What Is Your Single Biggest Challenge?

@ Pedro - Thank you, Pedro. I hope to offer an investment strategy course in the next couple of years to solve your first challenge, and I expect to add "recommended reading" to the free resources section of the site sometime in November so stay tuned.

As always, I appreciate your participation in this community. Thanks.

@Katie - Thanks for your input Katie.

What I'm hearing are two issues intertwined - not having an investment strategy and not having a plan for how to build wealth. Both of these issues feed into the sense of being overwhelmed by not knowing right from wrong since you have no context for the decisions you are making. When you have an investment strategy and wealth plan you know what you are doing and why. Each step in the process is clear and you always know your next step in your plan. You also understand what you are investing in and why.

Thanks again for your input, and I hope these suggestions point you in the right direction. Eventually, your questions will be answered in steps 3-4 (wealth building principles and personal wealth plan) and step 6 (advanced investing for normal people) of my 7 Steps to 7 Figures courses, but those particular steps won't be available until some time in the future. I expect to publish step 1 this winter.

@Steve - Thank you for your insightful comments.

It is clear from what you wrote that you are walking the talk and living the journey. Your recognition of the work involved, balancing commitments, and shifting investment choices shows great insight into the "real" experience of building wealth as distinguished from what all the hype artists and marketers talk about.

I enjoyed your feedback and appreciate your participation in this community. What you are sharing will benefit many readers.

Thanks.

@Mulyungi - If you make "a lot of money" as you claim but little ends up in savings and investment then the problem is you are more committed to current lifestyle and spending than attaining financial freedom. Again, as stated in previous comments in this thread, "judge by results: often harsh, always fair." Your results prove your commitment - end of story. Your first step is to shift your commitment so your money flow reflects your stated goals. This doesn't require discipline or budgets like most financial advisers claim - none of that works. It simply requires you to shift your commitment and your results will automatically and permanently mirror that shift.

Hope that helps...

@April - Thank you for your interest...

I wish I could offer it now because several people have inquired. Alas, it won't be offered until sometime in December for a 3 month group coaching class starting in late January.

I hope you will join us.

@Jerry - Great input Jerry!

I couldn't agree more. True wealth is about a lot more than money, and freedom is more than just financial. I have published several articles in recent months here on these topics and will continue to emphasize these ideas in the future.

Thank you for contributing this important point to the discussion...

@Steve Pace - Thanks for your question. I believe it begs the much more relevant question "What is your wealth plan and how does that 10K fit into it?" You have to be able to answer that question in order to answer the question you provided.

For example, if your plan for achieving wealth was built around owning 10 rental properties free and clear then your question wouldn't exist. You would know exactly what to do. If your plan for financial freedom was built around a dividend paying stock portfolio then you would know exactly what to do with the money once again. The fact that the question exists at all implies your next step for financial freedom (Step 4 in my Seven Steps To Seven Figures curriculum) is to design your wealth plan.

I hope that refocusing the question provides you with a clear direction to finding the answer. Thanks for your input.

@Gaynor - Yes, you are throwing up your own road blocks. It is a very common symptom of not being truly committed to building wealth and succeeding financially. You are at the starting point of the journey and your results prove it - "judge by results... often harsh, always fair".

You know what you are committed to by examining the results in your life. You are producing results - everyone does. Just look at your results and you will know your commitment. When you commit to building wealth and succeeding financially the obstacles will not seem so formidable. They will still exist but you will find ways to overcome them.

Until you successfully commit they will continue to stop you dead in your tracks. Step one of Seven Steps to Seven Figures will be your answer.

@ April - I appreciate your candidness...

The truth is we are all our own biggest challenge - me included. To paraphrase Pogo, we have met the enemy to our freedom and he is us. On the brighter side, however, you are also your biggest asset. In other words, you are a two sided coin where both aspects of this reality are equally valid. These facts will never change no matter where you are in the process of your financial and personal freedom - you will always be your biggest enemy and your biggest asset.

Learning to manage that conundrum is why developing your wealth is one of the most powerful paths to personal growth that I know of. If you want to grow your wealth you must grow yourself first. Your money is a reflection of your financial intelligence and personal development. In fact, I will go so far as to say the growth that occurs on the path to financial freedom has been worth more to me than the money... although the money is nice also (-:. I'm a completely different person today from where I started this journey.

With that said, not knowing where to start is a completely different issue. The correct starting point for financial freedom has nothing to do with fear or any other issues you raised because those issues will always exist as long as accepting risk is associated with investing and financial progress. It is an inherent part of the game that never changes. You just learn to live with it and act despite the fear and challenges.

Surprisingly, the correct starting point has absolutely nothing to do with money or finance and everything to do with your commitment to achieving financial freedom. You must make it a priority in your life so that it rises above other issues battling for your time and money (resources) or you will never achieve it. Commitment is the correct first step (starting point) to wealth. When you get commitment right everything else follows naturally. If you don't get it right you will never succeed. It is just that simple and black-and-white clear.

I have a little saying I share with my coaching clients that a guy named Alan Jacques shared with me: if you want to know how long it takes anyone to achieve anything just look at how much of their resources (time and money) they dedicate to the process. You know your commitment to financial freedom by examining your dedication of resources. For most people the answer is "very little" goes to financial freedom and most goes to current lifestyle. That is why they aren't financially free, why current lifestyle absorbs most resources, and why commitment is the necessary starting point.

I will be offering a group coaching program this fall/winter that will walk you step-by-step through this essential starting point so pay attention to this newsletter/blog posts for an announcement. It is Step One of my Seven Steps To Seven Figures group coaching program that I will building out over the next several years. If you would like to be a part of that first class where I will teach it personally then just let me know.

Thank you for taking the time to provide input and share your challenges. I hope this helps.

@Gaynor - One of the essential elements to business success is finding an unsatisfied need and filling it. Soap and PDF novels don't qualify as an unsatisfied need and that is why they are not financially viable. For example, notice what this post is about... finding people's unsatisfied needs within my niche area of expertise - investment strategy and wealth building. I'm walking the talk by writing this post. I want to understand what challenges people are facing in their quest for financial success that current services available aren't satisfying. My job as an educator is to write things that help people satisfy those unmet needs. My job is not to write what is interesting to me because that serves nobody except me. In other words, refocus your efforts on finding out what people want and then help them get it - that is how you find a financially viable business idea.

Hope that helps...

@Tris Wow!!!!

You made my day to know that my writings had that kind of influence. That is why I do this, but I rarely hear back from anyone. To see your positive results directly influenced by my work when we have never even spoken gives my a "warm-fuzzy" to know I've had a positive impact. Thank you, thank you!

The challenge you share of facing your fear is a natural result of taking risk. One aspect of investment is that it is essentially the acceptance of risk into an unknowable future. Every conscious person who fully understands this will experience it as fear - me included. It just shows that you are aware of the potential impact of your decisions. Use the fear wisely and it will fuel you to improve your risk management... something I will writing about more in the future.

Your choices to live frugally and expand into real estate have been wise and are apparently producing the results desired. Keep up the great work!

Thank you again for the heart-warming feedback. Most people don't realize this but publishing a blog can be an isolated, one-sided process where I try to put out quality info but little comes back in the way of knowing the impact. To hear that my writings have made a difference in your life means everything.

Thanks!

@Carmen - Thank you for your input. I'm hearing several issues so let's separate them out...

1: The first issue I get from your message is the challenge of successfully converting your ability at earning income into an asset base sufficient to consider yourself financially free. This issue is shared by many. We begin our careers believing a high income is the goal only to realize there is an entirely different level of knowledge required to convert the income into freedom instead of just more/better/different lifestyle. I will make sure to write more about this in the future.

2: The second challenge I hear is the gross inadequacy of most financial planning services. Again, this is shared by many. The sad truth is those companies you refer to are in the asset gathering and sales business - they sell used investment assets - and your needs are more about educational support. I have written extensively on this issue throughout this site including Financial Coaching vs. Financial Advice and How To Find Financial Advice You Can Trust. Make sure to look at the linked articles at the end of each of these articles to find other educational content related to this issue. I don't want to link to all of them in this reply but there is more of interest related to this issue in those links.

3: Finally, there is the issue of how much money is enough to be financially free. I cover that completely in the ebook How Much Money Do I Need To Retire?

At the risk of sounding self-serving you are probably a prospect for my financial coaching services. Your profile and needs perfectly fit.

Thanks for your input and I hope the articles and resources referenced help.

@Todd Tresidder:

Hi Todd... thanks for the quick response. Thanks for targetted listening & dead on response to our needs. I agree we are a good fit for your financial coaching services. That is why I signed on to your news letter. We are moving this month, but I hope to contact you after my move. Take care, and thank you, I really enjoy your upbeat, direct approach, and I look forward to working with you in the future!

@ Carmen - You are welcome. I appreciate your input and good luck with your move.

@Sebastian - Thanks for sharing your thoughts - broken English and all - because your message comes through loud and clear. In order to take action you must believe that you can actually succeed and your actions will produce meaningful results. It is a hurdle everyone must overcome to shift focus toward the delayed gratification of savings and investments. You have to believe it will actually work.

Everyone is welcome to please add on to this thought if there are more subtleties or angles you would like to develop...

@Martha - Your story is shared by many... a reliable way to invest that controls risk/drawdowns and compounds growth faster than inflation. I have a simple solution that I have been teaching my coaching clients for years and will be teaching in Step 6 of my Seven Steps to Seven Figures series so please stay tuned. I hope to publish that step in the course sometime in 2011. Thanks for your input!

If others are interested in this then please let me know and maybe I will accelerate getting the course done based on the interest level...