How a Master Plan Can Set You Free
It's been said that without a plan, you plan to fail.
Yet in still, it is shocking how many people expect success in their lives without a clearly defined plan.
In this article, we'll go over some basic ideas that I use to reach my personal goals.
I've come to call this process "creating a master plan".
Not very creative - I know - but certainly you get the idea.
A master plan revolves around the financial aspects of your dreams and desires.
Since this is what keeps most normal people from excelling, I find it to be the most important aspect.
So let's begin: Step 1 - Deciding What You Want The first step in putting together your master plan is also the hardest.
Namely, deciding exactly what it is that you want.
Most adults have a tough time with this step...
because the idea of "happiness" is nebulous at best.
Happiness is always changing.
And trying to define what makes you happy is almost as challenging as describing the color blue.
Instead, there's an easier way of defining what you want out of life: figure out what makes you happy.
This is actually a trick I learned from Tim Ferriss, and it is deadly effective.
Never mind wasting time on the word happiness; it's much easier to figure out what makes you excited.
So take a moment and think about what gets your blood boiling.
Nothing is out of bounds.
It can be screaming red Ferrari, or it can be a vacation to Belize.
Don't be held back if the goal seems unattainable right now; having a master plan has an uncanny ability to show you new ways of reaching those goals that you never thought of before.
Cut this list down to the top 3 things, and make not of your choices.
We'll be revisiting these in the next step.
Step 2 - Commit it to Paper The next step is to use your current position to plot a course to the goals we discussed in step 1.
This is actually easier than it may sound...
What I like to do is to take a piece of paper and draw a line down the middle.
On the left side of that line, write down all of your current expenses.
On the right side, write down the three exciting things from from the first step.
Once you have everything written down, it's time to quantify everything.
The number that we need is a daily expense for every item on the list.
The left side will be easiest; divide monthly payments by 30 and annual payments by 365.
Write these numbers down.
The right hand side is a tad more challenging.
However, it still won't be rocket science.
All you have to do is price out your desires and follow the same steps as for the left hand side.
So, if learning the guitar was one of your goals, find out the cost of weekly lessons.
Let's say, for the sake of example, that it will cost you $60 per week.
Divide that by 7 and you have your daily expense.
Follow the same process for vacations, car payments on the new Porsche, or any other goal you have.
Once you have daily expenses for both the left side as well as the right side, add the two of them together.
This gives you your total daily expense, and you should put this in big bold numbers in the bottom right of your paper.
Step 3 - Taking action Now you know what you have to earn before you can have what you want.
An added benefit of shaping a master plan like this that you don't have to focus on dollars and cents anymore once you have one.
Instead, you can focus on the actions that will deliver the results you are after.
In my case, I am a professional writer.
My clients pay me either by the word or by the article.
Now that I operate under a master plan, I don't even have to think about how much I need to go to Brazil next year.
I can simply focus on writing X amount of articles every day and my goals are already mines.
If you have a more traditional job, where you make a set amount every month, a master plan is still effective.
Instead of working more, however, you can use it to craft a workable budget.
If you make $100/day, and need $30/day for your goals then you can figure out how to shave your expenses until they align with your goals.
Or, you might find the entrepreneurs calling pulling at your heart strings...
In conclusion This article is only meant to scratch the surface; it's in no way any kind of in-depth personal finance plan.
However, with this information you are well on your way to reaching your personal goals.
Good luck!
Yet in still, it is shocking how many people expect success in their lives without a clearly defined plan.
In this article, we'll go over some basic ideas that I use to reach my personal goals.
I've come to call this process "creating a master plan".
Not very creative - I know - but certainly you get the idea.
A master plan revolves around the financial aspects of your dreams and desires.
Since this is what keeps most normal people from excelling, I find it to be the most important aspect.
So let's begin: Step 1 - Deciding What You Want The first step in putting together your master plan is also the hardest.
Namely, deciding exactly what it is that you want.
Most adults have a tough time with this step...
because the idea of "happiness" is nebulous at best.
Happiness is always changing.
And trying to define what makes you happy is almost as challenging as describing the color blue.
Instead, there's an easier way of defining what you want out of life: figure out what makes you happy.
This is actually a trick I learned from Tim Ferriss, and it is deadly effective.
Never mind wasting time on the word happiness; it's much easier to figure out what makes you excited.
So take a moment and think about what gets your blood boiling.
Nothing is out of bounds.
It can be screaming red Ferrari, or it can be a vacation to Belize.
Don't be held back if the goal seems unattainable right now; having a master plan has an uncanny ability to show you new ways of reaching those goals that you never thought of before.
Cut this list down to the top 3 things, and make not of your choices.
We'll be revisiting these in the next step.
Step 2 - Commit it to Paper The next step is to use your current position to plot a course to the goals we discussed in step 1.
This is actually easier than it may sound...
What I like to do is to take a piece of paper and draw a line down the middle.
On the left side of that line, write down all of your current expenses.
On the right side, write down the three exciting things from from the first step.
Once you have everything written down, it's time to quantify everything.
The number that we need is a daily expense for every item on the list.
The left side will be easiest; divide monthly payments by 30 and annual payments by 365.
Write these numbers down.
The right hand side is a tad more challenging.
However, it still won't be rocket science.
All you have to do is price out your desires and follow the same steps as for the left hand side.
So, if learning the guitar was one of your goals, find out the cost of weekly lessons.
Let's say, for the sake of example, that it will cost you $60 per week.
Divide that by 7 and you have your daily expense.
Follow the same process for vacations, car payments on the new Porsche, or any other goal you have.
Once you have daily expenses for both the left side as well as the right side, add the two of them together.
This gives you your total daily expense, and you should put this in big bold numbers in the bottom right of your paper.
Step 3 - Taking action Now you know what you have to earn before you can have what you want.
An added benefit of shaping a master plan like this that you don't have to focus on dollars and cents anymore once you have one.
Instead, you can focus on the actions that will deliver the results you are after.
In my case, I am a professional writer.
My clients pay me either by the word or by the article.
Now that I operate under a master plan, I don't even have to think about how much I need to go to Brazil next year.
I can simply focus on writing X amount of articles every day and my goals are already mines.
If you have a more traditional job, where you make a set amount every month, a master plan is still effective.
Instead of working more, however, you can use it to craft a workable budget.
If you make $100/day, and need $30/day for your goals then you can figure out how to shave your expenses until they align with your goals.
Or, you might find the entrepreneurs calling pulling at your heart strings...
In conclusion This article is only meant to scratch the surface; it's in no way any kind of in-depth personal finance plan.
However, with this information you are well on your way to reaching your personal goals.
Good luck!