The 5th and final benchmark to managing your finances in your 20s is to take the offense approach we discussed in the previous episode to the next level. As a recap, defense is the act of taking more ground, attacking, and going after what it is that you want to accomplish. Taking this approach is great in building your skill set, your income, or accomplishing other goals; however, you need to couple this with what you ultimately want to be doing and want to achieve. This is done by developing a vision throughout your 20s for what it is that you want to accomplish in life!
Whether you are in your 20s or not, do you know where you are headed?
Do you know what you want your life to look like ultimately, or say 5, 10, or 30 years down the road? If you have never sat down to determine this, why? It seems most people go through their lives with very little directive. They may want a good job, to get married, or to have a family. But they may not have created a vision and a plan for that vision that encapsulates what they are pursuing. Do you resonate with that?
If you have a clear vision for your life, the logical next step would be to look at your life today and determine whether you are headed in that specific direction.
But what if you don’t know where you are headed? What if your vision is not clear or maybe it’s not even developed yet. You may be thinking, where would I even start?
In a prior episode, I covered a simplistic approach to writing out a vision for your life. I use the 7 F’s, which for the most part, I was not the originator of. If you want to create a clear vision, you will most likely think about these seven components and how they fit into the vision of your life.
The first component looks at Faith.
This is your guiding principles, your values, morals, and viewpoint of the world. I believe this is the foundation for how you will live your life and who or what you will live your life for. This one goes first in writing your vision, as the remaining components will be viewed from this lens. Figuring out your core beliefs will then help you decide whether or not what you are doing aligns with or contradicts what you believe to be true.
The second component looks at Family.
For most people, this guides so many other components of life, including the spouse you choose, whether you have children and how many, how close you will be to immediate and extended family, as well as the types and depth of relationships you have or desire to have. Looking forward at what you may have a direct influence on when it comes to how your family relates, the values that are carried out, and the traditions that are honored.
The third component looks at Friends.
These are the people that you choose to spend your time with. These people may be those you walk shoulder-to-shoulder through life with, those who may pour into you, or those you pour into—looking at who surrounds you now and ideally, the character and caliber of friends that you ideally want will make all the difference—so being intentional to envision the friendships, the depth of those friendships, as well as defining the types of relationships you want to have. You may have certain friends for a situation, a season, or a lifetime. Determine your level of intentionality with lifelong friendships so that you are spending time with the people that matter most to you.
The fourth component looks at Fitness.
I place this one in this order as it is not more important than people, but if you are not healthy, it will heavily impact those relationships. Health is, of course, an overall picture of your physical, mental, and wellness overall. So being mindful of not only being active but resting well. Not only eating well but exercising. Not only working out, eating well, and managing stress, but also ensuring that you are making time for the aspects that matter most to you in life.
The fifth component looks at Financial.
Of course, this is the aspect that I focus most on through Margin, but having big picture aspirations in regards to your financial picture is important so that you can calibrate your career to facilitate this. Your finances are a broad term but encompass your ability to handle the defense and the offense of wealth preservation and wealth generation well. There are so many aspects directly related to your finances, including your ability to be generous from a financial standpoint, the legacy you want to leave when it comes to passing down generational wealth, and even your career and what you will do with the time you are allotted.
The sixth component looks at Fun.
Building in the ability to make room for what is deemed fun to you is especially important. What is fun to one person may be pure agony to another, so determining what this is for you specifically will be especially important. Think about the trips or experiences you want to have. Think about what aspects are involved in cultivating your ability to loosen up and to be intentionally present. Envisioning your life through the lens of what you can do to really enjoy the journey will ensure you don’t wait until ‘retirement’ to finally experience life.
The seventh and final component looks at Focus.
Now, I will be the first to tell you that this one is especially difficult for me but is critical to your vision. Looking at what it is that you will focus your life on will help you clearly determine whether where you are today is leading you in the right direction. You want to focus on the outcome of the 3 P’s in the last episode. Figuring out what it is that makes you come alive, what you are naturally good at, and what you can actually make a living doing. What is your life purpose?
The vision you develop matters so much! The aspects that you will involve yourself in and what is not in alignment. This helps you determine guard rails for your life. This vision you create will consistently change as you mature and grow and as your life changes, but having guiding principles will ensure that you don’t waste your life.
CTA: My call to action is to spend 30 minutes developing a vision for your life. This can be added to or adjusted along the way, but actually put pen to paper or fingers to a keyboard to ensure that the decisions you are making today are leading you toward and not away from the life you want to live.
