to think and feel their way to the real answer.
• Connection comes before strategy, always. Only after meaning is clear do we start planning timelines, pacing, and tactics.
• This framework sustains motivation when things get hard. When clients understand what they actually care about, they can reconnect to that meaning every time they want to quit.