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Undisputed Authority · Nov 25, 2025 · 42 min

Carl Richards

Carl Richards is a certified financial planner, bestselling author, and creator of The Sketch Guy column which ran in the New York Times for 10 years. He's known for simplifying complex financial concepts through hand-drawn illustrations and is the founder of the Society of Advice. In this episode, you'll discover How two blank stares from smart clients led Carl to draw his first sketch Why he emailed weekly to "just my mom" and kept going anyway How a forwarded email reached a New York Times editor What Carl means by "playing in traffic" and why it compounds How he wrote his book by curating what already resonated with readers Why he scrapped his online course business even though it was profitable What the Society of Advice does differently (and why courses don't create outcomes) Get the 10 Patterns of Disruptive Wisdom There are 10 specific behavioural patterns that consistently separate authorities from equally talented experts who remain invisible. Get the free 10-part email series where I break down those 10 patterns → liamcurley.co.uk/subscribe Chapters: [00:00] Intro [00:58] Chapter 1 - A Problem You're Interested in Solving [12:55] Chapter 2 - Playing in Traffic [25:09] Chapter 3 - Consulting at Scale Resources: Carl's website: behaviorgap.com Books: The Behavior Gap, The One-Page Financial Plan, Your Money Society of Advice: societyofadvice.com Sources used in the episode: The Diamond Podcast for Financial Advisors The Society of Advice YouTube Channel Work Life Play with Aaron McHugh Breakthrough Advisor Podcast Advisor Marketing Made Simple Lex Friedman Podcast On Being with Krista Tippett Lex Writer's Series About Undisputed Authority Each episode tells the story of how one expert became THE voice in their field – through deep research, conversation, and three-chapter narrative storytelling. Not hacks. Strategies and patterns you can apply to your expertise-driven business. About Liam Curley Liam Curley helps expert consultants and entrepreneurs build authority through content strategy and thought leadership. He identifies the unique, counterintuitive insights that set experts apart and helps them develop the defining body of work that cements their place at the top of their field. Work with Liam: liamcurley.co.uk LinkedIn: linkedin.com/liamcurley33

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Carl Richards is a certified financial planner, bestselling author, and creator of The Sketch Guy column which ran in the New York Times for 10 years. He's known for simplifying complex financial concepts through hand-drawn illustrations and is the founder of the Society of Advice. 

In this episode, you'll discover

  • How two blank stares from smart clients led Carl to draw his first sketch
  • Why he emailed weekly to "just my mom" and kept going anyway
  • How a forwarded email reached a New York Times editor
  • What Carl means by "playing in traffic" and why it compounds
  • How he wrote his book by curating what already resonated with readers
  • Why he scrapped his online course business even though it was profitable
  • What the Society of Advice does differently (and why courses don't create outcomes)

Get the 10 Patterns of Disruptive Wisdom

There are 10 specific behavioural patterns that consistently separate authorities from equally talented experts who remain invisible.

Get the free 10-part email series where I break down those 10 patterns → liamcurley.co.uk/subscribe


Chapters: 

[00:00] Intro 

[00:58] Chapter 1 - A Problem You're Interested in Solving 

[12:55] Chapter 2 - Playing in Traffic 

[25:09] Chapter 3 - Consulting at Scale 


Resources: 

Sources used in the episode:

About Undisputed Authority

Each episode tells the story of how one expert became THE voice in their field – through deep research, conversation, and three-chapter narrative storytelling. Not hacks. Strategies and patterns you can apply to your expertise-driven business. 


About Liam Curley

Liam Curley helps expert consultants and entrepreneurs build authority through content strategy and thought leadership. He identifies the unique, counterintuitive insights that set experts apart and helps them develop the defining body of work that cements their place at the top of their field.

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