Counting on
Your$elf: A Woman’s Way to Wholistic Wealth
An Interview with Author
Jackie Henrion
KIRPAL GORDON: The first thing that
impressed me about Counting on Your$elf is that the content you deliver
is content that you have lived through and synthesized into an action plan. For
me, the swing from the first husband (inarticulate) to the second husband (fully
engaged) really demonstrates one of the many benefits of your wholistic
approach.
JACKIE HENRION: The roots of the
book go back to my divorce from my first husband. One of the ways I decided to
regain my footing was to take a full financial inventory of my life, using the
analytical tools I had learned during my MBA and used throughout a twenty-year business
career. Later, when I met my second husband, I analyzed both of our
financial situations using the same tools. Over time I began referring to this
process as the Financial Selfie™—a clear, honest snapshot of where
you stand financially.
As our life together unfolded, I
also deepened my study of contemplative practices: yoga, Vipassana meditation,
and mindfulness. These disciplines helped me see that a fulfilling life
includes far more than money alone. Out of that realization I developed the
concept of Mind Money™, a way of recognizing and valuing the
non-financial assets in our lives—things like relationships, experiences,
insights, and personal growth that influence the decisions we make every day.
I began sharing this framework
informally with friends and family. Eventually I started explaining it to my
granddaughters, and that’s when I realized how rarely women are taught to
integrate financial literacy with deeper reflection about life choices. That
realization pushed me to organize these ideas into a book.
What turned out to be challenging
was bringing together two worlds that are usually kept separate: finance and
mindfulness. There is also a section of the book that explores how our deeper
beliefs about money can influence our confidence and stress levels. For me
these connections feel natural, but I’ve come to realize they are unusual for
many readers. Finding the right tone—both practical and reflective—was an
important part of writing the book.
A turning point came when I read
the work of Dr. Daniel Siegel on the science of mindfulness. I use his
definition of the mind—the regulation of energy and information—as a starting
point. In the book I expand on that idea and suggest that if we think of money
as a form of energy, our life choices become easier to understand and manage.
That perspective puts us back in the driver’s seat of our own lives. The
possibility of helping more women recognize that level of agency is incredibly
exciting to me.
KIRPAL GORDON: I appreciated the
philosophical attitude adjustment content and the specific practical guidelines
as well. The idea that women could teach men how to be smarter financially
knocked me out. It flips the stereotypical script that men are money earners
and women are money burners.
JACKIE HENRION: Many people
recognize that trope from the familiar “men are from Mars, women are from
Venus” style of humor. But I was reminded how persistent it still is during a
dinner with friends.
We walked past a clothing store
and the wife said jokingly, “It’s not like I need any more clothes.” Her
husband laughed and said, “Did you hear that? Let’s get that in writing.”
Everyone chuckled, but later I thought about how that kind of remark reflects a
subtle cultural assumption that women are the spenders while men are the
responsible earners.
Often the response to questioning
that assumption is, “Lighten up—it’s just a joke.” But our culture has long
used humor to normalize stereotypes—Polish jokes, Jewish jokes, jokes about
women. Humor can reveal attitudes that linger beneath the surface.
In recent years our society has
been confronted with wave after wave of revelations about the abuse and
mistreatment of women. If we want those patterns to change, women must feel
empowered in every dimension of their lives, including financial decision-making.
Our expectations for our futures need to look different.
That’s one reason the class I
teach at Utah Tech’s Institute for Continued Learning is currently designed for
women only. The ideas in the book would certainly be useful for men as well,
and perhaps I will eventually teach a men’s class. But many women feel more
comfortable discussing financial uncertainty or knowledge gaps in a supportive
environment among peers. Interestingly, I also suggest in the book that if
men learn this framework, it could become a powerful foundation for healthier
relationships. A shared understanding of money and life priorities builds trust
within a partnership.
KIRPAL GORDON: The value of your career
in business and your interest in meditation come through on every page. But I
also know of your background in music and songwriting. Is there a connection to
this subject?
JACKIE HENRION: There actually
is. Learning this framework improves your ability to improvise in life,
especially during crises or major transitions. When you begin to think of
money as energy, you gain confidence in your ability to regulate it. Energy has
rhythms and patterns. Sometimes things rise; sometimes they fall. Learning to
recognize and ride those economic waves is a bit like music—understanding
rhythm, chords, chord families, and then choosing your own melodic line.
During my own study of
mindfulness, there was a moment when it felt as though I had walked through a
door. The persistent internal voice saying “something is wrong with me” began
to fade. Instead, I realized that I could enter any situation trusting that
what I am and what I know is enough. I stopped over-preparing for everything
and began trusting that growth and learning are part of every
experience. In the complexity of real life, this framework provides a
simple feedback loop. It lets you see your own growth over time.
Another book that influenced me
is psychotherapist Charlotte Kasl’s If the Buddha Got Stuck. She
describes how many of us become “stuck” because of our experiences and
conditioning. What the Financial Selfie framework allows you to do is observe
your own stuckness—much like noticing sensations during meditation. Not to
criticize yourself, but simply to acknowledge where you are and allow space for
movement and change. The confidence that comes from that awareness is
electric. Instead of saying, “That’s cool,” I like to say, “That’s fluid.”
KIRPAL GORDON: I liked the
workbook aspect of Counting on Your$elf. Did you include that to
stimulate fluidity between reading and responding?
JACKIE HENRION:
That’s an insightful observation using
the word “fluidity.” The book is designed to create exactly that kind of
movement between reading and responding. Throughout Counting On Yourself, readers
can rate individual paragraphs from 1 to 10, allowing them to pause and notice
immediately whether an idea resonates.
On the website, countingonyourselfcom,
readers can also contribute to a Resonance Index, where they
register their responses and gradually see how other women react to the same
material. Over time it becomes a kind of collective reflection on the ideas in
the book.
The workbook, now in development,
grows out of the notes and slides from my classes. It’s designed for readers
who may not be able to attend in person, offering exercises that help
strengthen the habits of thinking and feeling that shape financial decisions.
And for readers who prefer not to build spreadsheets themselves, the website
also offers downloadable templates for the Financial Selfie™ tools.
KIRPAL GORDON: May I add the
click for purchase (Counting
On Yourself: A Woman’s Way to Wholistic Wealth : Henrion, Jackie:
Amazon.com.au: Books) and for more information, your website Jackie Henrion -? Thank you, Jackie.
