Do You Know Where Your finish Line is? What defines success for you?
We all had a starting line. In our career-focused society, our graduation from education initiated our life into the working world. For some, this starting line is right after high school. For others it was after a 4-year college, and still others after multiple MDs, PhDs, MPH, ect. It is a very clear mark in time where we could celebrate and say that "I finally made it"! But wait, what is the goal of this next chapter of life? After all that planning around a starting point, I had never bothered to give two thoughts to my finish line?
The undertone to the corporate world is that success is defined by how high up the corporate ladder one climbs and how much one makes. So the more money you have, or appear to have, the more successful you are, right? If the goal of a job is to make money, then what is the goal of the money? Is it to survive? Is it to have fun? Is it to feel secure? I challenge you to think of money as a means to create a simple life. More money may not be the goal? However, we can’t have a clear idea of how much money we need in order to provide us with a happy life, until we redefine what we need to be truly happy. What is our corporate finish line?
My finish line started to take shape when I realized the race I was running was not fulfilling my happiness. My 25-year sales career was celebrated with annual achievement awards, sales trips, and big promotions. I am great at sales and love the job, but I always was left thinking about how unimportant my work felt. Because the environment is important to me, I was bothered that the items and services I sold were harming the earth, or at least they were not helping it. I felt that I would rather be out saving the oceans. I looked up at my career advancement goals and I no longer wanted that path. However society never defined a separate goal other than corporate advancement and more money. What is my goal? What makes me happy?
Things changed for me when I started reading about the FIRE path (financial independence, retire early). This is a point in your life where the money you have saved, and other investments you have made, can provide for your annual spend. I realized that the savings I had worked so hard to build had put me in a position quit my job. Now don’t get me wrong, making more money never hurts and I love creating success in business, but now I could take a risk and accept a job saving the oceans, or start my own small business. I did not have to depend on a paycheck to get me the things I needed for my simple life. HA! I am at my “finish line”.
As I mentioned before, the road to FIRE is a marathon and this blog focuses on the personal budget that helps people along their financial path. Just a marathon is not every runner’s goal, so to FIRE is not every savers’ goal. But having an authentic pulse on what makes you happy and setting up your finances to properly fund that lifestyle, is the true measure of success.
To summarize this post: Have a heart-to-heart with yourself and define your personal success and happiness.
Tips: If you have ever thought “ugh it’s Monday” or“ gosh, I need a vacation”, then please don’t waste time lying to yourself that success is climbing the corporate ladder. Define your finish line!
Reading tips: “The Psychology of Money” by Morgan Housel
Do you need a jump start on your budget: A Money Coach can help you align your money to what makes you happy and provide the gentle support and accountability. Sign up for a “Dream it Budget Design Workshop with The Free Sparrow. In the Dream it session we will go into detail on all your current goals: getting out of debt, cash flow each month, budgeting with a partner, and savings goals. Having these goals in mind we suggest the best budget plan, and help you build this budget, to reach your success.
Photo by Baylee Gramling on Unsplash
