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** DO YOU FEEL PAINTED INTO A CORNER? by Graham White**
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In the game Cashflow
created by Robert Kiyosaki, each player starts off with a profession. It
is always interesting to see the new players who begin as doctors or lawyers
get excited by the huge difference in their income from the players who begin
as truck drivers. Their excitement fades quickly when the game begins
and the cost of their high profile lifestyle consumes almost all of their
income. My own lawyer believes he will be working until he is close to
70 before he retires in order to save enough to be able to retire in the style
he is accustomed to.
When I worked as a business
consultant, I saw many people with small businesses work hundred hour weeks
and not take a holiday for five, ten, sometimes twenty years! Is that
really the freedom they were looking for? Having seen that scenario so
many times, I decided to walk away from my own business investment and
start over rather than spending 20 years miserable years getting myself out of a
corner I'd painted myself into.
Maybe you've spent a lot of
time in a certain field, maybe you've invested a lot into education in a
particular area, maybe you're just following the expectations of your family
or maybe you feel stuck doing something you're good at, but don't really have
a passion for. Do you really want to spend your life doing something
just because it pays the bills, or do you want to be involved in something
that gets you excited every time you think about doing it?
Have you painted yourself
into an employment or business corner? Have you limited your freedom and
options by establishing habits and a lifestyle that prevent you from being
able to take advantage of, or even notice other opportunities? Do you
determine your lifestyle, or are you defined by it?
For those of you who are
just starting out and aren't sure about what you should be doing or don't have
something you feel like throwing yourself into yet, let me make some
recommendations:
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Talk
to someone who is in the field you're considering going into. Don't
start studying or start working in the field until you've talked to
someone who has been doing it for at least 10 years. Spend the day
shadowing them and get a good sense for what it is that's involved.
A lot of what anyone does in any profession is learned after they're on
the job.
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Determine
an exit strategy. What's an exit strategy? An exit strategy is
your plan for retirement. It may seem absurd to plan what type of
retirement you want even before you've begun, but how do you know what
you're working towards if you don't? If you decide you want to
retire at 55, or 35, or 25, then what do you need to have done in order to
make this happen?
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Take
some time and really consider what's important to you in life. Is it
freedom? Do you want to be able to travel? Do you want to be
able to stay at home, or work from home while you have a family? Do
you want to be married, or do you prefer to be single? Do you want
to live in the country, a big city or somewhere in between? Are you
ok with a long commute or do you hate being stuck in traffic?
The more detailed you are
about what is really important to you, the better you will be able to design
the perfect work environment.
For those who have a
lifestyle that feels like it's painted you into a corner, I have these
recommendations:
-
The
first part of your freedom will come through gradually replacing the
expenses that don't have true value in order to take the burden off of
your income. The reality for everyone is that we can do
anything we want, we just can't do everything we want.
Determine the five most critical things that you must have in your life
and then begin eliminating the expenses that don't fall into this critical
category. Start with the smallest or easiest things you can do
without, and work your way gradually through the list of things that don't
contribute to your core principles of joy and fulfillment. Replace
the things that medicate you with things that fulfill you.
-
If
you've finding it difficult to determine what you can do without, consider
that you've just been told that you have a one to two years left to live.
What is it you really would want to do or experience in those next two
years? What things don't even make the list? Talk with your
family and begin cutting those things out.
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The
number one expense I always find with people who don't really monitor
their spending is meals out. Many are surprised to find that the
amount their spending eating out for dinner because they're too tired or
don't enjoy cooking - would pay for someone to do it in their home for
them! Imagine telling the people you know that you have a chef do
all the cooking for you - essentially that's what you're doing if you're
eating out 8 or more meals per week!
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Instead
of going on multiple vacations or to multiple entertainment or sporting
events, choose one or two that you really enjoy and look forward to
them. The rest of the time, find things that are meaningful to you
that have little or no expense (read the synopsis of Millionaire
Mind if you've never done this).
"What
do you do?"
-
I
enjoy simple pleasures. I love getting together with friends and
family, talking, playing games, reading, going out to the park, playing
basketball, roller-blading, tobogganing, swimming, the occasional movie
and a few TV shows, and I LOVE skiing. I go out and do one of these
things almost every day. I bought my skis at the end of the season
for 70% off and buy my seasons pass early for a 25% discount.
Instead of spending $2000 on a week skiing in Utah or British Columbia, I
spend $1000 skiing 6 months any time it snows in the Rockies 90 minutes away.
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I
spent time designing my life. I determined that I wanted to be home
with my children while they were young, so I knew that I would either work
while they were asleep, or find a way of working from home. Once
investments and business enabled me to be at home full-time, it completed
the design.
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I
invest in things I enjoy, not necessarily in things that are
recommended. I spend time reading and studying different types of
investments and invest only what I can afford to lose into ventures that I
have expertise in.
-
I
focus on enjoying what I have rather than dreaming about what I
want. I am patient about making personal purchases, usually waiting
for exceptional deals before I buy. I like to make money when I
spend it, purchasing quality items at bargain prices, particularly ones
that will appreciate in value. I don't pressure myself into
"keeping up with the Jones" because I know there will always be
someone with a bigger house, newer car and a better decorator than
me.
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I
have taught my self to delay gratification. I
plan for the long-term and am willing to make do with a little less in the
short-term. I swim with my family once or twice a week - for
$4. I generally wait for movies to hit the cheap theatre and go to
the ones that I think I'll really enjoy once or twice a month with friends
or family - for $2. I am active with one of my outdoor activities
almost every day - virtually free. I plan trips to coincide with
business so that I can write them off or absorb much of the cost. I
RARELY eat out or order out, but I will purchase high end prepared meals
for occasions where we don't want to go to the trouble of cooking a meal. Instead of going to
restaurants with friends and family, we prefer to have gourmet (or not-so-gourmet) gatherings at each others homes.
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We
plan ahead. I wait until the end of the season to make purchases for
the following year, saving as much as 80% and purchase quality used goods
like cars and designer baby clothes second-hand.
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I
have a rule that I wait 24 hours before purchasing anything that wasn't on
my list of items to purchase before I left home (or turned on the
computer).
By
doing these things, we are able to take advantage of MORE things that have
real value to us. It is seldom that we feel we have to pass on something
we really would have enjoyed, and even then it is usually based more on
logistics and scheduling than because we would feel irresponsible spending the
money.
Are
you living your life by design? Are you getting the greatest amount of joy from
your life because you have determined not to just fill your life with good
things, but to wait for GREAT things and have the freedom and resources to
take advantage of those opportunities?
DESIGN
YOUR LIFE - BEGIN WORKING YOURSELF OUT OF THE CORNER.
DRAW
A CLEAR LINE BETWEEN NEEDS AND WANTS...AND PASS UP GOOD FOR GREAT!
Graham White www.incrediblepotential.com
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