One question I’ve been thinking about for much of my life is this: What would I do even if I weren’t paid to do it?

Not because money doesn’t matter. It does. But because there is something powerful about discovering the work, service, or contribution that feels deeply aligned with who you are. For some people, that answer comes early. For others, it takes decades of living, working, experimenting, failing, rebuilding, and paying attention.

For me, the answer has become clearer over time. I like helping people get their priorities straight. I like helping people take the confusion, stress, and uncertainty around money and turn it into clarity, structure, and peace of mind. That work matters to me.

And recently, as I’ve been walking through my cancer journey, that question has become much more than philosophical. It has become practical. When your energy changes, your priorities have to change too.

Energy Has Become a New Currency

Right now, I’m in a season where I don’t have the same energy I used to have. Part of that is cancer. Part of that is recovery. Part of that is getting medication levels figured out and learning what my body needs now.

Some days, I can do what I used to do. Other days, I have to be more careful. That has forced me to think differently, not just about how I spend my money, but how I spend my energy.

Energy, like money, is limited. You can waste it. You can spend it accidentally. You can give it to things that don’t really matter. Or you can decide, ahead of time, where it needs to go.

In many ways, I’m learning to give every bit of my energy a job. Some of it goes to healing. Some of it goes to family. Some of it goes to rest. Some of it goes to meaningful work. Some of it goes to joy. And some of it needs to be protected from things that no longer deserve as much of me as they once received.

This Is Where Money Still Matters

When I talk about money, I’m not talking about having piles of it. I’m not talking about chasing wealth for the sake of wealth. I’m talking about having a foundation.

Some reserves. Some margin. Some money set aside so that when life throws something unexpected your way, you have room to breathe.

Because life will throw things your way. A diagnosis. A job change. A family crisis. A major repair. A season where you simply cannot do as much as you used to.

That’s when a good financial foundation becomes more than numbers on a screen. It becomes options. It becomes time. It becomes less panic. It becomes the ability to make thoughtful decisions instead of desperate ones.

And that matters, especially when you’re already carrying something heavy.

The Goal Is Not to Be Rich

I think this is where people sometimes misunderstand money. The goal is not always to have more and more. The goal is to have enough structure, clarity, and breathing room that money can support the life you’re trying to live.

That kind of foundation gives you margin. And margin gives you choices.

It gives you the ability to pause instead of panic. To be proactive instead of reactive. To spend more time on what matters. To make changes before you are forced to make them. To create more of the life you actually want instead of simply managing the life that happened by default.

That is becoming even more important to me now.

My cancer journey has made me look at my own priorities with sharper focus. What do I want this next chapter to look like? What do I want more of? What needs to become simpler? What work still feels worth my energy? What do I want to stop tolerating? What kind of husband, father, friend, coach, mentor, and person do I want to be in this season?

Those questions are not just about cancer. They are about life. Cancer has simply made them harder to ignore.

Bringing Coaching and Mentoring Back Into the Work

As I think about this next chapter, I’m realizing something important: coaching and mentoring are not separate from the money work I do. They support each other.

I have coached and mentored people for more than 25 years. When I started Get Priorities Straight, I intentionally focused the business around money coaching because I didn’t want to confuse people. I wanted the message to be clear: I help people get their finances straight, create a spending plan, build reserves, and reduce the stress and uncertainty around money.

That clarity has been helpful. But eight years later, I can see something more clearly. Getting your finances straight is not only about money. It gives you a foundation to do more of what you actually want to spend your life and energy on.

When you have reserves, margin, and a plan, you have more choice. You have more freedom. You have more peace of mind. You are less trapped by the urgent and more able to be intentional about the important.

That is where coaching and mentoring naturally come back into the picture for me.

I want to help people not only ask, “Where is my money going?” but also, “What is my money making possible?” What do I want more of? What do I want less of? What am I ready to stop tolerating? What deserves my time, attention, energy, and resources in this next chapter?

For some people, that may mean changing how they spend. For others, it may mean building reserves, getting out of debt, simplifying commitments, changing work, improving relationships, or finally making room for something they have been putting off for years.

That is the kind of work I want to do more intentionally again. Not as a replacement for money coaching, but as a natural extension of it.

Because when your finances are in better order, you create the margin to live more deliberately. And when you are clearer about the life you want, your money decisions become more meaningful too.

Writing the Next Chapter

I don’t want this next chapter of my life to be defined only by treatment, appointments, medication levels, or uncertainty. Those things are part of the story, but they are not the whole story.

I want this chapter to be about clarity, choosing well, paying attention, using my energy wisely, and continuing to do meaningful work without sacrificing my health or peace. I want to enjoy the people I love. I want to create more space for what matters and less space for what doesn’t.

In some ways, this season has narrowed my focus. But in other ways, it has expanded my gratitude. I’m more aware of the value of a normal day, a good conversation, a quiet morning, a meaningful client meeting, a walk, a laugh, and a chance to help someone see their situation more clearly.

These things matter. Maybe they always did, but I notice them differently now.

What I’d Offer You

You don’t need a cancer diagnosis to reevaluate your priorities. You don’t need a crisis to ask better questions. You don’t need to wait until life forces your hand.

You can start now.

What would you keep doing even if you weren’t paid? What brings meaning to your life? What deserves more of your time, attention, energy, and money? What are you funding that no longer fits? What are you neglecting that matters deeply? What are you ready to stop tolerating? And do you have enough of a foundation to weather the storms that eventually come?

Not perfect. Not wealthy. Not completely protected from uncertainty. Just prepared enough to have some choices.

Because when life changes, choices matter.

And the more clearly your money, energy, and priorities are aligned, the more peacefully you can move through whatever chapter comes next.

For me, this chapter is still being written. But I want to write it with intention, gratitude, courage, clarity, and with my priorities as straight as I can make them.

Staying Connected

I’ve had a number of people reach out asking how things are going, and I truly appreciate the support.

If you’d like to follow along with my journey or send well wishes, I’m sharing updates here:
CaringBridge page

Thank you for being part of my community—it means more than you know.

If your money doesn’t feel predictable right now, your confidence won’t either. Let’s change that.

Schedule a conversation with me at MeetWithDoug.com.