2020: The Four Step System for Handling Whatever Comes Next

**Farnoosh Torabi** (0:00)
Hey friends, if you've been sitting on a book idea and wondering could this actually become something, this is your moment. Join me in New York City on October 9th for Book to Brand. This is my intimate full-day immersive designed to help you turn your idea into a clear, compelling, pitch-ready book concept. You will meet the insiders, agents, publishers, and recent authors who can help bring your book to life. Spots are limited and early-bird tickets are on sale now. Head to booktobrand.co to reserve your spot. So Money episode 2020, the four-step system for handling whatever comes next.

**Ana Homayoun** (0:42)
Each day, get a 30-minute dose of financial inspiration from the world's top business minds, authors, influencers, and from Farnoosh yourself.

**Farnoosh Torabi** (0:55)
Sorry, you're in the wrong place.

**Ana Homayoun** (0:57)
Seeking profound ways to live a richer, happier life?
I think every parent in America today is dealing with their own set of circumstances. Whether they're caregiving for their parents, whether they're navigating personal health issues, whether they're navigating job issues, woes, all of these things, we're all dealing with stuff. So how we react to things and how we process is a result of the pillars that I talk about, right? Do we have systems in place to reduce the emotional load? Do we have connections that help us navigate a disappointment or distress, right? Like, and bring joy to our lives. Do we have an expanded perspective that like, yeah, this one time slot, there's four other options that could work here and the person is helping me find a solution? And do we have an acceptance for ourselves and others?

**Farnoosh Torabi** (1:46)
Welcome to So Money, everybody. I'm Farnoosh Torabi, kicking off the week with an episode on how to be more resilient.
Starting with college kids, getting into school was supposedly the hard part, right? But why are so many young adults arriving on campus and falling apart? I just spoke with a friend over the weekend who said her daughter's transitioned to freshman year, despite the fact that she's intelligent and social and was looking forward to college, was the worst, quote unquote, the worst. They had to go up to campus many times to just make sure she was okay. And this is not a singular incident. This is happening across the country. Young adults are arriving on campus, not as prepared as we hope they would be. And this is a question that's driven my guests work for 25 years. Ana Homayoun is an educational consultant, author, and she's back on the show today to talk about the paperback relaunch of her book, which is now retitled Getting In Is Not Enough, the new blueprint for student success beyond grades and college admissions. Initially, Ana built this book around a very foundational idea that grades and test scores don't teach kids how to actually run their lives. But when Ana sat down to revise it for the paperback, she realized the AI-driven workforce made the argument even more urgent, and that the four pillars that she teaches in her book, including systems, connections, perspective, and acceptance, aren't just for teens. They're for anyone navigating a messy transition, whether it's that 18-year-old headed to college, the 22-year-old that's moving back home after graduating, or someone in midlife rebuilding a career from scratch. We talk about why friend groups shouldn't live in one place, why choices is the most stress-reducing word in the English language, and why Ana thinks parents often struggle with disappointment more than their kids do. Plus, her honest take on where AI genuinely helps, where it gets in the way, and what it means to build an entrepreneurial blueprint of your own. Here's Ana Homayoun.
Ana Homayoun, welcome back to So Money.

**Ana Homayoun** (4:04)
It's always great to be here.

**Farnoosh Torabi** (4:07)
You have released the paperback version of your most recent book, Erase the Finish Line, has a new title, new cover. Tell us about this refresh.

**Ana Homayoun** (4:18)
Well, I'm super excited about it. So when we went to do the paperback, we realized that so much had changed around the workforce and AI, and actually makes all of the work in the book all the more relevant, right? So I redid the intro and made it very focused on AI and the workforce, and what do parents really need to understand today to support their kid, young adult, as they navigate these new spaces. And then these stories, I went back and I interviewed my students from 15 to 20 years ago and told their stories of what really helped them navigate a post-graduation world. So it's really exciting for me. This year marks 25 years of Green Ivy Educational Consulting, which I'm really proud of. And I'm proud that I really actually enjoy my work. And it is so rewarding. Just yesterday, I was doing an organizational workshop with an incoming high school freshman. She was so delightful. And I was doing all the things. And we just had a real connection and she was seeing it. And I was like, yeah, this is why I do my work. So I still meet with students. And it's why the work is so just rewarding. And seeing the impact is lovely. And now in the age of all this technological change. Because remember, when I started, there was no Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter, all the things never existed X.