Derek Jeter said, "You gotta have fun…we're playing a game."
Aesop said, "Gratitude turns what we have into enough."
Living with gratitude means choosing to focus on what you appreciate.
Gratitude builds your attitude.
It replaces the "I have to" with "I get to".
Choose to… pic.twitter.com/q2N3gRSaZW
— Coach AJ 🎯 Mental Fitness (@coachajkings) July 22, 2023
The 5 things that can kill your dream:
1. Fear: Fear is one of the most significant obstacles that can stop people from pursuing their dreams. Fear of failure, fear of the unknown, fear of rejection, fear of what others might think – all these fears can hold you back and prevent you from taking risks or stepping out of your comfort zone.
2. Lack of focus: If you don’t have a clear idea of what you want to achieve, it’s difficult to work towards that goal. Without a specific target in mind, you might find yourself wandering aimlessly and lacking the drive to take action.
3. Negative self-talk: The way you talk to yourself can have a profound impact on your ability to pursue your dreams. If you’re constantly telling yourself that you’re not good enough, or that you’ll never make it, you’re likely to lose motivation and give up on your aspirations.
4. Lack of perseverance: Achieving your dreams often requires hard work, dedication, and perseverance. If you give up too easily when faced with setbacks or obstacles, you may struggle to make progress towards your goals.
5. Lack of support: Having a strong support system can make a big difference in your ability to achieve your dreams. Surrounding yourself with people who encourage and believe in you can give you the confidence and motivation to keep working towards your goals, even when things get tough.
An American investment banker was at the pier of a small coastal Mexican village when a small boat with just one fisherman docked. Inside the small boat were several large yellowfin tuna. The American complimented the man on the quality of his fish and asked how long it took to catch them.
The man replied, “only a little while.” The American then asked why didn’t he stay out longer and catch more fish? The man said he had enough to support his family’s immediate needs. The American then asked, “but what do you do with the rest of your time?”
The Mexican fisherman said, “I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, take siestas with my wife, Maria, stroll into the village each evening where I sip wine, and play guitar with my amigos. I have a full and busy life.” The American scoffed, “I am a Harvard MBA and could help you. You should spend more time fishing and with the proceeds, buy a bigger boat. With the proceeds from the bigger boat, you could buy several boats, eventually you would have a fleet of fishing boats. Instead of selling your catch to a middleman you would sell directly to the processor, eventually opening your own cannery. You would control the product, processing, and distribution. You would need to leave this small coastal fishing village and move to Mexico City, then LA and eventually New York City, where you will run your expanding enterprise.”
The Mexican fisherman asked, “But, how long will this all take?”
To which the American replied, “15 – 20 years.”
“But what then?” Asked the man.
The American laughed and said, “That’s the best part. When the time is right you would announce an IPO and sell your company stock to the public and become very rich, you would make millions!”
“Millions – then what?”
The American said, “Then you would retire. Move to a small coastal fishing village where you would sleep late, fish a little, play with your kids, take siestas with your wife, stroll to the village in the evenings where you could sip wine and play your guitar with your amigos.”
Invest first before living like a King and Queen
Asset vs Liability
Son: Dad, may I speak with you?
Dad: Go ahead.
Son: Among all my classmates, I am the only one without a car. It is embarrassing.
Dad: What do you want me to do?
Son: I need a car. I don’t want to feel odd.
Dad: Do you have a particular car in mind?
Son: Yes dad (smiling)
Dad: How much?
Son: $15K
Dad: I will give you the money on one condition.
Son: What is the condition?
Dad: You will not use the money to buy a car but invest it. If you make enough profit from the investment, you can go ahead and buy the car.
Son: Deal.
Then, the father gave him a check of $15K. The son cashed the check and invested it in obedience to the verbal agreement that he had with his father.
Some months later, the father asked the son how he was faring. The son responded that his business was improving. The father left him.
After some months again, the father asked him about his business again and the son told him that he is making a lot of profit from the business.
When it was exactly a year after he gave him the money, the father asked him to show him how far the business has gone. The son readily agreed and the following discussion took place:
Dad: From this I can see that you have made a lot of money.
Son: Yes dad.
Dad: Do you still remember our agreement?
Son: Yes
Dad: What is it?
Son: We agreed that I should invest the money and buy the car from the profit.
Dad: Why have you not bought the car?
Son: I don’t need the car. I want to invest more.
Dad: Good. You have learned the lessons that I wanted to teach you.
– You didn’t really need the car, you just wanted to feel apart of the crowd. That would have placed extra financial obligations on you. It wasn’t an asset then; but a liability.
– Two, it is very important for you to invest in your future before living like a king.
Son: Thanks dad.
Then the father gave him the keys of the latest model of that car.
MORALS:
1. Always invest first before you start living the way you want.
2. What you see as a need now may become a want if you can take a little time to get over your feelings.
3. Try to be able to distinguish between an asset and a liability so that what you see as an asset today will not become a liability to you tomorrow.
Being Rich vs Being Wealthy
Wealth is often hidden and not as visible as riches which can be flashy and showy.
In the book “The Millionaire Next Door: The Surprising Secrets of America’s Wealthy”, authors Thomas J. Stanley and William D. Danko reveal that many millionaires live modest lifestyles and don’t flaunt their wealth. They call this “stealth wealth” and it’s a way for millionaires to avoid drawing attention to themselves and their wealth.
The difference between being rich and being wealthy, according to Kiplinger Magazine, is being rich means adding more zeros to your bank account while being wealthy is about living your life with zero regrets and zero jealousy.
In terms of net worth in the US in 2022:
The top 1% had a net worth had of $10,815,000.
The top 2% had a net worth of $2,472,000.
The top 5% had $1,030,000.
The top 10% had $854,900.
Source:
(1) Are You Rich? U.S. Wealth Percentiles Might Provide Answers. https://www.kiplinger.com/personal-finance/605075/are-you-rich.
(2) Being Rich vs. Being Wealthy: What’s the Difference? | Kiplinger. https://www.kiplinger.com/personal-finance/being-rich-vs-being-wealthy-whats-the-difference.
(3)The Millionaire Next Door: The Surprising Secrets of America’s Wealthy ….
Recently, I came across a story that is both sad, but worth sharing in case somone else might learn from an investor’s mistakes and avoid repeating them. Here’s a summary of the story:
A investor was convinced by a coworker to invest in cryptocurrency, but unfortunately, they ended up losing around $20,000 before deciding to sell and cutting their losses. Then, they took the remaining money and put it into a popular stock (LCID), only to lose an additional $12,000.
In just two months, they blew three years worth of their savings.
Here are the lessons for readers to learn:
Bronnie Ware, an Australian palliative care nurse, recorded patients’ dying epiphanies and put her observations into a book called The Top Five Regrets of the Dying.
Ware wrote of the phenomenal clarity of vision that people gain at the end of their lives, and how you might learn from her patients’ wisdom. “When questioned about any regrets they had or anything they would do differently,” she says, “common themes surfaced again and again.”
Here are the top five regrets of the dying, as witnessed by Bonnie Ware:
1. I wish I’d had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.
“This was the most common regret of all. When people realize that their life is almost over and look back clearly on it, it is easy to see how many dreams have gone unfulfilled. Most people had not honored even a half of their dreams and had to die knowing that it was due to choices they had made, or not made. Health brings a freedom very few realize, until they no longer have it.”
2. I wish I hadn’t worked so hard.
“This came from every male patient that I nursed. They missed their children’s youth and their partner’s companionship. Women also spoke of this regret, but as most were from an older generation, many of the female patients had not been breadwinners. All of the men I nursed deeply regretted spending so much of their lives on the treadmill of a work existence.”
3. I wish I’d had the courage to express my feelings.
“Many people suppressed their feelings in order to keep peace with others. As a result, they settled for a mediocre existence and never became who they were truly capable of becoming. Many developed illnesses relating to the bitterness and resentment they carried as a result.”
4. I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends.
“Often they would not truly realize the full benefits of old friends until their dying weeks and it was not always possible to track them down. Many had become so caught up in their own lives that they had let golden friendships slip by over the years. There were many deep regrets about not giving friendships the time and effort that they deserved. Everyone misses their friends when they are dying.”
5. I wish that I had let myself be happier.
“This is a surprisingly common one. Many did not realize until the end that happiness is a choice. They had stayed stuck in old patterns and habits. The so-called ‘comfort’ of familiarity overflowed into their emotions, as well as their physical lives. Fear of change had them pretending to others, and to their selves, that they were content, when deep within, they longed to laugh properly and have silliness in their life again.”
References:
Let me, Tony Robbins, ask you a question:
Do you believe that there’s something greater, something beyond ourselves?
Whatever you want to call that —God, or the universe, or infinite intelligence, or the divine mind, or energy—I truly believe God is a loving energy. And I believe that it only responds to absolute FAITH. Another word for absolute CERTAINTY.
I’ve seen in every aspect of life—whether its sports, performance, relationships, health—bringing certainty, a faith beyond what you see, to a situation that is uncertain, is one of the greatest resources you can have.
And of course, there are still no guarantees in life.
There’s always a test of faith. Every one of us, regardless of your age, gender, wealth or lack thereof, every one of us will be tested in ways we’re not ready for, multiple times, true or false?
Life tests us to see if we can find certainty in uncertain times. And the ultimate certainty is not that you get what you want. The ultimate certainty is the FAITH that life is benevolent, even when it looks like it’s not. It’s trust & patience to give it time to show us. It’s knowing that somehow everything has a higher meaning.
And I believe it’s our job to find it… If we can find the higher meaning in the midst of our pain & in spite of our fear, we become a source of love & inspiration for others. A source of certainty & safety for others, and that strengthens us for our own journey and service.
Life is always happening for us. If you develop that level of faith, you have an advantage in this game. We don’t get big muscles from the easy stuff. We become more because we’ve been through life’s difficulties.
So what’s the difference between fear & faith? Well, they are both made up—they are both energies in our imagination. The only difference is, FEAR is imagination undirected, running to the worst case scenario. FAITH is when our imagination is directed to higher purpose.
So, I choose faith. When you realize grace is always there, no matter what the outcome, that gives you a different level of faith in life itself, & a different love & appreciation for life and for every day we get on this earth.