Categories: values, wealth
“Success is nothing more than a few simple disciplines, practiced everyday.”
Jim Rohn
This sounds way too easy to be true! And, if you’re struggling to put food on the table, you may think it is totally wrong. But let’s dissect this quote for a moment, “success is a few simple disciplines”; is it possible that doing your absolute best at work everyday, showing up five minutes early, working harder than your co-workers could lead to advancement? Aren’t those just “a few simple disciplines?” I challenge you to practice those “few simple disciplines” at work everyday, no matter what, and see what happens! Write and let me know how it works out.
Main Topic
You may not be at the career, financial, or personal level you desire. Have you made some goals in those areas, and are you working towards those goals? If you answered yes, then you may already be rich! Maybe not rich in money, but rich in life purpose and meaning.
Now, I’m no Warren Buffett, Oprah, or Bill Gates, but my family’s net worth is above average for our income and age levels. We have never earned extraordinary salaries’ from our jobs, although our saving and investments have done very well over the years.
Our financial net worth is not what makes us rich, although it does offer some security. At every opportunity, we have chosen to live beneath our means. When my husband and I were just starting out we lived in California, a really expensive place to live. He was in graduate school and I had a good job at an area university making about $31,000 (in inflation adjusted dollars that would equal about $61,809 today). I visited a financial advisor for some investing advice and he gave me a questionnaire. He was shocked when he saw that our monthly spending was only $1,800.00 (in today’s dollars that equals $3,589/month, a bit over $43,000 per year)! Even in status conscious California, we didn’t determine our value by what we bought! We didn’t have much money then, we lived in a one bedroom apartment in a middle class part of town. Fortunately, my husband and I were always determined to live beneath our means. We were by no means wealthy, but we were rich in ambition and LIFE GOALS:
- Continue our educations
- Have good jobs
- Start a family
- Buy a condo or home
- Have fun
Actually, our lifestyle was incredible. We partied with our friends, played football on the beach, went hiking, went to happy hours with free hors’doerves, watched TV, and went to movies (but only the bargain matinees). Even though my husband was in school, he never studied after dinner! (kind of like Cal the author of the Study Hacks blog). For vacation we drove to Las Vegas, stayed in bargain hotel rooms and took advantage of discount buffets and coupon books with lots of freebies! Our net worth wasn’t much, but we were so rich!
Practical Application
Do you keep track of the good things that go on in your life, or are you always wanting more? What did you get for Christmas, Kwanzaa, or Hanukah last year? If you are like most of us, you can’t remember. Yet, were you one of those who were paying off those presents well into the next year? Think about how much value you and your family got from those hundreds or thousands of dollars of holiday spending? Now think about a fun activity or vacation you participated in the past year or two; maybe it was a day trip, concert, show, vacation, or even a project around the house. The memories of activities are more powerful than those of THINGS and usually more pleasurable. And many activities don’t require lots of cash.
Action Step:
Get a notebook and label it: “(your name) Personal Finance” and keep it by the computer. Use it to keep all of your personal finance goals, thoughts, activities, and plans.
In your notebook, list all the things, people, experiences, attitudes, that you have that you value. Do this regularly, every couple of days. It will make you rich with life satisfaction. I call this activity my “Attitude Journal,” because it always boosts my attitude!
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