The Power of Priorities Part 2

No one's saying differently, and this isn't a selfish moment here. It’s about taking some time to focus on you.  Another way to put it is why are you doing all this stuff for everybody else, killing yourself, figuratively speaking mostly but in some cases quite literally.

I encourage you to create your personal world, a world within a world to build memories. To live life to the fullest. As tomorrows are not promised. The world I speak of is controlled by you where you are an active participant, no longer a spectator. You are the author of your own story. Memories don't always have to cost a lot of money or be expensive to create. You may have to prioritize your finances to include “you” in the budget. The point is to put yourself ahead of the line for a change. This is not a creative license to disregard your duties and responsibilities on a personal or professional level. I am not encouraging you to be selfish. Quite the contrary.

I fondly remember my mother doling out her loving, unwavering, unsolicited advice about me being too cheap for myself. To quote, “you’re always helping others, do something for yourself”. Needless to say, I never mentioned I was teetering on being broke to bankruptcy. At the time I was financially strapped not getting any help at home in one of the most expensive states in the good old USA. In reflection, I should have been prioritizing being single again.

No offense, if the dream, wish, goal or whatever you call it entails excessive physical activity you may want to do it before you are less mobile and have difficulty such as travelling abroad hopping from one bus to a plane to walking cumulative miles. We are not getting any younger. The point is to be able to truly enjoy yourself and create unforgettable memories sooner versus later. You might be thinking, oh no those memories will cost me a lot of money I don’t have. What many people do as a quick fix is throw it on their credit cards which causes other financial or relationship issues later on. It's not always about going somewhere expensive. I am not suggesting mortgaging your future and be money stupid. It could be somewhere nearby, in the adjacent city or state or a brief train ride across country. The bottom line is do something that is affordable.

Personally, I always wanted to see a Broadway show. New York, New York. That's one of my goals. By the way, I have never gone to New York. I flew over New York, been around New York, been next to New York but never been in New York.

Several years ago, I paid for my daughter to go on a school field trip to three states with 50 other elementary aged students escorted by teachers. Among many activities and experiences, their trip included a Broadway show in you guessed it, New York. Boy did I want to tag along with them. Now, I don’t feel sorry for myself as a few years ago I experienced a significant bucket list goal by flying to Europe with my lovely wife Sandra. We travelled to several countries such as Switzerland, the United Kingdom, France, Italy and the Vatican. What a Wow vacation. A trip of a lifetime. Truth be said we saved money over time to ensure we weren’t in debt when we returned to the states.

You know, you don't need to make excuses or apologize for keeping or for redirecting your hard-earned money back to your wallet. Why be apologetic with your money? Don’t forget, you are the author of your life. It's important that your personal story is your story, not someone else's.

So, here's an action item for you.

If you're wealthy enough to hop on a plane at the last minute and don't have to answer to a boss and J-O-B, then God bless you. I have heard of some people up and quit their jobs without any plans or forethought of what comes next or after their impulsive decisions. That wouldn’t work for most people me included. I wonder, how does that work out for them later? I encourage all my readers to use good judgment. Whatever you plan to do with the limited time or resources we have on this earth do your best to avoid regret. You know those moments when you ask yourself, “why did I do that or not do that? My God, if I can take that back. Unfortunately, there is no time machine and do overs.

Back to the end of the world concept discussed in Part 1. What's your end of the world? When someone says, how are you doing? Sometimes I really want to say, “I'm working on my end of the world plan.” The more unquestionable responses are “I’m working on my bucket list, planning our vacation, I started a new hobby etc.” I recommend those common declarations to avoid the swat team knocking on your door or being institutionalized for abnormal comments.

I highly encourage you to not let life slip right by you by putting things off. You are entitled to enjoy life today or in a reasonable time in the future. That said, plan, plan, and save your money. Two things we cannot create is land and time. The point is to not kick your enjoyment can down the road so many times until there is no road left or time. In terms of land, we were born on land, and we will die on it in the end.