Success is a Decision

There can be no doubt that making it to the upper echelon of income is a test of will power. The exceptions are the lucky ones who inherited wealth or found a bonanza of ore or oil on their property. If you are not one of the latter classes, then the climb up the ladder is not easy. Not only do you have to demonstrate your resourcefulness, but also you must make certain sacrifices
and fore go those nagging little 'wants' that haunt everybody. It is not easy to use your money for investments instead of being self-indulgent.

This great land offers everybody the opportunity to step up to the plate and achieve personal wealth. For a starter, you must set a goal. Your goal can be anything from modest to extravagant, but fulfilling that goal is personally rewarding. All it takes is effort and a willingness to stay focused on your goal.

But alas, it is like swimming uphill against the current and few make it to their Promised Land. There are numerous distractions along the way. This list is not complete, but you will understand why most people are living week to week with no real advantage in financial matters.

My List of Life's Sidetracks:

1.) Quitting School: Going through puberty is tough on young people. Sometimes they make the decision to start playing house and lose their focus on school. While others do not see the value of school and refuse to work at it, so they become dropouts.

2.) Laziness: A person for unknown reasons will put off doing what he/she ought to do because other interest distracts the person. We all know these people. They will not help around the house unless forced to, refuse to clean up their rooms, and refuse to do homework, or just do not care or have interest in those things that propel us to success.

3.) Weak Willed: No, not the physically weak, but weak willed persons who have to spend every penny they make to try and comfort themselves and their ego. They may be hard workers, but are perpetually in debt because they have to have that new car, or cater to whatever fancies their interest at the time. They just cannot resist spending their hard-earned resources for frivolity.

4.) Political Trap: Think about it, a lot of the bad choices people make are guided by politics. To win votes, politicians like to bribe those who are not committed achievers with goodies for their vote and support. These politicians do not want their chosen targets to climb up the ladder of success. The politicians know that if people succeed, that these people will no longer need the minimum housing, welfare, food stamps, and the rest of the goodies that they provide. When people no longer need those paltry handouts, they no longer have to dance to the politicians tune. Escaping the government sponsored poverty trap is even harder than never accepting the help in the first place. Once a person falls into the welfare rut, it is very hard to climb out of it.

There will always be those individuals who will never muster up the courage to break out of their situations. But for everybody else, there is hope. But success has many traps for the unwary. One such trap to avoid is the after work bar trap. A person that goes from work to the bar everyday at 'beer-thirty' has inadvertently just sprung one of the many traps that can delay success or possibly end the quest for success. Then, there is the person who just has to have that gadget, boat, or new car. Think about this. If he/she would have just saved some of that money and used it to buy a few shares of quality stock every month, or invest monthly in a mutual fund, they would be taking those first steps to acquiring wealth. Positive results with those savings would encourage even more savings. It is very satisfying to watch your wealth grow.

Until a person makes that conscious decision to help his situation, things will not improve. No situation will get better unless a person makes the decision to improve it. There are always those potholes in the road, and the strong overcome them while the weaker ones give up. Everybody has to live with whatever decisions he or she makes. Be wary of the Politicians trap. It is there only to ensnare a person for political purposes and not to help anyone succeed.

Remember, the amount of personal wealth we accumulate over our lifetime is in our hands. But it takes that inner strength and a special commitment to overcome the obstacles to accumulating wealth. One more point, the amount of wealth we strive for depends on the individual. Not everyone has the same goal, but achieving ones personal goal makes a person successful. Reaching that personal goal says to everybody that you have fought those obstacles and won the fight. You are a winner!

Cheers,

-Robert-