Personal Development 50K For A New Car – $0 For Personal Growth And Development

It’s astounding to me that some people will go out and spend 50K on a car, but invest nothing in personal growth and development. Especially when that new car is going to be paid for with income from a job that they do not enjoy. Maybe they feel better about themselves when they are sitting behind the wheel. That must be it, because there is no rational reason for it.

I read a book many years ago called ” Swim With the Sharks Without Being Eaten Alive”, written by Harvey Mackey. He talks about Curt Carlson, who was the owner of Carlson Companies, which among other things, owns the Radisson Hotel chain. The point of the story was that Curt always drove a Chevrolet. Never owned anything other than that. As he said, ” I would never spend the kind of money that it takes to buy a Mercedes, or even a Cadillac. My ego does not require it. I have nothing to prove to anyone. Now my house, however, is a Mercedes.”

It happens all the time today. Folks will spend 100K on a car, and live in a 1100 square foot house. Or an apartment. Makes no sense to me, but I’m a Scot, which means I have a hard time spending money anyway. By the way, I am not making judgments here, only observations.

I once read that Americans spend 10-15{f8abb4491e2a97c6f3f61e27580e43f022bf9247b14e411a7365df735a23d0b8} of their income on things that will make them look and feel good on the outside. But they spend next to nothing on products that will help them on the inside. And these are things that would give them real happiness, not just cosmetic and temporary pseudo joy. And it is not solely about making more money, or becoming wealthy. We are all aware that money can’t buy you happiness, however I do like the fact that you can rent a lot of the same with money. But what about finding our true purpose in life. Guess what? Your true purpose in this life may not have anything to do with money. And that is Ok. Having said that, finding your true purpose is a process, not something that is going to just happen. The great thing is, there are many programs and teachers available that offer you access to amazing people, fresh ideas and astounding concepts that will assist you in realizing your true purpose in life. What if you could spend 30 minutes a day with some of the most successful, amazing people that ever lived? And I am not just talking about financially successful. If you could spend 30 minutes per day with, for example, Martin Luther King, Mother Theresa, Bill Gates or Warren Buffet? ( Just an FYI, Warren Buffett still lives in the same house he bought in 1958 for $31,500 ) With whoever it is that you can relate to that has been successful in something that you might like to do? Would you set aside 30 minutes each day to do this? Well, you can spend 30 minutes a day with people like this. Through books, cd’s, etc. These are amazing tools that are available to us in this world of today. But it requires that you turn off the TV.

One of my favorite people in the entire world to talk is not rich. He’s not an intellectual or an educated man, academically speaking. He was educated in the streets, the mean streets. He is actually an ex gang member who got out and now operates a home for kids that want out “the life”. This man is amazing. And the obstacles that he faces everyday are ones that you and I can not even comprehend. Not to mention the heartbreak of losing one of his kids back to the street. But he just keeps doing what he does, one kid at a time. A true hero.

I have been in professional direct sales my entire adult life. Never been on an salary, would not know what to do if I was on a fixed salary. Always got a kick out of people who say that they need the security of a steady paycheck, while relying on the salespeople at their company to provide it. In other words, they are totally putting their paycheck in the hands of the company salespeople. No sales, no paycheck, sooner or later. If I was on a salary, I’d want to be in on it when prospective salespeople are interviewed.

For many years, I thought that I was the real deal. Thought that I had it all. Then one day I was in the kitchen with my wife. And I asked her, “Honey, where are the kids?” She said, “they are all grown and gone.” Ok, that’s kind of extreme, but is it really? I had spent the vast majority of my life working for “the man”, making them wealthy and missing out on so many things much more important. And I made a decision. I was done with the corporate life. The long hours, travel and all the rest. Did not want any more of it. But it is not that easy. After examining my life, and asking myself why I was not happy, I had to face the facts. It was fear,self doubt and a bad self image that were the reasons. No way to sugarcoat it. I had not found a purpose for my life. Truth is, never even attempted to look for one.

And so, I had to get real with myself. I needed to find out what it is that makes me tick, makes me happy. And as it has often been said, success is a journey, not a destination. You may have more than one purpose in this life. My purpose right now? My grand daughter. Because I am no longer “at the office”, because I took a leap of faith and started my own home business, I am able to take and pick her up from school. My wife and I are raising her, and regardless of the reason why we are doing this, it is a true joy and a hoot being with her everyday.

I have other purposes also, some of which I am doing, others which require more investment of time and / or resources. They will come, all in their own time. Now, how do you find your true purpose? Let’s keep it simple and start at the beginning.

#1 – Grab those old standards, a pen and a piece of paper. And simply write down what it is that makes you happy. Try not to relate any of the things that you write to anything else. In other words, don’t think in terms of career, money, things that must be done or anything of that sort. Simply write down that which makes you happy. It doesn’t matter what it is, if it makes you happy, write it down. If it’s something that you are passionate about, write it down. Remember that it’s not about money. If what you love and are passionate about requires money, the money will come, one way or another. It’s called the Law of Attraction and this law works all the time, 100{f8abb4491e2a97c6f3f61e27580e43f022bf9247b14e411a7365df735a23d0b8} of the time. There is your starting point. Very simple. But you must take the time, preferably quiet time, to do this. It will clarify your thinking. I’ll revisit this subject, and give you some other steps that you may do to further the process, but this first step is the most crucial.

I have successfully made the transition from corporate life to my own life, which is one of the biggest joys one can experience. I no longer am in the control of the “corporate family”, as I like to call them. For many folks, it’s like being in the mafia. Once they are in, they can’t get out. Just kidding. But once I admitted and accepted the fact that I had self limiting fears and self doubt, I was able to begin the process of eliminating them from my life. A habit can only be replaced by another habit. The trick is to replace a bad habit with a good one. Is it simple to do? Yes. Is it easy at all times? No. Many times we have become slaves to bad habits, but we must replace bad habits with good ones if we are to find true purpose, or purposes, in this life.

And the fact that I engaged my corporate career killswitch and no longer have to deal with the corporate lifestyle is a huge bonus. No more endless meetings, strategy sessions, travel, mandatory company functions,etc. And yes, no more corporate politics, which I detest.

Thanks for stopping by, I’d love to talk more, but I’ve got to go, have to pick up my grand daughter from school.

To your success.