This is my last blog for the current year 2015. I started blogging this year about my thoughts on financial wisdom and management for everyone. I started with retirement planning, how you can plan your life such that you never have to worry about retirement. My main objective was to take the financial worries and fear out of your life which I think is completely unnecessary and still so many of us suffer with it throughout our life. I personally suffered financial worries for the initial part of my life and hence it is a matter close to my heart. I want to cure and eradicate this disease completely to the extent possible for me.
Beyond financial worries & wisdom
In my search for financial wisdom, I got much more than what I was looking for and that is what I would like to discuss today. What can be better than a life free of financial worries? Well .. a life with a purpose and a personal mission statement.
How?
Try out a small experiment. Assume that you have completed everything in life that you need to do. All your responsibilities have been taken care of. Family, kids, parents, relatives, friends, loans, everything has been taken care of. Assume that everything you wanted to achieve has been achieved by you. You wanted to buy a car, house, become the CEO of your company, accumulate wealth, become famous, learn something ... everything has been achieved by you. Assume that all your desires have been fulfilled. You wanted to marry your love, visit some place, take a long vacation, do scuba diving, take a trip in outer space, buy a fancy art ... all of your desires have been fulfilled. Assume that all your problems have been solved. Bad relationship, health issues, day to day chores, pending work ... all your problems have been solved completely and permanently. There are no more problems in your life now.
Now close your eyes, relax for a moment, clear your thoughts, look deep into yourself and ask yourself this simple question "What do you really want?" Now that you have nothing to worry about, what do you really want?
Think ...you have a long life ahead of you, there are no worries in your life, all your responsibilities have been taken care of, everything you wanted to achieve for yourself and others has been achieved. Now what do you want to do with all this time in life that you have in your hand?
Think .. keep on thinking
Think about it, keep on thinking. If anything comes in your mind that falls into the above category of worries, assume it has been solved. Think more. If what comes to your mind is a responsibility, assume it has been taken care of. Think more. If what comes to your mind is something you wanted to do or achieve and haven't done yet, assume it's done and already achieved. Think more. If it is an unfulfilled desire that comes to your mind, assume that it has been fulfilled and keep on thinking about what do you really want? Don't worry about possibilities and probabilities. Assume everything is possible and assume luck is always on your side, now think what do you really want?
Seek and don't give up
Friends, seek this answer because once you find the answer to this question, it will become your mission statement for life. It will be that something which if you accomplish, will take you to a state of complete satisfaction. On your last day as a living entity, it will give you complete satisfaction about the life you have lived. It will be the purpose of your life. What you were born to do and not what you were forced to do. Think about it, keep on thinking friends until you get this answer. Think about it whenever you get time. Think about it as often as possible until you get the answer.
My Experience
It took me about 7 years to get this answer. It also took me several personal failures and a few minor victories to get this answer. It took me a long time of complete existential crisis to get this answer. It made me completely restless and think continuously about what am I doing in life, why am I even alive at all? And finally I got it and I reached that state of personal satisfaction knowing that the rest of my life will go in this journey that I was born to take.
The most important part of the above discovery were those few minor victories that gave me the confidence that I could achieve my goal in this life, my mission statement. As far as I can remember, I have always been happy, satisfied and worry free irrespective of all the day to day odds and evens in life, ever since. I could be superficially sad or angry on some days but deep inside I am always happy and satisfied.
Mission Statement
Once you have discovered the purpose of your life, come up with a mission statement. A statement that defines exactly what you felt when you first discovered the purpose of your life and then write it down and always hold on to your mission statement. Keep it close to yourself, keep it a secret. It is your personal mission statement. It is between you and your life. You don't need confirmation or appreciation from anyone else on this. It is a very personal matter. Guard it very closely. Friends your mission statement cannot be anything small or trivial or something that can be achieved immediately. It has to be something great. Something that will last and be with you, your entire life. Something that will give you complete satisfaction about the life you are living and have lived. Your mission statement cannot be about your family and kids. It is about you, just you. Friends, stop living for others in the self-sacrificial sense, stop living for short term gratifications, stop living with worries, stop struggling for trivial achievements, discover yourself and live a full and happy life!
What's wrong with an ordinary life?
Nothing, except that it's ordinary whereas each of you were meant for something great.
Beyond financial worries & wisdom
In my search for financial wisdom, I got much more than what I was looking for and that is what I would like to discuss today. What can be better than a life free of financial worries? Well .. a life with a purpose and a personal mission statement.
How?
Try out a small experiment. Assume that you have completed everything in life that you need to do. All your responsibilities have been taken care of. Family, kids, parents, relatives, friends, loans, everything has been taken care of. Assume that everything you wanted to achieve has been achieved by you. You wanted to buy a car, house, become the CEO of your company, accumulate wealth, become famous, learn something ... everything has been achieved by you. Assume that all your desires have been fulfilled. You wanted to marry your love, visit some place, take a long vacation, do scuba diving, take a trip in outer space, buy a fancy art ... all of your desires have been fulfilled. Assume that all your problems have been solved. Bad relationship, health issues, day to day chores, pending work ... all your problems have been solved completely and permanently. There are no more problems in your life now.
Now close your eyes, relax for a moment, clear your thoughts, look deep into yourself and ask yourself this simple question "What do you really want?" Now that you have nothing to worry about, what do you really want?
Think ...you have a long life ahead of you, there are no worries in your life, all your responsibilities have been taken care of, everything you wanted to achieve for yourself and others has been achieved. Now what do you want to do with all this time in life that you have in your hand?
Think .. keep on thinking
Think about it, keep on thinking. If anything comes in your mind that falls into the above category of worries, assume it has been solved. Think more. If what comes to your mind is a responsibility, assume it has been taken care of. Think more. If what comes to your mind is something you wanted to do or achieve and haven't done yet, assume it's done and already achieved. Think more. If it is an unfulfilled desire that comes to your mind, assume that it has been fulfilled and keep on thinking about what do you really want? Don't worry about possibilities and probabilities. Assume everything is possible and assume luck is always on your side, now think what do you really want?
Seek and don't give up
Friends, seek this answer because once you find the answer to this question, it will become your mission statement for life. It will be that something which if you accomplish, will take you to a state of complete satisfaction. On your last day as a living entity, it will give you complete satisfaction about the life you have lived. It will be the purpose of your life. What you were born to do and not what you were forced to do. Think about it, keep on thinking friends until you get this answer. Think about it whenever you get time. Think about it as often as possible until you get the answer.
My Experience
It took me about 7 years to get this answer. It also took me several personal failures and a few minor victories to get this answer. It took me a long time of complete existential crisis to get this answer. It made me completely restless and think continuously about what am I doing in life, why am I even alive at all? And finally I got it and I reached that state of personal satisfaction knowing that the rest of my life will go in this journey that I was born to take.
The most important part of the above discovery were those few minor victories that gave me the confidence that I could achieve my goal in this life, my mission statement. As far as I can remember, I have always been happy, satisfied and worry free irrespective of all the day to day odds and evens in life, ever since. I could be superficially sad or angry on some days but deep inside I am always happy and satisfied.
Mission Statement
Once you have discovered the purpose of your life, come up with a mission statement. A statement that defines exactly what you felt when you first discovered the purpose of your life and then write it down and always hold on to your mission statement. Keep it close to yourself, keep it a secret. It is your personal mission statement. It is between you and your life. You don't need confirmation or appreciation from anyone else on this. It is a very personal matter. Guard it very closely. Friends your mission statement cannot be anything small or trivial or something that can be achieved immediately. It has to be something great. Something that will last and be with you, your entire life. Something that will give you complete satisfaction about the life you are living and have lived. Your mission statement cannot be about your family and kids. It is about you, just you. Friends, stop living for others in the self-sacrificial sense, stop living for short term gratifications, stop living with worries, stop struggling for trivial achievements, discover yourself and live a full and happy life!
What's wrong with an ordinary life?
Nothing, except that it's ordinary whereas each of you were meant for something great.
