More on money...

How much closer would you feel to the life of your dreams if you had:

1. enough savings to cover your living expenses for a year in case you were unable to work.

2. you had no debt at all of any kind.

3 if you owned your home and your car free and clear.

4. a will plus all the other "end of life" documents so that if you become critically ill or when you die, your family and friends will find everything in order and will know what to do.

5. a balanced checkbook every month.

6. all your bills paid on time.

7. adequate insurance on your house, car and your life (so that anyone who depends on you financially would have replacement income). Disability insurance if you work in an occupation where you would be unable to continue to work if you were disabled.

8. a retirement plan you understood and that you knew was fully funded so that you could do as you pleased when you retired.

9. an investment plan that you understood and that met your needs and wants.

10. the ability to make all the above happen without winning the lottery or some other "pie in the sky" way.

What are you saying to yourself right now? Maybe you're like a lot of other people and are saying that none of those 10 things are possible in your current situation. Well, what's really true is that you and a lot of other people don't even like to think about those things, let alone try to make them happen. My suggestion is to think about those things in terms of how much less stress you would have on a daily basis if you had accomplished all those things AND how many opportunities for creating the life of your dreams you would have as well. Maybe then you would be motivated to get started on making them happen. Taking small steps every day toward these goals will eventually get you there. There are an amazing number of books out in the world that will give you the information to get there. Suze Orman has written a lot of them and there are plenty of others. My advice? Get going!!!

Money

I'm always amazed when I talk with the people I'm coaching about their goals, how many of them are struggling with money issues. The sad thing is that all of them are smart, capable, and seemingly well-balanced. However, they don't know the basics of money and their finances are in disarray. I've come to believe - based on my own experience and what other people tell me - that money holds so many emotional aspects for us that we avoid dealing with it. The basics of personal finance are actually pretty simple, but our emotional baggage keeps us from doing what we need to do.

Doing the things we need to do with our finances is vital to having the life of our dreams. One would think that that fact is obvious since if we're living in poverty we don't have the resources to develop the life of our dreams. But many of us have our heads in the sand and then wonder why we're not moving forward.

Truth

The truth is we don't tell ourselves the truth on a consistent basis. When we don't, our lives go off in a direction we really don't like. One of the most amazing things we can do is stop for a few minutes every day, get quiet and tell ourselves the truth.

How do I really feel? What's really going on in my life? What do I really want? Who am I blaming for not having what I really want? What could I do differently that would get me where I want to go?

The importance of this daily practice comes into clear focus when I remind myself that my time on the earth is short. The odds are that I won't die today or even tomorrow. But I could. And the day will come when I do. Telling myself the truth is vital for not wasting what time I have left.