We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Marly Garman. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Marly below.

Marly, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today What did your parents do right and how has that impacted you in your life and career?

Childhood is a time of wonder and experimentation like no other in a person’s life. I am very grateful to my family for teaching me the importance of money-mindedness and skepticism. How one learns to understand the world around them sets the basis for the future they will create. It’s all a matter of how you choose to look at it. I was fortunate that my family was very open to discussing finances. I learned early on about the costs of leaving lights on or letting the water run too long. But I also learned the benefits of saving and the opportunities it could bring. After helping save loose change for a birthday trip to Disney, I would see the importance of prioritizing and budgeting spending to save for something meaningful.
This trend would continue and motivate me to try all kinds of ways to earn money to pay for the extra things I wanted. Until I was old enough to get a proper job, I would earn money by doing chores, yard sales, and lemonade stands. Through these efforts, I was able to gain years of valuable experience budgeting, saving, and managing money from a very young age.
Everyone spends their entire life dealing with money, yet very few people master the basics that allow them to go from making ends meet to building financial security. Successful financial management isn’t earth-shattering or complex but a series of good habits and a specific mindset. Being able to develop healthy, money-conscious habits has been a key part of my success and has put me in a position to pursue my passions.
I look back at the stressful times and the tight budgets I grew up with, and I am grateful my family didn’t try to hide the facts from me. They took the time to explain why things were the way they were. This information was so empowering. It taught me how to look at situations from a whole new perspective, be skeptical, and understand the motivations driving decision-making in our household.
Where many people look at skepticism as having a positive or negative outlook, I see it as the basis for calculating the pros and cons of every opportunity. Being able to critically evaluate information and ask better-informed questions is the key difference between making a poor, good, or great decision. My family trusted me to listen in and often give input on all kinds of decisions, from grocery shopping to moving for a new job opportunity. This continued practice of evaluating and making decisions is another of many skills my family got right that I cherish today.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

My aim through simplylivinghappy.com is to create a place where readers can revisit time and time again for information that will help them cut through the distractions and hype around getting what makes them happiest. It’s one thing to want something and another thing to get it and be satisfied with the outcome. The only way to know for absolute certain is through experience. Life is filled with so many exciting opportunities and moves so quickly that it can be difficult to make the most of each moment. Though I found my own path and made decisions that were more beneficial than detrimental, it wasn’t without struggle. Had I not had the insights, stories, and experiences of many close friends and family to rely on, things would have been very different.
When you have big goals and ambition with limited experience there is a lot you don’t know you don’t know. Learning from those around you is a priceless education. The concept of Simply Living Happy builds on this idea by providing an array of unique and thoughtful perspectives to help readers find the information they need most. In short, Simply Living Happy isn’t about perfection; it is about maximizing potential.

Do you have any insights you can share related to maintaining high team morale?

Hire people for how they think, not where they’ve been. Look for people who want to take ownership of the vision and quality of your business. Finding people with passion and heart will always build a stronger team. Credentials and accolades are great, but as workers, we shouldn’t let those be the most exciting aspects of what we have to offer. No one can think, collaborate, or innovate exactly as you can, but they can have a resume that looks the same. Look for individuals who lean into their unique experiences and perspectives. My second piece of advice is to be as quick and decisive to reward or promote team members as you are to let them go. The best leaders I have had the privilege to work with were always finding ways to talk about every team member’s contribution and future with the organization from day one. This ensured everyone felt valued and had a clear shared goal in mind. They never hesitated to recognize efforts, even if it was just a small compliment.
On the other hand, great leaders are quick to pick up on discontent. The longer someone is underperforming at your organization, the more time they could have spent doing inspiring work elsewhere. Change can be scary but it’s in the best interests of everyone that leaders encourage these team members to go after what will make them happiest, even if it means parting ways.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

The most rewarding aspect of being a creative is also the scariest. You make the rules and define your own success. You connect with clients and serve your audience in a way that feels most authentic and ethical to you as a business owner. You also manage the uncertainty and natural doubts that arise from time to time.

However, having the peace of mind knowing you can lead with your personal brand of integrity and innovate as you see fit is a luxury. It is that luxury I will always covet.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://simplylivinghappy.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/simplylivinghappyblog
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SimplyLivingHappy.co/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/MarlyGarman
• Other: Flipboard – https://flipboard.com/@SimplyLivin6ru9

Image Credits
Marly Garman