I’ve been investing for more than 10 years. What have I accomplished in that time?
Well, I was able to go from in debt at age 27 to financially free at 33. I quit my job and retired in my early 30s, even after growing up on welfare and not having a college degree. And now, in my late 30s, I’ve built up a substantial amount of wealth and passive income. But in that time, I’ve also seen a lot of would-be investors come and go.
Unfortunately, a lot of people never made it this far. And when I look at what caused these people to fail over time, I notice they all had a few things in common.
Now, when I say fail, I don’t mean fail at life or anything like that. I mean fail to achieve enough wealth and passive income to become financially free.
Today, I want to share with you three reasons why people don’t become wealthy or financially free so that you can avoid these mistakes.
Ready? Let’s dig in.
Step to Success #1: Have a Plan
The first thing I’ve noticed that people who fail to achieve wealth and financial freedom have in common? They don’t put together a long-term plan.
Fail to plan. Plan to fail. It’s that simple.
I’ve said before how important it is to set up a business plan for yourself as you set up your long-term execution strategy toward saving and investing toward financial freedom. A plan is a road map. It’s like GPS. Imagine getting in your car and setting out for a trip. Would you ever do that without directions and GPS? Of course not. Otherwise, how would you know where you’re going and how you’re going to get there?
Flying blind is not advised. If you don’t have a long-term plan, how will you know what to do?
As part of your plan, you should be setting up the budget, your targeted savings rate, the weekly or monthly investment schedule, your capital allocation strategy, your opportunity set, the eventual construction of your portfolio, etc. You should know what you’ll do, when you’ll do it, and why you’ll be doing it.
This plan should be grounded in SMART goals.
SMART goals are goals that are specific, measurable, actionable, realistic, and time-bound.
Every single time – and I mean, every single time – I’ve heard from someone who failed to achieve wealth and passive income after a long period of time didn’t have a plan or SMART goals.
They decided to wing it. But why would you wing something as important as your financial freedom? Doesn’t make sense. Be smart and put together those SMART goals as part of your long-term business plan.
Step to Success #2: Be Patient
The second thing these people have in common? They’re not patient.
Patience is a virtue. There is nothing worth having in this life that will come fast and easy.
If it’s worth having, it’s worth working hard and waiting for. Trust me. And if comes to you easily and quickly, it’s probably not worth much. From Ponzi schemes to crypto scams, people’s lack of patience, desire to get rich quickly, and unwillingness to delay gratification gets them in trouble over and over and over again.
If you’re a regular person like me, financial freedom won’t happen quickly.
Unless you’re born into wealth or happen upon a bag full of money somewhere, financial freedom for 99.9% of us is something that you have to grind out and work toward for years on end. But guess what? That’s what makes it special. That’s what makes it so valuable and appreciated. If it were just given to you, would you appreciate and value it? Probably not. Would it be special if everyone had it? I don’t think so.
It took me years of blood, sweat, and tears to get here. I had to work 60-hour workweeks, after going to bed at midnight and getting up at 6 a.m. I ate ramen noodles, rode the bus, and researched investments on weekends.
In real-time, that multiyear climb up Mount Freedom felt like a lifetime. But now, looking back on it, it seems like a different lifetime – one that happened long ago. Yet I’m now, in this lifetime, able to reap the rewards of the hard work I did in that lifetime. Make sure the future you is set up with wealth, passive income, and financial freedom by being patient in the present.
Step to Success #3: Be Persistent
The third thing they have in common? They’re not persistent.
If patience is a virtue, persistence is a superpower.
It’s all about discipline and being consistently persistent. The people I’ve come across who fail to become financially successful in life all lack persistence. They’re not disciplined. And I’d say this is something that you’re either completely “on” or “off” with across all aspects of your life. Indeed, the people that fail at financial success tend to also fail at a lot of other things they shoot for, unfortunately, because that persistence they lack with money matters is consistently lacking across their entire life.
How you do one thing is how you do everything.
I wake up at the same time every day, wear the same clothing on the same days, eat the same thing for lunch every day, work out six days per week at the same time, make five YouTube videos per week, and manage my businesses and investments in the same thoughtful and persistent way every single day. And this is all after I already achieved financial freedom. It’s ingrained in me at this point.
Persistence is not a short-term thing you try out for a bit. Persistence, by the very definition of the word, implies a prolonged, long-term commitment. My life is systematic, disciplined, consistent, and persistent. I don’t complain or let challenges get in my way. I say what I’ll do, then I do what I say – no matter what.
Excuses don’t exist. There are no excuses.
There is only consistent, relentless persistence. Try to pay your bills with excuses. That’s not going to get you anywhere. I grew up on welfare in a Detroit ghetto, watched my dad walk out on me when I was eight years old, and saw my mom use our food stamps to pay for drugs, before I was finally given up as a ward of the state at 11. I don’t have a college degree. Never had a high-paying job.
But I’ll tell you what I did have: I had planning, patience, and persistence. And I climbed up Mount Freedom. Let me tell you, the view from up here is totally worth it. So get planning, be patient, and stay persistent. I’ll see you at the top.
— Jason Fieber
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