Do you want out of debt?
Gain financial freedom,
but don’t know where to start?
I was there and I know the feeling.
It is simple, yet so difficult!
Keep reading and I will help you in reaching your goals, step by step.
When I first began my journey to financial independence* in 2007, I honestly had no idea how to do it, nor did I have any idea of the timeline I was looking at. One thing I did know though, was the feeling I had inside, I was full of energy, and I was set for the task, nothing could stop me.
I signed up for the first and best course on financial freedom I could find. Later I jumped “The Secret” wave, went through all the visualization/manifestation techniques, even paid a fairly large amount of money to be coached by Bob Proctor himself. I did the vision board and what not, I mean, you get the idea? There was nothing I wouldn’t do, except the right thing apparently, and it took me quite some years until I finally figured it out, and frankly that is why I am here today, to help you get there much quicker than I did.
“There was nothing I wouldn’t do, except the right thing apparently”
“Financial freedom is the status of having enough income or wealth sufficient to pay one’s living expenses for the rest of one’s life without having to be employed or dependent on others.” – Wikipedia
Now…
… in the beginning I said: “it is simple, yet so difficult”, hence I will not pretend it is going to be an easy task, however, once you get there, it will be an absolute aha experience, and you will look to yourself and say: hey, but of course. There are many things needed to become financial independent.1. Motivation
Motivation may be one of the most important ones to have. If you cannot find motivation, you’ve got some work before you. My current motivation is radically different from my initial motivation, so let me see if I can help you fast forward and avoid making the same mistakes as I did.
Let’s have a look at different kinds of motivation: for example, a car must be a great motivator, right? Well, yes, but it will not help you reach financial independence. Things in general are just things, remember that – they are not assets to you – follow along as I am building an important mindset here. Find something that puts money in your pockets (assets) instead of taking it out of your pockets (liabilities) – don’t get me wrong, it is nice to have that watch, a dress or whatever you are into, but when you have bought that, then what? Does it cost you money or does it earn you money? I can assure you this, unless it puts money in your pockets, it will definitely not make you financially independent.
Do you get the idea?
Now, you might ask, what about buying myself a house? Well unless you are going to Airbnb it, sell it for profit or by any other means receive a monthly income from it, then it is not an asset and should not be considered as such. And again, you will have a house, with its expenses, mortgage, and whatever comes with a house, but no extra income every month. Think about that!
Okay, I think I’ve made my point, so, what can you use to motivate you? Do you have something already?
To begin with, becoming financially independent, could be one strong motivator. I know, it doesn’t sound too sexy, however, you will have all the time in the world, after you have become financially independent to do whatever you wish.
This leads us to…
2. Consistency
Yup, consistency, this can really catapult your success. If you have not yet acquired consistency, you might lack motivation. So go back to step one and get motivated. If you need input, feel free to send me an email or write in the comments below and I will get back to you. So, why is consistency so important? Well, picture this: you have been invited to go on vacation to the one place in the world you literally have been dying to go to along with your one-and-only. It is a dream come true for both of you and has been in the making for a long time. You have been looking forward to lying on the beach with a great book and a drink, enjoying the company with the sun setting in the background. Nothing better than spending time with your partner in crime and getting a little away from the stressful everyday life. You have packed your bags and are ready to grab the metro to the airport, but finds that it skipped a turn, wait what! I know it doesn’t matter much, you can always take the next one, however, just as you are entering the metro, they changed the schedule and it suddenly doesn’t stop at the airport but 5 stops before, so you must switch mid-way. Meanwhile that line has also changed schedule and only drives once every half hour, and your connecting line left just 2 minutes prior to the first lines arrival, resulting in you arriving late, very late, so late that you might not even get there in time! Do you get the picture? I really cannot stress enough, if you are not consistent, you will leave your life to fate, and might not even arrive. But, maybe, is just not good enough. Make sure you are consistent in whatever you are doing, this makes it much easier to ensure your own success. So how do you become consistent?3. Perseverance
What can I say, without being persistent, you will not be consistent – it is all connected. This is basically what defines what you do when you fall, which you will! To make it short, you must get back on your feet, make a note of what made you fall and learn from it. If you fail again, make a new note, and focus until you truly learn what it is you must learn to keep you on your feet. We have all been there at some point in our lives, be it when we started to crawl, or when we just wanted to learn something new. The difference is that one is forced upon us; there is literally no other way to get ahead than learning how to crawl. The other is something we have decided to do. Normally the latter also comes “after” in life, we are forced to learn things, when we have learnt those things, we have enough practice to start using our new abilities and subsequently developing them. Anyways forced or not it requires perseverance and loads of it, maybe even to a point where you don’t think it’s much fun. At this point, go back to motivation, find it, and keep pushing – you will be rewarded. I am sure you are grasping why training this one ability will be crucial to your success.4. Will
Different from perseverance – will is the deciding power, and what you use when you need to get up from after falling. I have fallen so many times that I have lost count. One time I specifically remember in vivid colors to date, was when I was 7 years old. Being home alone and forgotten my key to the house, I fell 3 meters/10 feet headfirst down from our roof and rammed my forehead into the corner of the stone step leading to our main entrance. I was just going to pick up a tennis ball I had accidentally thrown up on the roof landing in the gutter. As the excellent climber as I was, I pulled myself onto the roof but before I knew of it, I slipped and fell. While lying in the driveway with blood all over, I had two choices, I could either get up or stay down. My first goal was to make it to the winter room but feeling extremely dizzy I decided to go next door to my former kindergarten. You should think my worries were over, right? Not. The bell didn’t work or at least nobody opened, and the door had two handles, one very high up that I could not reach and one at normal height. At that point and given the circumstances I saw no other way that run full speed towards the door and jump onto the lower handle while pushing myself and the upper handle upwards to open the door. I got it open, and they brought me to the emergency room, and I was treated. All in all, sometimes you must dig deep, real deep to find the will to do something, but I promise you, it is worth it. I could have stayed down and who knows what would have happened with me, but I didn’t, I decided to get up and do something about it.5. Believe
You better get ready to believe! In old times it was said that when people saw things they didn’t believe in, they simply couldn’t see them. This resulted in they were attacked by ships coming straight at them from open sea surprising them. We all know how big a ship can be and imagine that you are not able to see it because you don’t believe. “It” in this case is a placeholder for what you might not believe in. Get ready to believe it all so you are not surprised by opportunities coming your way. Actually, start looking for opportunities and prepare for them, believe they are coming, and be ready to act. This is the final point, for now at least, to start getting ready to become financial independent. It will take time, sweat and maybe tears, who know. One thing I do know is that it doesn’t come by continuing doing what you have always done unless you are already financially free, in that case I would love to speak with you and hear your story.“It is simple, yet so difficult.”
