“I’ve always believed that if you put in the work, the results will come. I don’t do things half-heartedly. Because I know if I do, then I can expect half-hearted results.” – Michael Jordan.
We can’t just put a number on this. It’s different for everyone. There are those who are successful if they can take their dream Disney vacation, and there are those who define success by the size of their house or the price of their car. There are also those who define financial success by their ability to sustain themselves without employment being financially independent, or who feel it is defined by the amount of debt you don’t have. For everyone it’s different.
But the same rule applies to each one of use. Once we have defined our version of financial success, we all have to put in the work to achieve the level of success we want. True to the quote, if we put in a half-hearted effort in working toward the goals we have set, we can expect only a half-hearted result. We may never accomplish all that we are capable of.
It’s time to get to work! We need to stop wasting time giving a half-hearted effort and turn our full attention to the goals we have set. We need to have a laser-like focus on the end result. Getting that focus can be a process for some of us and for others it’s natural, sometimes even to a fault. We need to develop a sense of self-awareness, constantly asking ourselves if what we are doing is helping us achieve what we really want to do.
An easy way to get started is to set goals. Not just any goals, we have to set SMART Goals. These are goals that are Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Timely. Each one of these is critical in helping us achieve the success we desire. We need to have SMART long term goals and we also need to set short term goals that will help us in the long term.
A simple example could be that you may have a long term goal of taking a dream vacation to Disney World, as mentioned above. One simple goal could be a monthly amount to save towards your dream. There are other things to do to. Focusing all of your efforts on that goal, you may change your budgeting. Planning for a specific time, you may change the things you do today to make sure you meet the goal on time. As you develop a laser-like focus on the goal you will start to look closely at all of the different ways to help you accomplish your goal. It may even be something as simple as changing the credit card you use. For example, Disney has one that offers rewards towards their parks, but do you already have one that accumulates points giving a better benefit. These are all things to look into.
Possibly the most important part of meeting your financial goals is the ability to keep working hard. It’s not something that just happens in a day. Sure, we always hear those stories of the overnight sensation, whether it be the star athlete that gets drafted number one, the new musical sensation to hit YouTube or the next internet mogul like Mark Zuckerburg, founder of Facebook. What we don’t always hear about these “overnight” sensations is the thousands of hours they put in practicing, training and learning to get where they are today.
“Obstacles don’t have to stop you. If you run into a wall, don’t turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it.” – Michael Jordan.
Will there be obstacles along the way? Sure there will. Will it be easy? Probably not. Can you do it? Definitely!