There is really no one who does not harbor a certain level of fear when it comes to the future and their finances. Our childhood and past experiences play a significant role when it comes to how we respond to or handle these fears. For some, it is a motivator to confront it while for others it removes the initiative or courage to action against it.
By default, money games are about taking risks for no opportunities or investments that are absolutely risk-free. Every venture that promises a return will have an underlying exposure to some risk. Many of us miss out on very good opportunities for overanalyzing risk when the moment calls for action.
Today I share ideas on how you can overcome internal fears and insecurities to improve your money well-being:
- Understand it is okay to have some fear, but you cannot be a slave to it – if fear is inherent to our very nature, it means there must be something that separates the winners and the losers in life. How you handle your fears will set you apart from the crowd. Understand your fears but take your chances;
- Learn to use your sixth sense – by nature, we are wired with internal safeguards to provide certain levels of signals in case of danger. Our diverse indigenous set-ups and languages will have a term for them so that no one is disadvantaged in any way. The difference is that it requires a certain level of mastery of your mental frame to make the best out of this inward survival instinct. The beauty of it is that anyone can master it the same way it is freely given to all of us. The only difference is our individual ability to master and control this power to direct our steps;
- Factor in some losses as part of the game to make money -the reality is that no one ever makes money or creates wealth without losing some along the way. Some deals will go bad, you’ll miss out on some red flags and other times inherent greed will limit our judgment in certain choices and decisions. The rule of the thump is to minimize the downsides or losses but maximize the positive outcomes. Technically, this is called taking calculated risks based on informed choices;
- Accept there will be times you will have to take a very lonely path – if those who get rewarded with sufficiently large sums of money are not many, then it means there are unique things only done by those who have it that the rest of us do not do. That automatically means there will be moments and decisions that you will have to leave your friends, colleagues, and even close family members behind to make progress or venture into unchartered territories. Brave yourself for those moments because nobody will understand you until the job is done and the money is home;
- Consult where necessary, and listen to good advice, but make your decision when one has to be made – there are many dollar billion ideas that went with their owners into the grave, same as the many wonderful innovations and talents held in captivity because their owners cannot make a decision or are afraid to act.
The spirit of the winners is to propose to leave under the sun with nothing left from your natural endowments, but an inheritance from your God-given talents and abilities.