Riding an Elephant

Riding an elephant was never something high on my personal goals list.  To honest, it wouldn’t have featured at all – except for my beloved!  That’s right, Kathy shared one night that she’s always wanted to ride an elephant in a tropical forest.  So guess what we did last month?

Here’s a photo to prove it!

One of my greatest pleasures in life is helping people unlock their heart’s desires and make a way to achieve them.  This was highlighted to me recently by a close friend who sent me a very encouraging text.  In that message he said “you release others into their dreams and destiny.”  Thanks Jeremy!  And I love doing it.

That’s essentially what the Financial Goals process is all about; tapping in to what’s on the inside and building a pathway to be able to enjoy it.

Often people I work with struggle to get connected to the things they truly desire – they ask me “how do I find my dreams?”  Some struggle with how to get there – that’s simply a matter of following the Wisemoney models outlined in my seminar and books.  But one of the biggest struggles I see is –

how do I get enough commitment to see the process through to completion?

Today I would like to share three simple keys that may help you with this process, and I’ve taken these keys from my own personal journey to ride an elephant.

1.  Create a sense of Adventure.

In our family we have established a value of “adventure”.  It means we talk about doing things that take us on an adventure, and by that we mean something that takes us outside of our comfort zone.  We’ve done this many times and have found that it always makes us extremely excited about our goals.

So what can you do to try and implement this into your family goals?

(i) You may start by reading blogs or watching videos of other peoples’ adventures.  (You’d be amazed what people will post on Youtube!)  The point of this is to find what others have done that might excite you.

(ii) Check your “Bucket List” for something you haven’t ticked off yet.  Surely there’s something you’ve always wanted to do but have never made space for?

(iii) Ask your friends what your adventurous interests are and discuss ideas over a meal or a few drinks.  For my 30th birthday a friend and I went to the NZ Rally Driving School.  Fun!

2.  Set goals as a Team.

We do things together because we’ve learned that when we are all on board there is way more excitement and way more commitment to the journey of getting there.  Even though our kids did not come to Thailand with us recently they were totally on board with our plans because they could see how much we were excited about it.  And I have learned (through mistake) that there is massive power in being in agreement with your spouse.  That means set goals that you are both excited about and then you can hold each other accountable to the savings process, (especially if it includes a “cutting expenses process”!)

What can you do to begin this?

We start this process by having a fun discussion over a meal.  We love food and so sitting down to an amazing meal around the dinner table is a great way to open up discussion and get the juices flowing.  The ‘family dinner table discussion’ is a lost art but is a very effective tool to get goals going.  Try it.

3.  Take the first step by setting up a savings plan.

Financial Goals come by accumulating the money necessary to achieve them.  I do not support the idea of borrowing money to achieve your goals, this is ludicrous and will cause fatal financial mindsets.  In the Becoming Money Wise book I teach the simple process of working out how much to save each week and how long it will take to reach your goal.  And the good news is you do not have to be clever to work out the numbers – lucky for me because I’m not that clever!

Saving for something has lost the attraction it used to have when our Grandparents were kids, but it is a simple and powerful principle that will put you back in control of your money and have you on track to be more successful in the future.  I have seen this work incredibly well in my family and now my kids are experts.  And those friends of ours who have watched what we do and asked “how?” are now also enjoying the fruits of their savings.

In conclusion, think outside the box when developing goals.  the craziest goal may be the motivating one.  But once you’ve had success in one area you’ll learn to apply the process to other, more moderate goals.