Attention vs. Value: Where Are You Focused?

If your financial plan was as noisy as the daily market, you’d never sleep.

Your plan is what’s valuable. But unfortunately, it doesn’t get the same level of attention as the daily market headlines. And while that’s great for drama, it’s terrible for your financial well-being.

The Problem with How We Measure Value

We have an odd relationship with time. It’s our most valuable resource—the one thing we can never make more of. Yet, we often use time spent as a measure of value.

If something took a long time to build, we assume it’s worth more. By that logic, we should all want surgery to take 12 hours instead of 2. Or prefer to pay an attorney for 10 billable hours rather than just 1.

But in both cases, you’re not just spending more money—you’re also spending more time.

The True Cost of Financial Planning

Let’s look at an example of this with a financial plan...

Say a financial plan costs you $5,000. Between meetings, gathering documents, and implementation, you spend 15 hours working on it. If you value your time at $200 per hour, your actual cost is $8,000.

Now let’s say instead of a one-time plan, you work with your advisor on an ongoing basis. Each year, maintaining and adjusting your plan only takes 2 hours of your time, and the ongoing cost is $7,500 annually. Adding in the value of your time ($400), the total cost is $7,900.

That’s $100 LESS per year. Not only that but you don't have the full weight of implementation and on-going strategy resting on your shoulders. You’re saving time, avoiding costly mistakes, and focusing on what truly matters.

The Attention Economy: Why the Media Wins (and You Lose)

Media companies understand one thing very well:

Your Attention = Your Time. Your Time = Their Profit.

Daily market movements, sensational headlines, and financial clickbait? These are very valuable. They make a lot of money, for the media companies. NOT for you.

So what’s actually valuable to you?

✅ Personalized financial guidance that cuts through the noise.

✅ Market history and perspective that keeps you from making emotionally driven mistakes.

Perspective Changes Everything

I talk about perspective all the time—but why is it so important?

Imagine standing at the foot of a mountain, staring up at its peak lost in the clouds. The climb looks insurmountable. Now stand a mile away and look up—get some distance—and suddenly, you can see the paths leading up. The summit isn’t as far as it seemed.

Financial media wants you stuck at the foot of the mountain, paralyzed by fear and uncertainty. Unable to move forward or backward. Your attention is totally fixated on the fear and anger in front of you. The longer they can keep you stuck here, the more money they make.

Stepping back and gaining perspective—especially from the weight of historical market data—gives you clarity. It helps you ignore the noise, stay the course, and protect your hard-earned money from emotional decision-making.

The Bottom Line

Your financial plan, not the daily stock ticker, is what determines your future success.

Your time is better spent refining that plan than reacting to media-driven fear and hype.

And your wealth grows not from watching the news but from focusing on long-term value over short-term attention.

Want to shift your focus to what actually matters? Let’s talk.

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