Obstacles are inevitable in life. Charles Swindoll once said, “life is 10% what happens to me and 90% of how I react to it.” It’s not the likelihood of us encountering obstacles; it is how we approach and respond to the obstacles that matter. We have all experienced some kind of financial setback in life. I was not born with a silver spoon in my mouth, and, most likely, neither were you. You can fix some things with more money and a positive attitude, but many other aspects in life are just too difficult, and a quick solution may not be available.
So how do we learn from these difficulties, obstacles, or maybe even failures? How do we allow them to refine us but not define us? How do we overcome the challenges rather than giving up?
And once we do overcome, how do we know that we are succeeding, especially with something as subjective as personal finance? Several questions run through my mind that can be asked, but being aware of what obstacles keep you from building [Margin] into your life is your first step to letting your mind problem solve, consequently moving you beyond those obstacles.
You have probably seen motivational posters around right-sizing your dreams against your excuses. It’s usually one where an elephant depicting excuses outweighs you and your dream sitting on the opposite end of one of those dangerous teeter-totters; a situation in which nobody wins. Your vision may be to live in a particular location, to have a family that resembles what you think it should, retire at a certain age, or be able to give without reservations. Whatever that dream looks like, there will be financial obstacles that you will need to confront in order to reach that dream. Too many people stop at the excuse and never actually build out their vision and break that vision into actionable steps. Or maybe they do break down their vision, only to stop once they hit a hurdle that seems insurmountable.
There is a quote by Jack Welch that says, “The game is won or lost before you begin, based on the players you field and how well you have prepared them to perform.” I am no football aficionado, so my mind immediately applies this to money and how it is like the players on that field. You can’t keep the players “benched” (sitting in a savings account or under a mattress) and expect them to perform well. The players need practice. Allow the players to perform based on the methodology and preparation you have acquired as their coach. Our dollars as a form of currency are healthiest when they flow like a current from one person’s hands to another.
Money, like a benched player, is best when it’s not dormant.
We can be quick to say, “well, then I should go out and live hand to mouth and spend that currency when I receive it,” but that’s not the solution. You may have heard that you can do three things with money: you can spend it, save it, or give it. So if you’re going to put those players on the field or that currency into circulation, it is best to figure out what action you are to take based on the opportunities presented.
We have all had opportunities that we either passed up because of a lack of interest, a failure to realize how good the offer was, or simply because we weren’t prepared to take advantage of it. Actively investing in real estate, I can think of far too many deals that I was fully prepared to seize, and yet I let slip away. Also, I saw plenty more as great opportunities but was not ready to align the capital, time, and talent to take advantage of them. The opportunities are not the issue, though; the problem comes down to how we relate ourselves to those opportunities. Often we may see the opportunity but don’t know what to do with it when it’s in front of us. We may play a bit of hot potato to see what the interest of other (possibly wiser) people would do, or maybe we sit and watch to see what happens with the circumstance in someone else’s hands.
If we’re honest, we all know highly educated people who were taught to think critically but never actually applied their knowledge to action. I see this phenomenon in all types of fields: people set up and close favorable circumstances for others, but they never consider the opportunities available to themselves (either now or in the future) because of the obstacles that prevent them from accomplishing their own goals.
The issue comes down to action in the face of adversity despite the obstacle.
I see this first-hand when I’m mentoring folks. Many people know the general direction that they ought to go, but they see the obstacles in the way and fixate on those rather than the ultimate vision of where they’d like to end up.
I had a conversation with a coach of mine recently about the topic of why people watch, listen, and learn, but struggle to take the step over the line to action. People attribute several reasons to why they won’t act, but the greatest is the fear of failure, fear of the unknown, and, surprisingly enough, the fear that what they work towards will actually happen.
I’ve always loved the premise that nothing worth doing is easy; it lays the foundation that I need to work both hard and smart to obtain something if I want it. I hypothesize the lack of focus is what causes so many to be mediocre at managing their personal finances. They neither work hard nor smart to manage their finances. When coaching folks on how to win with their finances, I often find that people simply don’t spend the time to think through the process and allow for their minds to navigate solutions. Instead, they short circuit and convince themselves that solutions are for other, more intelligent people. Generations of their family handled money a certain way; what makes them think they could break out of the mold? Unfortunately, this is why you hear about people opting out of managing their finances by hiring a financial advisor to invest on their behalf; they don’t realize that investing isn’t the only component of the equation.
I believe that you win at what you focus on, and when you focus on what you want to accomplish, your mind will naturally start working its way around the obstacles that you previously saw as impassable roadblocks.
Oswald Chambers once said, “A river is victoriously persistent, overcoming all barriers. For a while, it goes steadily on its course but then comes to an obstacle. And for a while, it is blocked, yet it soon makes a pathway around the obstacle. Or a river will drop out of sight for miles, only later to emerge again even broader and greater than ever… Never focus your eyes on the obstacle or the difficulty.” So are you going to put your head down and hands to the plow in order to align your goals with your ultimate vision? Will you drop out of the social scene for a season and gain a head of steam to reemerge on a solid financial footing? Choose to find solutions to the obstacles that are presented, keeping your eyes on that vision. Choose to let your mind create a pathway around your roadblocks.
I believe it is Darren Hardy who said, “Nothing is hard; the steps have just yet to be defined”. What steps do you need to define to overcome the task of putting those players on your field rather than on your opponents’? Choose to limit your competing priorities when it comes to your personal finances, and keep in mind that there is a season to everything.
In an upcoming series, I will be outlining the financial seasons to understand better what stage you are in and the next steps to achieve [Margin].
