Financial Independence Will Not Come To You By Chance But By Change

Financial independence refers to the state of having sufficient personal wealth to live, without having to work actively for basic necessities. The financially independent individual has assets that generate income that is greater than their expenses. Everybody wants to achieve financial independence. No one wants to live a life of financial struggle. Why then do very few people get there? Financial independence does not just happen; it takes a detailed plan and the discipline to adhere to that plan. The Blue Print Imagine a scenario where you wanted to build a house. How would you go about building a house? Would you begin by purchasing building materials? To achieve anything in life, you must first begin with a plan, a blueprint. You must be clear exactly where you are and where you want to go. And, you must have the courage to go for it! Nothing is given on a silver platter so only those who have the courage to go for their dreams actually get there. To transform your life from where you are to where you want to go, you have to change. Many people are afraid of that process of change. They would rather remain in their comfort zone. Their lives therefore never change. To attain financial independence, you need to have an honest heart-to-heart talk with yourself. > What exactly does financial independence mean to you? (We refer to this as your dreams). Your dreams cannot be someone else’s dream so your definition of financial independence cannot be the same as someone else’s. > What is your current financial position? > What changes will you need to make in order to change your circumstances (your circles, how you spend your time, your spending habits, etc.) > What resources do you have to enable you reach your goals (skills, expertise, gifts and talents, networks, supportive people around you, tools such as a car, a computer, a smartphone, resource materials such as books, etc.) > What obstacles are standing in your way (a job that is too demanding, a young family that needs a lot of your time, a spouse who is not supportive, shortage of capital, inadequate skills and expertise, etc.) Once you are very clear about where you are, where you want to go and the resources you have to take you there as well as the obstacles that are standing in your way, come up with clear goals that you need to achieve in order to arrive at your destination. Break down your journey into manageable steps (short term goals that build up into the bigger goal). The Time Factor Being in the network marketing industry has made me see the reality of why most people never achieve financial freedom. The question most people ask when one is putting the foundation of their business in place is; how much are you earning? Financial independence is not achieved in a month or two. Imagine this scenario; you have set up your road map and a school is your plan to take you to financial freedom. You have put up the buildings, hired teachers and other members of staff and your planning is moving according to schedule. You are two years in the business and you have your first 50 students then someone asks you the question; ‘How much are you earning?’ You might still be operating at a loss at that point in time but building your business consistently will see you move to profit. Maybe you will break even in your 5th or 6th year. That does not mean that you are a failure. Success does not come that fast in normal circumstances. I often say that in network marketing for example, it will take you 3 to 5 years to build a strong foundation then you are ready to move into profit. There are exceptions to this rule but those are exceptions rather than the norm. How long does it take you to build a foundation if you want to become an engineer, a lawyer, a doctor or another professional? What about a career in sports? Attaining financial independence takes time and that is why many never get there; they are in a hurry and when it takes time to get there, they give and quit, move to something else. To attain financial independence, give yourself anything between 10 and 20 years of building consistently for your dreams to become reality. A very small minority attains financial independence. This is because it takes a lot of sacrifice to transform yourself from the person you are to the person you want to become. You must begin by understanding yourself; what has been working for you and what has been sabotaging you. * You spending habits (what needs to change if you are to transform your finances?) * Your income. (Can you realize financial independence with your current level of income and if not, how will you grow your income?) * Determining your long term financial goals and then coming up with a road map to take you there. If you were overweight and needed to get in shape, it would take sacrifice and commitment to reach your goals. There are things that you enjoy that would have to go (junk foods, habits such as spending hours sitting down watching TV, some friends who are you comfort partners, etc.) There are things that are not comfortable that will have to become part of your life (such as an exercise regime, discipline, healthy diet, etc.) For you to change your financial situation and move from struggling financially to becoming financially independent, there are things that will have to change. You will need to cut on your spending, meaning that there are things you will have to do without. You will also need to make changes in the way you spend your time, the people in your circles and much more. Success is not handed to anyone on a silver platter. To join the ranks of the successful people, you have to pay the price of success. You have to transform yourself from the person you have been to the person you picture yourself to be. This article is written by Susan Catherine Keter, Life and Health Coach, Trevo LLC, USA Website: http://trevo.life/susanwamucii/

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