I’ve met way too many “savvy savers” and “incontinent investors” who have NO clue where they are going financially.
Oh sure, they know a general direction…
But when asked if they are saving enough, I get one of three responses.
- They get mad at me for asking.
- They get frustrated with themselves for not knowing.
- They tell a story about how if they won’t have enough it will be the government’s fault.
Stephen R. Covey had it right when he said:
“Start with the end in mind”
Until you understand what you want financially and when you want it, you have no way to measure how close you are to that goal.
When we are clear on the end goal, a little bit of magic happens.
We no longer get mad, frustrated, or unaccountable.
We get clear!
It’s at this point where you control Parkinson’s Law and your competitors fail to keep up.
“work expands to meet the time envelope allowed.”
-1955, C. Northcote Parkinson
When a definite time and amount are specified, specific tools come into play to ensure that the goal WILL be achieved within the time allotted.
While your competitors sit inside of an empty hope that “someday” the average will work in their favor and by the end, they might have their goal.
You see steady progress based on guarantees and known variables.
And here is where time compresses for you.
You see there is another law from Parkinson: “a luxury, once enjoyed, becomes a necessity.”
I’m going to talk about this in another email.
But for now, it goes something like this:
Because you experience consistent progress toward your goal, that goal no longer feels like a luxury.
It is, in fact, a new necessity that you must achieve.
And as I will show you in next week’s email, the goal can be achieved much quicker than originally dreamed.
Michael G Isom