When it comes to thriving in life and business, it’s not just about what you do—it’s about where you do it. In today’s session with Ryan Frederick, we unpacked why your environment, community, health, and finances are all shaped by the places you choose—whether you're launching a company or planning your next chapter in life. The right place can fuel your happiness, connections, and success. Don’t just plan your finances—plan your place. Take three minutes for a 'place check'—it could change the way you work and live!
👉 https://www.here.life
👉 https://www.here.life
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:02):
Grow, Sell and Retire is the podcast for the lazy overachiever.
Bad Dalton, author of the Assisted Purchase, True Gravity and Grow,
Sell and Retire, is here to give his twenty five
years of secrets, tips and assistants to take your business
to the next level. This podcast is for anyone who
wants to sell more, work less and make better business.
(00:24):
Now here's your host, Bad with today's GSR podcast.
Speaker 2 (00:30):
Everybody Bead Dalton Here, Growth, Sell and Retire Podcast. Today,
I have Ryan Frederick here with me Right Place, Right
Time talking about you know, we talk in business about location, location, location,
It's not just about in business. Ryan's going to talk
to us about what it means in life. Read a
post today by you that talked about fifty percent of
(00:51):
your friends change every seven years. Ryan Frederick tell us
about right Place, Right Time, and then I really want
to dig into why it really matters about not just
where you do your business, but where you live.
Speaker 3 (01:02):
Yeah. Absolutely great to great to be with you, Bed.
Speaker 4 (01:05):
Yeah, it is a I describe it as so Yeah,
as you point out, you know the book I wrote
it is called Right Place, Right Time, focused on really
a guide and ultimate guide to help people find home
in the second half of life. But the broader point
is that where you live, no matter what asian stage
(01:26):
in life, whether you're choosing what university go to, where
to start and run your business, where to raise your kids, retire,
et cetera, place has this overwhelming impact in our individual
lives and well being. And I describe it now as
place planning. You have financial planning for a long life,
(01:46):
but this place thing average average person, at least in
the US, I suspect it's similar I think in parts
of Europe, but moves about a dozen times in their life.
So it's not a one and done. There are different
different chapters. Each chapter gives you a chance to consider
are you in the right place to thrive for that chapter?
Speaker 5 (02:05):
And we're getting we're living longer and longer and longer.
Speaker 2 (02:08):
And you and I, you know, met at a conference
about longevity and about people looking at their not only
their finances, but what those finances will do for them
throughout life. And you know you've you've taken this from
from a lot of different points, commercially and otherwise. But
you used to work in the healthcare sector, and so
walk us through what kind of doubt those roots take
(02:30):
it to this thought process to now looking at it
working with wealth managers and CEOs of firms and things
like this.
Speaker 4 (02:36):
Yeah, well it's maybe it's similar for you be d
In fact, I'm pretty sure it is given some more conversations.
But life's not linear, and I it's just a thumbnail sketch.
I studied to Letts in college, worked in Silicon Valley,
went to business school and pitted out of technology and
was really curious about these longer lives people were living.
(02:59):
It's about twenty years ago. It was Stanford Business School,
and that was my pivot, focused on housing at the
time and people living longer and how should we think
about it. So I've spent a lot of time. I
would describe on the supply side, how can we create
better places for people to live and thrive, particularly in
(03:20):
the second half of life, on the on the private
equity side, operating side, and have a consulting practice, work
with groups actually internationally on how can we create better
places for.
Speaker 3 (03:31):
People to thrive. But was nudged by friends and family
over the years, Ryn.
Speaker 4 (03:35):
You know so much about this place thing on the
supply side, but man, people they don't know how to
think about it. And and I majored in engineering in
college to avoid reading and writing, So writing a book
was never part of the master plan. But I capitulated,
and really I took a moment. I'm a systems thinker
(03:56):
in my DNA BD and so I thought took that
like system was thinking, thought about it from a consumer perspective,
and really, I would say stumbled upon what I believe
is one of the most important decisions you know you
make in your life. When you look at the longevity
research we talked about that conference, your DNA, your genetics
(04:21):
only account for up to about ten percent of your lifespan.
It's very much about lifestyle and environment. And lifestyle the
things we choose, the friends we make, the purpose we find.
But where we live influences all those things. So in
my book, Right Place, Right Time, there's an assessment provoking
(04:42):
people to think about their particular situation. I put that
online now broke it into four different domains. The environment
domain so square footage and emotions, psychological how you think
about place. The second dimension health, so in what ways,
whether it's quality of air, ability, exercise, frequently a diet
(05:02):
available for you, like where you live influences that. The
third area is community social connections. Like you referenced earlier
on the post, I'd written like where we live forms
these close friendships, these tertiary friendships, that sense of place.
Speaker 3 (05:19):
In the fourth areas financial, So.
Speaker 4 (05:21):
As we think about it in financial it drives you know,
our cost of living where we live.
Speaker 3 (05:26):
But if we own where we.
Speaker 4 (05:27):
Live, all also can show up as an asset and
the balance sheet.
Speaker 5 (05:30):
So when you're talking to companies and individuals and you're
looking at where they live or where they work and
kind of proximities and things like that, what are some
major questions from a business point of view. Let's go
with the.
Speaker 2 (05:48):
Business person, then we'll go into the personal point of view.
And I know we've broken into four segments. But oh yeah,
and actually maybe some surprises that came out of it
when you start talking to people and they go.
Speaker 5 (05:57):
WHOA, I never really thought about.
Speaker 3 (05:59):
That, I think from a business perspective.
Speaker 4 (06:03):
I recently I'm in Austin, Texas, and I recently went
to a presentation by David Booth, the founder of Dimensional,
and he talked about the process they went through moving
from California to Texas. This goes back a couple of
decades ago. Now, and he was thinking about it personally. Yes,
(06:26):
tax policy definitely was a key factor for him in
his life, but he also thought about it through the
lens of the community and affordability for his workforce, And
he also thought about it in the context of the
growth trajectory of these different metropolitan areas he was looking at. So,
(06:47):
I think as from a company perspective, now, I know
AI is impacting some of this. We're seeing some companies
downside some.
Speaker 3 (06:54):
Of the workforce.
Speaker 4 (06:55):
But generally speaking, where can you tract like uh, the bad,
attract and retain high quality uh talent where not everyone
necessarily is making a salary of the c suite really
translating that into cost living, translating into quality of life,
(07:18):
translating into quality of schools, like all these things matter,
you know.
Speaker 3 (07:23):
Here in the US. Just earlier this week, there.
Speaker 4 (07:25):
Was a surprise, I suppose in the demic democratic primaries
in New York City. Yes, where someone uh, in New
York it's largely whoever it's the Democratic primary pretty much
becomes the mayor and and and the kid. The person
at won the primary is a very young law leader
(07:48):
and leans a bit socialist, And so there's I've seen
a number of commentaries around business leaders in New York
City kind of wondering what's going to be around the corner.
So so I think that there are for those those
of your listeners and you know, your clientele BD who
are thinking about their companies in what and by the
way I'm saying at this is the.
Speaker 3 (08:09):
Macro level, there is a micro level, which is.
Speaker 4 (08:12):
How do our offices that we have, how do we
design them to have a sense of connection and interaction.
Speaker 3 (08:19):
That's a that's a separate conversation.
Speaker 4 (08:21):
But I think at a at a corporate strategy perspective,
they these decisions they matter, they matter, and and and
also being being recognizing as you go through these things,
what happens if the wind blows a different direction?
Speaker 3 (08:36):
What's your capability of changing if you need to.
Speaker 2 (08:40):
That's awesome if we go to the micro level, because
you kind of you've leaned in there and I know
that's you've got some ideas. So open plan, office, c
suitet corners, corner corner office is all this. So what
what have you seen with some of these successful companies
for community inside the workforce that that kind of drives
things forward, that the change had changed throughout the last
(09:03):
five years.
Speaker 5 (09:04):
Maybe that you've seen.
Speaker 3 (09:05):
Yeah, well it's it's interesting, bed.
Speaker 4 (09:07):
I think it's easy to get caught up with some
of the fads.
Speaker 3 (09:10):
You know, this is what everyone's doing, and well, I'll
pick on the open floor plans for a moment. Uh.
Speaker 4 (09:16):
You know, I think that the design initially was the
open floor plans would lead to collaboration, it would lead
to just people interacting more often. I don't think the
data has really born that out. I think what's happened
is it is for some companies some instances, it's actually
been quite a bit of a distraction for people that
(09:37):
when they have well zoom conversations, phone calls, et cetera,
just the ambient noise level, uh can be so loud
that it can be a productivity killer. Instantly, I was
I was in Europe for a number of weeks recently,
and I was a good friend of mine lives in Geneva.
He's Spanish, and and uh he was we were joking,
(09:59):
it's bringing American to work day.
Speaker 3 (10:01):
So I came with him to work.
Speaker 4 (10:02):
And he's probably not the only Spaniard this way, but
he's allowed talker and and and so thankfully they had
him in a in a separate office he had closed
away because if he was an open area, it would
have been quite a distraction. So I think what's happening
a little bit. I think form follows function, and so
I think what I would recommend, you know, for you know,
(10:23):
your CEO listeners, et cetera, is like, what are the
values that we care about and in what way can
our design location, design expectations about how you come to
the office. In what ways can that map the values
that we are trying to espouse. For example, you know,
(10:46):
you might find I know some some CEO friends of
mine here in the States, they've gone very much to
a high hybrid model. They don't intend to change it,
but they're emphasizing certain days when people are in the
office this and their efforts to really get to know
each other and collaborate. So and they've moved away from
some of the open spaces but more plug in, plug out.
(11:10):
So you may not have a dedicated office where it's
yours all the time, but there's spaces you can go
to to have those you know, kind of private conversations
and ability to concentrate, particularly for those that are are creative.
So there's a number of different models, but I'm not
I certainly do not subscribe to theory that the the
open office is the right way to go for every company.
Speaker 5 (11:34):
That makes sense.
Speaker 2 (11:35):
Okay, So now let's get into the individual and let's
talk about that. Because the ther your overall model and questionnaire,
which is really cool, and we've we've taken it and
done all this stuff and started showing it to our
clients and doing this.
Speaker 5 (11:50):
How did you come up with the metrics?
Speaker 2 (11:51):
How did you break it into the four and then
if you were to choose two of the four that
were the most important, and then this overall PSSs that
if if these are red or yellow or you know that,
or low on the totem pole, you might need to
move like tomorrow.
Speaker 4 (12:09):
Yeah, you know it is it's so personal, you know,
BD like what I might love and be the right
thing for me, uh, you might hate and be the
worst thing for you. So it's a very per it's
a very personal thing. What I found was, uh that
that Zillow, for example, there's been uh so much focus
(12:32):
of uh at times anyway of well let's go look
at these houses that are out there, and well, you know,
kind of the kitchen, you know, the man cave, et cetera,
and falling in love with your four walls, and your
four walls, they they're not unimportant.
Speaker 3 (12:48):
It's just the only pal, the only tell part of
the story.
Speaker 4 (12:51):
Yes, And so I think that what I found going
through this and in writing the book and now my
company here and then place planning, is that it's important
for people to think about it in these multi dimensions.
And the reason it kind of fell into the four
that I described, environment, health, community, and finances is that
(13:14):
I found each of those pieces to be significant enough
and backed by research that they warranted separate attention. You know, purpose,
for example, Purpose is one of the key drivers for happiness. However,
I found that purpose wasn't as correlated as clearly to place.
(13:36):
So while that's important, I didn't necessarily find a spot
for that in the four, So I kept it to
four of the four. If I were to pick a couple,
you know, I would say it'd either all important. I
would say that if you're out of balance in any
of them, that's pause enough to wonder whether improving your
place is worth the effort.
Speaker 3 (13:59):
And I say improve your place, it doesn't necessarily.
Speaker 4 (14:01):
Mean move you know, you could cause make some cosmetic changes,
you could remodel, you can do it. There's scenaris where
we don't do anything your physical place, but how you
orient your places differently.
Speaker 3 (14:12):
Okay, I'm going.
Speaker 4 (14:13):
To join a gym that's near me and be more active.
Speaker 3 (14:17):
I'm going to reach out to friends that I haven't
seen recently. So there's ways. It's not just where you
chooses your place, it's how you choose.
Speaker 4 (14:24):
To activate that place. Now that being said, back to
your question, I would highlight a community for sure. I
think what's happening right now is that we are our societies.
You know, there's certainly some strong parallels in the UK
with the US around in other countries too. Around there's
(14:46):
less that's bringing us together organically to build, to spark,
build and maintain friendships. We have to make more effort,
I believe than perhaps are generations of the past.
Speaker 3 (15:01):
Uh.
Speaker 4 (15:03):
You know, there were times for sure, when thinking about Ireland,
although the same is true in the UK where you
would have that local pub and and people would be
there often weekly perhaps uh and or daily, you know,
say daily, and so just by virtue of having that
(15:24):
that having that pint, you know, you would be around others. Well,
I can at least say in the US that those
patterns they're not the same now, and and we've got
these devices that we're using that are distractions. It's you know,
they call it the attention economy. And so I think
that collectively, uh or individually and then and then in
(15:47):
the aggregate, people have fewer close, close friends than they
used to. And it's a particularly a male issue. Now
it's an issue with women well as well, but particularly
for men. As we get older, we can't just expect
that these friendships are going to happen and be sustained.
Speaker 3 (16:05):
And so I think that it's a.
Speaker 4 (16:07):
Very key piece of this bad because there are some
places where making friendships it can be difficult, or say
more difficult than the otherwise would be. There are fewer
people like you enough to make friends, or you don't
run into the proximity, you don't run into people enough,
(16:27):
you're not spending enough time to build these friendships. Like
you mentioned, researchers indicated that over a seven year period,
fifty percent of our friendship network turns over. And so
if we're not intentional, we're not the right place to
cultivate it. There may not be new people filling some
of those slots. So I would say, and the research
(16:48):
around a healthy longevity, not just living longer, but living healthy,
the role of friendships is just overwhelming. This second area
I would just say to answer your question of the
four might be actually actually might be finances, just because
I think with people living longer, we have to be
mindful about where we want to allocate, you know, our dollars,
(17:10):
not just in terms of expense, but sometimes people move
to to retire quote unquote to a place and it
actually pulls them out of economic opportunity and and and
they can find that maybe they're costs or lower, but
now actually if they want to work or be involved
in things, those opportunities aren't there as much. So I
(17:31):
think there's layers on on the financial or you know,
human capital piece. You know, I talked about the conference
that that has a dimension with place that sometimes people overlook.
Speaker 2 (17:42):
So some of your your favorite questions that you ask
on the on on your the what do we call it,
the question assessment assessment.
Speaker 5 (17:52):
Your your ones ones?
Speaker 2 (17:53):
The thought I this is something I have to include
now you know, after you look through the questions and
you weren't the answer weren't coming out and agreeing with
I'm not saying you skewed them, but we're going in
the right direction. It's like, okay, I need to add
this question in or take this question out. What we're
a couple of the things that kind of were really
skewing the answers put them up.
Speaker 4 (18:15):
Well, yeah, I had some researchers collaborate with me on
that questionnaire because there's the assessment, because there's a balance
the assessments called the right place assessment takes about three
minutes for people to do and then gives you a
graph and some suggestions, just a snapshot kind of.
Speaker 3 (18:29):
Where you are.
Speaker 4 (18:30):
I would say, Betty, one of the questions that and
so now thousands of people have taken it across the world,
so it's been pretty interesting in the aggregate to get
a sense of where people are on this. I would
say a couple of things. One that a key area
that I may have not been part of the initial iteration,
but is part of the iteration now. That's been one
(18:51):
of the lowest scoring questions Betty. And overall there's twenty questions,
five questions for each of the four categories has been
to what extent is your current place going to work
for you in five years and the reason why. So
(19:11):
it's actually, i think a very important question, and it's
been interesting to see people's response to because there are
things when we move into a flat or single family
house rental, but especially if we buy it, that there's
things we can do that effectively allow it to have optionality,
(19:33):
like it.
Speaker 3 (19:33):
Can work for us for a longer period of time.
Speaker 4 (19:38):
For example, there's advantages to having your like the master bedroom,
say it's a single family house a couple stories, there's
advantages of having the master bedroom in the first floor
for convenience, but also just to the extent, mobility might
be a concern even episodically, you know, down the road,
and so certain homes that have like lots of state
(20:00):
and lots of stairs to things that are essential can
effectively make it compromised or obsolete in other situations. By
the way, it's not just for you. When we moved
to Texas about six years ago and we remodel our house,
we have a guest room on our first floor, and
we wanted to make sure that would work really well
(20:21):
for families that might come visit us, as well as
older family members, and so we made sure there was
no upstairs you know, involved in the bathroom was was
designed in such a way that was functional but limited
kind of fall risks. So there are I think is
PD What I have found in this and in the
(20:42):
questions is that sometimes people it's human nature.
Speaker 3 (20:45):
There's a focus on.
Speaker 4 (20:46):
The here and now, whereas there's things that we can
do around how we choose place that gives us optionality
to have the same place work for us, effectively grow
with us better than other places.
Speaker 2 (21:04):
So you've done some calculations and you've looked at it.
So how about owners that live too far from there
from their factory, their business or whatever whatever they are,
and how much that actually costs them? Or managers even
CEOs whatever that might not own the business, what would
they be willing later on in life through your studies
(21:25):
trade if they said, oh, if I could get back
those two hours of commute time, I'd trade out X.
Speaker 3 (21:33):
Yeah. Well, it's complicated. There is. There's some of the
research has talked about.
Speaker 4 (21:40):
Those factors related to place, like you're describing where it
impacts your quality of life, and there's just two areas
jump out related to this commute thing.
Speaker 3 (21:50):
One is.
Speaker 4 (21:52):
If you're in a place where there's loud and noise,
like near a going train, near an air or like
your body never fully UH is able to accommodate that,
Like it creates this this ambient stress level.
Speaker 3 (22:09):
So that's kind of one thing to think about.
Speaker 4 (22:11):
The other piece, you know, to your UH and there
actually are so there's some interesting research around air quality
as well and how it has a linkage to your
your brain health for example. So kind of an odd one,
but people that live too close to golf courses there's
(22:31):
a linkage because of some of the pesticides that have
been used on the greens. Yeah, you lose two close it.
Actually there is a correlation with increased the closer you are,
the higher the risk of some neurological diseases. So there
are like these things. Back to the commune piece, Yeah there,
I want to say, what the research I've seen is
(22:52):
around half an hour. Once you extend beyond a half
an hour, it really it's one of these things that
has this ongoing negative impact on your well being. And
what also I think seems to happen BD is that
you you know, it doesn't have a linear relationship like
it almost starts to become a little more exponential. Like
(23:16):
the closer you are, the easier it is to not
have a B hassle. Also, the easieres is to go
in on a regular basis. I'm not advocating that you
should show up all the weekends, but there may be
things like you know, I just got to go run
to do something. If it's if it's ten minutes to
get there versus you know, forty five minutes, it's has
a very different impact instantly for people with family members.
This is significant if you some of the research when
(23:39):
you look at saying wanted to see family members, if
they live within ten minutes versus an hour, you see
them more than six times more frequently if they're in
within that ten minute gap than an hour. So these
things don't have linear relationships. They actually have more of
an exponential relationship to them.
Speaker 5 (23:57):
That's awesome.
Speaker 2 (23:58):
So if what what's next and how what what do
you see your role when you're interacting with with businesses
and individuals through through the hear Yeah.
Speaker 4 (24:10):
So the thesis I have you know b D and
I think a lot of it is backed by by
research spend that's been happening for a while now is
that place is this key ingredient in life that effectively
is is hidden in plain sight? And so as I,
as you and I and others focus more not just
on lifespan how long we live, but health span how
(24:34):
many years do we live in a high high level
of health. I think more people are going to be
focusing on health span. As more people focus on health span,
I am an advocate for certainly waving the flag and.
Speaker 3 (24:52):
Start with place. Start with place.
Speaker 4 (24:54):
Understand the way in which place impacts your life style, habits,
your overall health and well being for yourself, your future, self,
your employees. Think about these different chapters of life. I
think it's helpful with tools like the assessment to say,
(25:17):
wait a second, this is a multi dimensional aspects of
my life. Am I in the right spot right now?
Is my spouse in the right spot right now? How
do we talk about these things? What can I do
if I'm not in the right spot? What can I
do to tweak my current spot to make it better?
As I think about like life transitions, you know the
adage life is.
Speaker 3 (25:38):
It's always in the transitions.
Speaker 4 (25:41):
And so as you think about changes in your work, career,
changes in health, changes perhaps in marital status and so.
Speaker 3 (25:49):
On, every one of those transitions, those changes.
Speaker 4 (25:54):
Like look at place, like where where can place come
in as a partner in making sure that you're the
best you can be in the next chapter. And then
the other thing I'd say, ABD is not to say
that we have to be sociologists, not to say that
we all have to be economists. But pay attention to
how your place is changing, not just not it's not
(26:15):
just that we individually change, but places change now. They
can become more expensive, they can become well, I mean, jeez,
all of the controversy right now around immigration, the protests
in Ireland the other day. You know, it's like we
and I'm not I'm not saying we're not. I'm not
(26:38):
projecting a point of view. What I'm saying is places change,
and when they change, there's an opportunity for you to
calibrate is this is this the is the place now?
The right place for me today and in the future.
And that can be as innocuous as kind of traffic
climate change that's.
Speaker 3 (26:58):
Maybe not as innocuous. If you're.
Speaker 4 (27:01):
Yeah, I mean New York right now is over one
hundred degrees for example, So you know you have these
different situations. Actually, another example, at least in places in
the US, people having a really hard time getting insurance
because of fire risk, because of other natural disasters. So
I would say think it yourself, but also take a
moment to be thoughtful about how your place is changing.
Speaker 5 (27:24):
Ryan, that's fabulous.
Speaker 2 (27:25):
So if we do the rewind moment, So if they
only get to this last minute of the Yes podcast,
what's the number one thing or question that you want
to put in somebody's head that see that you're going
to leave there to think about place as an individual
and business owner.
Speaker 4 (27:43):
Yeah, I would say it is one of the most
important levers places, one of the most important levers that
you often control in shaping a long, healthy, financially secure life.
And that would be that that's the headline b D.
You know, for those that are looking to get a
(28:04):
little more information. The company that I have is called
here h Ere Here dot Life is the website and
there's an assessment on that on the website takes three
minutes and that can give you just a quick litmus
test if it's something important to you. There's other content,
there's courses that have been created in coaching. If you
want to drive down towards actually creating a plan of
(28:27):
what you're looking to do.
Speaker 2 (28:29):
Fabulous, Ryan, this is great the right place, right time
on the podcast, and it's been lots of fun hosting
you and hopefully people get a lot out of that.
And I really appreciate your time and all your information.
It's been fabulous.
Speaker 3 (28:42):
Yeah, pleasure to be with you, b D.
Speaker 1 (28:46):
Thanks for joining us on Grow Sell and Retire. For
more information tools or to book one of our team members,
to work with your team business, or to speak at
your event or conference, visit rockfind dot co dot uk.
If you like the podcast, you'll love one of Beattie's
three books, The Assisted Purchase, True Gravity and the Book.
The podcast is based on Grow, Sell and Retire. If
(29:09):
you want to work for the rest of your life,
that is your business. If you don't, that is ours
Grow, Sell and Retire is the podcast for the lazy overachiever.
Bad Dalton, author of the Assisted Purchase, True Gravity and Grow,
Sell and Retire, is here to give his twenty five
years of secrets, tips and assistants to take your business
to the next level. This podcast is for anyone who
wants to sell more, work less and make better business.
(00:24):
Now here's your host, Bad with today's GSR podcast.
Speaker 2 (00:30):
Everybody Bead Dalton Here, Growth, Sell and Retire Podcast. Today,
I have Ryan Frederick here with me Right Place, Right
Time talking about you know, we talk in business about location, location, location,
It's not just about in business. Ryan's going to talk
to us about what it means in life. Read a
post today by you that talked about fifty percent of
(00:51):
your friends change every seven years. Ryan Frederick tell us
about right Place, Right Time, and then I really want
to dig into why it really matters about not just
where you do your business, but where you live.
Speaker 3 (01:02):
Yeah. Absolutely great to great to be with you, Bed.
Speaker 4 (01:05):
Yeah, it is a I describe it as so Yeah,
as you point out, you know the book I wrote
it is called Right Place, Right Time, focused on really
a guide and ultimate guide to help people find home
in the second half of life. But the broader point
is that where you live, no matter what asian stage
(01:26):
in life, whether you're choosing what university go to, where
to start and run your business, where to raise your kids, retire,
et cetera, place has this overwhelming impact in our individual
lives and well being. And I describe it now as
place planning. You have financial planning for a long life,
(01:46):
but this place thing average average person, at least in
the US, I suspect it's similar I think in parts
of Europe, but moves about a dozen times in their life.
So it's not a one and done. There are different
different chapters. Each chapter gives you a chance to consider
are you in the right place to thrive for that chapter?
Speaker 5 (02:05):
And we're getting we're living longer and longer and longer.
Speaker 2 (02:08):
And you and I, you know, met at a conference
about longevity and about people looking at their not only
their finances, but what those finances will do for them
throughout life. And you know you've you've taken this from
from a lot of different points, commercially and otherwise. But
you used to work in the healthcare sector, and so
walk us through what kind of doubt those roots take
(02:30):
it to this thought process to now looking at it
working with wealth managers and CEOs of firms and things
like this.
Speaker 4 (02:36):
Yeah, well it's maybe it's similar for you be d
In fact, I'm pretty sure it is given some more conversations.
But life's not linear, and I it's just a thumbnail sketch.
I studied to Letts in college, worked in Silicon Valley,
went to business school and pitted out of technology and
was really curious about these longer lives people were living.
(02:59):
It's about twenty years ago. It was Stanford Business School,
and that was my pivot, focused on housing at the
time and people living longer and how should we think
about it. So I've spent a lot of time. I
would describe on the supply side, how can we create
better places for people to live and thrive, particularly in
(03:20):
the second half of life, on the on the private
equity side, operating side, and have a consulting practice, work
with groups actually internationally on how can we create better
places for.
Speaker 3 (03:31):
People to thrive. But was nudged by friends and family
over the years, Ryn.
Speaker 4 (03:35):
You know so much about this place thing on the
supply side, but man, people they don't know how to
think about it. And and I majored in engineering in
college to avoid reading and writing, So writing a book
was never part of the master plan. But I capitulated,
and really I took a moment. I'm a systems thinker
(03:56):
in my DNA BD and so I thought took that
like system was thinking, thought about it from a consumer perspective,
and really, I would say stumbled upon what I believe
is one of the most important decisions you know you
make in your life. When you look at the longevity
research we talked about that conference, your DNA, your genetics
(04:21):
only account for up to about ten percent of your lifespan.
It's very much about lifestyle and environment. And lifestyle the
things we choose, the friends we make, the purpose we find.
But where we live influences all those things. So in
my book, Right Place, Right Time, there's an assessment provoking
(04:42):
people to think about their particular situation. I put that
online now broke it into four different domains. The environment
domain so square footage and emotions, psychological how you think
about place. The second dimension health, so in what ways,
whether it's quality of air, ability, exercise, frequently a diet
(05:02):
available for you, like where you live influences that. The
third area is community social connections. Like you referenced earlier
on the post, I'd written like where we live forms
these close friendships, these tertiary friendships, that sense of place.
Speaker 3 (05:19):
In the fourth areas financial, So.
Speaker 4 (05:21):
As we think about it in financial it drives you know,
our cost of living where we live.
Speaker 3 (05:26):
But if we own where we.
Speaker 4 (05:27):
Live, all also can show up as an asset and
the balance sheet.
Speaker 5 (05:30):
So when you're talking to companies and individuals and you're
looking at where they live or where they work and
kind of proximities and things like that, what are some
major questions from a business point of view. Let's go
with the.
Speaker 2 (05:48):
Business person, then we'll go into the personal point of view.
And I know we've broken into four segments. But oh yeah,
and actually maybe some surprises that came out of it
when you start talking to people and they go.
Speaker 5 (05:57):
WHOA, I never really thought about.
Speaker 3 (05:59):
That, I think from a business perspective.
Speaker 4 (06:03):
I recently I'm in Austin, Texas, and I recently went
to a presentation by David Booth, the founder of Dimensional,
and he talked about the process they went through moving
from California to Texas. This goes back a couple of
decades ago. Now, and he was thinking about it personally. Yes,
(06:26):
tax policy definitely was a key factor for him in
his life, but he also thought about it through the
lens of the community and affordability for his workforce, And
he also thought about it in the context of the
growth trajectory of these different metropolitan areas he was looking at. So,
(06:47):
I think as from a company perspective, now, I know
AI is impacting some of this. We're seeing some companies
downside some.
Speaker 3 (06:54):
Of the workforce.
Speaker 4 (06:55):
But generally speaking, where can you tract like uh, the bad,
attract and retain high quality uh talent where not everyone
necessarily is making a salary of the c suite really
translating that into cost living, translating into quality of life,
(07:18):
translating into quality of schools, like all these things matter,
you know.
Speaker 3 (07:23):
Here in the US. Just earlier this week, there.
Speaker 4 (07:25):
Was a surprise, I suppose in the demic democratic primaries
in New York City. Yes, where someone uh, in New
York it's largely whoever it's the Democratic primary pretty much
becomes the mayor and and and the kid. The person
at won the primary is a very young law leader
(07:48):
and leans a bit socialist, And so there's I've seen
a number of commentaries around business leaders in New York
City kind of wondering what's going to be around the corner.
So so I think that there are for those those
of your listeners and you know, your clientele BD who
are thinking about their companies in what and by the
way I'm saying at this is the.
Speaker 3 (08:09):
Macro level, there is a micro level, which is.
Speaker 4 (08:12):
How do our offices that we have, how do we
design them to have a sense of connection and interaction.
Speaker 3 (08:19):
That's a that's a separate conversation.
Speaker 4 (08:21):
But I think at a at a corporate strategy perspective,
they these decisions they matter, they matter, and and and
also being being recognizing as you go through these things,
what happens if the wind blows a different direction?
Speaker 3 (08:36):
What's your capability of changing if you need to.
Speaker 2 (08:40):
That's awesome if we go to the micro level, because
you kind of you've leaned in there and I know
that's you've got some ideas. So open plan, office, c
suitet corners, corner corner office is all this. So what
what have you seen with some of these successful companies
for community inside the workforce that that kind of drives
things forward, that the change had changed throughout the last
(09:03):
five years.
Speaker 5 (09:04):
Maybe that you've seen.
Speaker 3 (09:05):
Yeah, well it's it's interesting, bed.
Speaker 4 (09:07):
I think it's easy to get caught up with some
of the fads.
Speaker 3 (09:10):
You know, this is what everyone's doing, and well, I'll
pick on the open floor plans for a moment. Uh.
Speaker 4 (09:16):
You know, I think that the design initially was the
open floor plans would lead to collaboration, it would lead
to just people interacting more often. I don't think the
data has really born that out. I think what's happened
is it is for some companies some instances, it's actually
been quite a bit of a distraction for people that
(09:37):
when they have well zoom conversations, phone calls, et cetera,
just the ambient noise level, uh can be so loud
that it can be a productivity killer. Instantly, I was
I was in Europe for a number of weeks recently,
and I was a good friend of mine lives in Geneva.
He's Spanish, and and uh he was we were joking,
(09:59):
it's bringing American to work day.
Speaker 3 (10:01):
So I came with him to work.
Speaker 4 (10:02):
And he's probably not the only Spaniard this way, but
he's allowed talker and and and so thankfully they had
him in a in a separate office he had closed
away because if he was an open area, it would
have been quite a distraction. So I think what's happening
a little bit. I think form follows function, and so
I think what I would recommend, you know, for you know,
(10:23):
your CEO listeners, et cetera, is like, what are the
values that we care about and in what way can
our design location, design expectations about how you come to
the office. In what ways can that map the values
that we are trying to espouse. For example, you know,
(10:46):
you might find I know some some CEO friends of
mine here in the States, they've gone very much to
a high hybrid model. They don't intend to change it,
but they're emphasizing certain days when people are in the
office this and their efforts to really get to know
each other and collaborate. So and they've moved away from
some of the open spaces but more plug in, plug out.
(11:10):
So you may not have a dedicated office where it's
yours all the time, but there's spaces you can go
to to have those you know, kind of private conversations
and ability to concentrate, particularly for those that are are creative.
So there's a number of different models, but I'm not
I certainly do not subscribe to theory that the the
open office is the right way to go for every company.
Speaker 5 (11:34):
That makes sense.
Speaker 2 (11:35):
Okay, So now let's get into the individual and let's
talk about that. Because the ther your overall model and questionnaire,
which is really cool, and we've we've taken it and
done all this stuff and started showing it to our
clients and doing this.
Speaker 5 (11:50):
How did you come up with the metrics?
Speaker 2 (11:51):
How did you break it into the four and then
if you were to choose two of the four that
were the most important, and then this overall PSSs that
if if these are red or yellow or you know that,
or low on the totem pole, you might need to
move like tomorrow.
Speaker 4 (12:09):
Yeah, you know it is it's so personal, you know,
BD like what I might love and be the right
thing for me, uh, you might hate and be the
worst thing for you. So it's a very per it's
a very personal thing. What I found was, uh that
that Zillow, for example, there's been uh so much focus
(12:32):
of uh at times anyway of well let's go look
at these houses that are out there, and well, you know,
kind of the kitchen, you know, the man cave, et cetera,
and falling in love with your four walls, and your
four walls, they they're not unimportant.
Speaker 3 (12:48):
It's just the only pal, the only tell part of
the story.
Speaker 4 (12:51):
Yes, And so I think that what I found going
through this and in writing the book and now my
company here and then place planning, is that it's important
for people to think about it in these multi dimensions.
And the reason it kind of fell into the four
that I described, environment, health, community, and finances is that
(13:14):
I found each of those pieces to be significant enough
and backed by research that they warranted separate attention. You know, purpose,
for example, Purpose is one of the key drivers for happiness. However,
I found that purpose wasn't as correlated as clearly to place.
(13:36):
So while that's important, I didn't necessarily find a spot
for that in the four, So I kept it to
four of the four. If I were to pick a couple,
you know, I would say it'd either all important. I
would say that if you're out of balance in any
of them, that's pause enough to wonder whether improving your
place is worth the effort.
Speaker 3 (13:59):
And I say improve your place, it doesn't necessarily.
Speaker 4 (14:01):
Mean move you know, you could cause make some cosmetic changes,
you could remodel, you can do it. There's scenaris where
we don't do anything your physical place, but how you
orient your places differently.
Speaker 3 (14:12):
Okay, I'm going.
Speaker 4 (14:13):
To join a gym that's near me and be more active.
Speaker 3 (14:17):
I'm going to reach out to friends that I haven't
seen recently. So there's ways. It's not just where you
chooses your place, it's how you choose.
Speaker 4 (14:24):
To activate that place. Now that being said, back to
your question, I would highlight a community for sure. I
think what's happening right now is that we are our societies.
You know, there's certainly some strong parallels in the UK
with the US around in other countries too. Around there's
(14:46):
less that's bringing us together organically to build, to spark,
build and maintain friendships. We have to make more effort,
I believe than perhaps are generations of the past.
Speaker 3 (15:01):
Uh.
Speaker 4 (15:03):
You know, there were times for sure, when thinking about Ireland,
although the same is true in the UK where you
would have that local pub and and people would be
there often weekly perhaps uh and or daily, you know,
say daily, and so just by virtue of having that
(15:24):
that having that pint, you know, you would be around others. Well,
I can at least say in the US that those
patterns they're not the same now, and and we've got
these devices that we're using that are distractions. It's you know,
they call it the attention economy. And so I think
that collectively, uh or individually and then and then in
(15:47):
the aggregate, people have fewer close, close friends than they
used to. And it's a particularly a male issue. Now
it's an issue with women well as well, but particularly
for men. As we get older, we can't just expect
that these friendships are going to happen and be sustained.
Speaker 3 (16:05):
And so I think that it's a.
Speaker 4 (16:07):
Very key piece of this bad because there are some
places where making friendships it can be difficult, or say
more difficult than the otherwise would be. There are fewer
people like you enough to make friends, or you don't
run into the proximity, you don't run into people enough,
(16:27):
you're not spending enough time to build these friendships. Like
you mentioned, researchers indicated that over a seven year period,
fifty percent of our friendship network turns over. And so
if we're not intentional, we're not the right place to
cultivate it. There may not be new people filling some
of those slots. So I would say, and the research
(16:48):
around a healthy longevity, not just living longer, but living healthy,
the role of friendships is just overwhelming. This second area
I would just say to answer your question of the
four might be actually actually might be finances, just because
I think with people living longer, we have to be
mindful about where we want to allocate, you know, our dollars,
(17:10):
not just in terms of expense, but sometimes people move
to to retire quote unquote to a place and it
actually pulls them out of economic opportunity and and and
they can find that maybe they're costs or lower, but
now actually if they want to work or be involved
in things, those opportunities aren't there as much. So I
(17:31):
think there's layers on on the financial or you know,
human capital piece. You know, I talked about the conference
that that has a dimension with place that sometimes people overlook.
Speaker 2 (17:42):
So some of your your favorite questions that you ask
on the on on your the what do we call it,
the question assessment assessment.
Speaker 5 (17:52):
Your your ones ones?
Speaker 2 (17:53):
The thought I this is something I have to include
now you know, after you look through the questions and
you weren't the answer weren't coming out and agreeing with
I'm not saying you skewed them, but we're going in
the right direction. It's like, okay, I need to add
this question in or take this question out. What we're
a couple of the things that kind of were really
skewing the answers put them up.
Speaker 4 (18:15):
Well, yeah, I had some researchers collaborate with me on
that questionnaire because there's the assessment, because there's a balance
the assessments called the right place assessment takes about three
minutes for people to do and then gives you a
graph and some suggestions, just a snapshot kind of.
Speaker 3 (18:29):
Where you are.
Speaker 4 (18:30):
I would say, Betty, one of the questions that and
so now thousands of people have taken it across the world,
so it's been pretty interesting in the aggregate to get
a sense of where people are on this. I would
say a couple of things. One that a key area
that I may have not been part of the initial iteration,
but is part of the iteration now. That's been one
(18:51):
of the lowest scoring questions Betty. And overall there's twenty questions,
five questions for each of the four categories has been
to what extent is your current place going to work
for you in five years and the reason why. So
(19:11):
it's actually, i think a very important question, and it's
been interesting to see people's response to because there are
things when we move into a flat or single family
house rental, but especially if we buy it, that there's
things we can do that effectively allow it to have optionality,
(19:33):
like it.
Speaker 3 (19:33):
Can work for us for a longer period of time.
Speaker 4 (19:38):
For example, there's advantages to having your like the master bedroom,
say it's a single family house a couple stories, there's
advantages of having the master bedroom in the first floor
for convenience, but also just to the extent, mobility might
be a concern even episodically, you know, down the road,
and so certain homes that have like lots of state
(20:00):
and lots of stairs to things that are essential can
effectively make it compromised or obsolete in other situations. By
the way, it's not just for you. When we moved
to Texas about six years ago and we remodel our house,
we have a guest room on our first floor, and
we wanted to make sure that would work really well
(20:21):
for families that might come visit us, as well as
older family members, and so we made sure there was
no upstairs you know, involved in the bathroom was was
designed in such a way that was functional but limited
kind of fall risks. So there are I think is
PD What I have found in this and in the
(20:42):
questions is that sometimes people it's human nature.
Speaker 3 (20:45):
There's a focus on.
Speaker 4 (20:46):
The here and now, whereas there's things that we can
do around how we choose place that gives us optionality
to have the same place work for us, effectively grow
with us better than other places.
Speaker 2 (21:04):
So you've done some calculations and you've looked at it.
So how about owners that live too far from there
from their factory, their business or whatever whatever they are,
and how much that actually costs them? Or managers even
CEOs whatever that might not own the business, what would
they be willing later on in life through your studies
(21:25):
trade if they said, oh, if I could get back
those two hours of commute time, I'd trade out X.
Speaker 3 (21:33):
Yeah. Well, it's complicated. There is. There's some of the
research has talked about.
Speaker 4 (21:40):
Those factors related to place, like you're describing where it
impacts your quality of life, and there's just two areas
jump out related to this commute thing.
Speaker 3 (21:50):
One is.
Speaker 4 (21:52):
If you're in a place where there's loud and noise,
like near a going train, near an air or like
your body never fully UH is able to accommodate that,
Like it creates this this ambient stress level.
Speaker 3 (22:09):
So that's kind of one thing to think about.
Speaker 4 (22:11):
The other piece, you know, to your UH and there
actually are so there's some interesting research around air quality
as well and how it has a linkage to your
your brain health for example. So kind of an odd one,
but people that live too close to golf courses there's
(22:31):
a linkage because of some of the pesticides that have
been used on the greens. Yeah, you lose two close it.
Actually there is a correlation with increased the closer you are,
the higher the risk of some neurological diseases. So there
are like these things. Back to the commune piece, Yeah there,
I want to say, what the research I've seen is
(22:52):
around half an hour. Once you extend beyond a half
an hour, it really it's one of these things that
has this ongoing negative impact on your well being. And
what also I think seems to happen BD is that
you you know, it doesn't have a linear relationship like
it almost starts to become a little more exponential. Like
(23:16):
the closer you are, the easier it is to not
have a B hassle. Also, the easieres is to go
in on a regular basis. I'm not advocating that you
should show up all the weekends, but there may be
things like you know, I just got to go run
to do something. If it's if it's ten minutes to
get there versus you know, forty five minutes, it's has
a very different impact instantly for people with family members.
This is significant if you some of the research when
(23:39):
you look at saying wanted to see family members, if
they live within ten minutes versus an hour, you see
them more than six times more frequently if they're in
within that ten minute gap than an hour. So these
things don't have linear relationships. They actually have more of
an exponential relationship to them.
Speaker 5 (23:57):
That's awesome.
Speaker 2 (23:58):
So if what what's next and how what what do
you see your role when you're interacting with with businesses
and individuals through through the hear Yeah.
Speaker 4 (24:10):
So the thesis I have you know b D and
I think a lot of it is backed by by
research spend that's been happening for a while now is
that place is this key ingredient in life that effectively
is is hidden in plain sight? And so as I,
as you and I and others focus more not just
on lifespan how long we live, but health span how
(24:34):
many years do we live in a high high level
of health. I think more people are going to be
focusing on health span. As more people focus on health span,
I am an advocate for certainly waving the flag and.
Speaker 3 (24:52):
Start with place. Start with place.
Speaker 4 (24:54):
Understand the way in which place impacts your life style, habits,
your overall health and well being for yourself, your future, self,
your employees. Think about these different chapters of life. I
think it's helpful with tools like the assessment to say,
(25:17):
wait a second, this is a multi dimensional aspects of
my life. Am I in the right spot right now?
Is my spouse in the right spot right now? How
do we talk about these things? What can I do
if I'm not in the right spot? What can I
do to tweak my current spot to make it better?
As I think about like life transitions, you know the
adage life is.
Speaker 3 (25:38):
It's always in the transitions.
Speaker 4 (25:41):
And so as you think about changes in your work, career,
changes in health, changes perhaps in marital status and so.
Speaker 3 (25:49):
On, every one of those transitions, those changes.
Speaker 4 (25:54):
Like look at place, like where where can place come
in as a partner in making sure that you're the
best you can be in the next chapter. And then
the other thing I'd say, ABD is not to say
that we have to be sociologists, not to say that
we all have to be economists. But pay attention to
how your place is changing, not just not it's not
(26:15):
just that we individually change, but places change now. They
can become more expensive, they can become well, I mean, jeez,
all of the controversy right now around immigration, the protests
in Ireland the other day. You know, it's like we
and I'm not I'm not saying we're not. I'm not
(26:38):
projecting a point of view. What I'm saying is places change,
and when they change, there's an opportunity for you to
calibrate is this is this the is the place now?
The right place for me today and in the future.
And that can be as innocuous as kind of traffic
climate change that's.
Speaker 3 (26:58):
Maybe not as innocuous. If you're.
Speaker 4 (27:01):
Yeah, I mean New York right now is over one
hundred degrees for example, So you know you have these
different situations. Actually, another example, at least in places in
the US, people having a really hard time getting insurance
because of fire risk, because of other natural disasters. So
I would say think it yourself, but also take a
moment to be thoughtful about how your place is changing.
Speaker 5 (27:24):
Ryan, that's fabulous.
Speaker 2 (27:25):
So if we do the rewind moment, So if they
only get to this last minute of the Yes podcast,
what's the number one thing or question that you want
to put in somebody's head that see that you're going
to leave there to think about place as an individual
and business owner.
Speaker 4 (27:43):
Yeah, I would say it is one of the most
important levers places, one of the most important levers that
you often control in shaping a long, healthy, financially secure life.
And that would be that that's the headline b D.
You know, for those that are looking to get a
(28:04):
little more information. The company that I have is called
here h Ere Here dot Life is the website and
there's an assessment on that on the website takes three
minutes and that can give you just a quick litmus
test if it's something important to you. There's other content,
there's courses that have been created in coaching. If you
want to drive down towards actually creating a plan of
(28:27):
what you're looking to do.
Speaker 2 (28:29):
Fabulous, Ryan, this is great the right place, right time
on the podcast, and it's been lots of fun hosting
you and hopefully people get a lot out of that.
And I really appreciate your time and all your information.
It's been fabulous.
Speaker 3 (28:42):
Yeah, pleasure to be with you, b D.
Speaker 1 (28:46):
Thanks for joining us on Grow Sell and Retire. For
more information tools or to book one of our team members,
to work with your team business, or to speak at
your event or conference, visit rockfind dot co dot uk.
If you like the podcast, you'll love one of Beattie's
three books, The Assisted Purchase, True Gravity and the Book.
The podcast is based on Grow, Sell and Retire. If
(29:09):
you want to work for the rest of your life,
that is your business. If you don't, that is ours
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CrimeLess: Hillbilly Heist
It’s 1996 in rural North Carolina, and an oddball crew makes history when they pull off America’s third largest cash heist. But it’s all downhill from there. Join host Johnny Knoxville as he unspools a wild and woolly tale about a group of regular ‘ol folks who risked it all for a chance at a better life. CrimeLess: Hillbilly Heist answers the question: what would you do with 17.3 million dollars? The answer includes diamond rings, mansions, velvet Elvis paintings, plus a run for the border, murder-for-hire-plots, and FBI busts.
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.