“You have a brain in your head and feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose!” – Dr. Seuss
Do you wish you could just decide what your financial future would look like and then have it come true? Would it shock you to know that you already possess the ability to make that happen? You do. All you have to do is choose to do it.
The simple reality is this…… wherever you currently are financially is where you have brought yourself. Want to change your reality? Change your action and your expectations. That and a bit of patience will get you where you want to be.
And don’t fret or blame yourself. That is a waste of energy. Whatever you are currently successful at is also a result of where you have brought yourself. Just duplicate what brings you success in your field of endeavor and translate it to money.
Doing well? Most likely, you spend a lot of your time thinking about and pursuing financial success. What you need to look out for is balance. There is a reason that so many rich people have a lot of money and a lot of problems. Concentrating all of your effort on money matters often leaves you lacking elsewhere.
Likewise, if you are not having the financial success that you would like to have, you would benefit by spending more of your time picturing a financially positive future. If you can not visualize where you want to be, you’ll have trouble getting there. It’s simple really. How would you begin to take the steps necessary to build a better financial future if you do not have a clear picture of where you want to be? It is equivalent to driving West from New York City without paying attention and expecting to end up in Nebraska. It’s possible that you could get lucky and find yourself surrounded by cornhuskers. It is more likely however, that you will find yourself somewhere else. With a map in hand and close attention to the signs, Nebraska would be relatively easy to find. It is no different with finance or anything else.
A great example is provided by sports. Have you ever wondered how a professional athlete making millions (and sometimes hundreds of millions) of dollars often find themselves broke just a few years after their career is over? The last number I saw on this subject said that fully 85% of National Football League players are broke (no assets) within 5 years of their last playing day. At first glance, that number is hard to believe. But if you apply my advice above, it is not only believable, it actually makes sense. The same things that make the athlete a dominant player on the field (hard work, singular focus, concentration, confidence and ability) is what does them in financially. Most of these men have focused all of their attention on becoming a great football player. So much so that they are severely lacking in other matters. The money they earn is soon lost because they do not have the time, want or skill to properly manage and invest it.
I can hear the questions already. “But there are professional money managers that can be employed to manage and invest their money. Why don’t they hire one?” They do. There are a few problems though. Again, because their focus has been on a singular quest to become dominant athletically, most of them (based on the 85% broke number) have not cultivated the ability to do other things successfully. Many of these players have relationship problems and money problems. Picking the right money manager requires using your experience and gut instinct to select a person that is in concert with your goals and risk profile. If you don’t have the skills necessary to pick the good ones, you’ll probably end up with poor financial performance. This is the reason that most players simply follow the advice of their agent or their uncle or their teammate. The quicker they can rid themselves of responsibility for their financial success, the better. That is why they often end up with someone that takes advantage of them and their money. Imagine if they used this same technique with their athletic career? Try to imagine an elite athlete entrusting their career to poor coaches and trainers. They don’t. When it comes to their career, they find the best guru’s in their field. Whether it is nutrition, speed, agility or skill development, they will find the absolute best person to help them achieve their goals.
Now imagine if they did the same thing and took the same time and made the same effort to find the right person to help them achieve their long term financial goals.
Now look at yourself. Are you doing that?
