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The Gap and the Gain

Mike Earl, CFP®, CPWA®


A group of our advisors recently read The Gap and the Gain, by Dan Sullivan and Dr. Benjamin Hardy (you can download the ebook for free here, in exchange for sharing your information with them). Our firm has no affiliation with their organization, other than appreciating the great resources they provide. 

It’s a short book with a simple, powerful message:

Instead of focusing on how far away I am from where I want to be (The Gap), I should focus on how far I have come from where I started (The Gain).

We all have ideals of where we want to be in life. But if we’re constantly thinking about how far away we are from our ideals, we will be unhappy.

This message can be applied in many ways, every day. 

Some applications in the way we view money:  

The Gap

“We’re only saving 10% of our income toward retirement; we should be saving 15% of our income.”

The Gain

“Three years ago we had total consumer debt of $50,000 (student loans, car loans, and credit cards. Today, we have zero non-mortgage debt, and we are into a 15-year mortgage. Our financial future is secure.” 

The Gap                                                          

“Our portfolio is down $200,000 from its peak last December.”

The Gain

“Could you ever have imagined that we would go from two broke college students to a net worth of $3,000,000?”

The Gap

“If I get one more promotion, my bonus potential and stock grants will increase and we’ll finally feel comfortable financially.”

The Gain

“When I was waiting tables and undecided on my college major, I never would have dreamed that I could thrive in business and make over $200,000/year.”

The Gap

“I should have bought a lot more bitcoin/Amazon/Chipotle/Apple when I first heard about it or started using it.”

The Gain

“Ten years ago, my portfolio was ten times smaller than it is today.”

The Gap

“How much more will we lose in this bear market?”

The Gain

“How much are we going to gain in the next bull market?”


The temptation to live in The Gap is something we face each day. The call to action is to pivot our thinking toward The Gains we have made in life.

To help you live in The Gain, the authors recommend writing down 3 wins from each day before you go to bed. The second step is to write 3 wins you hope to attain the following day. They offer a free app here to help you track your wins.

Here's to racking up some wins and staying in The Gain.