by Dr. Jeffrey Lant
Author's program note. This is an
article about something you've craved, desired, wished for... but
now, aging and chagrined, know you will never have... never be any
closer to than when you were sixteen or the last time you seriously
consulted "Esquire" for a fashion make over.
And that is financial independence.
You don't have to believe me, probably
won't. So (smelling salts at the ready) take a look at your assets.
Pathetic, isn't it? And the sad fact is... you won't do anything
about it. Probably can't.
But before we develop this maudlin
theme further, you'd better imbibe some of Nino Rota's masterful
score from Fellini's perpetually edgy masterpiece "La Dolce
Vita" (1960). You'll find it in any search engine. It is about
the craziness of love, money and desire played out in Rome, where the
unending search for the sweet life will devour you as it has devoured
generations before you, including a whole College of Cardinals, and
expectant generations still to come.
Now let us begin, for you have wasted
far too much time, and have so little left.
Time.
The first reason la dolce vita will
elude you is that you've waited too long to use the present to shape
the future. Now hear this: to become rich by your own insistent hands
and devices, you must start from the first minute you glimpse the
awful and shocking truth that you are not going to be young and
beautiful for ever. What? Moi?
Yes, I'm afraid so. One of these days
some current play fellow of yours, who just a moment ago complimented
your bodacious curves and knock-'em-out bootie, will be considering
the unfairness of fate whilst scrutinizing your flesh-specked skull,
for all the world like Hamlet and hapless Yorick.
Dire, but who cares?
Very well, you muffed your biggest
advantage -- time. Sadly, the more you wasted; the less organized and
efficient you were, the fewer options you have. There are two things
you can do about this: 1) radically alter your lifestyle or 2) do
nothing. You'll say, of course, that you'll make adjustments, but we
both know, don't we, how lazy and incorrigible you have been in the
past... and intend to be in the future. In other words, you'll
continue to talk the good, the plausible, the smooth game... but you
won't lift your pampered pinkie to achieve the objective.
What objective?
The plain truth is you have never had a
specific, written financial objective; the older you get, the more
glaring its omission. For example: have you checked to see just how
long a person of your age, gender, and health can expect to live? In
other words do you know what you're working with? It figures. You
want the dolce vita, but you haven't got a clue about how much "vita"
is left. So, for openers let's play "This is the rest of your
life." For most of you even Ralph Edwards, a man with helium in
his leather pumps, couldn't squeeze much optimism from the too sad
facts.
Napoleon, no objective, St Helena.
The most celebrated man in history who
lived without objectives was the great Napoleon himself. It's what
brought him down from the highest of pinnacles and human achievement
to life on a poky little sheep ranch called St. Helena. You see,
before each campaign he'd steal the soldiers he'd need and the money.
Then, without forethought, he'd set down the road... without goal,
without objective. He was, you see, the ultimate wing-er. Goals, he
reckoned, could take care of themselves...
Europe offered him this province and
that if he would say just what he wanted and, in time honored
fashion, stop with the current larceny; in other words once he was
bought, stay bought. However,if things were going well, he declined
to parlay; it they weren't going well, he declined to parlay until at
last the aristocrats understood they must work together, did so, and
snuffed the man who, if he had a reasonable goal, would have ruled
the roost and been the greatest sovereign since the Caesars. It is
unrecorded if his imperial majesty liked mutton. I doubt it.
Now, assets.
A detailed look at what you loosely
term your "assets" now is necessary. Gather what you
jocosely call your "financial records," you know, that
laughable pile of gum wrappers, lottery tickets, naughty Internet
sites, and legal mumbo-jumbo about a stock you once owned. You'll
need pencil, paper and true grit for this crucial exercise.
Now, sit down and start.... And, pray,
don't snivel, whine or sob!!!; much less "special plead"
and "explain" as we review the little you wish to transform
into the enough, the more than enough, and that fast receding life
you once though would arrive without much effort or work of any kind.
Oh, how the ill-informed and grossly self-deceived have fallen.
What assets?
Get a grip on yourself. You are about
to do the hardest of tasks; telling the truth about you, the truth,
the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. It will cause you pain;
it will make you squirm; it will make you perspire and cause your
life with every wrong decision and miscalculation to flash before
your horrified eyes.
Why have I put that gun on the table?
Because I know given the chance you'd be out of here like a jack
rabbit. So, shall we begin?
The overwhelming number of folks have
just about $30,000 in assets upon retirement. That's probably within
shouting distance of where you are now, assuming you wish to retire
in, say, five years. I hope you're smiling, sugar, because you're
going to have to place a brave face upon this dismal reality. And
while you're at it, try learning the lyrics to Charlie Chaplin's
moving song, "Smile though your heart is breaking...." Just
remember this, when he wrote it he was probably the best known
entertainer in the world and amongst the richest men on Earth. It's
easy to weep into your beer and warble movingly under those
conditions.
Under water.
So.... grimly...you list your primary
asset, your house. The Great Recession of '08 wiped out such assets
for most people for the better part of a generation. If you're
looking here for salvation, look again. It's not coming any time soon
and certainly not to fund a lifestyle less dolce every day. And as
for any other "assets", you know and I know their
collective value is negligible. And as for that grotesque Chinese
vase your auntie bought 50 years ago in San Francisco, you'll be
waiting a long, long time before "Antiques Road Show" tells
you it's fake, Ming indeed! Nice try.
Two choices.
So, what are you going to do? You could
get realistic and stop wishing for something that's not going to
happen. Take your $30,000 (or so) and give yourself a week in Paris
Greta Garbo would envy. Splurge. When it's over, it's over. Enjoy
what you've had; don't pine for more. You've had a nice taste of what
you wanted. Be grateful. This is not the American way, of course; no
matter how much you get, you want more... and moan to high heaven
when you don't have it, can't afford it, and can't get it.
The solution? It's right in front of
you. It's called the Internet, and it's a gold mine... if you work
with the right people and follow simple directions. I know what I'm
talking about. Nearly twenty years ago, when the 'net was new and
primitive. I made a calculated decision that it would be the most
important, the transformational technology of my life. Without
hesitation I affiliated way back then with a genius named George
Kosch who explained to me, already a successful businessman in
publishing and direct mail, why the 'net was the big play. As a
result I made millions of dollars.
Now hear this: you can, too. Everything
you need is just one click away, easy to understand, easy to start.
What's more you'll never work alone, will always have assistance and
instruction and need to know absolutely nothing about technology. Now
see for yourself. Go to worldprofit.com and immerse yourself in your
successful future.
But we both know, don't we, what you'll
do... thereby killing your last chance (short of a winning lottery
ticket or the timely demise of an unknown relative) of much "vita"
at all, much less any that's dolce. Caio, bella. We'll miss you on
the Via Veneto. And remember, to be rich, is to be beautiful...
forever.
About the Author
Harvard-educated Dr. Jeffrey Lant is
CEO of Worldprofit, Inc., providing a wide range of online services
for small and-home based businesses. Services include home business
training, affiliate marketing training, earn-at-home programs,
traffic tools, advertising, webcasting, hosting, design, WordPress
Blogs and more. Find out why Worldprofit is considered the # 1 online
Home Business Training program by getting a free Associate Membership
today. Republished with author's permission by Vaurn James http://SuccessRoute.biz.
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