I’ve been playing sports my entire life. One of the best things about playing sports is the lessons you can learn as an athlete. You learn about hard work, commitment, perseverance, victory, defeat, and much more.
But it wasn’t until recent years that I realized how much you can learn about building wealth from athletics. In reality, it isn’t just body-builders, but any type of elite athlete.
The reason body-building struck a chord with me is because I have a friend who is always posting about her training. She’s been body-building for a while and has won some serious competitions.
I remember back to when we were working at the same employer and she was just beginning the process.
EARLY STAGES OF THE JOURNEY
There is one particular memory that jumps out at me, and that is of my friend at a sales meeting pulling Tupperware out of her purse full of cooked chicken breast and steamed vegetables.
Her diet plan called for her to eat every couple hours. So, in order to make sure she had the correct portions of healthy food, she carried around containers of food wherever she went.
I was both equally entertained and impressed by this.
On top of a strict dietary plan, she has a very regimented workout schedule that she must maintain. If you check out her Instagram account, you’ll see her constantly posting pics of workouts.
So, how does this relate to wealth-building?
BUILDING WEALTH ISN’T ABOUT LUCK
It’s easy to get sucked into discussion on investing when you talk about finance. But building wealth is about more than making a few lucky stock picks. It’s a journey you must be willing to go on, filled with sacrifices you need to make. Those sacrifices can range from cutting out frivolous spending, to working overtime to earn some extra money.
In order for my friend to be at her best, she must constantly live the lifestyle necessary to achieve her goals. That means her diet has to be very strict, her exercise plan is consistent and intense, and she needs to avoid bad things that will derail her from her goals, things like alcohol, fried and/or fast foods, and desserts.
If we think about this as it relates to wealth-building, some equivalent things that come to mind would be avoiding debt (at least, bad debt), and overspending on things you don’t need.
Other things that can derail your wealth-building goals: Frivolous shopping, overpaying for everyday items, buying luxury goods, and not investing your money in an efficient manner.
The level at which you decide to focus your efforts will dictate how far you go in your endeavor.
YOU DON’T HAVE TO BE “ELITE” TO BE FINANCIALLY FIT
They key point is that you don’t have to strive for the absolute top when it comes to fitness or finances.
If you want to be the best, it will take a herculean effort. But to become healthy and in great shape, you don’t need to follow as strict a diet and workout plan as my friend.
And to become financially fit, you don’t need to spend all of your time focused on cutting costs and increasing your income.
There is a happy middle (actually, many different levels) that you can set your sights on.
But even if you don’t strive to be the best, we can all agree that both your physical fitness, and your financial fitness are very important.
So, how do you get in financial “Shape” without having to spend the majority of your time studying personal finance?
Tune in next week to read about the list of 80/20 principles of personal finance, which is certain to save you a lot of time and effort in the future!
Capably Yours,
Jared
