When I started my quest for financial freedom, my research took me in several different directions. Real Estate Investing, Options Trading, Multi-level marketing, and the list goes on. I signed up for just about everything from free webinars, to paid seminars, and ultimately to expensive courses. All in all, it landed me right back to where I was. That doesn’t mean that all the courses, webinars and seminars that I went to were wrong or a failure. The problem was me. I am always attracted to the next bright, shiny object. If after a couple of months I didn’t see results, I moved on to the next venture. The problem with all of this is that you spend an awful lot of money, but more important, you waste an awful lot time. You can always recoup your investment, but you can never recoup your time.
My mentor always slips a little saying into every lesson he teaches. Do you want to learn by wisdom or experience? I always want to learn by wisdom, but unfortunately there seems to be this trait in many of us that just doesn’t allow us to loyally follow the advice and direction of our mentors. For some reason or another, we almost instinctively alter the course. What we find is that we are right back where we started, but with a few more bumps and bruises.
Here’s What I Found
There are a couple of principles you have to follow if you are going to be successful in anything you do. These principles are not the best kept secret, rather when I tell you them, you will shrug it off because they are so simple and you have probably heard them a dozen times. The truth of the matter is that they are principles you need to follow religiously if you are going to succeed. The first is goal setting. I know you’ve heard this one. Before you dismiss this, let me tell you something. You write down your goals every day and don’t even realize it. I believe we all set goals; we just don’t look at it that way. Do you write a task list at work for the upcoming week? Well, those are goals and you wrote them down. You probably find that when you don’t write down your task list, you don’t seem to get much accomplished. Goal setting is the same thing, writing down a task list, only this time you are going to do it for your financial vehicle. There are tons of books out there on the subject, but to get started fast, I have provided a goal setting formula that is simple, fast, and works.
The next principle is what my mentor calls, “One Mentor for one Year”. The reason I haven’t achieved my ultimate financial freedom is because I did not apply this principle. Remember that bright shiny object I talked about? We all seem to be distracted by the bright shiny object, especially when the course or system we are following isn’t showing results. To combat this problem, adopt this principle. Whatever venture you sign up for, give it one year. For example, if you have multiple memberships to financial gurus, cancel all except the one you like and respect the most. When I started my options trading, I was in the midst of real estate investing. Neither was gaining any traction and to make matters worse, I had several real estate investing courses I was signed up for. One cost me over $6,000. Each course has its merits and each will teach you how to successfully navigate the real estate market, but you can’t follow them all. You have to pick one and stick with it. After the year is up, you can chase your next project. If you truly give it your all, you will find at the end of the year you are merely adding to an already successful venture.
Making Sense of it all
I believe one of the most difficult decisions we will make when it comes to our financial freedoms is which path we are going to choose. The reality is that most of your options out there are neither right nor wrong compared to the others. They are just different. You have to find your niche. Most important, whatever path you take, commit to it for one full year. Your commitment level has to be exhausting if you are going to make it work.
There are three simple steps you can take today to alter the course you are on, if that’s what you want to do. 1) Start reading books, magazines, blogs and anything else you can get your hands on regarding the system you are looking into. Only take advice from those that have traveled the path you are looking to go down. After all, you wouldn’t really ask your plumber about a heart condition and then follow his advice, would you? Of the many paths I have taken, the number one killer of all my energy was listening to so called experts that have never taken a chance. When people find out what you are doing, they are going to offer you some free advice. They are going to tell you all the reasons it won’t work. The best answer is to politely thank them and tell them that you will keep their points in mind. There really is no reason to go any further. 2) Surround yourself with successful people in the industry. I highlight successful. The worst advice comes from those that have failed at the venture you are undertaking. There are a number of reasons people fail, but I believe the number one reason is they quit. That is the number one reason I haven’t succeeded at my ventures in the past. 3) Find a mentor, one that will teach you exactly what they do. This will most likely cost you money, but you have to look at it as an investment. It’s important that you interview this mentor. Don’t be afraid to ask for their portfolio so you can ensure you aren’t being duped. Once you have made the investment, take care of it just as you do your house or car. Treat it as if it’s your last chance to make it. Do whatever it takes to succeed and address failure as a lesson. Do you remember that question I told you my mentor asks me? Learning by wisdom is following a proven system without any question. It’s already a successful system, there’s no reason to change or question it. If you choose to take a different path than what your mentor is telling you, you are sure to learn by experience (failure).
My Suggested Path
Once you have determined the financial vehicle, it’s time to shop around. A budget is the first place to start. If you don’t have any money in savings to pay for your education, you have a few options. One is to save your money until you have what you need. However, this can take a long time and may derail your efforts. The other is to ask family members for a loan, but I never liked this as it puts undue stress on your relationship. The third and most used option is to put it on a credit card. If this is your option, you have to set a goal (in writing) to pay off that credit card within the first year. You don’t want to get to the end of the year only to find out the system didn’t work for you and now you have a new bill to contend with. With that being said, you must ensure you have a balanced personal budget. If you have a lot of unsecured debt (credit cards), you need to pay those off. This may be your first path that you take before you actually begin on another.
When you are shopping around, a great place to start is blog posts. A word of caution though, not all posts are created equal nor will one person’s experience be yours. Take these posts with a grain of salt and always do your due diligence before tossing a program aside. Posts will lead in the right direction, but they are not going to get you to your ultimate goal. The best thing to do is to talk to people at the company about the program. Have a list of questions to ask and don’t be afraid to ask for references. Check online with the BBB to see if there are any or a lot of complaints and what the companies’ ratings are. Your gut will set you on specific path, but just be sure your head is along for the ride. Making a decision based on a gut feeling is generally the wrong decision. Most importantly, do not go above your budget. If you have a budget for $2,000 and the program is $2,500, see if they will come down. If not, either move on or save more money. There is nothing worse or more distractive than second guessing your decision because you spent money you don’t have.
Join local groups and start associating with people in the field you are learning. Stop taking advice on medical issues from your plumber and don’t listen to the naysayers. Set goals and a plan of action to attain those goals. All this can seem overwhelming, but the first thing you will need to do is change the way you think. If you work for someone and you want to own your own business, you can’t think like an employee. You have to learn how to think like an entrepreneur.
Most importantly, stick to the program. When you have decided on a program, you have to buy into it 100%. You have already invested hard earned income; don’t waste it by going at it halfhearted. When you buy into it, you stick with it for at least one year. Develop progress checks along the way and if you miss a goal, don’t beat yourself up. Just hit it and move on. The key here is to take action and I don’t mean just staying busy; “take action” refers to actually meeting an objective. For example, if you are looking at options and you have no foundation, the first action is to become educated. This will lead down a research phase and ultimately to your goal. Assign timelines so that you aren’t paralyzed by your analysis. As you perfect this routine, it will be a new good habit that will help you in many other areas of your quest.
Again, I have given you some places to go to get started. I want you to take note that you may see a recurring theme in those links. That is because I believe very strongly in them. One last bit of information, if you don’t want to do all the research that is fine. You can pay someone else. For example, in my quest for trading options on fundamentally strong companies, I didn’t want to learn and ultimately gather all the data required to properly analyze a company. After all, there are over 30 data points of information you have to look at. Instead, I subscribed to Investors Business Daily and let them do all the work. I simply go to their IBD 50 every week and pull the top 3% of those companies. Now I have the best of the best that increase my chances of success. There is an expert in every field that gives you the same thing, whether it is finances, budgets, real estate, securities and the like. Decide what path you want to take. Either save money and invest more time or save time and invest more money. Just remember, money is the only investment you can recoup, not time.
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