Lance Durbin

THE STORY

Putting Money to Work: Lance Durbin on Spending, Saving, and Giving It Away

"So the question then is, if people who have a lot of money are sometimes still miserable, and people who don't have money are in a bad place, there must be something more complex about what money is for."

That's the question Lance Durbin keeps coming back to, and the one he's bringing to TEDxUnityPark 2026.

Lance comes at it from two directions. He spent ten years as a pastor. Today he's a wealth advisor who works with a lot of the entrepreneurs building businesses in Greenville, and he runs an international consumer products business with one of his closest friends. His talk at this year's TEDxUnityPark is about what a healthy relationship with money looks like, and it asks something most of us skip right past: what is all of this actually for?

"Money is a terrible god, but a wonderful tool."

That's one of Lance's catchphrases, and he says it warm and plain, like he means every word.

"I spent ten years essentially being a pastor, and nowadays, I spend my time as a wealth advisor," he says. "I also have four kids and have been married for 12 years."

Pastor to wealth advisor sounds like a big jump. Listening to him, it's a shorter one than you'd think.

"With adults, money is sort of the nearest and dearest thing to their heart oftentimes."

"One of my biggest passions is I really desire people to have a healthy relationship with money," he said during TEDxUnityPark Media Day. "I feel like money brings with it a lot of challenges and a lot of decisions."

The people he works with most are founders. "One of the things that's unique about entrepreneurs is no one is helping them with some of their financial decisions," he says. "They have to do it all themselves."

Greenville has seen a lot of people move here with ideas for businesses, which means a lot of people doing the math alone. They need someone, as Lance says, to "help them figure out how will this actually make money, and will it be something that can support my family and how do I grow it? How do I scale it?"

A bigger number doesn't settle the question, and that's the heart of his talk. "People that have a heck of a lot of money are still miserable," he told us. "And people that don't have money are sometimes miserable."

"Because the truth is, you can only use money for three things. You can either spend it, save it, or give it away. I believe that all three are good things."

We love that last sentence. There's no guilt trip in it. The vacation, the savings account and the check to a cause all get a seat at the table. The work is deciding which one each dollar is for.

"We need to determine what is the most purposeful use for our money," he said at Media Day. "And that should guide all of our decisions, both why we're acquiring it. And then once we actually have it, what is the reason and the purpose for this money?"

Nobody buys a good drill just to look at it in the garage. "It is just a tool," Lance says. "We've got to figure out how to use that tool."

TEDxUnityPark's 2026 theme is Multiply. For most of us that's a money word first: interest, returns, growth. Lance's talk asks the question underneath it. Multiply toward what? For us, this year is about multiplying your reach in your relationships, and money can help with that once you've decided what it's for.

Lance has been in the Upstate for over a decade, and he likes who is building here.

"One of the most exciting things going on in Greenville right now is we have people from all over the world that are choosing to grow and build their businesses right here in the upstate. I think it's one of the most vibrant communities in all of the United States to do that."

What many don't know about Lance is how hard he is on himself in front of a camera. "I feel like my bio is not as fun as everybody else," he said before his first take. After a clean run at his talk, his first instinct was to offer a redo: "I stuttered a couple different times. If you want me to restate anything."

For the record, a former pastor with four kids and an international business on the side does not have a boring bio. Even his invite came with a disclaimer. "I'm biased, of course," he said, "but I'm one of 15 speakers that are going to bring the best ideas that are worth sharing."

We think this one is for anybody who has worked hard to hit a number and then wondered why it didn't feel like more. Lance is going to hand you a better question to ask about your money, and we can't wait for you to hear it.

"I want people to walk away going, what am I doing all this for?"