There are probably few people that would say dealing with financial insecurity is fun. Indeed, financial insecurity, especially in its most dangerous forms such as housing and food insecurity, can lead individuals into a downward spiral of stress and chaos. Finding yourself in a vortex of increasing debt and other personal expenses can certainly lead one to feel helpless – or even hopeless. 

Since personal finance and personal mental health are “connected at the hip”, then it follows that the first step in getting your financial house in order may not be by picking up a book about personal finance! Perhaps you need to first recognize a deeper root issue and deal with that first. 

With that in mind, we have chosen three books about personal finance that are not about personal finance. These books are resources to help you make the changes in your mental state that will empower you to take control of your personal finances. 

The Road Less Traveled by M. Scott Peck 

This is an undisputed classic! There are four broad principles: delaying gratification, acceptance of responsibility, dedication to truth, and balancing. This might sound a little “preachy,” but it is not. Clearly delaying gratification can translate to a healthier financial life – but more importantly, there is acceptance of responsibility. This is not something your parents used to say, and you swore you would never say it when you were an adult. Instead, it is an empowering principle that teaches you that accepting responsibility means you can control your own fate! It is particularly important when financial burdens seem to control your life. 

7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey 

Another timeless classic! Once you have accepted responsibility, you need to take one more step deeper into formulating a detailed plan to manage your financial life. These seven habits annunciate clear steps to making specific changes to your inner self that will put your head in a place ready to tackle your finances. For example, the first book teaches you about accepting responsibility – but then this book takes one more step to show you how to pick and choose your battles and even when, to be honest, and admit the problem is with you and not external to you. 

Getting Things Done by David Allen 

The third classic in a row! This is the most detailed resource in your readiness toolbox. Whereas the first two deal with certain issues at a high level, Allen’s book then takes it to the fine-grained details. Are you putting off dealing with something that makes you uncomfortable? Putting it off will not help – it will make your state worse since even though you may think you have forgotten it; it will gnaw away at you silently in the background. So, get it done! One great gem: if you have a list of to-dos, immediately tackle anything that will take you two minutes or less to accomplish! From personal experience, it is liberating! 

We’ve highlighted these books because they align so well with our own philosophy here at Defynance – personal financial empowerment. We believe that taking control of your personal finances is the key to a successful and happy life. This is why we created ROEP (pronounced ‘rope’), which stands for Resources Optimizing Earning Potential. It is where you can find a career- and finance-related resources such as career counseling, upskill resources, job boards, and more. New resources are being added all the time, so check them out! 

 Accelerator program! The program wraps with an exciting Demo Day. We’d love it if you joined us to watch 20 incredibly impactful startups present their companies and their offerings. The link to the event is here: 

This week, we would like to share some of our thoughts and reflections on the past 12-week CSW accelerator journey. 

First, it was truly inspiring to be part of a relatively large cohort of companies that were hyper-focused on making a social impact and/or personal safety in so many ways. With so many viable problem-solution value propositions, it is undeniable evidence that there is no inherent conflict between a profitable business and a company doing social good. 

Second, although the CWS Accelerator is a brand-new program, it is affiliated with a leading accelerator, such as AlchemistX. The backing of the Edmonton Police Foundation and Alberta Innovates add tremendous value as well. We knew that the CSW team would be excellent and were not disappointed by seasoned professionals such as Ian Bergman, Christy Canida, Hemanth Setty, Shannon Gavrilchuk, and many others that guided us along the CSW journey.  

Third, one of the unique aspects of this accelerator was that once chosen, participation did not include an investment by the accelerator. Last year, Defynance took part in Techstars Boulder and in that program – like many others – the purpose was to invest in a company and “accelerate” its development. Not adding another line to our cap table was certainly a plus, but at the same time, at a certain stage, any given company could benefit from such an investment. We are, however, excited to be evaluated by the ScaleGood Social Impact Fund at the end of the program so the investment option is on the table. 

Fourth, as you may have noticed from the organizations mentioned in the second point – for example, the Edmonton Police Foundation – this program was based in Albert, Canada. This was certainly a factor that weighed heavily in favor of Defynance participating in the program. Through the program, we gained insights into the Canadian market and learned a great deal in doing so. We are extremely excited about eventually opening the Canadian market to the Defynance solution! 

In summary, working alongside such knowledgeable coaches and alongside 19 other fantastic companies have not only validated our belief in Defynance as a business but more importantly validated our belief in Defynance as a concept. That concept is one where we – not meaning just we here at Defynance – can simply make a choice to do business in a way that makes a social impact without compromising returns!