A lot of my students tell me that their wives or husbands, colleagues, family and friends, do not know what they are going on about with this wealth creation thing.
This makes me think back to my own early days as a Wealth Creator. I remember when I was starting to realize the truth about conventional retirement planning (in other words, that it cannot and does not work ... see www.retirequickly.co.za! ). I would attend meetings or drink coffee with my fellow life insurance salesmen and I would listen to their talk and I would realize that I was moving off in another direction to them, and that the gap was widening. I was starting on my own wealth creation journey, but they were not.
I could see that they did not ask themselves the kind of questions I did. I could see they did not wonder about any of these things ...
Why they had to work so hard, month in, month out, until retirement age ...
Whether even after retiring they would really be able to relax and enjoy the financial ease and comfort they expected ...
At the time when I worked in that office I restructured the way I worked so that I was still able to sell some of the traditional products, like life and disability cover, the ones I did (and still do) believe in, and avoid selling people products I no longer believed in, such as RAs and annuities. And in this way I remained a highly successful salesman but did not compromise my own principles of needing to believe in what I was selling!
So I knew that I could adapt my own outlook on life and fit into a conventional system and do just fine. But in the end, I think I always knew I’d be happier finding or creating an environment which was more aligned with who I am. And this is what I did. I now work in what I consider to be the perfect environment, with people who are on the same wavelength.
The lesson here is ... if and when your old environment stops fitting so well, you can initially adapt so that it works for you for as long as you need it to, but in the long run, you should start seeking and creating the surroundings and relationships that really do fit in with your new approach as a Wealth Creator.
What’s this blog got to do with your environment?
Well, a very important aspect of your environment is the people you surround yourself with.
Not all of the people in your life today are moving at the same pace as you are.
Some of those people you may leave behind, others you do not want to, such as the people close to you. These people need time to catch up, but first they must build trust in the process.
This is absolutely fine. Everyone needs time. But what about you, perhaps feeling rather alone for the moment? You need to connect with others like you, who face the same challenges and are starting to get excited about the same insights.
You need to discuss ideas, experiences and insights with people like you. You will always need to.
Part of the creative process in human beings is what you might call “bouncing” ideas off other people. You need those ideas to bounce back to you, reflected off the other person’s mind. They may come back with new ideas, new perspectives, things you haven’t thought about before. Or they may simply come back feeling good because they’ve been shared.
Either way, as long as they come back, you feel better, stronger, confirmed in your journey. The one thing you do not want to do is see them vanish into a void. When people don’t understand, they look blank, they do not add anything, or even encourage or confirm. They do not understand and so they can’t.
We all need encouragement and confirmation. But when we don’t get it we tend to shut up and retreat. And this does not help us grow or feel supported.
That’s what this blog is here for. Because even though you and I may not speak personally, I read what you have to say, and I think about it.
Sometimes I can help you, other times (many times) you help me.
I’ve learned a lot about the importance of teamwork during my challenge. I see you as part of my team. And I know that because there is a rule that says what you put in is what you get out, by simply sharing your experiences, questions and thoughts with me and with others, you will receive back in equal measure, what you need to help you with your own wealth creation journey.
That’s why you need this blog. And that’s why I need it too.
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