Live Above Your Dreams

One of the basic human needs is growth and contribution. If you are not growing as a person, something starts to die on the inside of you. I was thinking back to some of the goals I set for myself when I just started my journey to financial freedom back in 2003. I noticed that most of my goals, especially financial goals have changed. I have surpassed most of them, and in their place are bigger, bolder, and more audacious goals. The goalposts have moved. Some dreams have grown bigger.

I have come to understand that as we grow, we raise our standards. We raise the bar, and that includes our goals. After having achieved one goal, you naturally aim for new and bigger goals. You never stop growing. The journey never ends, though the shape and form may change. Old soldiers never die, they just fade away.

You can achieve your dreams, and go beyond them. Focus on growing rather than pulling back. During the global financial crisis of 2007/8, many companies went belly up while others posted record-breaking profits. Many focused on cutting costs, spending less on advertising and layoff of staff while others did the opposite. Laying off staff in a recession makes matters worse, not better. It means fewer people with money to spend, less purchasing power, less demand for goods and services, lower turnover, and more cost-cutting and layoffs. It is a vicious cycle.

I remember an example cited in Built to Last by Jim Collins & Jerry Porbas, a business suffered a downturn and the CEO turned into an accountant, looking for what to cut. He cut and cut costs and the company went down and down and was eventually acquired by another company.

That is what happens also in our personal finances. Anytime our income drops, we lower our standard of living and switch to cost-cutting mode. We cut all cuttable, and look for more to cut. Opportunities to increase our income may thumb us on the nose but we would not notice because the focus is on cost-cutting. We become better at spotting opportunities to cut costs than opportunities to increase income.

I have come to realize that whatever you seek, you shall find. If you are looking for opportunities to cut costs, you will find them. If you are looking for opportunities to increase income, you will find them also. The issue then is what you choose to focus on.

Do you want to go down and down, or up and up? Focus accordingly. Whatever you focus on grows. There is nothing wrong with cutting costs, however, if you want to grow your income, having your PRIMARY FOCUS on cutting costs will not grow your income.

I remember an observation my wife and a friend of hers made some years back, that made me say goodbye to cost-cutting as my primary focus. They noticed some folks who work in the same office and had about the same income had widely different lifestyles. One lived big – nice cars, a nice home, investment portfolio including real estate, nice clothes, foreign holidays, parties, etc while the other drives a battered car, lives in a not-so-nice neighborhood, no vacations, parties, etc. Both earn the same wages but folks wonder if they work in the same office.

I pondered on this for a while, because I belonged to the poor cousin variety, saving, cutting costs, and making everyone around me miserable. When we were building our home, everyone around me knew I had a building project, without me having to say a word. Our rented apartment was in shambles, my car was almost falling apart and eventually sold to add the proceeds to the building project, and my kids had outgrown their clothes. We hardly went out and had fun. Everyone knew Daddy was building, we cannot afford this, and we cannot afford that.

After my wife’s comment, I started to look around. I had conversations with colleagues, and realized some went on holidays, bought new cars, wore fine clothes had fun, and lived in their own homes mortgage free in the best part of town, gave generously, and had investment portfolios that put mine to shame, I became very sober. I was bothered, so I started searching for answers. I prided myself in acquiring financial education, and here was someone not more knowledgeable in finance but getting better results than me. I was building my portfolio in misery while he was building and having fun.

After a long search, I finally stumbled on the answer. My lack mentality was producing a lack in my life, even in the midst of good-earned and passive income. I was looking down rather than up. I was focusing more on lack rather than increase. I had developed a poverty mentality. I have since crossed to the other side, and would not dream of returning to my days of poverty mentality. I have come to realize over and over again the truth in the Biblical verse; ask and you shall receive, seek and you shall find, knock and the door shall be opened unto you. This is the reason our mindset can make or break us in the area of finances and every other area.