One of the things that frustrates me the most about wealth building is waiting (and waiting). If there was a theme song for wealth building it would be Tom Petty’s “The Waiting” because the waiting is the hardest part.
Who the heck wants to wait around patiently for success? I want success NOW dang-it!!! I want all the goodies and glories that comes from being wealthy. I want the security, the peace of mind and to be frank about it, I want the capital to buy things that I think will make me happy (like a winter home in Florida and a new fishing boat!)
The desire for these things is tremendous. The desire is so strong to buy things that we want NOW that it derails us from actually doing the things that will get us there in the LONG RUN. Immediate gratification results in instant pleasure and stimulus. Why wait when you could do it now (with debt…)? Banks know this which is how the entire financial system works with banking and credit. Finance companies work really hard to market their loans and make it easy to buy things RIGHT NOW. How many times have we been offered;
- No payments until the next year.
- 0% interest rate for a certain amount of time.
- A unusually low interest rate.
- A bonus item if you purchase now.
Cars, furniture, electronics, boats, RV’s, houses, jewelry, clothing…you name it and there is a company out there that is working double time to get you to decide that you need it RIGHT NOW before it is too late. This deal won’t last long! Act now or live with regret (even though the regret usually sets in AFTER we purchase something that we can’t afford).
So if you are super anxious to have all of your desires, I feel your pain. I know what that is like. We all feel it. We all want things now to be happy. That’s what we tell ourselves after all. If we had some item or service, then we would be happy right? But undoubtedly right after we buy one item we just move on to the next item that we must have to be happy, and then the next one, and the next one. It’s a vicious cycle that seems to never end.
That’s not to say that we really won’t be happier with certain goods and services (I really do think I would be happy with a winter home in Florida and a new fishing boat!) I DO!
But everything must come in time AFTER doing the hard work. You need to earn. It’s up to all of us to create the life that we really want. Nobody will do it for us. So if we want to be wealthy, that comes with a price. The price is paid through years of discipline, determination, dedication, desire, and a plan that must not get derailed before our goal is accomplished.
We have to decide what is most important to us. As the saying goes, “We can do anything that we want, we just can’t do everything.” Thus, choose wisely.