If not, what is holding you back?
Most people tell me that their financial resources are holding them back. Women especially feel that a life full of splendor and magnificence is only for the Rich and Famous and that they must have an abundance of money to be happy. Too often then settle for the stifled and mundane instead and figure that is their lot in life. They don’t realize that real abundance comes from peace, joy and freedom and NOT from money. It is the Freedom to do the things you want to do because of your wise financial life planning.
I would guess that everyone at some time has settled for less, when in our hearts we probably knew we could have had so much more. However, we were just too tired of trying or maybe too afraid we would fail to go after what we truly wanted. We let our negativity win. And that is our enormous soul-depleting loss.
In the past, typically out of laziness and not feeling up for a taxing negotiation, I would let my husband make many of the important decisions, such as what the next family vacation was. With only a few weeks off a year, this time away can set the tone of our family life for a long time. By letting go of what I wanted, I ended up with something I absolutely did not want, such as spending 10 years staying with my in-laws at their tiny house in Miami for our vacation (typically for 2-3 weeks at a time). I know, for most of you, I need say no more why this isn't my dream vacation. Yes, we saved a lot of money avoiding hotel costs, though the financial saving benefits were not enough for me to justify it. We could have spent the same amount of money and did something that added a lot less stress and bonded us together as a family.
At the start of this year, I decided I was going to stop settling and absolutely going to get what I WANTED out of life and not just for the little things, such as the family vacation, but also the big things, such as creating a new company and moving to Brazil. My husband is learning to adapt to my new style even though it means he gets less of what he wants. I figure since he spent the last 14 years as captain of the family, it is now my turn to get off the sidelines and dive in for some fun game play and glory.
So far my efforts are paying off! I started a new company with my cousin Thereza this year and it was chosen as a finalist by the Cartier Women's Initiative Awards. Out of 600 global applications, we were one of fifteen companies selected. So now, I am off to Paris for a nearly all expense paid 10 days at one of the nicest hotels in the world so our company Bolsa Cheia can be honored! Now that is a lot closer to my dream vacation than 2 weeks at the in-laws!
In just a few months, once I changed my thinking about how I was going to live my life, everything started to magically line up. I set a vision to have a magnificent vacation and move our family to Brazil. I didn’t let my lack of financial resources hold me back from having these thoughts even though the exact details of how my plan was to be carried out weren’t clear. I just focused on what I LOVE TO DO and what I do well, which is to apply my entrepreneurial skills and fearlessness to create new business opportunities.
As a result, I ended up getting exactly what I wanted in a round-about way. I didn’t create a new company just to get my dream vacation, it just worked out that way. I didn't create a company just so I could move to Brazil, though it appears that is what will happen.
The wonderful point of this story is that YOU can do this too. There is no secret to my success. Create a plan for the life you want and commit to it. Not the life your friends, family or co-workers want for you, but the life YOU want - the LIFE that gets you jumping out of bed every morning eager to begin. Then be sure to solidly hold that vision in your head. Perhaps you might want to even create a vision board and post it on your wall to help remind you of your goals every day. Then summon the creative genius that is lying within all of us waiting for its wake-up call to help you achieve your goals.
Though I didn't do a vision board for my vacation specifically, I have done something similar in the past. When I was 16 years old, I had a picture of a convertible RX7 in my locker in school and then moved it with my to my college wall for 4 years. When I moved to San Francisco 7 years later, I bought my dream car! Though the exclusive car seemed impossibly out of my budget at the time, I never gave up hope. It took me 7 years and an unexpected windfall of money to achieve my goal, but I did it.
The same thing happened when I was looking for an apartment. I stood at the corner of the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco and stared a row of flats and said to my girlfriend, "This is where I want to live!" It was NOT close to our price range. Though, 5 years later, I moved into that exact row of Flats I was looking at. Due to the good fortune of rent control when my boyfriend (now my husband) had inherited when he rented the place, we were able to move in at about 2/3rds off the average rental price. Did I let my lack of financial resources hold me back from dreaming of the life I wanted? No, I didn't. Did I actually need abundant money to move in there? No, because of the special situation with rent control.
Amazing things can happen to you the same way if you just open your heat and mind and allow yourself to dream BIG!
I have dozens more stories just like those above that I will share throughout the year. So stay tuned!
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