Does Financial Success Come Down To The Choices We Make?

Life presents us with countless choices most of which lead us to various directions with or without the opportunity to turn back and explore the alternatives.

The most sensible thing to do when presented with a myriad of alternatives is to choose the path that will get you to where you want to go.  Unfortunately, without the right guidance, that path may not be as obvious to you.

Earl Nightingale pointed out that if you do not have anyone to guide you, look at what everybody is doing and do the opposite. This goes to show that doing what everybody else is doing will only make you part of the crowd.

In this article, we are going to examine whether financial success comes down to the choices we make, and if it’s possible to succeed with money as a result of making better choices.

The luck factor

The majority of successful people start out as failures who quickly learn to change strategy when the initial plan does not work out while keeping their eye on what they intend to achieve.

It is important to understand that taking advantage of an opportunity even if the timing does not seem right plays a big role in what most people will refer to as luck.

One of the things I observed from discussions with my mentor and watching him run his business empire as he endlessly attracts wealth was the importance of developing the insight to recognize and take advantage of an opportunity.

Almost without exception, it always comes down to developing the discipline of getting things done when they need to be done, not when you feel like it.

Financial decisions

Your financial decisions have a direct impact on your financial success (or lack thereof).

This sounds like common sense, but I see far too many well-meaning people drifting through life without taking the time to evaluate whether the path they are on will get them to where they want to be.

For example, working for someone else often pushes you further away from becoming financially independent, yet even with this knowledge, people who want to be financially free will often stay at a job they don’t like, hoping for things to change.

They make the all too common mistake of focusing on earning just enough money to satisfy their current financial needs from a single source of income over which they have little or no control. This is no way to become financially free.

Without evaluating your income goals, it is easy to become over-reliant on one income source and risk being wiped out financially in the event of a job loss, however ‘secure’ the job might have seemed.

Focusing on becoming financially free so as not to retire and be at the mercy of those paying your bills requires patience combined with applied knowledge and adopting the right habits that will support your purpose.

The Success Mindset

One of the biggest roadblocks to financial success is attributed to the barriers we put in our own minds forcing us to make an uninformed financial decision and live with the consequences.

Failing to differentiate between ability and willingness to do what it takes to get you closer to your financial goals is one such barrier that can cause you emotional and financial grief.

For instance, one of the greatest excuses people give themselves is ‘I don’t have the time’. Is it that they don’t have the time, or they just won’t make the time?

Another example is confusing impossible and difficult. Getting out of a financial mess may seem impossible while you are in it, but in reality, it is possible although it may be a bit difficult.

It all comes down to having the right mindset, making informed decisions, and developing the self-discipline necessary to achieve your financial goals.