Do You Know Why You're In Business

One of the first steps in planning an exit to the rat race is knowing why you want out.

Sounds simple right? Well consider this: it is, and it isn't. You could say that you want out because you are tired of working for someone else, you want more time with your family, no more worries about the bills and want to control your own destiny. Sounds good. I can buy into that.

But is it enough? Is it enough to get you up in early in the morning to do a little work before the day begins. Is it enough to take time away from family at night, or spend a few hours on the weekend to get one step closer to that goal. Is it enough to maintain your drive for the goal line when the going gets tough ... and believe me, the going is going to get tough.

When you are focussed on dramatically changing your life, there will be people around you who undermine your efforts. The amazing thing is that the people who could lead the charge to offer you support (and this group might include friends or family) could be the ones who tell you "... you can't do that, it'll never work, why are you working so hard ..."

If you have ever started a part time business or made a financial decision that goes against the norm, this will all sound familiar.

Just because they can't see your vision for the future, doesn't make them right.

It takes courage to make a big change in your life, but in the long run, it will be worth it. The time, energy, criticism and even ridicule will be worth it when you are spending your days on the beach, golf course, or driving around in your new Porsche Boxster.

If you are serious about exiting the rat race and building a better life for yourself and your family, knowing why you want to be rich is as important as how you are going to get out.

One of the first steps in most coaching programs, including Rich Dad Coaching, is defining, in detail, why we wanted to be rich, what it looks like and when we were going to get there. Time was also spent writing out what we don't want.

This is a critical first exercise so if you've never taken to time to write it out. Do it now. The exercise focused our minds so we had a reason to do work it would take to get out of the rat race. Financial gurus like Robert Kiyosaki know the cardinal truth ... you can't get somewhere if you don't know where you are going ... and you won't get there if you don't know why you are bothering.

The how is easy when you know why.

Why gives you drive, determination, and the perseverance you need to achieve success. Lets face it, when you start building a business that generates passive income, you will face critics and set backs. You need a strong why to pull yourself back up on your feet and keep going. And, its those people who have the strength to get on their feet and keep building when all the people around them are laughing or criticizing them who will find real success.

So how do you figure out your why ... chances are it is not the first thing you think of, but its a good place to start.

Start answering some very simple questions: why do I want to be rich, what will being rich look like (in colourful detail), how will my life be different, what will I be doing, where will I be doing it, what things will I be doing, what won't I be doing, when will I get there, what will it take to get there, what will I do if I fail at first, how will I ensure my success.

Don't do this fast. Take your time. Revisit the answers every day and rewrite them to reflect a deeper meaning.

Now ask yourself ... is it enough. Is it enough to keep you going when the going gets tough. If the answer is no, go back and review it again.

Remember, when you know the why, the how is possible.

Start today and define why you want to be rich.

Simple Financial Planning to Achieve Financial Independence

Through proper financial planning, financial independence can be achieved. We discuss simple financial principles within this site on how this can be achieved. You just have to implement on the simple financial principles, that is, action needs to be taken.

Can financial planning be that important or necessary? For the average individual, it seems like a nightmare. The reality, however, need not be so bad. The process is actually quite a low stress business. In a nutshell, financial planning can be just a 6-step process one needs to go through if you want to achieve your financial goals.

At the core of the process is the prioritisation of meaningful personal and reasonable financial goals. It is, therefore, by definition a multi-faceted activity that requires trade-offs among competing goals and objectives. The process serves to make your current financial situation as clear as possible. Financial planning is the key to making it work.

It is really a very important aspect of one's financial future. It is not only a process but more so, it is about attitude as well. Cultivating the right habits to achieve this is important.

This process focuses on getting the most out of our money to achieve various objectives. It is about developing a personal route to your financial independence.

Yes, you can certainly achieve your financial goals with proper planning. It definitely can be done, and it does not have to be a dream.

Retirement and Financial Planning

Want to retire? This term conjures up images of a leisurely lifestyle, with perhaps walks by the beach or in the park. Retirement and financial planning usually occur together. For the simple reason, one simply does not occur without the other.

Various studies have shown that 95% of the population will not have enough funds in their accounts to qualify as what is considered financially independent by the time they reach age 65. A good proportion of these 95% will still be broke when they are supposed to be able to enjoy their life, and will have to find various means to sustain their daily livelihood. It is a sad situation, but it is a fact.

There are good resources and tools available (and many of them are available online) that aim to help you determine your retirement needs. We and reviewed some of these resources and tools and those that we feel may be useful to our readers, we will point them out to you. A caveat on the use of these tools though. Using such tools to simply calculate how much you need for retirement will not do anything for you at all - if you do not implement your financial plan.

Planning should start as young as possible. This will allow your money and funds to grow through your investments - you should have an investment portfolio that will grow large enough to fund your needs.

What if you do not start young? The results can be quite damaging. Starting late will have the time factor work against you. Why do we say that? The reason is that the compounding effect of time can make a huge difference to the size of your portfolio. Warren Buffet, said to have started very young in investing, will likely be a very good testimony to this fact.

In fact, the compounding effect of time has been described as the eighth wonder of the world! The results and impact on the size of your portfolio can be very dramatic! So do start planning as early as possible. Get your personal financial plan in place. If you have been procrastinating, start now - now is always better than later, and later is better than never.

Carpe diem (seize the day!). Just do it.