
If you're stuck in a cycle of chasing more—even when you already have enough—this episode will help you shift from scarcity to sufficiency. Financial advisor Elizabeth Husserl joins Nicole to redefine success, money, and true abundance.
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Elizabeth Husserl
Ooh.
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Nicole Khalil
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Nicole Khalil
I am Nicole Khalil and I bet at some point in your life, maybe even today, you've questioned whether or not you are enough or maybe at times too much. For many of us, some core wound created a core belief that has us constantly asking questions like am I good enough, smart enough, pretty enough, talented enough, strong enough? And the list goes on. Which begs the question, what is enough? And how would you know if you are enough enough? I mean, it seems like enough has just some ever moving, ever elusive target. And while this struggle plays out in our lives, careers, relationships and our daily choices, there is one area that acts as a mirror for our toxic relationship with enough. And that is our money. Because when it comes to our finances, most of us have no idea what enough actually looks like and wouldn't recognize it even if we had it. We we chase more, we hoard, we overspend, we under earn, we stress, we fear, we avoid, we justify. And somehow enough always feels just out of reach. We've been conditioned to believe that more is always better, that success is measured in dollars and the things that we have, and that financial security is just one promotion, one investment, one client saying yes or one lucky break away. Let's be real. Most of us think that the phrase money doesn't buy happiness is something only rich people say to make everyone else feel better. But what if the real power isn't in more? It's in enough. And what if more is actually the enemy of enough? What if true financial security isn't about hitting some magic number, but about redefining your relationship with money altogether? If that Sounds a little too radical, a little too soft, or a little too woo woo for your hard earned, hustle loving brain. Stick with me because what we're really talking about today is freedom. And spoiler alert, freedom isn't found in the relentless pursuit of more. It's found in knowing when you have enough. Now, before we go any further, let me be crystal clear. This conversation is not about those who are truly struggling to meet their basic needs. If you're living below the poverty line, dealing with financial insecurity, or just trying to keep the lights on, this isn't some mindset shift. This is a real tangible problem. And I fully recognize my privilege in knowing that I have enough and that my work is about changing how I think about it. This conversation is for those of us who do have enough. Hint, that's probably most of us, but still don't feel like we do. Because constantly wanting more, needing more. That's not freedom. That's fear. That's scarcity. That's comparison. True freedom is built on contentment, satisfaction, and knowing when we have options. So to help us navigate this important conversation, on this episode of this is Woman's Work, I'm joined by Elizabeth Husserl, a registered investment advisor, representative, financial advisor, and co founder of Penn Peak 360 Wealth Management, a boutique wealth planning firm. Her experience spans nonprofit work throughout the Americas and she's a highly sought after speaker, having led workshops at major tech companies like Airbnb, Unity, and Google. Elizabeth, thank you so much for joining us today. And I would love to start by asking you about this word enough as it relates to money and finances. How are you interacting with the word enough? How are your clients and the people that you work with interpreting it?
Elizabeth Husserl
Yeah, no, that's a great question. And before I jump in, Nicole, that was the best introduction I've had. Right. In terms of all podcasts I've been in, because you really brought such a unique angle. You know that that is about how do we experience enough, which is the question you're asking me. And I really, as I was listening to you talk about, I was like, oh, the issue is that we confuse what money and wealth are. They are not the same thing. Right. And I think that's the piece of the conversation that I'm having with my clients is that if we say, okay, let's separate and get clear on what money's role is in our life, it's a tool, it's a technology, it has a really important piece. And to your point, I'm a wealth Advisor and a financial planner. My job is to bring money into the fold, right? I'm not saying let's go do a mindset shift and just try to forget about money. It's like, how do we bring money into the fold and have it be part of the conversation? But it can't define our experience of wealth, right? Because it will never satisfy us at that level. And that's that when you're saying, you know, are we enough, maybe too much, I'm like, yeah, I've been told my whole life. I'm really intense because I live life so deeply. And I think what, what we're able to do is wealth is a state of well being. It's a state. And so when I'm talking to clients around how to define enough, it's more like, how are we getting super creative about designing strategies that are both financial and non financial, right? That include money, that don't include money to address all the different types of human needs that we have. And financial stability is one slice of that pie. It's an important one. And to your point, if it's on fire because we're not making ends meet, we really do have to focus there. But when it starts to have some level of stability, if we just stay in that part of the piece and we define wealth of how much more money do I get? We actually rob ourselves of the experience of wealth, which is so much more broad. And we rob ourselves of the ability to feel like we have enough, feel that we are enough, versus just accumulating it on a spreadsheet or a bank account or investment statement. And so when I talk to my clients around enough, I'm asking them, what makes you feel satisfied and satiated and fulfilled? What's the visceral experience of bringing meaning and fulfillment into your experience of your resources? Because that's how we're building wealth strategies and not just financial strategies for the end of bringing in more money.
Nicole Khalil
And because that can be highly addicting and unhealthy, this money for the sake of money. And I mean, I know people who make millions who it's like the world is on fire and they don't have enough and it's their worst year ever. And oh my God. And it's interesting. And I personally experience this too because I mean, Jay and I talk, it's like, what more do we need?
Elizabeth Husserl
Right?
Nicole Khalil
And so I want to hone in on the word satisfied. I brought up the word contentment. I don't think that those are words that are often being used when it comes to money again, it's like more. It's that addictive. How do we even begin to know when to be satisfied and when to be content?
Elizabeth Husserl
Yeah. And so you just. I mean, I feel like the easiest example that I have found is let's come back to food, right? And nourishment, right? We all know what it's like to eat. To eat a meal that is very nourishing, that you're like, oh, that just hit the spot. We also know what it feels like to overeat eat, right? We're like, oh, that was great, but I don't feel comfortable in my body anymore. And we also know what it's like to eat empty calories. We're like, I'm actually still hungry even though I just shoved a bunch of calories in my mouth.
Nicole Khalil
Right?
Elizabeth Husserl
So if you bring it to food, it's very similar. Our, our brains are wired to seek, right? And so that's why scarcity is such a big part of our life. We are wired to seek because that's how our ancestors found survival and the reality. So we're wired to look for calories, but we have to kind of press the reset button. I wish it was as easy as the software update on our, on our phones, right? But that's something that we're being asked to do, is that we're not in the same situation around survival, either in calories or in dollars, as are the ancestors who built the foundations that we have. And so it's up to us and our responsibility to find those little software update buttons. And the easiest way to do it is to start to pay attention to those things that satisfy you. Right? And contentment. It's interesting. Contentment to me feels a little bit more connected to gratitude, which is like a heart centered emot. Like I'm feeling happy in my life. Satisfaction is visceral. Sometimes it takes a lot of goddamn hard work to get there. Right. It could be like, I met that deadline and I bust my butt to do it. And I'm so satisfied with my final, my final outcome, right? Or I went to that, I went to the gym and I tried a new workout class. And I'm just satisfied in how that felt. I worked really hard. It often comes with hard work. So that's really important because a lot of times our relationship to money makes us do things that are really hard, take risk. Like I'm an entreprene. I did not know how to be an entrepreneur, Nicole, And I had to teach myself and I had to face My fears. And I have to take risk. And I had to, you know, take it in when people said no or people said yes, or people came in and people like. It's. It's a. It's a very cyclical experience. And I think that's the piece that sometimes we want to wish away. Nine out of ten clients come into my office and say, I want so much money. I don't have to think about it.
Nicole Khalil
Right?
Elizabeth Husserl
And I bet you you've had that thought too. Everyone does. And in reality, what happens there, I just kind of smile and I think to myself, yeah, it's kind of like saying, I nine husbands. So that one is always in a good mood. And I'm like, that's actually a lot of work. Right? And people don't realize more money comes with more work. And that's okay, you know, bring it in, organize it, have a plan. But that doesn't take away the journey of being human and the hard work that it takes to know who we are in our careers and our relationships, in our ability to feel love and our ability to experience wealth. So I argue and say that our relationship to money is actually a doorway and a mirror into knowing who we are, our relational styles, what works, what doesn't, how intense or how overwhelmed are we? And it can help us get super clear on how we design those strategies to feel wealthier. And that's when you start to make the distinction about, am I just accumulating enough number on a spreadsheet, or I'm actually taking the time to understand every day what feels satisfying so that I can start to add more of those strategies into my wealth portfolio.
Nicole Khalil
I gotta tell you, when you started with the food analogy, I had Emma, like, where's she going with this? That was brilliant to me, that completely connected it and put it in a way that, you know, I think we experience a little bit more regularly. And it's sort of the. We don't create a healthy relationship with food by obsessing over it. Similarly. Exactly. With money. And it is interesting. I think a lot of people kind of obsess about, I'm going to focus on money so I can create this point where I don't think about it anymore. And that's just not how it works.
Elizabeth Husserl
Well, you're not nourished, right? Like, we continue to create cravings and the empty ghost. It's like, you know, you can. I agree. Right. And I come from kind of a lineage of CPAs, and we would track money too obsessively. We weren't enjoying it. And so that's actually the question. Nicole. I was raised in an environment of two working parents, a physician, and a therapist. And we had enough, right? We were able to pay for school, and we'd go travel and see my family in Colombia, and they'd buy me books, and we had enough. But I was like, why is it that we feel scarcity still in the fine. In the family dynamic? I didn't have those words when I was growing up as a teen, but as an adult going into the financial career, I was like, huh? Why? We didn't necessarily have scarcity, but we felt scarcity. And I wrote this book because I'm committed to not passing that on to my daughter. There's no reason for her to feel scarcity. And so I have to do my work and look at my relationship to money as I continue to track my spreadsheet. And we have a family budget and we talk about it often and we add things and we know what's happening. But when I feel scarce, I have to take ownership for what that is. And a lot of times in my own being, it's like, around wastefulness, right? Like, I struggle with that because of my family, family lineage. But I have to take responsibility to be like, okay, that's feeling wasteful. Is it really wasteful or is an old habit that I need to start to reprogram that I can be in the moment in my relationship to money?
Nicole Khalil
Very well said. And, Elizabeth, I did you the disservice of not mentioning your book in my intro. Can you just quickly say the title of it?
Elizabeth Husserl
Yes, of course. It's called the Power of Enough Finding joy in your relationship to money. And there's a little nuance there because people are like, really? Joy in my relationship to money. And the reality is that when we start to separate what money and wealth is and start to bring money into the fold, we clear up the interference and be like, okay, money, we're going to figure this out, right? We're going to make sure we have a clear financial plan. And you are not what determines my sense of wealth and happiness and satisfaction. But you certainly can become a resource amongst other resources that I use for that end.
Nicole Khalil
You brought up two words that we hear a lot when it comes to money, abundance and scarcity. Let's talk about this. And I do feel like there is this either or thing that seems to be happening. Like I'm either being abundant or I'm being scarce, as opposed to neutral is always an option. Or that there are a variety of other options. What are your thoughts on this abundance scarcity? I don't know if relationship cycle that we're hearing a lot about. What are your thoughts about that?
Elizabeth Husserl
Yes. So, Nicole, this is a great question because we are stuck in this abundance scarcity cycle, right? And a lot of times I like to tell people, go back to your body. We're pushing, literally, take your arm out. We're pushing scarcity away, and we're grasping onto abundance, right? And when you do that in your body, you're like, wow, that's kind of tense. This is not a nice way of living. So I'm going to argue that we have to kind of like relax our body for a moment and understand that that scarcity abundance cycle happens because again, we think that wealth equals money. So I'm pushing the way away, the feeling of not having enough money to try to grasp onto more money. And I'm getting stuck in this cycle of like, wait a second, more money isn't necessarily bringing me more fulfillment. In fact, a lot of times more money means more responsibilities, more work, more direct reports, right? More I'm going up the career ladder. And you're like, wait a second. I kind of liked it when I was an individual contributor and life was a little simpler. So that we get stuck thinking that having more money will solve the feeling of scarcity. And as I was pointing out earlier, that is only one cycle in a bigger. In a bigger cycle of wealth. And so what I talk about in the book is situating that abundance scarcity cycle in the meaning fulfillment cycle. And I lean on the science of human needs. So we're always. We're all familiar with human needs from Maslow, right? The different needs to make sure that we're satisfying physical health and shelter and food, et cetera. But also his needs of sex, self actualization. And funny enough, he never put it in a hierarchy, right? That was a corporate management company that came in and put in a hierarchy which kind of resembles our climbing the corporate ladder. He had more of a conversation of. Of needs being all interconnected. There was another economist who came in, Manfred Max Neef, and put it in the matrix. I put it in a mandala, which is a circle, which funny enough means in Sanskrit the path from suffering to joy. So again, that piece around joy and what ends up happening is that if we understand that the needs around abundance and scarcity are situated together around financial stability, physical health and safety, and we put it in connection to wider needs that connect to our body, heart and mind, right? Needs for purpose and connection and understanding and belonging in touch and just to name a few, we start to realize that when you lift your head and be like, okay, I have resources that I can actually start to bring to satisfying these other human needs, then I'm not striving for more money for the sake of more money, right? That's when it feels really empty. Empty calories. But I'm calling in more money or more opportunities or more resources like creativity or connection or resilience. You name it. A lot, lot of those are unlimited to add a sense of fulfillment to these other needs in my wealth portfolio. So the abundance scarcity loop is one portion of it, but we're stuck there.
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Elizabeth Husserl
Ooh.
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With your choice of big Mac or 10 piece McNuggets with spicy nether flame sauce. Now available at McDonald's at participating McDonald's.
Nicole Khalil
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Elizabeth Husserl
So where all of this started for me, and this might be helpful to give an example, is right out of college I did my my undergraduate in economics and finance and I went and I worked at a nonprofit in Oaxaca, Mexico and I was teaching indigenous groups of Women how to create savings and loan cooperatives, a super practical financial tool so that they would no longer have to be dependent on loan sharks in the community. And it super empowering. And one day after teaching a workshop, I got lost in the countryside. I was so lost in thought around like, how can I teach these women really to be successful? I'm like, my heart and spirit were being poured into this project and I got lost and I raised my, I raised my eyes and I was like, where am I? And if, and if no one comes to find me, Nicole, I don't know how to make my clothes, I don't know how to grow my food. I don't know how to build shelter. I'm like, what did I actually learn in college, right, that was practical to like being part of the human experience. And I wasn't lost too long, fortunately. But in that moment I was like, huh, There's a whole other element of wealth that these communities have built over time. And they brought me in for more financial strategy, but they can teach me something I did not learn. And so I started going around for the next year and talking to the different communities and asking them what was their definition of wealth. Their eyes would light up and the first thing they always told me was health, right? If they were not healthy, they were not wealthy. Second was always community relationships, their ability to work as a coherent unit. If there was strife, right, that felt unwealthy to them. Their connection to nature, their connection to spirituality and whatever their cosmological story was. And so I came back in my mid-20s to the States to be like, huh, My work isn't in Oaxaca or in Latin America. My work is back in the States where we have so much and yet we feel poor and what that's about. So in my career as a financial advisor, yes, I do a lot of work of helping people create financial strategies both for their day to day living and for investments and for retirement. But I always tell them my job is only half done when we do that. Equally important, at the start of every year with my clients, I will have them do the exercise on the wealth mandala and I will ask them to tell me which areas are they feeling potentially lacking in. Most of the times, Nicole, it's not in their financial stability because we've created a plan. Most of the times they come back, they're like, oh my gosh, I'm lacking in leisure, I work so much, there is no off time. Or I'm lacking in touch, right? And I don't know how to Ask for that in my family system because that's where I had a wound from my past or I'm lacking in inspiration and purpose. And so when we get super clear where the true lack in poverty is, then that's the second part of our journey together is helping them bring resources there. And so to give you an example, recently I was talking to a client and they were super fulfilled in their wealth slice of purpose because we had mapped out a plan, they had left their W2, they had taken the risk to become a 1099 to do consulting work because what they wanted to do on the side was to write their book. Right. So very similar, kind of. I very much know that journey. But if I would have asked him a year earlier, purpose would have been a two. And when I met with them this year, purpose was filled all the way up to a 9, not quite a 10 because the book hadn't come out. But they were so happy. And even though we're going through a year of market volatility, their sense of wealth was deeper and wider and broader than when we had spoken a year ago.
Nicole Khalil
Okay. I love everything about that paradigm of wealth and I do agree that here in the United States, we need to think about it, about it significantly more holistically than we do. And I acknowledge that that can be hard to do in day to day life because I feel like we're inundated with messaging that's the opposite. Or that's so honed in on the money part of it that sometimes it's hard to unravel that or take a step back. You know, you think about social media wealth, it's like all the things you have, where you traveled, all that you think about my younger adult years, I lived in the LA area and one of the things that I didn't really love was how much energy and effort people put into. And I'm putting in air quotes, looking wealthy like they would drive the nicest car, but. But living outside their means. It was always, it felt very showy. So all of that to say, any advice for holding on to this more holistic approach to wealth when being faced with constant messaging that tells you otherwise?
Elizabeth Husserl
Yeah. And so I, I love that you asked that question. I think part of it is, again, we're not trying to push things away. Right. And so I would say, you know, you can start by not having to change anything in your external financial life. Like, I'm not like the. Keep your spending habits the same for a minute, like, keep that going. But what I would encourage the listeners to do is to start a 30 day satiation journal. So for the next 30 days, at the end of the day, write down three things that satisfied you, that truly satisfied you. Maybe it was your outfit, maybe it wasn't, right? But because it's. Because here's the thing that I didn't say earlier. Human needs are universal, but the way we satisfy them is unique and personal. Right? And so I think that's the hard piece. With financial literacy, it's really important to learn the basic principles of finance. But a lot of how we experience wealth is really personal. That's why it's so freaking murky. Right? There is no one size fits all. And so I'm gonna, I would encourage people that for the next 30 days, write down at the end of, at the end of each day, three things that satisfied you. And just don't, don't edit, don't think about it. After 30 days, go back and read it in one sitting and see like, huh, what were some of the patterns? What are some of the strategies? What is really satisfying me? And you'll see Nicole, that it's like those micro moments of insight that we start to make those micro changes in our habits. Right? And so I'm not saying you have to un unravel your life. And like I said, you know, we won't have too much more time today. But, but my whole work is also bringing money into the fold. It's, I mean, earn all the money you want. Like I am into that and I love women earning money, I love women having money, I love women investing money. Right? So it's not about pushing money away, it's more about how do depth and wealth coexist. And I think that's the interesting piece is that if you start to pay attention to what satisfies you, the change is more natural and less forced. It's more authentic.
Nicole Khalil
I gotta tell you, I love this approach and I love that you reiterated that it's personal what brings satisfaction. But I gotta tell you, I don't even need to do this to know at the end of my 30 days, I would never have written down that buying some random product from some random advertisement that popped up in my feed would ever be the thing that brings satisfaction. It's like the amount of times I regret doing that. Yeah, but it's easy to fall into that trap. So having that 30 day overview I think can really give some insight into themes and what's true and real for you.
Elizabeth Husserl
And to give us that, that kind of like ability to Ask that question before you press buy, right? Is like, oh, does this satisfy me? And if it does, then buy it. And if it doesn't, oops. I know that habit, right? It's kind of like the therapist, like there's the hole, we keep falling in the hole. One day we walk around the hole. So it just creates different habits in our body because I think I'll come back to that point. We are wired to want more, so let that be. But our body can help the mind relax by telling viscerally the rest of you that you actually have enough and you are enough and you know the way to feel enough.
Nicole Khalil
What is. And I'm gonna just put in air quotes the goal, like, do we feel we have enough? Most days? Are we mostly feeling grateful or like. I know this might seem like a really stupid question, but I don't think very many of us are experiencing this feeling of I am enough, I have enough on a regular enough basis. So I'm kind of like trying to even wrap my head around what it looks like and to say on a personal note, something you said earlier, I'm in the too much category. I have this. And it's not necessarily a working. I'm not saying that this is a good thing. I have been told the vast majority of my life that I'm a little too much for people. I literally have a quote in front of me that says, you will be too much for some people. Those aren't your people. As a reminder, and I think a lot of my money stuff that isn't working for me, that does also stem from my upbringing is this idea that there is too much. Right. That there is such a thing as having too much money or that there is too much wealth in the hands of too few people. I have this so long winded way of asking what is a feeling and knowing we have enough. What does that experience even feel and look like?
Elizabeth Husserl
Yeah, I mean, I think you asked me what the goal was at the beginning of the question. Right. And so. Which was such a great question?
Nicole Khalil
Sorry.
Elizabeth Husserl
Yeah, So I was tracking. I was tracking and girl, you are in my camp. I've been told my whole life I'm too much and enough. And like those are my people. Right. And so, you know, there is a tribe of people who just live life intensely. And I think for me my goal is that I love my life, Nicole. And I've loved my life not having lots of money in my bank. Right. And my. I've loved my life for the last 10 years and it was A moment. It's almost like I started to compound because there's three really basic steps. Once you start to pay attention and appreciate what matters and is meaningful to you. And then two, you take the step to digest that. And literally what I do, Nicole, is that I swallow like after every meaningful conversation before I jump into email and get on my to do list. I stop, I swallow what was meaningful. I tell my all my cells in my body, wow, that was a moment of meaning. And then three, you start to compound that. And in my personal expression, that gave me a feeling of like, oh my God, I love my life. I didn't add another dollar to my bank account, but I love my life, right? And I don't love my life every day, but I know how to make my way back there. And so that's what the goal was for me is like, am I living my life in alignment, that I'm coming back as often as I can to the I love my life feeling right. And for you it might be different. It might be a different word. And into reality is that the more I've let myself be intense, the more I love my life. And you're right, not a cup of tea for everyone. And that's okay. And it helps me be like, you know, and sometimes money will be part of that. Like going to your, to your example. Like I don't necessarily love buying a ton online, but I love going on a once a quarter shop, once a quarter shopping spree with my teenage daughter because we're building connection and we get to comment on our outfits that we buy and we do it together. So I'm not just buying to buy. I'm having an experience with her. And we do it once a quarter. We know how much like what our each of our budget is and we just make it a fun day together. So do you see that? It's not about. But so I think it's really part of why I wrote the book. And there's no investment or financial strategy in the traditional sense of the word is because I wanted to give a different entry point into exploring what wealth and money meant to you, to each person, so that then you can go back to your spending habits and see what feels different. Right. And so it's really a place of non judgment, total exploration. What does it feel like if you let yourself, Nicole, start to really embrace. Yeah, I'm a lot. And that's amazing, right? And money. We're a lot together. What are we gonna do today? Right? Maybe it's earn you, maybe it's spend you. Maybe it's gift you, maybe it's, you know, like you just start to have a creative partner. You know, it's a board member that you can really start to design and feel agency in your financial life.
Nicole Khalil
Elizabeth, I have so many more questions, and we're out of time. I'm going to try to sneak one in here. We talked a lot about what it could look like and being what enough is. And I'm curious if there are any harmful myths about money or anything that you're seeing specific to women that we need to let go of or watch out for that may get in the way of us creating wealth for ourselves.
Elizabeth Husserl
And I think a couple myths that come to mind is I often hear money's evil. Right. Or I'm afraid to lose it all. I'm going to be a bag lady at the end of the day. Like, those are a lot of the myths. And so I would tell people money's neutral. It's not good nor bad. We see people cause harm with money. That is 100% correct. But we need to get super clear at what are the corporate structures, administrative structures, policy structures that are in place that are allowing that to happen. And that's our role as human beings to change that. Money is a neutral tool. And I want more women to be in control of our money, making decisions and channeling resources because the world would be a better place. So put aside the money as evil, because that's when we resist it. Money is neutral. Right. And we can help change the world on how money is used. And then the other piece is like, I don't want to take enough risk or I'm going to be a bad lady. I'm going to lose it all. You know, money women usually take less risk when it comes to investments because we. We forget to see that there's different types of buckets we can put money in. Yes, keep your cash savings less risky, but the money that we're going to be using for the future, that you're growing for the next generation, you can take more risk in. Right. And so I think it's also like our relationship to risk in our relationship.
Nicole Khalil
All good advice, and I will just reiterate. Money is neutral and it doesn't change people, it reveals them. And that's one of the things that I think we need to remind ourselves. If you are focused on good and you have money, you'll do good with it. And that's why I couldn't agree more that we need more money in the hands of more women.
Elizabeth Husserl
Yeah. And I would say women have, I think, more of an innate ability to start to embody wealth alongside accumulating it. And I think for me, that's the next revolution and the next wave of women really being leaders in this industry.
Nicole Khalil
Elizabeth, thank you for a compelling and important conversation. And I just want to send people to the right and best places to learn more about you. So again, the book is the Power of enough. And Elizabeth, Elizabeth's website is Elizabeth Hurrell.com yeah, you can.
Elizabeth Husserl
It's H U S S E R L. There's a ton of free resources there that go along with the book. There is a book discussion guide because I think ultimately it's it's not a book to put on your nightside table and let it accumulate dust. It's a book to take a journey in and one to also share with others. So that you're talking, we need to talk more about money.
Nicole Khalil
Agreed. Thank you, Elizabeth.
Elizabeth Husserl
Thank you, Nicole. Pleasure being here.
Nicole Khalil
If there is one thing I hope you take away from this conversation, it's that enough isn't just a finish line you cross. It's a decision. You make a mindset shift, a choice to stop chasing more just for the sake of it, and start recognizing the freedom that comes with knowing that you already have enough. Because when you stop measuring your worth or your success by numbers in a bank account, by external validation, or by somebody else's definition of having made it, you take your power back. You stop operating from fear, scarcity, and comparison and start living from a place of satisfaction, confidence, and actual abundance. You are enough. You have enough. And the more you believe that, the freer you become. And all of that is woman's work.
Podcast Summary: This Is Woman's Work with Nicole Kalil
Episode: The Power of Enough with Elizabeth Husserl | 299
Release Date: April 14, 2025
In episode 299 of This Is Woman's Work, host Nicole Kalil engages in a profound conversation with Elizabeth Husserl, a registered investment advisor and co-founder of Penn Peak 360 Wealth Management. The episode, titled "The Power of Enough," delves into redefining financial well-being by exploring what it truly means to feel "enough" in our financial lives. Together, Nicole and Elizabeth challenge the conventional pursuit of more money, advocating instead for a holistic approach to wealth that encompasses both financial and non-financial aspects of life.
Timestamp: [01:24]
Nicole Kalil opens the discussion by addressing a universal struggle many women face: the constant questioning of whether they are "enough." She ties this internal conflict to financial behaviors, highlighting how the elusive concept of "enough" often drives us to chase more—whether it's more money, possessions, or status. Nicole emphasizes that the true power lies not in the relentless pursuit of more but in recognizing and embracing what is already sufficient.
"What if true financial security isn't about hitting some magic number, but about redefining your relationship with money altogether?" — Nicole Kalil [01:24]
Timestamp: [05:14] - [07:48]
Elizabeth Husserl responds by differentiating between money and wealth. She explains that while money is a tool for managing resources, wealth encompasses a broader sense of well-being that includes emotional and psychological fulfillment. Elizabeth underscores that conflating money with wealth can lead to an unfulfilling accumulation of resources that doesn't truly satisfy our deeper needs.
"Wealth is a state of well-being. It's a state." — Elizabeth Husserl [05:14]
Timestamp: [14:46] - [18:29]
The conversation transitions to the prevalent abundance-scarcity cycle that traps many in a perpetual loop of wanting more. Elizabeth introduces the concept of integrating this cycle within a broader framework that includes human needs such as health, community, and purpose. By expanding our understanding of wealth to include these dimensions, we can break free from the narrow focus on financial accumulation.
"If you have resources that you can actually start to bring to satisfying these other human needs, then I'm not striving for more money for the sake of more money." — Elizabeth Husserl [18:29]
Timestamp: [20:17] - [23:57]
Elizabeth shares insights from her book, The Power of Enough: Finding Joy in Your Relationship to Money, where she introduces the "wealth mandala." This tool helps individuals assess their sense of wealth across various life dimensions beyond finances. By identifying areas where they feel lacking—such as leisure, connection, or purpose—listeners can create more balanced and fulfilling wealth strategies.
"Most of the times, Nicole, it's not in their financial stability because we've created a plan. Most of the times they come back, they're like, 'I'm lacking in leisure,' or 'I'm lacking in touch.'" — Elizabeth Husserl [22:00]
Timestamp: [25:10] - [28:22]
Elizabeth offers actionable advice for listeners to cultivate a healthier relationship with money. She recommends starting a "30-day satiation journal," where individuals record three things each day that genuinely satisfy them. This practice helps identify authentic sources of fulfillment, enabling listeners to make intentional changes that align their financial behavior with their personal values and needs.
"Start a 30-day satiation journal. Write down three things that satisfied you, that truly satisfied you." — Elizabeth Husserl [25:10]
Nicole echoes the importance of this exercise, noting that it helps break the habit of seeking temporary gratification through purchases dictated by external advertisements.
Timestamp: [32:48] - [34:57]
As the episode nears its conclusion, Nicole and Elizabeth tackle common myths that hinder women from achieving financial empowerment. Elizabeth dispels the notion that "money is evil," emphasizing that money itself is a neutral tool whose impact depends on how it is used. She also addresses the fear of taking financial risks, encouraging women to embrace calculated risks to grow their wealth responsibly.
"Money is neutral. It’s not good nor bad. We see people cause harm with money, that is 100% correct. But money is neutral." — Elizabeth Husserl [33:16]
Nicole reinforces this perspective, advocating for more women to gain control over their finances to effect positive change.
Timestamp: [35:52] - [End]
In her closing remarks, Nicole Kalil summarizes the episode's core message: recognizing that "enough" is not a distant goal but a conscious mindset choice. By shifting away from measuring success solely through financial metrics and embracing a broader definition of wealth, women can reclaim their power and achieve true freedom and satisfaction.
"Enough isn't just a finish line you cross. It's a decision. You make a mindset shift, a choice to stop chasing more and start recognizing the freedom that comes with knowing that you already have enough." — Nicole Kalil [35:52]
Elizabeth encourages continual exploration and dialogue about money, urging listeners to redefine their wealth narratives in ways that resonate personally and authentically.
This Is Woman's Work with Nicole Kalil offers listeners a transformative perspective on wealth and financial well-being. By featuring Elizabeth Husserl's expertise and experiences, the episode empowers women to redefine their relationship with money, prioritize genuine satisfaction, and cultivate a balanced sense of enough. This conversation serves as a valuable guide for anyone seeking to move beyond the confines of traditional financial success and embrace a more holistic, fulfilling approach to wealth.
For more insights and resources, visit nicolekalil.com and Elizabeth Husserl's website at ElizabethHusserl.com.