It’s going to sound almost too simple and you might even roll your eyes at me, but if you want to change your life today then you just need to START!! Money will only do what you tell it to do; your career will only be what you make of it; your lunch will only appear when you decide if you want a sandwich or pizza; and your life will only get more joyful when you decide it’s time for a change. It’s all about the decisions you make!
“You don’t have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great.” – Zig Ziglar
Why is it so dang hard to just START?!
The act of “starting” is the hardest thing for most people. To start requires passion, courage, and not being afraid to fail. One of my first jobs was working as a florist assistant. When he decided that I could start learning his designs he brought me into the prep room and said, “Duplicate this arrangement.” I had in front of me a pot with an empty green Styrofoam block. All the flowers I needed were in buckets next to me. All the accessories and tools needed were on the table in front of me. There was no guesswork because I had everything I needed. So, what do you think happened?
I’d like to say that I started and completed this arrangement in no time at all. That it was beautiful, dare I say more than his! Nope. I just stood there holding a single stem over the empty green Styrofoam block long enough for him to yell, “Just put the #$%!@ flower in! Decide!” The tone of his voice shook me and I just figured that it was because he was from New York and I was from a rural country town, but at that moment I was more dumbfounded as to why I wasn’t starting. It’s like the fear of starting was so strong that it paralyzed me. Why was I so afraid to start? I didn’t want to fail, and the fear of failing was a bigger emotion than the courage to succeed.
“Regardless of your age or station in life, it all comes down to one simple truth: you just have to start.” ― Jon Acuff, Start: Punch Fear in the Face, Escape Average and Do Work That Matters
Avoid going to the starting line and you will always fail the race.
Don’t be afraid to START, especially when it comes to your finances. Many people love to play Russian Roulette with their money plan and hope beyond hope that everything will just miraculously be okay. That’s like holding a flower above an empty pot hoping that somehow a floral arrangement will just appear. HA! Well, that just ain’t gonna happen.
“Today is a new day. You will get out of it just what you put into it…If you have made mistakes, even serious mistakes, there is always another chance for you. And supposing you have tried and failed again and again, you may have a fresh start any moment you choose, for this thing that we call failure is not the falling down, but the staying down.” – Mary Pickford
You already know where you want to be and what your version of success is. You know what your financial dreams and goals are, and you know it’s going to take some work. So…meet that challenge head on! You were given this dream for a reason, go get it!
Success can only be possible when you start!
If you’re at a point where you know where you want to be, but you honestly don’t know how to start, seek someone out! That’s also STARTING! That’s why financial coaches (and all coaches, really) exist. We have taken the road you’re on and we are very familiar with the start AND finish lines. We will give you all the “flowers, tools, and accessories” you need to START and the encouragement you need to create an amazing financial arrangement that will stay alive and growing all the way to retirement.
START today! One small step will snowball into many, and once you get that momentum going, HUGE results will follow. It’s all about the small steps!
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