McCoy Rowley, Financial Services Professional with NYLIFE Securities LLC

After a couple months of grinding, I am happy to announce that I have successfully passed the CFP®️ Exam! This has been a goal of mine ever since I started in this industry! Incredibly excited to start applying this planning knowledge with my clients and help them pursue their ideal lifestyle!
Major shoutout to my amazing wife Annie, there is no way I could have done this without her support!

"Long-term planning is not really about foretelling what will happen; it's making a decision about what you will do tomorrow based on what you know today."

-Gino Wickman, from the book "Traction"

When do you prefer to work out and why?

I have always enjoyed getting up early and getting a good weightlifting session in followed by some HIIT or cardio.

I feel it’s the best time of the day for me because I have less distractions and it feels like “my personal time.”

This question came to mind after listening to a recent podcast.

I’m a big fan of Andrew Huberman and his Huberman Lab podcast (if you aren’t listening, you're missing out) and on his podcast “The Science of Making & Breaking Habits” he shared the science behind habit formation and task bracketing as a practice for a successful day.

In short, and yes, I know this doesn’t do his podcast justice PLEASE check it out, when you split up your day into different phases, you engage in a form of task bracketing.

The first phase of the day, first 8 hours after waking up, regardless of what you do, your body is in a state with elevated levels of norepinephrine, epinephrine (adrenaline) and dopamine.

This will put you in a mental state where you are more focused and ready to take on action and struggle.

We all know those tasks that are just a struggle to complete and are those small mountains we have to climb. Give yourself the competitive edge by attacking those tasks in the first phase of the day.

9-40% of those reading this post will eventually be diagnosed with a physically debilitating muscle disease that will take 3-5% of their muscle mass each decade.

Today, I was doing some reading on aging and diseases commonly associated to aging and came across Sarcopenia.

A quick search led me to a WebMD website that described what Sarcopenia is and its treatments. Sarcopenia is the decay of muscle mass and function.

Among all of the diseases related to aging, this is one of the more frightening ones (in my opinion). I consider myself a fairly active person, and I hate to be restricted in my activities.

Those that are affected by Sarcopenia will lose on average, with no intervention or treatment, 3-5% of muscle mass each decade. The primary treatment for Sarcopenia? Strength training.

Now, what if I told you that 100% of those reading this post will be affected by a widespread decay in your purchasing power at an average rate of 3%... ANNUALLY. Purchasing power is the value of your hard-earned money and your ability to spend/use it.

Yes, you did read that correctly. Unlike Sarcopenia, 100% of us will feel the effects of inflation, like we have this year. In 2021 alone we saw inflation hit 7%. Most of us will notice inflation when the products or services we have always consumed increase in cost.

Luckily some financial strategies and tools will help us keep pace with inflation and assure our purchasing power does not decrease, or at least by too much.

What do you do to help reduce aging?

What do you do to help reduce the effects of inflation?

One thing I have loved about being married to Annie is learning how to ski.

Some things I love about skiing is the feeling of charging groomers, cruising through trees, and floating on powder.

While skiing recently, it got me thinking…

What is more important? Skis or the gear?

A personal experience puts this question into perspective.

At one point in my life I gave snowboarding a chance and I got so cold, I ditched the slopes early and vouched I would never go skiing or snowboarding again.

I was on the mountain snowboarding, but my lack of gear cut my experience short.

The same can occur in our lives with financial matters.

We need a balance between putting our money to work and managing the risk we take on when investing and purchasing assets.

Working with this ski analogy, a pair of skis and a pass would be like owning assets and being invested in the market.

Our helmet and googles, jacket and pants, good socks and boots, would be like having proper amounts of insurance, a sufficient emergency fund, and proper debt management.

The gear protects you, weathers the conditions and helps enhance your experience skiing.

The skis and pass unlock the actual experience of why you went on the mountain in the first place.

Before my flight back to Utah the other day, I received an email every traveler dreams of.

Complimentary upgrade to first class!

When I first got the notification on my Fly Delta app, I was worried that I accidentally upgraded myself and would then be hit with an unexpected bill!

I even reached out to Delta to potentially confirm my upgrade was legit, lol.

Most of you probably think I am ridiculous for even considering to cancel, but it happened! However, once this email came through, I was relieved to know I would not have to pay.

This experience makes me think about a piece of financial advice that can instantly improve your wellbeing.

Take the free money.

Most of us have the opportunity, through our 401k/ employer sponsored retirement plans, to receive a match on our contributions.

Meaning if you contribute 3% of your salary, your company will match your contribution and put it in that account for you.

Thats a 100% return on your money.

Guaranteed.

Enjoy the gifts in life and take the free money.

Have you ever flown first class, or received an unexpected upgrade?

This is the the view from our hotel’s beach in Cabo. What an awesome way to start the New Year right?

If you look closely, you’ll see a variety of watercraft out in the ocean.

Cruise ship, sail boat, fishing boat, yacht, and wave runners.

Each one floats and will move you across the water, but each uniquely designed for their intended use.

Wave runners are quick and light for rippin on the water.

Fishing boats are strapped up with downriggers, outriggers and nets.

Sail boats leverage wind to move.

Cruise ships are massive, cary many, and are unmoved by the ocean.

Financial tools, like watercraft, come in many different forms. They can appear to accomplish the same thing, but each are designed for their unique purposes.

We help our clients make sure they pick the right ship for THEIR goals.

Before you embark on your financial journey, make sure you don’t pick a wave runner to get you from LA to Cabo.

10 pages a day keeps the brain decay away.

Palm trees, beaches and sun are also crucial for emotional well-being…

Kicking off 2022 right. One step closer to the CFP.

After some hard work and studying, I am excited to announce that I have been awarded the Financial Services Certified Professional, FSCP, from the American College of Financial Services.

How are you kicking off 2022?

SUSTAINABILITY

Weightlifting and resistance training has been a hobby of mine for 10+ years.

I love that I can use an exercise to increase physical strength, develop a disciplined mentality, and be more humble.

There have been many periods of time where I have seen dramatic success, and many periods where I have plateaued.

The biggest lesson I have learned over the years is the importance of creating a training regimen that is SUSTAINABLE. An unsustainable training regimen for me usually consisted of unrealistic goals, overtraining of certain muscle groups, and not enough balance between gym time and McCoy time.

I eventually learned how to develop sustainable fitness plan which included value based goals, proper planning of workouts, and good timing that allow me to rest and enjoy life.

Similarly, there are many financial habits and mindsets one could adopt, that without the proper planning and strategy, can lead to financial burnout.

The key to a sustainable financial plan is realistic goals and expectations, efficient use of your financial resource aka money, and the flexibility of a plan that allows you to enjoy life now.

Have you experienced burnout recently?

Operate on values, not on outcomes.

When you operate on values not on outcomes, you put yourself at an advantage for future joy and fulfillment because your create a why and establish roots that will keep you disciplined and consistent.

Our clients find it much easier to stay engaged in your financial strategy when, for example, the purpose of the strategy is to become a better father or mother by being more present with your kids, versus saving $1,000,000 by 55.

Mountains are a place I try to spend a majority of my time. I love the blend of tranquility, humility and natural beauty. There isn’t much out there that can grab my attention quite like the mountains do.

I use the mountains to enjoy a variety of activities such as trail running, camping, and hunting.

This past week I spent my time in the mountains hunting mule deer.

When hunting, a common tip for success is “Don’t leave game to find game.”

Meaning if you find an area that typically will hold good populations of deer or elk, it would be silly to leave that area and look elsewhere for success.

It almost sounds insane someone would actually fall prey to that, but I did this past week. I later was humbled after hiking many miles to not draw up any success.

This same thing occurs when we put our resource of money to work. Sometimes we get a little greedy, or touching on my last post, bored, and will ditch one activity for another with the hope of success.

One way to combat this natural tendency is to be intentional with your money and trust in your efforts.

One Way You May Be Misusing Money

Do you ever start a project, an activity, or a book and never finish it? Is it possible you got bored?

I was always a really curious kid that would often find myself bored or disinterested in a variety of things. I recently listened to a podcast where a neuroscientist described what boredom actually is, and it made so much sense to me.

Boredom is a signal from an attention feedback system. It's your mind creating a feeling of irritation and that tells you are missing out on something better.

This comes up all the time when we help others pursue their financial goals, and we call it financial boredom. Financial boredom comes as a result of money not having a purpose.

Money is a tool. When you utilize money as a tool, you assign that tool to a task that will get you one step closer to a goal that is valuable to you.

If money doesn’t have a task, it is very easy to become disinterested in positive actions such as saving, investing, paying off debt etc. because instead of viewing that action as progress towards your goal, you will view it as a way of missing out on other things that could be better.

When money is given a task, your brain is able to understand the purpose of your efforts and help keep you on the path to success.

Luckily a quick change will help you escape financial boredom. Use money as a tool and assign it a task!

CELEBRATE LIFE

Today my sister Desmon would have turned 23, as she passed away 11 years ago. Most days I reflect on what kind of person and life she would be living as a 23 year old.

As memories of my sister flood into my mind, it becomes very clear exactly what type of life she would have: a life full of passion and smiles. I remember my sister enjoying every minute of life available to her.

Some would say that the severe health conditions she faced molded her approach to life, and although it might have provided a added perspective, she always approached life like a gift. Every minute was a minute to live and not to waste.

Sadly, we are all so inundated with the busyness of life, that we forget to choose to live. On the flip side, as I have noticed in my life, we choose to wait for life to happen to us.

So, I challenge us all to celebrate the life of my sister by choosing to live today, rather than waiting for things to just happen in our life. All those things that you keep telling yourself you need to do, now is a great time to try them.

What are you going to do to chose to live today?

HOT TIP

Wanna know the quickest way to save an extra $5k every year?

Set aside $13.70 a day.

Wanna save $10k? Double that #. Wanna save $2500? Half that #.

Similarly, putting that $13.70 towards something that isn't valuable to you will have a major impact on your long term goals.

Remember, success is the sum of small efforts- repeated day in and day out.

After a trail run the other day, Annie and I were talking about an event she was going to later that night. She was offered a free personal training program and was invited to a brief meeting introducing the program and the new gym. Sounds pretty awesome right? Or so I thought…

Annie later found out that although it sounded like an amazing program, there were lots of hidden strings attached that made the whole thing feel deceiving. So the offer of a FREE TRAINING program was no longer important

When we meet with clients our process is simple, reliable and transparent. It can be broken down into 3 stages: Guidance, Preparation and Solutions, or GPS for short.

First, we meet and have an open discussion about what is valuable to you, what concerns you and your personal dreams and goals. Together, we then will prioritize and formulate your unique strategy. This will be followed by a meeting where we will discuss personalized solutions and offer our recommendations.

Have you ever had an experience like Annie's?

What do you do?

This is BY FAR, one of the most asked question that will come up in conversation. You may have been asked this recently hanging out with old friends or family members. Maybe in class or an event, or even meeting someone new while being out and about. After being asked this question by some old friends the other day, I realized there may be a few of you out there who don't exactly know what we do or who our business serves!

So, what do I do?

A few years back I decided to start working with my dad where we represent New York Life and offer financial products and services. We primarily assist healthcare and construction professionals in implementing efficient and reliable financial strategies. We focus on this to help them maximize their financial resources and achieve what is most valuable to them.

Over the next few weeks we will be posting various topics that frequently come up in meetings with our clients. Should you want to learn more about a specific topic, please comment below or message us.

Big shout out to an organized, dedicated team that worked with me to help so many families attain financial security and achieve financial success🙌

I am so grateful for the trust we have been able to establish with amazing clients and business partners among various organizations! This is more a representation of them making sound financial decisions than my efforts!

I love what I do!

Jan and McCoy made a huge impact in Utah by helping their clients during the month of April.

TIME

"Time waits for no man."

-Jocko Willink

Time is interesting because once it is spent, you can never get it back.

Everyday we spend our energy, focus and resources NEGOTIATING how our FUTURE time will be spent.

You spend more than 25% of your time during a week, working to have the resources to create memories with friends and family.

You spend the remaining time improving your health, being with friends and family and maybe enjoying a hobby or two.

Time and resources are limited and valuable.

Financial planning is more than returns and growth. It is negotiating a better future for you and your family.

As I shared in a recent post, planning starts with foundations, and a key component of a financial foundation is risk management. Weak foundations and poor risk planning could lead to a severe loss of your time and resources. Check out the link below to learn more about how you can secure your time and resources through risk planning.

How are you spending your time?

https://www.newyorklife.com/learn-and-compare/learn-the-basics/life-insurance-101

Foundations for Financial Security

All great creations are founded on solid foundations.

Strong healthy bodies.

Beautiful homes.

Lasting marriages and friendships.

Have you ever wondered why foundations are so essential?

Buildings and homes have foundations that bear and distribute the weight of the building, providing a solid surface to build on.

Controlled lifts and core strength help control and increase the bodies overall balance, flexibility, power and endurance.

Trust, honesty and loyalty; shared in a reciprocal way, develop strong ties and relationships that last decades.

The same applies to personal finances.

My practice is built on helping healthcare and construction professionals maximize their limited free time by maximizing their hard earned money.

One way we accomplish that is by identifying areas of their financial foundations that need some attention and fortify them.

By focusing on this, they now have the stability, flexibility and strength to help build and grow their wealth. If iconic buildings can inspire, conditioned bodies can break records, friendships and marriages can span a lifetime; your financial foundation can propel you to new heights.

What are the foundations you build on?

TRADITION

With most areas of my life, I always seek improvement and change.

I view it as a game I play with myself daily, to try to be 1% better, to be more efficient and effective.

There are some areas in my life however, where I stick to my guns and support long lasting traditions because of the immense value they provide to me and others.

April 1st marks my dads 22nd anniversary with New York Life.

April 12th marks the 176th anniversary of New York Life and it's long lasting tradition of delivering on the promises they make.

Tradition is why I have made a career at New York Life. I saw the value they delivered growing up in a household supported by my dad who works at New York Life.

Now representing New York Life, I have had the fortunate opportunity to see how New York Life provides the means necessary to assist families in establishing strong financial foundations, helping them enjoy what's most important to them.

This is why I chose New York Life. We deliver on our promises.

What is a tradition that is a major part of your life that you will always keep?

ENDURANCE

I've always had a love/hate relationship with running. I'm not a fan of rigorous cardio exercises, but I love trail running because it's a way for me to discover nature.

Love or hate, both experiences share the uncomfortable part of running.

Endurance: aerobic capacity required for running.

To increase my capacity, I was under the assumption that the way to improve my endurance was pretty simple…volume, run more. Right?

Although helpful, the problem I had is it wasn't sustainable.

I didn't feel like I was progressing.

After seeking some guidance, I recently learned there is actually some nuance behind increasing my endurance.

My new training includes dedicating 80% to smooth, slow tempo runs that build my aerobic capacity and the remaining 20% of my runs are structured workouts to increase speed and stamina.

Following this program for a few weeks I realized endurance training is a lot like personal finances. We all have some idea or feeling of what we should be doing: saving for retirement, cutting expenses, paying off debt etc.

Similar to the change in my endurance training, with a little strategy and math our efforts could yield a far better output.

Are you feeling financially stagnant?

If so, what steps have you taken to enhance your finances?

“All work is theatre, and every business is the stage.

The key then, is to learn how to use the stage and props to change the person watching.”

-Dennis Moseley-Williams

I have dedicated my business to serving young health care and construction professionals achieve financial security and success so they can spend less time worrying and more time exploring and living.

How are you using your stage and props to deliver a remarkable experience?

"Every day is the same. Today is the most important day!"

I am a sucker for motivational videos and Texas Longhorns Football.

Texas Football social media account released a video a couple months back that I just cannot get enough of.

I would be lying if I told you I didn't watch this video every morning, just ask Annie.

However cheesy that may sound... I love the message.

"Today is the most important day!"

Later in the video Coach Sark asks his players:

"What are you doing today to prepare to practice?"

I think this is a powerful question to asks ourselves everyday.

"What are we doing to (accomplish X or become X)?"

We can only control what we are doing now to put ourselves in a better position in the future.

So, what is something you focus on daily to improve?

"Do the hard things now that others don't want to do, so you can do the things others won't be able to do in the future."

One of the many mantras I live by that my dad taught me.

So simple and yet so powerful.

Get after it and enjoy the freedom that follows.

STRENGTH



"Hard times creates strong men.

Strong men create good times.

Good times create weak men.

Weak men create hard times."



-G. Michael Hopf



Many times, as I have seen in my life, our actions are so focused on generating a desired outcome or event, that once it is achieved it creates a hole and stagnancy follows.



What I have found that helps me ditch this cycle is to focus on the action rather than the outcome, by asking myself:



What can I do today to be a better person than I was yesterday?



Does anyone else feel like this quote resembles some aspect of their life?



If so, how did you break free from the cycle?

FUNDAMENTALS

One of my favorite ways to spend my time is skiing with my wife.

Coming to the end of my 3rd ski season, I am at a point where I can do just about any run on the mountain.

I am by no means a great skier and I might be a few decades away from being invited to the X Games… but I can get down the mountain and have fun.

I learned how to ski when I married into a true Utah ski family. The family that was apart of a ski team and learned how to ski when they learned how to walk.

They taught me how to understand balance, pressure, ski edges, and involving your legs.

By learning and applying these fundamentals, it lead to more enjoyment.

By failing or forgetting to ski correctly, it led to some great learning experiences and maybe a little pain and embarrassment.

Similarly with finances, learning the basic fundamentals/principles of personal finance can dramatically transform your financial wellbeing, and accelerate your progress.

What are some financial principles you follow?

VITAL SIGNS

I recently reached out to a few nurses and had them define vital signs and why they are important and this is what they shared:

"The signs of life."
"A glimpse into the performance of our vital organs."
"The ABC's of our life...the first clue that something is either improving or deteriorating."

A transformative moment in my life, and something I have applied to my practice and use with my clients, is determining YOUR VITALS.

To determine ones personal and/or financial vitals, I suggest completing the following statement:

If by (insert a DATE), nothing else happens EXCEPT FOR (insert YOUR DESIRE), I would be thrilled, so happy, ecstatic, etc.

For example, personally, my wife and I really want to get into our first home this year, and if that is the only thing we accomplish in 2021, we would be THRILLED.

Just like the pulse helps show the status of the heart, or the engine of life, we too can check in on our "pulse" and track what is driving us day to day.

So, vitals. Many are familiar with the word, but what does it mean to you?

DISCIPLINE EQUALS FREEDOM

-Jocko Willink

Last year was a year of personal growth for me as I embarked on a new career, in a new industry, in a space where I had essentially no credibility.

The one thing that propelled my growth was the adoption of the belief: Discipline Equals Freedom.

When I was disciplined on making daily efforts to improve my mindset, I became free from the doubts and insecurities I have.

What do you focus on daily to improve?