Getting Started – The Road To Wealth
The hardest part of any journey is getting started. In order to succeed at anything, you must take the first step. More importantly, you must know ‘why’ you are going to take your first step. Whether it’s a financial journey, a personal journey, a family journey, an emotional journey, or a spiritual journey, there are specifics that must be in place, or your journey will not end well.
You must have a plan. Your plan must be written down. Your plan must include a date so you can be accountable to yourself. And, most importantly, must know your reason ‘why’. Most people answer “I want more money”, or “I want more free time”, or maybe “I want to control by own future”. All of those are great answers. However they are very generic answers. Who doesn’t want more money, more free time, or to control their own life?
What is your specific ‘why’? There may be more than one. This is how it normally goes: – You write down your ‘why’, and then you get started. A few days later you start to doubt yourself. You start saying to yourself that these things don’t work. You’ll ask yourself “What did I just get into?” You’ll ask yourself “What you were thinking?” And a few days later you quit. Sound familiar? But not everyone quits. A few people have what it takes. Many quit, a few succeed. All we need to do is analyze what the successful people were thinking. Don’t try to re-invent the wheel. Just re-create the thought patterns and actions of the successful and you will re-create success.
The “Wish – Want – Need – Must” Syndrome
Everybody has these four little words in their vocabulary. These four little words run through our mind every day. These four little words help us prioritize what we do everyday. When our brain processes these four words, this is what our brain sees:
Wish
Want
Need
Must
Wish
– Sometimes we even call it ‘A Wish List’. Something you wish for probably will never happen. It’s something we don’t spend a lot of time dwelling upon.
Want
– When you want something, you have given that something a lot more thought. You usually can visualize something that you want. It is something that is achievable, it’s just not a priority right now.
Need
– A need moves up your priority list rather quickly. A need means you have to take some kind of action. A need means you have narrowed down the options.
Must
– A must means to take action immediately. There are no more options. It requires a decision now. Not following through will lead to consequences.
Here is a short but powerful exercise that is a mind exercise. You will really start to understand how you prioritize things in your life. Transforming your “Wish – Want – Need – Must” values will start the same process of organizing and prioritizing everything around you. Mastering this little exercise will have you on the road to wealth much sooner.
Write down the variation of each statement that most applies to you:
1)
I wish I could get up every morning for work.
I want to get up every morning for work.
I need to get up every morning for work.
I must get up every morning for work.
2)
I wish I could pay my bills every month.
I want to pay my bills every month.
I need to pay my bills every month.
I must pay my bills every month.
3)
I wish I could get my finances in order.
I want to get my finances in order.
I need to get my finances in order.
I must get my finances in order.
4)
I wish I could lose weight.
I want to lose weight.
I need to lose weight.
I must lose weight.
5)
I wish I could spend more time with my loved ones.
I want to spend more time with my loved ones.
I need to spend more time with my loved ones.
I must spend more time with my loved ones.
6)
I wish I could achieve financial freedom.
I want to achieve financial freedom.
I need to achieve financial freedom.
I must achieve financial freedom.
Do you feel your emotions surge as you read the four variations of each statement? The ‘must’ statement has so much more power than the ‘wish’ statement. Also, notice how the ‘must’ statement is shorter and to the point.
This short exercise could help you in every aspect of your life. Create your own statement and use the word ‘must’. You’ve been doing this little exercise ever since you took on your first responsibility. You see, every time something in your life has a deadline, you create a priority list for that something. As the deadline approaches, you move through your priority list from the ‘want’ to the ‘need’ and then to the ‘must’.
Don’t let things build up so that everything you need to do ends up in the ‘must’ list. Set a deadline for everything that is important to you ahead of schedule, this way you’re not cramming everything in at the last minute. Most people who are constantly in a rush and get themselves frazzled have far too many things ending up in their ‘must’ list.
Mastering this exercise not only gives you a feeling of accomplishment, it frees up the precious time you to spend building your business without compromising any other aspect of your life. It also helps keep your mind uncluttered so that you can make clearer business and financial decisions.
Until my next post,
Steve