The dream of every working Professional is to end up in a better place than their parents. This better place for most people is the place of independence, self-sufficiency, and fulfillment. But while this may be the dream of many people, converting this dream into reality is a challenge for the majority. Research shows that 8 out of 10 people will not actualize this dream and a handful of them will end up in a worse place than their parents. Why do many people have financial freedom dreams but cannot achieve it? I explained the reason in part 1 of this article- ” How to Know You Wouldn’t End Up Dependent like Your Parents”. In this article I will be showing you how to achieve your financial freedom goal and what you must do to end up in a better place than your parents. I will also be showing how to change direction if you are already on the wrong path.
So, what must you do to end up in a better place than your parents?
The answer is simple.
To end up in a better place than your parents you must do two things. First you must find the example of a person that ended up in a better place than your parents. Someone you want to pattern your life after. Second, you must identify the actions that this person took that made them achieve their financial freedom goals. And then you must compare these actions with the actions that you are currently taking. To accomplish these two goals, you need to do what I call the Perfect Good Example Assessment and the Action Resemblance assessment. Let’s do these assessments together.
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The perfect good example assessment
There are two kinds of examples you must see and learn from to achieve financial freedom. The first is the perfect Bad example-that is the example of how Not to achieve financial freedom. And the second is the perfect good example-that is the example of how to achieve financial freedom without fail. The only way to see these examples is to find someone close to you that failed to achieve financial freedom after a prosperous career. And another person who achieved financial freedom before retirement. Seeing these two examples gives you a clear picture of what to do and what not to do to achieve financial freedom.
The challenge is while we have countless perfect bad examples, it is hard to find a perfect good example. 80% of people have never seen one and the majority are living their lives based on lessons learned from their perfect bad example-The closest of which is their parents. Most people have watched their parents descend from a one-time successful career into a deplorable retirement life.
A condition known as “The Rich Dad, Poor Dad, The Same Dad Syndrome” -The same dad becoming Rich and then becoming Poor in one lifetime. This means that chances are high that most of the investment decisions you have taken up until now have been driven by your perfect bad example, or by people who are trying to figure it out just like you. Only 20% of people have seen a person close to them that has successfully transitioned from a great career to an even greater retirement life. But until you find a perfect good example and model them you will not achieve financial freedom.
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So how do you know a good example that is perfect for you?
A perfect good example for you is someone that has these three attributes.
First, they must have walked the same or a similar path as you-this means that they must once be an employee. They must also have faced similar challenges and have made similar mistakes. And yet was able to achieve financial freedom.
Second, this Person must no longer be in the career world. One of the early signs of those that achieve financial freedom is that they exit the Career World into the Business world. People that achieve financial freedom do not remain employees. They enter the business world to create more wealth there.
Third, this person must be a current success and not some good old day success story. This person must have a present life that is bigger and better than their active career life. And they must also have a bright and promising future ahead of them.
So, what do you do when you find your perfect good example?
There are two things you must do. The first is to identify the things they did that made them achieve financial freedom. And the second is to Model those things.
There are four things that every Perfect Good Example did that helped them achieve financial freedom. The first is that they moved from a Mindset that is focused on building a Temporary Rich Lifestyle to a Mindset that is focused on living off their own Passive Income. They moved from high maintenance to low maintenance lifestyle, made better financial decisions and modelled other Perfect Good Examples. The second thing they did is, they started taking financial freedom actions and reducing financial bondage actions. They spent their time, money, and energy in the right places, focused on the right things and were accountable to other Perfect Good Examples.
The third thing they did is they moved from having more wealth draining relationships to having more wealth creating relationships. They surrounded themselves with other self-sufficient people. And the fourth thing they did is develop high-income skills. This enabled them to multiply their income, save bigger portions, and achieve their goals with speed. These four things combined are the main factors that made Perfect Good Examples achieve financial freedom despite the odds. And the four things that you also must do. Once you have identified these four things 30% of the work is already done. The remaining 70% and where the bulk of the work is, is to develop the discipline and capacity to model what you have identified. This brings us to the second assessment that you must do
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The action resemblance assessment
While almost anyone can identify what the wealthy did that made them successful, only a few people have the discipline to do what they did. And without the discipline to do what the people with the results that you seek did you will not achieve financial freedom. Success is 30% knowing what to do and 70% discipline to do what you know. It is more about doing the few hard and necessary things than doing the trivial fun, easy and comfortable things. This means that the only way to achieve financial freedom is to be willing to do what needs to be done, when it must be done whether you feel like it or not. This is the only way not to become an impediment in your own success.
Once you have made up your mind to pay the price the next thing you must do is compare actions. Put the actions you have identified in your perfect Good Example Assessment on your right-hand side. Put the actions you identified in your perfect bad example on your left-hand side. And then put your own current actions in the middle. Who do you resemble in actions? If you haven’t been mentored, coached, or helped by a perfect good example chances are that you will look more like your perfect bad example because you can only model what you see, feel, and understand.
To achieve financial freedom, you must model your perfect good example and dump the lessons learned from your perfect bad example. Success and failure do not mix, while success involves taking high standard actions failure involves taking low standard actions. Thus, it is either you are moving towards financial freedom, or you are heading towards financial bondage. Until you do what your perfect good example did to achieve financial freedom, you will not achieve it. The person you resemble is who you become at the end of your career.
Perhaps you need help achieving financial freedom or connecting with a Perfect Good Example, we can help you. Send an email to info@createsolidwealth.com.
About the author
Grace Agada is the most sought-after Financial Freedom Expert in Nigeria. She is a renowned Author, Financial Freedom Advisor and Keynote Speaker. Grace is Popularly known as the Queen of Financial Freedom, the Breadwinner’s Advocate and the Middle-Class to Upper-Class Mentor. Her goal is to help working professionals and breadwinners move their success and livelihood from a paycheck to their own solid passive Income. Grace is the Author of three books and possibly the most widely read financial articles. Her articles are spread across seven national newspapers and four of the most popular Nigerian Blogs. Grace is also the Founder of the University of Wealth, The Rich Retirement Life Quarterly Publication, The Wealth Creator Quarterly Report, and the Wealthy Business Blueprint Program. Grace has been featured on BBC Africa. Business Day TV. Inspiration FM. and inside Naijatv. And she consults for Numerous Top Organizations, Company Directors, CEOs, C-Suite Executives, and High-Income Professionals. To connect with Grace, send an email to info@createsolidwealth.com.
