It was the home of their dreams. Beautiful, luxurious, and less than 5 minutes away from work and school.
This was the kind of house Joseph had always dreamed he would own since he was a kid. Growing up in a much more modest home in the middle of the crowded inner city, this 3,500 square foot abode was like something out of the pages of a magazine. It was reminiscent of the homes his rich friends with doctor/lawyer parents lived in and the life he had so desperately wanted.
But the best part – it was well within his price range. This wasn’t by coincidence. Joseph and his wife had spent years working to get to this point financially, and they knew that when the time came to make a move on their forever home, they wanted to be ready.
You might have your own doubts and worries about if you’ll ever be able to achieve your financial goals. But trust me – if someone who came from nothing was able to get there, then you can too. Here’s how.
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You Have to Put in the Work to Get What You Want
As a young kid, Joseph learned early on that when you want something, you have to work for it.
When he wanted one of those cool, new CD players (it was the 90s after all), he had to shovel driveways all winter to afford it. When he wanted a new bass guitar to play with his rock band, he had to mow several of the lawns on his street.
Towards the end of high-school, Joseph learned some hard news. Although he had earned straight A’s throughout school, his parents simply didn’t have the money to send him away to college. At first, he was angry and felt like “what’s the use”. But then he came to his senses and saw what he had to do.
Joseph started picking up as many extra shifts as he could at the restaurant he worked at. While all of his friends were enjoying their summers and blowing their money on things like new cars, he labored and saved over 90 percent of everything he earned in hopes that it would one day be enough to pay for school.
It took a few years, but eventually, Joseph had collected enough to make it happen. He moved about an hour away from home and went to a great university to study engineering. He poured himself into his classes knowing exactly how much it would cost him if he failed, and ended up graduating with honors.
Through it all, Joseph knew that nothing in this world is ever truly handed to you. Much like the teachings in the incredibly popular book “Your Money or Your Life”, he learned to respect money and came to understand how close time is tied to it.
Readers – Are you willing to put in the hard work to get what you want?
The Secret is Out There If You’re Willing to Look for It
Back when Joseph and his wife were first married, they didn’t have a lot of money to go out on dates. So, they would often frequent inexpensive alternatives like going out for coffee at the local bookstore.
Out of all of the rows of paperbacks and genres to choose from, there was one section that always seemed to draw him in: The personal finance books.
Why? Because it was here that Joseph knew that hidden away in the pages of these paperbacks were the secrets of the wealthy. If you think about it, what better place can you get financial advice than from the millionaires and entrepreneurs who had actually succeeded?
It was there that Joseph discovered a concept that he had never even knew existed: Financial freedom. Financial freedom is the idea of putting your money to work for you rather than you working for it. It was why the rich were rich, and the poor were poor.
Joseph realized that it wasn’t a better job or working more hours that would bring him wealth. It would instead be a paradigm shift; a change in the way he thought about money.
Readers – Most Americans are living paycheck to paycheck and can barely afford to cover a $1,000 expense. Yet, less than 17% of us ever think to seek out professional advice with our money. Are you brave enough to seek out the help you need?
You’re Not Tied to Just One Income
Several years into his career, Joseph was traveling often for work and spending a lot of time by himself in hotels. While the other traveling professionals were spending their evenings in the hotel bar, Joseph had something else in mind: Websites.
His thirst for financial knowledge had transitioned from traditionally published books to the speed and unfiltered world of online blogging. Though he was looking mostly for tips on how to improve his finances, there was something else that caught his eye: A lot of these so-called bloggers were claiming to make some pretty substantial money from their sites; some even earning more than they were from their regular full-time jobs!
Joseph saw what they were doing and wanted in. But what did he know about writing a blog or even creating a website? Even if he did write something, why in the world would anyone ever want to read it? He had a lot of fears and doubts, and these kept him from giving it a try.
Then one day, after a proposal he had worked on all night was shot down by the president of his company, Joseph made a decision. He was no longer going to invest his extra time and energy into his day job. He would instead use it to develop the skills he needed to produce multiple streams of income.
Ready or not, he registered a domain name for his new website and just started writing. The first few articles were awful by today’s standards. But that didn’t stop him. He just kept on working at it and perfecting his craft with every new piece of content he published.
Eventually, his site caught on and he started gaining some attention – not just from readers but also from advertisers. One day while at work, Joseph received a payment of $1,200 for placing a simple ad banner on the sidebar of his site (less than 5 minutes of work). He was grinning from ear to ear.
From that point forward, Joseph knew that he was on to something. While his other colleagues were constantly complaining about not making enough money or feeling trapped by their lifestyles, Joseph had developed quite a different relationship with money. He understood that the power to change your situation and achieve financial freedom was dependent upon your ability to make it happen.
Readers – Are you ready to take responsibility for your financial situation and put changes in motion if you want things to be different?
To Get to Where You’re Going, You Have to Know How to Get There
With his wife and family in their new beautiful home, Joseph thought about all of the hard work and sacrifices they had all made to get there. He thought about how easy it would have been to have never gone to college, ignored the advice of personal finance books, or even dismissed the possibility of creating multiple streams of income. But now his dreams were a reality, and he knew it had all been worth it.
Nothing worth having is ever achieved easily. To succeed financially, you have to do more than just want it. You have to be willing to put in the work, go out looking for it, and make it happen.
There will be times when other people will doubt you (including yourself) and you might not always get it right. But that doesn’t mean it’s not possible or that you’re a failure. It just means you’re pushing past what doesn’t work and will eventually find what does. And you’re just one step closer to getting the prize that awaits.
Key Next Actions:
- Write down the ONE goal that is most important to you in life.
- Research what it will take to achieve this goal (financial needs, time required, and what support from others is needed).
- Set a date to complete this goal.
- Based on your research of what is needed, work backwards to set milestones for each item that is needed.
- Schedule time on a consistent basis to work on completing each milestone.
LEARN all that you can, BELIEVE in yourself, and take actions that allow you to GROW!
Get your FREE copy of the 5 Keys To Success Guide (click here).
