At any point in life it seems we can look back and wish we
knew back then what we know now. If knew
back in high school what I know now, I would have done some things
differently. If I knew in college what I
know now, I would have altered a few decisions.
My first job, if only I’d known.
My first failed business endeavor, I would have, could have, and should
have… Life is full of lessons and
experiences, and in most cases the lessons come after we’re given the
test. It’s backward from what we’re
taught in school. With school, we’re
taught the material, then given an exam on how well we retained and
regurgitated it. Just so you know, this
is rarely the case in life.
In speaking with people early in their careers, those that
have recently graduated, and really most people, there are a few common
themes. Debt accumulated during and after college
is scary. Finding a job with decent
income is far more challenging than expected.
For those that are starting to make money, they aren’t entirely sure where
to put it. And it’s very difficult to
find an advisor you can relate to and trust.
Good news, you aren’t alone. The
challenge, it takes effort to overcome these unknowns.
Here’s a little food for thought: There are two major flaws in what and how
we’re selling the future to our young adults.
(A few more than two really, but I’ll just share these two or you won’t
read the entire article. We can revisit
the others later…)
This first flaw is setting the expectation that with a
college degree you will graduate and get a well-paying job, maybe one that you
like. The reality is that your diploma
may get you in the door for a few interviews you wouldn’t otherwise get, may
even get you hired somewhere when all else is equal, but it provides no guarantee
of success, longevity, a baseline of income, or much of anything else. It does, however, provide an opportunity for
you to get to know a bit about yourself – how you learn, who you interact well
with, who you don’t, how you respond to authority, the types of people you
attract – all of which are very valuable outcomes. A recent grad shared that her college
experience, and life to this point, had felt like a long conveyor belt. She had ridden along, moved from one thing to
the next, but after college, the belt ended, there was a grand drop and neither
landing spot nor new belt in sight; just a free fall to a concrete slab. That’s pretty scary! How are we preparing students for what’s
next? When do they learn how to add
value to an organization? And if they do
happen to land that first “real” job and start making a little money, how do we
prepare them for the money decisions. We
don’t, and therein lies flaw #2.
In over 25 years of formal education, not once did anyone
broach the subject of making intelligent financial decisions. Not once did someone sit me down and explain
a few core principles or truths that would have greatly impacted my early
financial decision making. And what’s
interesting is that it’s no secret that this is a problem; there are thousands
of “financial literacy” programs out there designed to solve this, but they
obviously aren’t working. Why aren’t
they working? I have a few theories:
One: People would rather talk about politics, religion, or sex than have a conversation about their money, what they make, challenges, or debt. These are taboo subjects that we just don’t talk about. I think this will change in an upcoming generation that values transparency, but we have a ways to go.
Two: Financial concepts are boring, dull, and rarely seem to apply to real life. If I ask a room full of people how many would like me to teach them how to read and understand a tax return and the US tax code, I don’t get a lot of hands in the air.
Three: When you first start making money and need advice the most, the only advisors you have access to are those that are new in the business and lack the experience to give good advice. Most of these folks are trained by financial institutions, which are product manufacturing companies, on how to sell their products. The products are not necessarily bad, but for the most part advisors are paid to sell stuff, not provide sage financial advice.
So, if no one will talk about money, those that do we don’t want to listen to because it’s not exciting, and the ones that we think we can trust for advice are really just commissioned sales people, what the heck are you supposed to do?
What if…
What if it’s really not all that complicated? What there are just a few core principles
that you can follow without having to have a degree in finance? What if you didn’t have to do the math on the
number of lattes you buy each week or stop doing fun things to be able to pay
off your debt? What if you could tap
into the things that have been working for wealth creators for years?
None of this is complicated, but it does require
discipline. None of this is rocket
science, but it does require you to start.
One of the grand lessons you’ll learn is that most things in life are
not about a destination where you’ll arrive; it’s about the journey you’re on
today. If you want to become wealthy,
you need to learn the principles that wealthy people live by and begin living
them today.
So I’ve already written more than you’ll read, and you
don’t even have any of the solutions.
Want to hear them? Great! I’ll be sharing several of these core principles in future articles and upcoming webcasts. Want to get in the loop? Simple, follow our community at
or
Final thought:
Is there anything you know now that you
wish you’d known ten years ago? Is
there? I bet there is. (If not, you’ve wasted ten years of your life
learning nothing – ha!) Life truly is
short, and decisions do matter. As
anyone approaching the latter half of life will attest to, your greatest asset when you’re young is
time. It also becomes a bit of a
liability as you age. If you’re not
leveraging your greatest asset, you’re missing the boat. Like the rest of us, you’ll come to your
senses some number of years from now and wish you’d paid more attention. Well, now is your chance to pay
attention. Learn a few basics, your
small decisions will bear fruit. I know
mine would have!
Cheers!
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