WHAT IS YOUR WHY?

As I fly home from Moscow and two weeks of thrilling whirlwind travels throughout Eastern Europe I fantasize about my next vacation.  Maybe something indulgent and relaxing.  An all-inclusive resort in Hawaii perhaps?  Just as I start to feel the sun on my face and the taste of frozen cocktails on my lips REALITY CHECK. 

I sigh and think someday.  Someday I will travel to exotic and foreign places, allowing myself the luxury of cabs to and from the airport, dining out without triple checking menu costs, staying at real hotels, frequenting the spas, maybe even first class flying.  Okay okay, I know I’m getting out of hand and I realize how lucky I am to have been where I have been and to have had the experiences I have had but hey, you’ve got to have a dream.  

Not just a career dream like being an astronaut or a movie star or a famous author, but a dream of a lifestyle which, let’s face it, only money can buy.  Something to work towards.

So what is it you’re working towards, saving towards, investing towards?  Not the reasons you HAVE to work, save, etc, but the reasons that get forgotten somewhere in the day to day struggle of just trying to get by?  What is the lifestyle you dream of living?  Apartment on Central Park west?  Fine dining every weekend?  Vacation home on the beach?  Sending three children to Ivy League Schools? Jet setting around the world?  Get crazy.   Think Big.  There’s got to be something more motivating you than, “To pay my credit card bill”, “To make rent”, or “To get my car fixed”.  Sure those things are necessary, but those reasons will make you work and save just enough.  If you want big financial success, start by having a big dream and a clear and defined “why”.

What’s your why?  It’s got to be something you want badly.  Something that will keep you going beyond your regular 9 to 5 and inspire you to seek greater financial gain.  Something that will make you save before you spend.  Something that will motivate you to get educated on investments so you can stop sitting on your cash and start watching it grow.

Really brainstorm and get specific.  Use all five senses to experience your why. Right now I see ocean and palm trees, I feel the sand between my toes, I hear the waves crashing on the shore, I taste the salty air, and I smell the warm ocean breeze.  Yes, in reality I’m sitting in economy on a ten hour flight, but this meditation on my dream lifestyle is what’s got me on my laptop blogging rather than plugging into another in flight movie.  The more tangible it is, the more I’m reminded of it, the more I seek to achieve it.