Connect the Dots
A Blog Series Dedicated to Self-Improvement through Past Experience, Trails & Errors, and Approaching Everything with a Growth-Mindset
I remember on my last day at work, I was casually conversing with one of my employees, and as the conversation continued, I had an epiphany. I was serving the last day of my two-week notice from my job to begin a new journey with my wife, the pursuit of happiness; spending more time with our daughter. I did the unusual thing, leaving my job without having another in-line but in mind. As we continued to talk about my employees' financial situation, the epiphany I had solidified what career I needed to take full strides in; becoming a financial advisor.
For some reason, people have always been drawn to me when they were seeking advice. I think it had to do with the fact that I was always an open-ear, ready to listen to their problems. With that, I had always been a great advisor when it came to the individuals trying to resolve their issues. I always tell my employees, if you have a problem, you needed to solve them. How are you going to benefit if the problem isn't resolved? Too many individuals dwell on their issues rather than figuring it out. Hence the importance of always being a #PROBLEMSOLVER .
After my daughter turned six months old, I decided that I needed to change my life. I needed to seek better opportunities to help add value not just to my life, but to my family. After listening to Grant Cardone's book, 'Be Obsessed or Be Average', I became obsessed with pursuing much greater things in life, beginning with becoming a self-help junkie. Having read 'The 10X Rule' a year prior, 'Be Obsessed' really sparked the fire inside me to seek much more in this life by DOING much more, by taking action first and let everything else fall into place. While reading a lot of these books, no matter the author/speaker, finances always seemed to come up.
I decided to tackle a book GIANT by the great Tony Robbins, 'Money: Master the Game', an audible book that is over 21 HOURS LONG. It took me almost two weeks of repeat listening to grasp some of the concepts finally. I then read Ramit Sethi's, 'I Will Teach You to Be Rich', followed shortly with Dave Ramsey's, 'The Total Money Makeover'. As I applied a lot of my learnings from each book, finances became very simple. I was always good with numbers, so understanding finances, in general, was very second nature. My wife and I became 80% debt free in a matter of 3 months by applying some of the methods learned. It became very exciting, seeing your actions paying off.
This epiphany while I was having the conversation with one of the employees finally connected the dots. If a 40-something-year-old is talking to ME, A 20-something-year-old for FINANCIAL ADVICE, wasn't it super obvious?? Sometimes we spend too much time plotting the dots in our lives that we forget to DRAW the LINE. I was in a point in my life in which I was able to leave a job, along with my wife, and completely start over. The thought of our financial situation never even really crossed our mind. We weren't making great money, but we were making enough while being money savvy to be financial where we are.
A word of Advice; Fight through the noise. A lot of us spend too much time seeking value when the value we are seeking is right in front of us.