Take Charge of Your Finances - Part 1

FINANCIAL FREEDOM FOR ALL!

Through research and my own life's experiences I have come to understand that the difference between success and failure on any situation lies purely in how people think. In the bigger scheme of life, people who succeed differ from those who fail by how they use time, their minds, opportunities, their gifts/talents and skills. When you take the time to learn how to change your thinking and become a better thinker, you are investing in yourself. The easiest thing to do is blame the difficulties we find ourselves in on other people, while this in fact should be the other way round because our external circumstances are a reflection of what is happening in our minds.

To illustrate let us look at a child raised in a township. The environment they grow up in tells them this everyday "you will never amount to much, poverty is part of who you are, whats the point of being serious about school/life, at best you will one day own a house in the township and if you are lucky government will give you an RDP house, the only people who are successful are the drug dealers, tavern owners and those that are gang related" etc. etc. Ultimately this child will in all likelihood not bring financial freedom to his/herself or to their family and thus the cycle of poverty goes on generation after generation.

As much is this is the reality for the majority in South Africa I have seen people, having been raised in utter poverty, take their lives and turn them around to become multi-millionaires. The question them becomes how? How does one take their current state and turn it around for the better? The truth is that anyone can get wealthy, you just need the knowledge and capacity to acquire and manage your finances, getting rich is a science that can be learnt and applied by anyone who is willing to put in the effort. You have the same right and opportunities to get as wealthy as you want but the problem is that most people are too lazy to be wealthy. People want the money but they are ultimately not willing to do what it takes, they would rather spend their time dreaming about winning the lotto or watching soapies, in fact most South Africans know more about what is happening regarding the saga on Generations  than they know about establishing an investment portfolio!

The bottom line is that whats keeping you from getting wealthy is the following: EXCUSES. Whatever you say to justify poverty and lack in your life is an excuse, if you are not willing to do what it takes to change your circumstances then you must accept the whatever life gives you. According to Napoleon Hill, the consequences for not taking full control of your life include ill health, living a life of fear and worry, indecision and doubt, frustration and discouragement throughout life, poverty, lack and a whole flock of evil consisting of: envy, greed, jealousy, anger, hatred and superstition. These are consequences not options, they become your reality whether you like it or not and they happen to those who refuse to take full responsibility over their lives and use their minds to the fullest.

Its time to stop the excuses and get to work on changing your life, its going to take time and effort because opportunities come to those who are prepared. You must come to the realisation that Nobody is going to do it for You, this is your life, this is your time to shine. Are you ready to change? The fact that you have read this far indicates to me that you are, if that is the case then let me tell you where to start:

• First and foremost you have to know what you want, clearly define it, write it down, this is what is called your vision, it is what you want to do, what you want to have, the legacy you want to leave behind
• Take that vision and surround it with pictures that bring visual identity to it, your dream house, your dream payslip, the orphanage you want to establish etc., this is what is called a vision board, put it somewhere visible to you daily, spend time looking at it everyday and visualise your future life, close your eyes, feel the emotions, taste the food, smell the leather in your new car, see your children playing in your new house, live your dream, do all this in your mind daily.
• Take stock of where you are right now by rating yourself from 1 to 10 on each of these areas: Career/Business, Health, Family and Friends, Romance, Personal Growth, Spiritual Growth, Leaving a legacy and Finance
• Take each of the areas and write down your top 2 goals to improve the score you've got and write 10 action steps you will take to make the goals a reality, put the action steps in order of priority and start by executing the first action steps immediately

I have given you a practical exercise to do, its not complicated, just do it and do it diligently, when the goals for each area are achieved set new goals because there is always room to improve. On a parting note, please read these two books, Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki and Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill. You have just begun a journey that is going to change your life, enjoy the ride!