PART 1: EXPERIENCE, OR, THE HARD WORK OF TRYING AND STUMBLING ONCE IN A WHILE

Author Robert Heinlein once wrote that “...a thousand reasoned opinions are never equal to one case of diving in and finding out...” The importance of personal experience, as opposed to the advice and help other people can offer based on their own specific experiences, can be a crucial factor in determining whether or not you will achieve your financial goals, whether your particular goal is financial independence, or something else entirely.

It’s not just the end result of having the experience that is important, however, nor the specific steps that you took to get there. It’s actually having worked at it, having done the work, that is one of the most important things, if not the most important thing altogether.

As you work at gaining your goal of financial success, all the little things that you do slowly add up, so that in the end, you will have gained mental habits that allow you to make better financial decisions. In other words, all the work that you’ve done along the way has also slowly added up, giving you the wherewithal to make better decisions as you get closer to retirement.

PART 1: EXPERIENCE, OR, THE HARD WORK OF TRYING AND STUMBLING ONCE IN A WHILE

Take Warren Buffet, for example. This self-made entrepreneur recently made the number three spot on Forbes magazine’s list of billionaires, with an estimated net worth of $44 billion. Most people reading that sentence sort of gloss over the entire “self-made” part, and the only thing that sticks in their minds is the “$44 billion”. What they don’t realize is just what that “self-made” part entailed: Buffet started out by investing in the stock market at the age of 11, all the while working a paper route.

While it certainly helps to be able to draw from others’ experiences, it’s the personal facet of experience that is really important. Just knowing what it’s going to take to succeed is not enough. Rather, it’s knowing what to do, and then actually getting out there and doing it that’s going to make a difference in whether or not you succeed in your financial goals.

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Moreover, it’s not just the effort you put in that’s important, the very scale of that effort is important, too. More on this in Part Two.

PART 2: IMPACT: SCALING YOUR PATH TO ACHIEVING YOUR FINANCIAL GOALS

Think small, and your achievements will be small. If you want to achieve financial success, , you need to visualize what it is you want…no matter how big or small. And a very important part of visualization is to do it with your spouse to confirm you both are working toward the same financial goals.

In planning your financial path, it’s important to set achievable goals, but that doesn’t mean that you should limit yourself to small, easy goals. If you want something bigger, include it in your plan. Things can change on your way to achieving your financial goals – your job, career, salary, etc. – so the first step is to identify it as something you want to works towards.

You will never gain the experience necessary to achieve goals small and large if you don’t at least target them and learn what is that may or may not be achievable. While you may not achieve some of your financial goals, that’s ok. It’s the precious experiences you gain – and accumulate –along the way that will ultimately allow you to attain your more of your financial goals along the way Plus, goals have a tendency to change. You’ll add some new goals. You’ll drop some of your original goals.

PART 2: IMPACT: SCALING YOUR PATH TO ACHIEVING YOUR FINANCIAL GOALS

Thinking big isn’t about overreaching; rather, it’s about charting a path, believing in yourself, and believing in your ability to overcome the obstacles in your way. A big part of your ability to succeed at something lies in what you believe yourself capable of achieving. If you don’t see yourself as being able to do what it takes to reach a particular higher, larger goal, then you’re going to end up settling for something smaller.

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Experience and impact, ultimately, lead us to the last principle of success, vision, which affects your ability to get where you want to go. More in Part Three.

PART 3: THE IMPORTANCE OF VISION, OR, KEEPING THE GOAL IN SIGHT

The Book of Five Rings, written by master Japanese swordsman Miyamoto Musashi in the 1600s, has long been used by the Japanese as a reference book for succeeding in business, in addition to its value as a textbook for warfare and personal combat. In one of the passages of his “Book of Water,” he states that if, during the fight, you limit yourself to thinking only of how to parry, hit, catch, strike, or block the enemy’s sword, then you’re never going to win the duel. If you want to win, it’s important to keep the ultimate goal in mind.

This principle is just as applicable to attaining your financial goals as it is to winning fights. If you get lost in the little details, then you may end up getting distracted from your ultimate goal of attaining financial success. While you work out, and work on, the steps you need to take on your way to gaining your financial goals, it’s important to keep those goals in mind.

Vision, however, is not just about seeing where you want to be. You also need to be able to actually see yourself there, where you want to be when your goals are all met. In harnessing the experience you’ve gained from working on your goals, and scaling your work to the impact you want to attain, you need to gain the self-confidence, and appreciation for your own self-worth, that will allow you to put yourself there, at the goal you’ve been striving towards.

PART 3: THE IMPORTANCE OF VISION, OR, KEEPING THE GOAL IN SIGHT

As part of determining the impact that you want, you’ve already determined that the goal you’ve set for yourself is achievable. Because it is achievable, it’s important to remember that it can be done. Without that vision of you, there, at the end, goal accomplished, you will never be able to motivate yourself to do the small things that, day in and day out, are what will ultimately help you toward the attainment of your financial goals.

AOG Wealth Management Inc.

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Securities offered through Kalos Capital, Inc. located at 11525 Park Woods Circle, Alpharetta, Georgia 30005 and/or TD Ameritrade Institutional Services located at 5010 Wateridge Vista Dr., San Diego, California 92121-5775. Investment advisory services offered through AOG Wealth Management, Inc. AOG Wealth Management, Inc. is neither an affiliate nor subsidiary of either Kalos Capital, Inc. or TD Ameritrade Institutional Services.