Episode 22
A CONVERSATION WITH BRIAN MURPHY
THE WEALTH OF WISDOM | NAVIGATING SUCCESS AND LEGACY
Brian is the founder of Portfolio Advisors, and is one of the hardest workers I know. This man worked 80+ hours a week for many years, and because of that work, he attained great things. But he also is one of the most intentional people I know and has raised an incredible family with his superb wife. So how did he do it?
Brian told me that at one time he read a book on entrepreneurship, and it talked about how in life we have different “camps” that need our attention. These camps can be family, work, service, education, etc. And many of us mistake balance for being centered in the nexus between all those camps—we are perfectly in the middle. But that is impossible and incorrect thinking. True balance isn’t about how much time you spend in each camp, but the frequency of how often you cross the lines between them.
I love this definition, and Brian has been an incredible example of this to me. Although he was constantly on airplanes and traveling around the world during his career, he still found the energy to hop on a red-eye and make it to a kid’s sports game. He found ways to connect with people in a meaningful way, even though he was incredibly busy. And although things weren’t “balanced” per se, his focus on being intentional allowed for his “camps” to thrive.
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MY FAVORITE STORY FROM THIS EPISODE:
After years of hard work and smart investments, Brian had attained financial security. But during the recession of 1990, Brian and his wife took notice of the good people struggling around them and decided they wanted to help.
This led to an incredible amount of donations to others to help them while in financial stress, including paying for one lady’s rent for years.
Later on, when his company was getting ready for a large buyout, he noticed that not all of his employees had the necessary stock options to receive as good of a return as some of his other employees. So he developed a way to pay for the college education of those employees’ children.
At one point, Brian had a friend calling asking for money. He graciously gave it, but over time the friend continued to ask for more and more. Finally, Brian told me “Before I give you money, I will ask you how many hours you worked this week. If it’s more than me, I’ll wire the money.” At first, the friend would call reporting 40 hours, which Brian told him was not enough because he had worked 82.
But over time, the friend got closer and closer, until he eventually stopped calling him. Worried he might have offended him, Brian called the friend and asked him what had happened. The friend responded, “Well, I started catching up to you in work hours … and I realized I didn’t need the money anymore.”
These are just 3 of the thousands of ways Brian has given back to others. And what has he received back? Happiness. He is an incredibly well-respected and loved man, and his advice to everyone is,
“Try to give back. Even if you don’t have a lot to give, always look for ways to give back. It will always be worth it.”