A year ago, I decided to change the way I interacted with my money. At the time, I was doing alright, and I didn’t see any problems. I knew I was doing fine, but I sensed that there was room for improvement. If you know me, you’ll realize that I don’t like thinking in terms of good enough. I think in terms of making things great, striving for excellence. So, I started managing my money. I started budgeting, telling my money where to go and setting spending limits. Rather than checking my savings account to see how I was doing, rather than letting my money manage me, I took control. It wasn’t easy, and it definitely wasn’t fun. Before, buying whatever I wanted came first, and paying bills came second. But now, there was a limit to how much I could spend. Every dollar had a job, and many of the jobs weren’t the fun kind. But then I began to notice some things: my loans were steadily going down, my savings were steadily going up, I began to feel more confident and worry less. See, before, if I had a car problem or a dental problem, I didn’t have the finances to take care of it, which turned it into a money problem too. It was a negative cycle of compounding problems. But now that I was managing my money, that wasn’t the case. A few months back, I made a road trip from Wisconsin out to Kansas. I was several months into budgeting by this point, and had been able to build up my savings and emergency fund. My last day in Kansas, I woke up, and went out to my car only to notice a nail sticking out of my slowly deflating front tire. Before, I would have had to use my credit card, pay for the tire replacement with money I didn’t have, and worry about it the whole road trip back home. But because I had control of my money and had an emergency fund saved, I simply went to the shop, paid for the replacement and went on my merry way, feeling empowered rather than worried. See, that’s what the point of budgeting is: building security in your life, finding peace. Nobody wants to go through life not knowing how they’re going to pay the rent, or having loans hold you back like a ball and chain. No, we desire peace, security, stability. When we have that, diving into the adventure of life is so much more rewarding. But we don’t get that peace without making some sacrifices. Let me just say, going out for a fancy dinner, buying a nice car or going on a vacation is a lot more enjoyable now that I know where the money’s coming from, and knowing I can afford it. I’m not perfect. But I know that since I am in control of my money, since I give every dollar a job, and I know where it’s all going, since I have a budget that I follow, that everything will work out. I am going to get there. I am going to prosper and flourish in ways that would have seemed impossible before. That’s the point. A budget doesn’t control you. A budget puts you in control.
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There's an often bandied about remark used to insult educators that goes more or less as follows: those who can't do, teach.
Now, I for one to not believe this, but I bring it up to introduce an important caveat prior to going into the focus of this short article: I do not consider myself the model of success. That being said, I do my best, and I follow the steps I am about to give you. I think they have allowed me to get tremendously farther than I could have without them. So, without further ado, here are my three steps to success. 1. Set a goal. Many philosophers, Thomas Aquinas among them, said that the first in intention is the last in execution. What do they mean? Well, if you want something, if you intend something, you take the steps necessary to make it happen. And only after those in-between steps are accomplished do you achieve that which was intended from the start. So, step one is before anything else, know what you want and set a goal. 2. Plan the steps. If step one was determining the first intention, step two is planning all the interim steps. I can't tell you how many times I've set a goal, and fallen short because I didn't realize how difficult all the steps to get there would be, or how many steps there were. So in order to achieve your goal, spend time learning what it will take to get there, and planning out what steps you need in order to do it. 3. Execute. I know, so easy right? This is the Just Do It stage in achieving success. The first step was emotional (figure out what you want), and the second step was intellectual (make a plan). But this step is an act of the will. It takes perseverance, fortitude, strength, endurance to carry out the plan and make it to the ultimate goal. So, what is some practical advice to get better at this step? Build it up. The will, like any other part of you, gets stronger the more you use it, and weaker the less you use it. So start with little things; take one less piece of pizza than you want. It doesn't sound like much, but it's hard to do. And slowly, over time, these little acts of the will strengthen it, and make it possible for more. Hopefully, step two can help with this. By planning things out, you give yourself the opportunity to begin with less difficult steps, working up to the challenging ones, and building up your will along the way. Set a goal, plan the steps, and execute. Sounds easy. But it isn't. The reality is that success doesn't come easily or quickly, and it's not meant to. Sure, you could post video online, go viral and get some fame and fortune. But it will be fleeting. Achieving success and maintaining it is a life-long process. It requires knowing what you want, how to get it, and then actually doing it. Emotion, intellect, will. *Please complete the survey at the bottom of the article. Your thoughts mean a lot to me.* During my last year of college, I started doing something unheard of. While my friends slaved away on projects into the wee small hours of the morning, I was soundly asleep, in bed by midnight every weeknight. This was one half of a sleep schedule I had carefully designed; not only with my classes in mind, but (more importantly) with my productivity emphasized. I am not productive in the evenings. Or, at least, I am less productive in the evenings than I am in the morning. After dinner, my brain assumes a poster of restful vegetation, and accomplishing something meaningful is about as likely as an enjoyable encounter with the phone company. So, I did a little work in the evening, relaxed, and got up at 6:00am. Monday through Friday. Whatever homework I had to do was done on a full night's sleep and an alert mind. It worked for me, and it still does. To this day I get up by 6:30am and read for about an hour before doing anything else. So, with all that in mind, I'm curious to know: what time of day are you most productive? When is your mind most alert and when do you accomplish the most? (You'll notice, no doubt, that I have posted this article in the evening. Alas, it is a part of life that all we wish to do cannot be done during the times when we most prefer to do them.) RESULTS |
Nick MartinMy name is Nick Martin. I write sometimes. These are my thoughts. Archives
July 2021
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