Facing Your Financial Reality

Let’s get down to business! The most important part of the path to wealth is taking stock of where you are now.  You need to build up a picture of your current financial position. Some of this will be about the ‘hard’ numbers, such as how much wealth you have (Net Worth) and current levels and sources of income. Some of it will be about the ‘soft’ stuff, such as understanding why you are in the position you are in—this may relate to your attitude to wealth or to poor habits with money. No matter what the picture looks like,  you need to have a very firm grasp of your current financial reality before you go any further.

Everyone’s reality is a little different. Most likely you have been working hard since the day you left school or finished whatever education or training you undertook. We have all been told that’s what we need to do to succeed in life. However, you (and many others) have probably found that it isn’t true, that this recipe has not taken you very far. Even when you have got further, you may not be in the place you want to be. You may have a high Net Worth but are still having to work hard. Habits can be hard to break! 

If you are like most people, you probably find that it is taking all your efforts just to stay in the same place. You may own a home but still have a considerable amount left on the mortgage. You may be working hard—perhaps harder than ever before— but feel you are unlikely to make much more headway. And you certainly won’t be able to stop work very soon—if at all. Depending on your age you may have more or less anxiety about the position you find yourself in: younger people often look at the work and lives of those ahead of them on the ladder and think that this is an unrewarding path that they do not wish to follow. More experienced people often feel that their oppor- tunities for further advancement have passed and there is little they can do to change their circumstances. If you are the owner of a business you are likely to be working very long hours and perhaps not taking much out of the busi- ness. Your earlier hopes of becoming wealthy and free seem more and more distant. You may even be feeling trapped because you can see no way out. Even thinking about the next business cycle downturn fills you with fear because there may not be much ‘fat’ in your business and you may have high levels of borrowings.

Write your story about your life so far. No one will see this unless you choose to share it, so feel free to be as detailed and as passionate as you wish. Only by being honest to yourself, you will and can come out of the financial mess (problems).

• What has happened so far?
• How are you feeling about your life at present?
• What do you like about your life?
• What is irritating you that you want to change?
• What do you think will happen if you stay on this path? 

source: Coach Yourself to Wealth