Getting in the business of success

Paul Strassels said something once that has stayed on my mind for years. In the context of financial and credit education, he said "we need to get out of the financial failure business and into the financial success business."

When someone needs debt education, advice, counseling, or other services like bankruptcy or debt settlements, we need to be helping to move them toward a more successful future. It shouldn't be about managing failure; if circumstances have made it impossible to manage debts, it's a fresh start that's needed.

This is one of the reasons the bankruptcy code works better now than it used to. Debtors are required to get counseling that can help them make sure they're making the right choice, and it teaches them personal financial literacy so they can get a clean start after their bankruptcy filing. Bankruptcy used to be the worst thing that could happen to you financially. Now it's something one can survive, and the healing process can begin immediately, rather than 7 years later.

If you were a divorce lawyer, would you make sure that splitting up is the right choice for your clients? Would you ask them to try marriage counseling first, or at least ask them what they've done to avoid the dissolution of their marriage? It's depressing to imagine being in the marriage failure business. But if you make absolutely sure that divorce is the right choice for your clients (as I'm sure many divorce attorneys do), then you can feel confident that you're helping them get a fresh start toward a more successful future.

That's the way I'd like bankruptcy attorneys, credit counselors, settlement negotiators and housing counselors to think.