One of my favorite scenes from television doesn't involve football. Or soccer, depending on which side of the Atlantic you grew up on. It involves a dartboard.
Source: Ted Lasso Wiki
If you've watched Ted Lasso, you probably remember the scene. Ted has spent the evening being underestimated by Rupert, who assumes this cheerful American couldn't possibly know anything about darts. Just before stepping to the line, Ted recalls a quote often attributed to Walt Whitman: "Be curious, not judgmental." A few seconds later, he calmly throws a triple 20, another triple 20, and then a bullseye to win the match.
The room falls silent.
If you are not familiar with the scene, it is worth taking four minutes to watch Jason Sudeikis masterfully display a unique combination of both curiosity and humility as he shares an important life lesson with the arrogant and wealthy Rupert in the YouTube clip below.
Ted Lasso Season 1 - The Dart Game Scene - Be Curious, Not Judgmental - Walt Whitman
The room falls silent not because Ted got lucky, but because everyone there had mistaken assumption for knowledge. If they had asked one question - "Ted, have you ever played darts?" they would have learned that he had spent every Sunday afternoon from the ages of 10 to 16 throwing darts with his father. That scene has stayed with me ever since I first watched it because I think it illustrates one of the greatest lessons I've learned during nearly forty years as a financial advisor.
Curiosity changes everything.
Early in my career, I had the opportunity to hear one of the most successful financial planners in our profession explain what made him successful. I expected him to spend his time talking about investment strategies, tax planning, or sophisticated financial techniques. Instead, he said something remarkably simple. He loved solving problems. He loved learning. But most of all, he loved asking questions.
He wanted to understand how things worked, why they worked, what people valued most, and what they hoped to accomplish in their lives. He believed that if he asked enough thoughtful questions, he could help people connect the dots between where they were today and where they truly wanted to be. He said he was lucky to have been born with an innate sense of curiosity. I want to think I've been blessed with that same trait, although it's also something I've worked hard to cultivate throughout my career.
That philosophy resonated with me immediately, and it has shaped the way I've approached both financial planning and life ever since.
In 2007, it inspired a tagline I created for our firm: "Connecting Dreams and Resources." The idea was simple. Before you can recommend investments, discuss retirement, or develop a financial plan, you must first understand someone's dreams. Money is simply a tool. Dreams determine where the tool should be used.
The real conversation begins with questions.
What does your ideal retirement look like? What experiences do you want to share with your family? What legacy do you hope to leave? What brings you joy? What worries you the most? Those answers don't come from talking. They come from listening. You will also notice that none of those are questions about your investments or your net worth.
I have always loved Zig Ziglar's famous observation:
Source: A-Z Quotes
The older I've become, the more I appreciate how much wisdom is packed into that single sentence. You cannot help someone accomplish what they want until you first take the time to understand what they truly want. That requires genuine curiosity. I was genuinely blessed to see Zig speak live twice before he passed away.
Recently, I've been reading several thought-provoking articles by Peter Diamandis, who argues that curiosity may become one of the defining competitive advantages of the decade ahead. Artificial intelligence is becoming incredibly good at answering questions, but it still depends on curious people to ask the right ones. As my wife Rachel my self-appointed AI Queen and mentor likes to remind me, the quality of your results depends largely on the quality of your questions.
While knowledge is becoming more abundant every day, curiosity is becoming more valuable. Too many people mistake access to information for understanding.
Knowledge has become abundant. Wisdom hasn't.
One chart shared by fellow financial planner Peter Mallouk captures this idea with both humor and wisdom.
Source: Peter Mallouk, Creative Planning
The chart suggests that wise people tend to believe they know relatively little, average people think they know a fair amount, and foolish people believe they already know almost everything. It's funny because it's true. The more we learn, the more we realize how much remains to be learned.
I've found exactly that to be true in my own life. The smartest people I've met rarely think they're the smartest people in the room. They are the ones who continually seek new knowledge and try to learn something they don't already know.
The older I get, the less interested I am in proving that I'm right and the more interested I become in discovering something I didn't know yesterday. Whether I'm reading about economics, investment history, artificial intelligence, longevity research, behavioral psychology, or simply listening to clients' life experiences, I've found that curiosity has a way of opening doors that certainty keeps closed.
I also see it every day in my profession. The best financial advisors ask more questions than they answer. The best investors don't assume they know exactly what the markets will do next; they ask what they might be missing. The best business leaders seek different perspectives before making important decisions. The best teachers never stop being students.
The next question you ask might change someone's life. Let me give you an example.
Fifteen years ago, my client Dave came into my office after learning that his position at a manufacturing plant in Akron was being eliminated. In his mind, he had only two choices. He could continue doing work he no longer enjoyed in another location knowing it would likely cost someone with less seniority their job or he could retire early and try to survive on a pension, his 401(k), and Social Security that wouldn't begin for another five years.
He believed those were his only options...until I asked him the following question:
If you could supplement your pension and 401(k) assets, which we know are not enough to live on at present, with part-time income doing something you loved, would you be happier?
That question changed Dave's life. It gave him the opportunity to do part-time work with children in an elementary school setting. This was something he loved doing, and it brought him the additional income his wife and he needed to continue living comfortably until Social Security kicked in.
But it did more than that; it also gave him the gift of time. Time to volunteer with his church. Time to work out and take care of his physical well-being. And time to spend with his wife...
Five years later, his wife was diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer and passed away six weeks later. When we met at my office two months later, he said to me, If you had not asked me the question about part-time work, I would have continued working a job that I was miserable at, and although we didn't know it at the time, I would have missed the last five years of life with my best friend. Thank you.
Dave's life changed because someone asked one more question.
I've also noticed something else.
It's remarkably difficult to judge someone once you become genuinely curious about them. When we take the time to understand someone's story, it's much easier to extend grace than criticism.
When we stop making assumptions and start asking thoughtful questions, we often discover there's far more to the story than we first imagined. We begin to understand people's experiences instead of simply reacting to their opinions. We replace certainty with empathy, and judgment with understanding.
Perhaps that's what made the Ted Lasso scene so memorable.
His victory had very little to do with darts. It was really about humility. It was about the danger of assuming we already know someone's story before we've taken the time to ask.
Maybe that's a lesson we could all use a little more of today.
The next time we're tempted to assume we already know the answer, perhaps we should pause long enough to ask one more question. We might discover a better solution, a different perspective, a lifelong friendship, or even an opportunity we never would have seen otherwise.
Watching my new grandson discover the world has reminded me that we are all born curious. Children ask "why?" hundreds of times because they're fascinated by everything around them.
Somewhere along the way, many adults stop asking. Maybe success isn't about finding all the answers. Maybe it's about never losing the curiosity we were born with.
Because in my experience, the people who continue to grow throughout their lives aren't necessarily the smartest people in the room.
They're simply the ones who never stop learning. They never stop asking questions. They remain curious.
And that mindset really can change everything as we continue Moving Life Forward... Barbecue Sauce.
©2026 Jesse Hurst
Senior Wealth Manager
The views stated are not necessarily the opinion of Cetera and should not be construed directly or indirectly as an offer to buy or sell any securities mentioned herein. Due to volatility within the markets mentioned, opinions are subject to change without notice. Information is based on sources believed to be reliable; however, their accuracy or completeness cannot be guaranteed. Past performance does not guarantee future results.
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