A Eulogy: the Penultimate of Goals

I just realized that every, and I mean EVERY, book I've read on success, investing, and business always has a section on Goal Setting. It doesn't matter if the author is a steady investor, a speculator, or Rich Dad - they all say that without goals, it won't happen.

Yogi Berra says, "If you don't know where you're going, how will you know when you get there?"

More on actual How To for goal-setting later. First, I want to talk about a part of goal-setting, the Eulogy. The exercise goes - imagine you're sitting at your own funeral. People are getting up and talking about your life and how you affected them, giving eulogies. What would you like to be remembered for? What do you want people to say about you? Write for them - what would you like the following people to say:

1. Your partner or spouse
2. Your child
3. A co-worker or business partner
4. A stranger, someone who barely knows you
   

Now, I've thought about this a bit but never really did it. About five months ago, though, I saw the perfect example, with Paul Newman's passing. Read through that article - it's amazing. And look back at the list above.

1. Married 50 years in "one of the most successful marriages in Hollywood"
2. Newman's daughters described him as a devoted husband, a loving father, an adoring grandfather and a dedicated philanthropist.
3. Awards and kind words from co-workers and Hollywood in general, including an Oscar
   
4. Some 135,000 children have been able to go to summer camp for free because of Newman's Own
   

Any one of those would be a great accomplishment. All four, and more!, is absolutely amazing. For more on his entrepreneurial success, read here and this book, here.

So what would you like people to say about you? That you 'got by'? That you 'did okay'? Settling for getting by is aiming for mediocrity. And once you know where you're going, it's much easier to recognize the road signs. It's time to sit down and write out what you want to be known for, and start making it come true.

More on Personal Marketing...

So I was checking out President Obama's Inauguration Speech on YouTube, and noticed all the hate going back and forth in the comments. Right at the top was this:

moron, or momominnosh, same thing according to Websters

So, my curiosity piqued, I searched Google: nothing. I felt a little nerdy, looking this up, but continued. Nothing when I checked YourDictionary.com or Wikipedia either.

Then I realized what the person quoted was doing - marketing. He wanted to insult the guy, so he puts this up, knowing only a couple nerds are going to double-check him anyway. Momominnosh doesn't mean anything - the only links I found on Google were to this Momominnosh's posts. But since we (mostly) won't question it, the poster could create a connection in our minds of Momominnosh and moron. Who would question it?

So how many times a day does somebody say something that we don't check? How often does some false, misleading, or purposefully malicious thought get into our brain? I remember a lot of little details, and I really don't want 'another way to say moron is _____' in there. I'm glad I checked, as I now don't have that connection.

So how often does some false, misleading, or purposefully malicious thought get into our brain? What can we do about it? How can we go about putting some more positive ideas there?

Taking down the billboards that are the collection of beliefs in my head. I don't want to drive by them any more...

Using Personal Marketing

Lynn Brem posted a very interesting article on Get Rich Slowly, here. I commented, but think there's more to say.

The Questions
This is actually an area (advertising) we really should be looking at closely. Advertisers spend billions of dollars getting to know our brains, how they work, and how to manipulate them. Some areas of concern that every one of us should have are:

1. How much of an impact do 'they' have on us? Do hidden images of Pepsi make us thirsty?
2. What's most effective? When are we at our most suggestible?
3. What personal differences do I have? Will an ad that makes most people hungry make me sad?
4. How can I use this to influence myself?
   

I'm sure #1 has pages of websites already... #2 should have research out there - I'll look for it later. #3 will take individual research by each person. But #4 seems to have some very potent broad applications. People in the self-development arena have been using this for a while. Affirmations, visualization, journaling, and subliminal audio are common enough. But it seems like nothing's changed in the last 30-40 years. What has the latest advertising research shown, and how can we apply that to any aspect of our life?

Two Questions
Which, of course, is two questions. First, where can I find the latest research on advertising and psychology? I'm sure there's some out on the internet. But I also have a feeling that the advertisers would want to keep their 'secret weapons' well, secret. I'm already finding some things like this in Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions, in what Dan Ariely calls Behavioral Economics.

The second question is in the application. Take a look around you for a moment. What does your environment do to influence you? Marketers know - this kind of advertising for that kind of show. X word has been shown to elicit 23% more of a reaction than Y word. Positive response. Negative response... Now, look around again. What does the environment you set up set you up for? How could you improve on the 'advertising' you give yourself? You actually have a huge advantage over advertisers - they have to make something that appeals to the majority without upsetting a minority; you only need to impress you.

Some Personal Advertising my family and I have done in the past:

• Put a disgusting picture on the fridge to discourage snacks.
• A family Vision and Mission Statement, to put our goals in front of us daily.
• Affirmations and Visualizations
• Put up awards, for that 'Yes, I Can' moment
• No TV in the house, to take away that easy escape. "Books are more indicative of successful people."
  

I've also talked about morning rituals, to help transition to the next stage. Sit in the car for a moment and think about my intention - getting safely to point B. I get up, drink a glass of water, and try to get some yoga done before checking the stock market. Honor the transition, it's called. But again, I'm just convincing my mind that it should be successful at the task I'm giving it. Advertising.

But what could we do? Knowing ourselves, how could we make a targeted marketing campaign to one? Let's end with some suggestions, and hopefully some more in the comments section.

1. A short commercial, made by you, to you, about whatever you think you need to hear, that loads when you turn on your computer.
2. A journal, or at least a couple entries, detailing some achievement you want, written in the past, on how you got it and how it felt.
3. Does anybody have a theme song? I still run better when I think of the theme to Chariots of Fire.
   

What else?

What’s Your Path? – a Gamer’s Perspective on Personal Development

In Dungeons and Dragons, you build a character to represent you in the game world; think of a character in your favorite book, and now imagine that you make the decisions for him in an interactive story. Normally, these characters can attain up to level 20 – the ultimate in the character’s development. And there are online sites devoted to building these ‘people’ to be the best they can, over a range of 20 levels. You see, if you choose wrongly at lower levels, it can impede or block later decisions, and limit your character’s potential. So you start at 20, and ‘reverse engineer’ your character.

Which got me thinking… Why don’t I do this personally? If I looked at myself ‘fully developed’, what would I like to look like, and how would I have gotten there? It was amazing to think about, and I’d recommend everyone try it. Start thinking like this:
• Describe your ideal self. Rich? In shape? Family? Job? No job? Where do you live?
• What skills would you need to have to get there?
• What experiences?
• What situations would you have had to get that experience?
• What things do you have? How did you get them?

When you’re done, you should have a pretty full sheet. I’d suggest separate paths for job/money, skills/job, situations/experiences, and people encountered or things. Work out a rough timeline of either cause and effect, or ‘by the time I’m 30 I will have…’ Put it in chronological order, and reverse engineer your path. Look at the timeframe – is it realistic? What do you have to achieve first? What do you have to do next? What do you have to be doing RIGHT NOW?

For example, once you’ve decided you want to own your own restaurant (for example), what do you have to do? You’ll need lots of experience as a manager, money to buy in, and a great location & menu. If you see your two children helping in the restaurant, it’s time to start thinking about that too. So get a job in management, or as a host, waiter, or even busboy to get started. Build up your experience and responsibility, and save all you can. Learn systems, and play out in your head when and how you will start your restaurant. Will you buy it from your boss? Start your own from scratch? Will a partner bring the opportunity to you?

The more you decide ahead of time, the more likely it will all come true. Once you know what you need, you’ll see every event in terms of your needs, and respond with your needs and plans in mind. If you envision living in a tropical climate, you’ll start looking for jobs there, talking to people who go there, and paying attention to possibilities to get there. Your friends and acquaintances will have heard what you want, and every time that place comes up, they’ll think of you.

You might not end up exactly where you want, but you’ll be a lot closer than if you don’t know. As Yogi Berra famously said, “If you don’t know where you’re going, you’ll wind up somewhere else.”

Vilfredo Pareto, and the Law of the Vital Few

Vilfredo Pareto was an Italian economist living in the early part of the 20th century. He made the first observation that has come to be known as the Pareto Principle, the 80 / 20 rule, or the Law of the Vital Few. In its earliest form, it said, “You know, 80% of the land in Italy belongs to 20% of the people.”

Now it has been applied to many areas, and is considered a universal economic principle:
1. 20% of customers account for 80% of sales volume
2. 20% of customers account for 80% of profits (not necessarily the same customers!)
3. 20% of the people own 80% of the wealth
4. 20% of cars produce 80% of the pollution
5. 20% of sales campaigns produce 80% of the results
6. 20% of errors produce 80% of complaints
7. 20% of your work produces 80% of your results

The second to last point is interesting if you work in sales, service, or manufacturing – and that’s most of us, isn’t it? It means that if you can determine which small part of your job causes most of the problems, you can streamline yourself greatly with a minimal amount of effort. By fixing 1/5 of your “challenges”, you fix 4/5 of your losses. Now that’s leveraging your time! And, once you’re there, it means there’s not much point to working on the other 80%.

And the last one is the big one. As we’ve just started a new year, you’re probably looking at several areas you plan to improve. You have resolutions and goals that you’d like to meet in the coming year. But what if you could pare down your goals to a few steps most likely to get you where you want to be?

80/20 and You
Let’s start with a pretty easy application – your To Do list. Take it out, and look it over and pick out the 1 in 5 things that will give you the biggest returns. Focus on those, and forget the rest. I know this seems extreme, but it works. Once you have your top 20% done, you can re-work your list and get into the next part, or maybe new things will come to the top of your list.

Keep in mind this is a rule of thumb. It won’t always work out – maybe you have eight things on your To Do list. Or you see that 40% of you work creates most of your productivity. You will have to determine how it fits in your life. Here is an example on how to apply it to your finances. The principle is critical though: a minority of your efforts create most of your results. This demonstrates leverage and inverse leverage – you don’t want to spend half your time getting 10% results!

So make this a core philosophy, and streamline your life. A little efficiency at the right place can make a huge difference!

New Year’s Resolution – To Be Debt-Free in a Year

New Years is always a time of introspection and resolutions. I’m currently snowed in with my family, thinking about the last 12 months, and the next 12. It’s been quite a year, but I want to focus forward. It’s been said that the best way to predict the future is to create it! How do we do that? By following our goals and resolutions. It’s a good idea to make personal, social, health, and financial resolutions, but I’m going to focus on the financial.

With a new child, my main intention is to create a great environment for him to grow up in. At first, I thought I meant enough toys and friends, room to play, and a clean, safe place to live. The more I think about it though, the more it comes to mean getting my finances together so I have lots of stress-free time to spend with him.

I resolve to create financial freedom for my family.

Hmmm. This resolution fails on several levels. First and foremost, a resolution must be inspiring, achievable, and measurable. This is certainly inspiring, and makes me want to get out of debt, but what is financial freedom, and how do I measure it? On what time scale is it achievable? So, looking at that, and the mention of debt makes it more clear what I’m aiming for.

I resolve to be free of credit card debt by the end of the year.

Now, let’s put it to the test. It is inspiring, because the feeling of not having to deal with debts, credit card bills, and phone calls when I’m late is a really great feeling. I can really latch onto that feeling to help keep me going when I start to lose focus. Is it achievable? It can be, if I follow through and stick to the program. And that’s why it has to be inspiring – to keep me on the program through the ups and downs.

Now, is it measurable? Certainly. Let’s say I have $10,000 of debt – that’s very measurable. I have to pay off $10,000 this year. But to keep on the program, we have to have a program. So we’ll break it down to $5,000 in six months, or $850 a month. Now we take those monthly goals, and put them on the calendar.

Debt, January 31^st: $9,150

Debt, February 1^st: $8,300 all the way to

Debt, December 31^st: $0

The Way to Accountability

Now I know how to check on myself. Every month, before I turn the calendar, I can look at my goal and see how I’m doing. I will have monthly reminders, and my inspiration of a debt-free life to keep me going. The calendar creates accountability, and by putting it up, and telling my family about it, I create more accountability.

This is the last step – accountability. What happens if I fall off a little? Will someone call me on it, or do I just ignore it? Do that, and it will be easier to forget next time, and soon I’ll be right where I started next December.

But by following my five parts of a good goal, I can make it. Of course, this isn’t a replacement for hard work, it’s a way to direct my hard work. I just need to keep in mind:

1. Inspiring
2. Achievable
3. Measurable
4. Steps on my Calendar
5. Accountability

What’s Your Why? The Importance of Finding Meaning in Your Life

This is my first post, and first put up at http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2008/12/28/whats-your-why-the-importance-of-finding-meaning-in-your-life/

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You’ve heard the phrase, “A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.” I’ve often wondered about that — should we really settle for half the return just to have a sure thing right now? It could be argued, and convincingly, that our love of immediate gratification is why so many people have so much debt now.

Of course, what are those “two birds”, so elusive off in the bush compared to something concrete in your hand now? How do you know you’ll get them? In other words, as you’re looking at that new LCD HDTV, what is competing for your money in your head? Without a solid goal, a vision of the future, there is no reason not to buy that latest toy with your credit card. What else are you going to use the money for?

The power of Why
This is why each of us needs a convincing ‘Why’. We need to have a vision of the future so compelling that we can see it even more clearly than the new toys in front of us.

My Why is passive income that can support travel. My mantra is: “Financial Freedom is the ability to travel for a year and come back in a better financial situation than when I left.” That means I could travel another year and implies repeatability. It conjures visions of African safaris, Thai beaches, SCUBA diving, and hiking around the UK hand-in-hand with my family.

This knowledge helps to guide my financial choices. I assume that I could earn 12% on invested money. This means that every $100 I invest could bring $12 a year, or $1 a month. When I look at a $700 TV set, I think, “That could be $7 a month for the rest of my life.” I repeat my mantra — remember my Why — and I don’t buy.

Developing a Why
What’s your Why? What compels you to get up and go to work each day, to do things you don’t want to, and to put up with your boss? Everyone needs some motivation to keep on track, and it has to be a strong image. What is yours?

If you can’t close your eyes and see your Why in detail, now is a good time to get clarity. Ask yourself the following questions:

• Where have you been happiest?
• What were you doing?
• When you close your eyes and picture yourself incredibly happy, what do you see?
• What makes you forget yourself for hours on end?
• When do you feel best about yourself and your surroundings?
• What do you talk about excitedly?

Desires can be subtle. Maybe you have fond memories of staying somewhere. But it might actually be the time with friends that made the place special. What aspect really touches you?

Find some quiet time to get clear on what moves you, and then visualize it until you can see this compelling future as clearly as your car. You’ll know this is working when you look at something you thought you needed and instead see your Why.

The next step
This is a demanding, complicated world. It takes a lot of work to get good at something, or to get something you really want. Dave Ramsey says, “Live like no one else, so later you can live like no one else!” Why work hard when you could just watch TV? Why save for some undetermined future when you could watch it on a bigger TV?

Most successful people have spent thousands of hours perfecting what they do. They have a vision of the future and their place in it. Otherwise they wouldn’t have bothered with all the work it took to get there. Yet most successful people would tell you that they loved the process — the challenge, the passion, the fun! They’ve found a vision of the future that compels and excites them, and that’s the difference. That’s why they are where they are.

In fact, that’s why we all are where we are — our previous beliefs and vision of the future. Do what you’ve always done, and you’ll have what you’ve always had. Create a vision that moves you to do things you’ve never done before, and you’ll find yourself in new, wonderful places. Once you have a Why, no matter how unlikely, the How becomes a lot easier and more enjoyable.

What’s your Why? What do you visualize in the morning to get yourself going? What motivates you to do everything you do?

Photo by René Ehrhardt, who has many amazing images on Flickr.