Wealth and Wisdom

I was reading the 4-Hour Workweek by Timothy Ferriss and found this metaphor profound. The man in the red BMW is a powerful picture that inspires various reactions. A middle aged man drives up in a shiny new car. For most people it invokes pictures of success. After all, this is the pinnacle of status symbols. 80% of society buys into the lie.

You are smarter or you wouldn’t be reading this. You look at the world differently than the masses. While the rest-lemmings-run over the edge of the cliff, you carve your own path.
Look past the sun glaring off the chrome. Look closer at the man and a different picture emerges. Is that a receding hairline and a double chin? Look at the pasty skin since the only light he sees is fluorescent. The bags under his eyes are from the sleepless nights he spends worrying about the younger guy snapping at his heels. The wrinkles on his brow from worrying about the bills and creditors…and what his neighbors would think if they knew the truth. When was the last time he exercised? How close to a heart attack is he? Is that his second or third wife sitting next to him? He sure doesn’t look happy. He is caught in an endless trap. He works more to earn more so he can buy more toys to impress people he doesn’t even like.

Several years ago it hit me…I was that man. I looked at my career and found it to be empty. I had let life blow me from job to job. The major factor in each decision was job title and salary. Yes, the view was fantastic that far up the ladder. The problem was that the ladder was leaning against the wrong wall…and I was miserable!

So how do you set yourself free? You begin by soul searching. Until you know what you want in life…What are your values? What do you enjoy about your job (and past jobs)? What do you hate?

Once you have these values, you begin to design your life. Start with your short, mid, and long term goals. Make sure they cover work, family, and personal achievement. Make them challenging and inspiring. Make sure they are specific and written. Don’t worry about making mistakes, your goals will grow with you and change over time.

Eliminate people and things that do not support or uplift you. It is scary, it sounds cold, and is absolutely necessary. Until you make space you will not be able to make your dreams a reality.

An amazing thing will happen. As you eliminate people, new friends will walk into your life. As you make space, career and business opportunities will pop up.

I never thought I’d see the day I would have my own blog. Not because I don’t like to write, but because I didn’t understand or see the use for one. Why do I want to read someone’s journal? Why do I want someone to read mine?

A few weeks ago my wife opened my eyes. She asked me about RSS and how we can use it for our websites. Let me set the stage. I’ve been programming since 1981 and I’m a bit of a computer geek. My wife…the computer has started more of our fights than anything else. After all these years she just doesn’t like computers. That she knew more about it than me was more than I could withstand.

The more I looked into it, the more I liked what I saw. I added a few feeds recommended by people I trust. I found myself reading some and purging others. The challenge was to keep the number of feeds to a manageable level.

I was hooked, now how can I get into the act? What is our niche? There are tons of blogs out there. Most don’t get read. Most don’t deserve to be read! What could I talk about that would help people and not just be another soapbox?

I started looking at our strengths and interests. One thing kept jumping out at us. There were a ton of blogs on getting out of debt (think Dave Ramsey). Lots discussed productivity and personal growth. Some great one’s are on life balance. What was missing is the next step. How do you go from $10k to $1M to $10M? How do you do this without giving up ten years of your life? How do you balance your career, entrepreneurship, and your personal life?

This is an area where we excel. Some was learned from gurus. Much of it from experience.

We started about as far down the food chain as you can go. When my wife and I go married, I was a financial train wreck. Over the next few years we paid off our debts and cleaned up our credit. We built up our emergency fund and our savings. My career grew rapidly, unfortunately in the wrong direction. To use a phrase from Stephen Covey, I had climbed the ladder of success only to find it leaning against the wrong wall! With some sole searching and hard work we were able to get on the right path and figured out life balance.

Along the way we have picked up knowledge, experience, and credentials. I’ve read much of the success literature. We both have degrees in business, and I also have my engineering degree. I was a financial counselor while in the navy where I helped sailors with budgets, savings, and how to get out of debt. I’ve done taxes professionally and on a volunteer basis for VITA. In other words, we’ve read it, seen it, and done it!

In spite of this experience, I still have so much to learn. I will spend the rest of my life learning and growing. This blog is part of the journey, and I hope to share it with you.