THERE is invariably a thrill of excitement at any chance to make a fresh start. So, what will you do with the special one facing us now?
Happy New Year, one and all!
Right now, at the onset of 2022, it is safe to say almost all of us who are still standing after 21½ months of pernicious pandemic pain are stronger and nimbler, yet undeniably poorer, than we were before March 2020, when a minuscule mutating virus began upending our global civilisation.
Right now, with the blank slate of most of this fresh year stretching out before us, brimming with productive potential, even the most emotionally battered amongst us should dare to hope for brighter days ahead.
So, specifically through the clarifying lens of financial planning, I spy three bold steps each of us may take towards a better future.
In all honesty, though, I don't know if you feel more bold or more battered today. My heartfelt New Year's hope for you is that it's the former; I also hope you will take to heart this Latin phrase dum spiro spero, which most of us don't understand. It translates to: "While I breathe, I hope."
So, as you mull over that sentiment, do also consider this potent line by Alexander Pope in his lengthy poem An Essay on Man:
"Hope springs eternal in the human breast…."
We all owe it to ourselves to nurture within our heart of hearts the anticipation of better, brighter days ahead. The three significant steps we can take to imbue this year — God willing — with so much forward momentum that the coming decade may shape up to be your best one yet, are to:
1. Commit to eliminate debt;
2. Grow a thick skin; and,
3. Boost productivity through technology.
ERADICATING DEBT
Racking up debt is a major facet of 21st century life. Governments do it; businesses do it; and we, regular people, do it. But layer by layer, and ringgit by ringgit, the liabilities we accrue begin to stifle our potential and steal our peace.
In the eighth chapter of George S. Clason's personal finance book The Richest Man in Babylon entitled "The Camel Trader of Babylon" is a fascinating conversation between Dabasir, a well-to-do trader of camels, and the destitute young Tarkad, who owes Dabasir money.
Instead of plying the broke youth with platitudes, Dabasir shares a shocking account of his own early life as a runaway slave who owed many people much money.
I won't spoil Clason's story for you as I hope you will make his classic a part of your permanent library. But I will share one telling sentence Dabasir utters to Tarkad:
"My debts were my enemies, but the men I owed were my friends for they had trusted me and believed in me."
The key takeaways for us are that we should buckle down and aim to get out of financial debt ASAP while treating our creditors honourably by aiming to repay them in full.
So, dare you set yourself a challenge to accomplish both lofty goals inside the next 120 months?
GROW A THICK HIDE
Succeeding in the twin tasks of getting out of debt rapidly while making much more money — perhaps 10 times what you earn now, within the next decade — is not for the faint of heart.
Do you have what it takes?
The first criterion is to decide once and for all to no longer permit the adverse opinion of others to curtail your ambitions. In his book How to Get Rich, the late poet-publisher Felix Dennis wrote: "…if you wish to be rich, you must grow a carapace. A mental armour… thick enough to shrug off the inevitable sniggering and malicious mockery that will follow your inevitable failures, not to mention the poorly hidden envy that will accompany your eventual success."
So, I urge you to work hard, smart and ethically to become a mega success.
And to repeatedly and consistently shrug off your natural fear of failure, as well as the scepticism and taunts of those who don't understand your incandescent need to succeed.
BOOST PRODUCTIVITY
We can't earn more — particularly 10 times what we earn now per unit time, be it over a day, a month or a year — if we don't first focus on better serving the needs of others.
The key to elevating our levels of success must be increasing our productivity (or our output per unit input such as the time we expend or the effort we exert).
Usually harnessing appropriate forms of technology is the best way to trigger a quantum leap in professional or vocational productivity.
As Oxford University economist Daniel Susskind explains in his book A World Without Work: "…if productivity increases are passed on to customers via lower prices or better-quality services, then the demand for whatever goods and services are being provided is likely to rise, and the demand for human workers along with it."
You and I are just such workers. That's not in question.
What is uncertain, though, is whether our friends will take all three of those steps, in tandem, to trigger a favourable metamorphosis in their lives, say, from 2022 to 2031.
Far more importantly, will you?
© 2021 Rajen Devadason
The writer is a licensed financial planner, professional speaker and author. Read his free articles at www.FreeCoolArticles.com; he may be connected with on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/in/rajendevadason, or via [email protected]. You may also follow him on Twitter @Rajen Devadason and on YouTube (Rajen Devadason).
