The Mover is one of the most accomplished of the money personalities we have been discussing, and can be the most organized of the group. However, for some there is a dark side where they organize everything other than their own personal lives, creating chaos on an individual basis for themselves and significant others.
We encounter them everywhere because they are the person you would ask to plan an annual event or put on a big production. They know how to make the wheels roll as they have huge contact lists and a skill for organizing that would make ground control at NASA proud. Planning, organizing, and directing things are the oxygen that helps create bright light, and yet for them, makes everyday tasks of life a very boring affair. Their greatest aim in life is the next mission or several missions going at once. The check book some how eludes them, and wills or keeping track of money is for wimps as the circus rolls on!
They are super busy, and rightfully so, but sometimes it is an avoidance mechanism to planning out how their own lives should flow. “Getting it done!” never seems to apply to their personal situations because there is nothing glorious in fighting for that cause. And so, they spend a good deal of time doing TV appearances, managing fund raisers, and mingling with the crowd.
The classic example of this money personality is Stieg Larsson, the author of “The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo”. He was a fixture in the activist movements in Sweden and assisted by his common-law-wife was involved with a number of organizations. His political activism estranged him from his Father and brother and he had not spoken to them in twenty years. And yet, over all that time he never formalize his relationship with his wife or a will. The day he learned his work would be published he ran up 7 flights of stairs, excited to get to his office, had a heart attack and died at the age of 50. The outcome of the legal wrangling delivered a shocking result: His Father and brother became his legal heirs and his wife of 30 years received nothing.
If you are in a relationship with The Mover, there will be lots of excitement and activity in the public eye or working for a cause with passion, however you must be prepared to play Dr. Watson to his Sherlock Holmes. By that I mean, you will have to be the voice of reason that says the bills must be paid or more thought needs to be given to something that is either too expensive or not right for the long term.
A few tactics to employ, for them and you, can help them on their way. Once The Mover internalizes there can be major consequences for inaction, because organizing their own lives makes it possible for them to fund their causes long term, they can come around. The point for them to understand is their own lives are just as important as the things they are striving for. Boredom with the mundane is a major factor in their not tackling things, creating systems that allow them to quickly complete task (things like automatic bill paying, or an Excel spreadsheet with formulas set up to do the calculations and totals) helps them do a little and leave the rest to automatic pilot. Another mantra they can use is the rule of thumb: “Do it now.” It is a response that can help them override their natural tendency to delay in order to wander off to the things that drive them. Breaking up required tasks is also a help. Tackling tasks in short bursts (either first thing in the morning or on certain days, means they do one thing at a time and don’t work at it long enough to become bored or overwhelmed.
Once you have their buy-in they might even begin to tackle their lives with the same fierce determination they use for their causes. At the very least some bills will be paid and the lights will remain on.