The Financial Fitness Blueprint

Where do we begin? If you are in your late teens or older, you know educational systems all around the country have failed to adequately prepare citizens to understand how money works. Why is that? Is it mere coincidence that, from country to country across the planet, people are pitched the ideal of going to school and getting a good education so they can get a decent job? Or are we programmed from the very beginning to become slaves to the system and live in perpetual servitude? The answer is clear. So let’s take a hard look at how we have been conditioned through the educational system to suppress our dreams and stifle our creativity. As students we were told to sit in rows, speak when spoken to, focus on grades, and start planning for our careers. Many of us were told that if we were willing to work hard for a company that offered a pension plan, they would take care of us and ensure our retirement years would not be lean. But unfortunately the above formula for financial success has failed miserably. Gone are the days where you could rely on a company to provide defined-benefit packages for all employees and keep them 40 years in the same job. This formula has resulted in more than 95% of the population trading 30 to 40 years of their lives working for a pension in the hope they will have enough to retire on. Nowadays you can’t rely on your employer; when it comes to your financial success you must have a solid plan to design the life you want to live. Our schools have failed to awaken the entrepreneurial spirit in students and instill the idea that profits are far better than wages for securing financial fitness. Instead they have preached safety and mediocrity to students when it comes to money and employment. Our schools have done a great job producing workers who embrace a poverty mentality—workers who struggle to make ends meet, who pay the highest taxes as a percentage of their incomes, who seldom have an effective plan for their retirements, and whose only source of income is from their “JOB” (just over broke). Yes, our schools have done a fabulous job preparing us to follow in the footsteps of the masses and live a mediocre life but very little to educate us about how money works in the real world. Don’t get me wrong, I believe in the value of education and have worked in the system for more than 17 years as both teacher and administrator. In addition, I consider myself blessed to have been given the opportunity to shape the lives of children, and am forever grateful for the experiences and the rewards I received as an educator. It is my love for teaching and educating others that has brought me to this point in my life. So I am in no way saying a good education is not important. I strongly believe that those who pursue postsecondary education are in far better shape to create a solid financial house for their future, and statistics clearly support that fact. In our fast-paced economy, education is absolutely essential for success and those who don’t acquire basic skills and at least complete their high school diploma will be a major drain on government resources and meet with great difficulty finding suitable employment, let alone achieving financial freedom. But I find it absolutely amazing just how many people go through life unaware of how simple wealth creation really is. Millions of well-educated adults holding countless degrees from prestigious universities end up broke by the time they retire or “just over broke.” If education is indeed the great equalizer, why is our society plagued with millions of educated retirees who made good money during their working years only to end up relying on government handouts? If we analyzed the question in depth, we could come up with a variety of reasons for the poor financial picture millions find themselves in at the end of their working careers. But a fundamental reason for this travesty is our government’s lack of foresight to establish a standard curriculum covering the real value of money and how people can successfully navigate and secure their financial futures. That said, the anemic bank accounts held by millions worldwide and their lack of sufficient financial education should not be blamed entirely on our governments or our educational systems. As adults we need to shoulder some of the responsibility at the end of the day. We cannot continue to hold pity parties about our lack of financial success. Some might disagree that it is each individual’s own responsibility to take steps to secure their own financial futures. But I would challenge them to answer the following question: If not you, then who? No one cares about your financial future more than you. Should you ever find yourself in the unenviable position of having others care more about your financial future than you, take it as a clear indication you are heading down the road to financial disaster. One of the major factors that stop people from truly achieving in life is that they continue looking for reasons outside of themselves to explain their lack of success, financial or otherwise. The blame game has never promoted anyone to any great status in life and it never will. If you are to reap the rewards of this world available to anyone who truly seeks them, you will have to adjust your sails, change your attitude, and take full responsibility. If you open yourself up to new ideas and commit to taking positive action, I can assure you that the information presented in this book will be of tremendous value in moving you toward a brighter financial future. You will then be among that minority in our society who leave a legacy instead of liabilities when they pass on. The mere fact that you have picked up this book has already placed you ahead of the majority in society who go shuffling along life’s road never looking up to take stock of the beauty and the countless opportunities always around them. This majority often operates from a position of lack and scarcity rather than of abundance and opulence; they lack the vision of a bright future for themselves and would rather settle for what life gives than go after what they truly desire. It is my belief that we all want the same things: to be healthy, to establish good relationships with our friends and life partners, to continually improve and grow as human beings, to achieve spiritual harmony, and to be financially independent. But only those courageous enough to go for it will reap the rewards. To create the life you desire is not easy, but easy should not be an option. The goal requires hard work and determination, the ability never to give up—to keep coming back after life knocks you down, and say “Is that all you got? … Give me more!” Success indeed comes at a price, but you will find as you read the pages of this book that the price is well worth the effort, and that the sooner you start the greater your odds of success and the more you will have to bless others.