If You Don’t Know Where You Are Going, Any Road Will Take You There – the importance of setting goals
Did you have some thoughts about setting goals for the New Year but let them pass? My experience is that having these goals are one of the most important steps in achieving financial independence. This is a good time to focus on your main goal for this year and your long-term goal.
I spent the first 10 years or so of my business career focused on doing what it took to deliver excellent service to my clients. Then I had a wake up call (a denied promotion) that got me to focus on dedicating my effects more to my financial situation than my clients'. I call it my Johnny Paycheck moment. If you don’t know what I am talking about, you are missing a great song. Have a little listen to Take This Job And Shove It
With that as my theme song, I became determined that I would put myself into a position where I would never have to work again. I figured out the “number” I needed to make me my own boss. My husband was not as sold on this goal but agreed to go along for the ride. Up until this time, we did the bare minimum in taking care of our financials, we had no debt to speak of and had some retirement savings. In order to achieve my goal, however, I knew that I would need to do better than that. We needed to start saving/investing on a after-tax (non-retirement) basis.
We reached our goal within 10 years. Yes, once he saw it was achievable, my husband started to become a believer. Sure we had some lucky breaks along the way such as promotions and good returns on our investments. My view, however, was that “the harder I worked, the luckier I got.” I achieved this goal because it was a primary focus in my life. For those of you familiar with The Secret
Mr. Ware’s article should help you in your goal setting. Remember, effective goals are conceivable, believable, achievable, measurable, controllable and have a singleness of purpose. Ensure your success by writing down your goals. Keep reminding yourself of the goal. Whenever, I started to go off course, the lyrics “take this job and shove it, I ain’t working here no more” came into my head!! Find a similar way to motivate yourself to success.
2 comments:
Interesting story about your Johnny Paycheck moment. I'm also a CPA and on the 'partner track.' I'm cautious because I know anything can happen to derail that. For the most part, I feel like I'm dedicated to own financial goals, but I'm not dedicated to other things, such as health, family, friends etc. I'm sure you know that feeling. It would be interesting to have some conversations with you.
You guessed it Daniel. I was at one of the "Big Four" in New York and on the partner track as well. I lived and breathed for my career. The year I was up for partner (which was on the fast track), I even rented an apartment in New York (I lived in Connecticut) so that I would have more time for work. How crazy is that?? To make a long story short, I messed up the partner interview and was asked to wait a year. By then I had had enough and told them no thanks. It was one of the most painful experiences in life. A total public humiliation since everyone -- my partners, peers, clients and even myself -- expected that I would make it.
In hindsight it was one of the best things that could have happened to me. As you know, being a partner is a respectable job but there are so many easier ways to make a better living. Without the "rejection" I probably would not of walked away from the Firm. Also, once you have that kind of failure, you know that it doesn't kill you. You pick up you broken ego and move on. And, you do start to focus on those other parts of life that are important (like you mention, health, family and friends).
Thanks for responding to my post. I too look forward to having conversations with you.
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