Dreams, Goals, And A Secure Retirement — What Doesn’t Happen On It’s Own?

Posted @ 11:37 pm - Filed under Purposeful Planning, Retirement, Retirement Income, Goals, BawldGuy Axiom

Ever wonder why the guy at yer office goes from one success to another? Sure, the usual reasons work, but the common denominator is almost always goals, which then lead to their version of what for decades I’ve been callin’ a Purposeful Plan.

A Plan without goals is an eighth grade creative writing assignment. Goals without a plan is a daydream that turns into a whole lotta nothin’ the moment your mind is refocused. A locomotive is of little value with no train to pull — and a 20 car train is goin’ nowhere without the locomotive’s power.

I’ve always envisioned the train as my goals, and the Plan as my engine.

Take some time and listen to the Purposeful Planning podcasts. They’re located at the top of the page on the right. Just click and listen. They’re not long, about 15 minutes give or take. Then, if you’re interested, give a listen to Grandpa Economics. That one surprises most who listen. Many have told me it’s what pushed them to get going.

And you thought this weekend was gonna be boring. Silly you.

Not gonna tell ya how to set goals and plan here. Everyone has their own way, their own process, even their own style.

BawldGuy Axiom: Retirements never just happen. That includes yours.

Understand one principle: Without a Purposeful Plan, your goals will have the shelf life of steam.

If your goal is to lose weight, failure irritates, but you can hop back on that horse and still succeed.

When yer 55, wake up one morning, slammed with the epiphany that your retirement will surely be more akin to a punishment — well, it’s not a feelin’ ya wanna share much.

So here’s a suggestion. It’s one Dad gave me one night when I wanted to become a big muscle guy. Hey, don’t laugh. I was only 16, OK? Anyway, do yourself a huge favor this weekend. Set aside as much time as you need to figure out what you’d like your retirement to look like.

Work backwards. Some prefer describing how they’ll live, while others just name a monthly retirement income for a target. Either way, it hasta be something you can quantify, even if only by you. Once that’s written in plain English, yer a long way towards gettin’ there.

When you have the goal, it’s time for the Plan. ‘Course I recommend a Purposeful Plan, but it’s up to you. Find me. Let’s figure out together how to make your goals and retirement dreams happen. They don’t, and more importantly, won’t just appear. Remember, goals and retirement don’t happen on their own. Have a good one.

This entry was posted on Thursday, September 25th, 2008 at 11:37 pm and is filed under Purposeful Planning, Retirement, Retirement Income, Goals, BawldGuy Axiom. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.