Are You
Mortgaging Your Dream?
by Cathy Goodwin
- Q: "I am ready to move to a new life."
- A: "So what's stopping you? "
- Q: "The mortgage. Payments on furniture and cars. Clothes for us, and for
the kids." AnnS"
Before you think, "Oh no -- not another coach who asks, 'Do you
really need a lot of money?'" let me assure you: I believe you have to find your
own comfort level. Some people move easily from a palace to a hut. Others feel
deprived when their income falls below three hundred thousand dollars a year or
when their checking account falls below five figures. If you feel anxious and
needy, you will have trouble moving forward.
At the same time, every monthly obligation can become a source
of stress. I don't remember where I read this story: A senior physician,
addressing new medical students was asked, "How can we avoid the stressful
lifestyle -- the early heart attacks, addictions and strokes?"
The older doctor answered simply, "Don't buy a big house."
What he meant was, "Don't stretch your spending to the limit."
When you live below your means, you can build your Nest Egg for Freedom. Here
are three principles to keep in mind.
1. When you agree to make payments, your new possession becomes
a member of the family. You gain satisfaction -- but you also limit your future
options. I know people who insist a dog or cat is too much responsibility, while
they blithely sign on the dotted line for jeeps, pick-ups, boats and custom
furniture.
2. When you enjoy your career and your life, you usually spend
less. Many of my friends and neighbors have embarked on second careers as
artists or writers. And many of them stopped their cable television service.
They are too busy living their dreams to watch shadowy figures on a screen. And
when you're feeling happy and fulfilled, there's no need to fill the empty
places with trips to the mall.
3. Spending "for the children?" Every career coach meets midlife
professionals who say, "I had to choose this path to please my parents. After
all, they sacrificed for my future. Now I want to do something for me!"
Your children need self-reliance, confidence, flexibility and a
sense of humor. Successful clients say their parents helped most by setting an
example of a purposeful life, and respecting dreams that might be different from
their own.
Bottom Line: Career freedom comes when you move from, "Can I
afford this purchase?" to, "Is this purchase worth what it really costs --
future options, choices, staying in a life I no longer want?"
Sometimes the answer is "yes." Other times, you can truthfully
say "no" -- and you find yourself moving to your dreams, faster and more easily
than you believed possible.
Cathy Goodwin, Ph.D., is a published author, speaker, and
career/business consultant. She coaches midlife professionals who want to win
the First Inning of their Second Career. Download a Fr*e Report: Why most career
change fails (and how you can write your own success story).
http://www.cathygoodwin.com/subscribe.html
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