Candid Insights on
Wealth & Life

Many people are deeply unhappy with their employment situations and 'dream' about doing something better with their lives. I was no different, right up until I had a stress related medical crisis where my GP told me to take a holiday and change my life or else prepare for an early grave.

Up until that moment I would grumble about my job, but I was addicted to the 'prestige' and 'pay cheque', despite the 'pay pain' that came with it.

Yet, as I reflected on what was most important to me, I realised that being paid a lot of money to be unhappy simply didn't make sense. There had to be a better way to approach life.

Aside from the medical urgency to change my lifestyle, I also rationalised my decision to move away from my career on the basis that if worst came to worst, I could always go back and get a job in accounting.

The moment I knew I was financially free was when the net income from my property investments exceeded the salary I was earning as an accountant. That was a great day!

Make no mistake – the path to financial freedom has many twists and turns, and it is easy to stumble off course and become lost. This is natural, but the sooner you find your way back, the better.

Strangely, experiencing success is a significant danger to your larger wealth goals, because as your wealth grows, the pain that was present when you started gradually fades resulting in potential stalled progress.

So, how do you stay motivated? There's a plethora of books and courses you can read or study, but to me the key to pushing on is to remain connected to the reason why achieving your big picture goal is an important priority.

Two pieces of advice I can offer are:

I believe that there are two quests in life: control and significance.

In the first quest, we seek to master and control our destiny. That is, rather than having to do something, we want choice. This might be something primal, like getting food, water and shelter. Or it could be freedom from financial pressures.

Once we have ourselves sorted out, we start to think about the impact or legacy we have on others. This is the quest for significance or life meaning.

These two quests are not necessarily mutually exclusive, but undoubtedly one will demand more of your attention than the other depending on your circumstances.

So, what keeps me motivated today? I still have financial needs and goals, but they are no longer primarily about me and my comfort, but rather how I can use my skills to help the needs and comforts of others.

The truth is that, as I've said, the road to financial freedom has many twists and turns. Sometimes, bad and unexpected things happen. For example, I once owned a property that was demolished by the local council without any prior notice… or so I thought.

They had actually sent two registered letters that had been received by my office but misfiled. Obviously that was a problem, but it was also the chance to review and improve the internal office communication.

Here are four:

Our two biggest constraints are our time and money, so if we can leverage off other people's time and money, then the glass ceiling of our own limited resources can be overcome.

So, the question to ask is: how can I access more time, and how can I access more money?

You might not get a tomorrow, so make the most of today.

Seriously, if you don't like what's happening, do something about it.

Rarely do things sort themselves out, and all too often we become passive instead of confronting the root issue and resolving it there and then.