The ability to articulate your goals is an important part of Financial Planning.
You see we create a Financial Plan to help us determine where we want to be at any particular point in time and part of wanting to be at a particular financial position as a particular time is because we have goals and dreams that we want to achieve, otherwise why do we go to work.
As I was reading one of the many articles I read everyday (it’s a requirement of being a Financial Planner in Australia that I continue to attend professional development sessions which also includes reading information and articles that are relevant to our industry) about Financial Planning and Wealth Creation I found this one that I thought was rather good and worth sharing.
The article was written by Matt Forck who is a dad, husband, writer and speaker.
Matt has published numerous articles on a variety of topics, and has authored several books. You may check out Matt’s books or reach him through his web site: www.thecallproject.org
I hope you enjoy the article as much as I did and maybe when we meet some day we can talk about those goals and dreams you have.
A Dream World
“I look at that family, that car, that house and that job and I think, what a dream…”
I confess that years ago I gazed longingly at luxury cars. I dreamed of owning one, brand didn’t matter, I wasn’t picky, any one would do. I continued living in this dream world until one day I came to a simple yet powerful realization…that at one point in time a luxury car was a dream for the person who now drives it. With few exceptions, he or she didn’t always have the skill or education to earn the money to buy that lavish ride. It was a dream for them…one that came to fruition through hard work and focus. I guess one could say that today, they are living a dream world?
Over time I thought more about ‘living a dream world’ and bringing dreams to reality, until finally I arrived at a staggering yet unmistakable conclusion that it is all a dream. In the past I glanced at a Lexus or Mercedes and thought that person is ‘living in a dream world.’ Over time I have expanded my thoughts to conclude that everything we see, use, consume or have is a result of a dream…let me explain.
The technology in the computer I type on at this very moment was a dream of many scientists years ago. The computer that now sits on my desk was made by a company that just a few short years ago called a garage their world wide corporate headquarters. What began as a dream of an energetic entrepreneur is now a worldwide fortune 500 company. The parts and assembly for this computer are the careful work of many hands, people who thought they would probably not be assembling computers for a living. Yet, this work lets them foster their dreams of providing a nice living for their family, an education, a new television, a daughter’s wedding or a car for their teenager.
This computer now rests on my desk, one that I dreamed of having in a study that I imagined years ago. I call my study ‘the room of knowing.’ Its walls are lined with articles I have published, book jackets from books I have written and some awards that I have won, accomplishments I only dreamed of years ago. It is called ‘the room of knowing’ because I now know I can accomplish my dreams if I set my mind to it, this room reminds me of that. It could also be called the ‘room of dreams,’ after all, that’s where it all started. I guess one could say that as I type…I am working in a dream world, a world of my dreams (the study) and others (the computer)…
As I drive to work this morning, I realize that I can run through the same ‘dream’ drill with my car. It was made by a company that started small…a dream. Engineers with a vision (or dream) designed it. Workers who are working a dream job because it provides for and creates their dreams assembled it. I can run the same dream drill with the STOP sign at the intersection by my home. It was put there by a crew who dreamed of working outside. In a subdivision that was a dream of a developer. Ordered by local, county and state laws, laws passed by people who dreamed of serving their community and country. The sign is in Cole County, Missouri, one of 50 states that make our great country, a country that began in the hopes, hearts and dreams of our forefathers.
I could run through the same dream thought process as I pass the local McDonalds restaurant, my CPA’s office, the public library or the state capital. I could do the same with the water at my tap or the road I drive on or the Green Tea that I quietly sip but that would be redundant, you get the point, each and everything around us is part of a dream that has reached fruition. This reality proves dreams do come true. That anything we touch, have, hold or use is a result of the hopes, energies and imaginations of the ones who create it…it is part of a dream world. Focus on ‘a dream world’ for just five minutes today and you will realize an appreciation, astonishment and empowerment that you have not felt before…you will literally be opening your eyes, for a first time, in a dream.
“I look at that family, that car, that house and that job and I think, what a dream…”
Matt Forck
And so the point of this article is to get you dreaming again. You see one of the most amazing things I have discovered in all the years I have been in the Financial Services industry is that it seems many people have forgotten how to dream, either that or they are so used to their goals being ridiculed by other people that they stop dreaming or at least they stop telling people about their dreams.
Usually it can take me up to an hour to get people to just talk about the things that they dream about but once the ball gets rolling it becomes a fantastic experience.
You see my job when we first meet is not to tell you that you can’t have something, my job is to find out what it is that you would like to achieve and then to go away and see if that is something I can help you with, so why wouldn’t you tell me about your big dreams? After all if I can help you achieve them then it’s a big win for you and it’s also a win for me.
So dream big, dream long and when we meet, tell me about it. I love hearing about peoples dreams and I love working out ways that I can help people achieve those dreams.
