Stressed, burned-out, overworked, life out of control always under pressure, in debt, no quality time…..
This all too often describes the life of today’s citizen. Whether “successful” or not, whether in a high flying job or out of work, too many people are dissatisfied with their lot in life.
The ultmate goal of many is to break free and run their own business. However, all too often I have seen people achieve this goal only to find themselves a slave to their business. Often they have even less time for themselves and their families than the wage slaves they were before, and many end up earning even less than before – or even fail completely and end up with NOTHING!
So how can anyone achieve this nirvana of ultimate freedom when the cards seem so stacked against the individual?
Answer – with a little bit of planning……
and a lot of information on what works & what doesn’t!
So on to Planning……
First – take some time to figure out what you really want. Most people squander their time, energy and money on “stuff” they neither want or need – they only think they do, or worse still some advertiser tells them they want it!
So sit down with your family and decide what each of you truly needs to be happy – the answers may surprise you. Then write them all down so you each have your own list.
Very often it is the intangibles that are most important – like time together having fun. Yet it is chasing after material things that keeps you from having fun! So all you are doing is paying to fulfill other people’s needs at the expense of your own.
Second – once you have established what you want and what your life should look like, it’s time to figure out how much this lifestyle is going to cost. Really take time to work this one out as it is fundamental to achieving true freedom. Contrary to popular belief, you do not have to be a millionaire to be free – in fact most millionaires are not free!
Make sure you balance up steps one and two before going on. If the cost appears excessive at the moment it is only a reflection of your current imbalance. Temporarily adjust your goals downwards until the balance feels comfortable – you can always upgrade once you become more at home with the concepts you will learn here.
You now know what you want your life to look like and how much income you need to sustain it.
The third step is to take stock of any debts you have – an early step to financial freedom is to become free of debt. Be honest and write down everything you owe.
Once you have completed these three steps, you will be closer to freedom than the majority of the population.
This is going to take you a bit of time and effort – so I’ll give you the next three steps next time. Keep all your notes on the first three steps until then.
