"Worthy Goal or Cold War Challenge!?: US President John F. Kennedy announces on May 25, 1961, his goal of putting a man on the moon and return him safely to Earth before the end of the 1960s. Bold and audacious, this announcement jump-started NASA's Apollo program resulting in Neil Armstrong & Co hitting lunar dirt on July 20, 1969...forever altering the course of humanity (Photo: NASA)" ~ Keelan

I believe that the best way to measure your own success is to measure your progress against your own set of predetermined goals in line with your values. When you do this, you stop the comparison game, and carve out your own form of true and meaningful success.

I’ve found that success in life is intrinsically linked to fulfilment and fulfilment comes from filling the voids in your life (which are determined by your values) whilst focusing on the progressive achievement of worthy goals (in line with your values). We’ve all witnessed someone who has all the external trappings of success but deep down inside they feel unfulfilled and even unhappy. There’s typically a values/goals discrepancy at play when this happens.

I recognize that this sense of discontent is rooted in the hard-wired human need to have purpose and meaning in their life. So, the goal setting methodology in my ULTIMATE Goal Setting Success Manual is not only firmly about clarifying and documenting your life goals but also about drawing out from within your own life purpose, clarifying your own values and making sure you goals are in line with them.

Life is not just about what you have or achieve; it’s also firmly about who and what you’ve become. Sometimes when we cast an eye over our past we disregard all that we’ve achieved/become so far on our life’s journey. Hopefully, this article has highlighted why success leaves clues and needs clues!

Good luck in your goal setting. You can do it! 

‘Success leaves clues’ is one of those stock phrases used by personal development legend Tony Robbins. Most often it’s associated with modelling the mindset, behaviour and actions of someone who is successful. But not only does success leave clues but it also needs clues.

What I mean is that success needs success; it requires reference points in the past to know that you have already been successful so that you develop the belief that you can achieve even greater success. The problem is that many people don’t acknowledge their successes to date and so they approach future success from a position of lack rather than abundance.

Many high achievers rarely take the time to acknowledge their success to date. This is a mistake. Taking stock of your successes to date is a seriously important part of setting the overall tone of your life. Taking the time to write down your recent successes is actually great for your state of mind.

Rather than chasing new goals all the time, appreciating what you have achieved to date will support and endorse your ability to set and achieve more lifetime goals. When you look inside your mind, what do you see? Ideally it should be an image of both past successes and even greater future success to come. Have a look on my new posts

‘Success leaves clues’ is one of those stock phrases used by personal development legend Tony Robbins in his talks and seminars. However, not only does success leave clues but it also actually needs them too when it comes to the mad science of goal setting!

But what kind of clues exactly does success leave and why does it need these clues in order to set future goals? Read on to find out more about this intriguing goal setting tip!

Success is a misunderstood concept if you ask me. Becoming an overnight sensation on X-Factor, or a partner in a law firm, even running a multi-million dollar business etc., may all be worthy examples of what’s commonly thought of as “success”. But in a way these are very clichéd, stereotypical examples of success. What we want to do is define what success means to YOU.

Working Towards Worthy Goals

So, how do you know if YOU are successful? For me, this is an easy question to answer. I’ve long ago given up on comparing my level of success with that of other people. Why? Because my definition of success is based on my values, my purpose etc., and therefore is entirely unique to me. If you’re honest and true to yourself, so is yours…

I know very little about the deep inner drives and true measures of success adopted by my next door neighbours, my work colleagues and friends. I might have some idea alright but I don’t really know everything about their full background, their psychological make-up, their hierarchy of values, their innate skills and talents. In my view, success is achieved by working towards worthy goals that are personal to you and in line with your values and life purpose.

I will be writing more about success & goal setting in my next posts: Success Leaves Clues, Success Needs Clues & Fulfilment, Voids and Values

"Air Guitar World Champion 2010: Markku Hyttinen - Yes, there is actually a air guitar world championship held every year in Finland. So, if do you make it to Destination Absolute Financial Freedom you can pretty much pick up your air guitar and do whatever you want, with whomever you want, as much as you want i.e. play your air guitar all night long!!" ~ Keelan

When you think absolute financial freedom, think total rock star lifestyle! You can pretty much remove any financial limitations and pick up your air guitar for this one!

You will have achieved absolute financial freedom when you can pretty much do whatever you want, with whomever you want, as much as you want – without ever having to worry about money or work again.

So, assuming we’d still like to keep everything we have/do from our financial freedom list, we now add all the new dream capital items we’d love to have that are not in our financial freedom list.  For example:

• 35-Yacht ($500,000) – $5, 000/month
• Ferrari Testarossa ($250,000) – $2, 500/month
• Piper Cherokee 140 or Cesna 172 Private Plane ($30,000) –$3000/month
• Own desert island ($7,000,000) – $14,000/month

Additional monthly unearned income needed for these dream luxury items comes to $21,800/month i.e. $261,600/annum. Therefore the total cost of absolute financial freedom is the $140, 400/annum needed to achieve Financial Freedom PLUS an additional $261,600/annum = $402,000/annum

Again, using an annual 8% return on investment would mean you’d need a critical mass of capital amounting to $5, 025,000 in order to secure absolute financial freedom.  So, by today’s standards it’s a very significant sum of money/capital. In order to have built up this level of personal wealth, you most likely will have become a noteworthy business owner and quite a sophisticated investor i.e. you’ll be a total money master!

So, there you have it! Financial Freedom and Absolute Financial Freedom defined in terms of an absolute sum of money required each year. So, now you know EXACTLY what it’s gonna take for you to eventually quit working for money and finally have money working for you; to escape the daily grind and retire to Margaritaville…should you want to! Check out my other articles on Personal Finance, Business and Wealth Creation tips to help you reach the financial freedom finish line…fast!

"The Harley Davidson - Part Machine, Part Metaphor: Not only is it a metaphor for emotional freedom but also a symbol of financial freedom. A frequent entry on many people's financial freedom wishlist, not to mention the accompanying roadtrip on Route 66. Certainly, riding a Harley on Route 66 is on my 101 Things to Do Before I Die list. Come get your kicks..." ~ Keelan

Financial Freedom

You will have achieved financial freedom when you have accumulated a sufficient critical mass of capital to provide enough income for you to live the lifestyle you desire (accounting for inflation) without ever having to work again for the rest of your life. The keyword here is ‘desire’. This is what differentiates financial freedom from its predecessor, financial independence, which is defined more by what you ‘require’ to live reasonably comfortably.

In essence, Financial Freedom would include having and enjoying all the luxuries in life such as:

• Second Home in the Sun ($700,000) – $3, 500/month
• 35 Foot Boat ($150,000) – $1,500/month
• Mercedes Benz ($100,000) – $1,000/month
• 1 Luxury Holiday ($12,000)– $1,000/month
• Harley Davidson ($20,000) – $400/month

The additional monthly unearned income needed for these luxuries comes to $7,400/month i.e. $88,800/annum. Therefore the total cost of financial freedom is the $51, 600/annum figure needed to achieve Financial Independence (which we worked out in a previous article) PLUS an additional $88,800/annum = $140,400/annum

Again, using the benchmark of an annual 8% return on investment would mean you’d therefore need a critical mass of capital amounting to $1, 755,000 in order to secure financial freedom. So, as you can see it’s a decent sum of money but I believe within the realms of possibility for anyone who sets about achieving it and re-thinking their approach to income generation and financial planning.  

The Legend of the Holy Grail: In this image scene from the film 'Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade' (1989) we can see Indiana (Harrison Ford) give his father (Sean Connery) a drink from the mythological sacred chalice to heal his wound. Financial Freedom may well be the holy grail of financial well-being but unlike the holy grail, Financial Freedom is potentially available to anyone who wants it bad enough.

Did you know that financial freedom is available to anyone who adjusts their approach to earning income and makes it their business to accumulate a specific dollar amount of money/capital? Well, if your goal is to reach the financial freedom finish line (and it should be!), then just like any goal setting, one of the keys is having absolute clarity on what your end goal looks like. So, what does financial freedom look like? Read on to discover the visual reality of financial freedom using this 5 minute formula! Damn, she sure is mighty pretty!

Financial Freedom is thought of as the coveted holy grail of financial well-being and rightly so. Who wouldn’t want to be in a position to exercise the choice of being financially free enough to never have to work again to earn money? Sounds good to me anyway!

Now, if I asked you to quickly write down on the back of a napkin how much money you’d figure you’d need to be totally financially free, it would be fascinating to see what number you’d come up with. It’s actually a pretty tough exercise for most people to do with any level of accuracy. Not to worry, help is at hand with this 5 minute formula!
In a previous article, we used this 5 minute formula to work out the exact sum of money you’d need to reach the first 3 destinations on the road to financial freedom ( 1. Financial Protection; 2. Financial Security and; 3. Financial Independence).

In my next posts I’m going work out exactly how much money you’d need to reach the final 2 destination: Financial Freedom and then just for the hell of it, Absolute Financial Freedom.

1. Financial Freedom Roadmap: Financial Freedom
2. Financial Freedom Roadmap: Absolute Financial Freedom 
   

"Rogue Trader, Nick Leeson (who interestingly now lives in practically insolvent Ireland) managed to bring down Barings Bank in 1995 all on his own! We now know our banks aren't as financially secure as they would have us believe. Learning how to manage your own money and becoming your own best financial advisor has never been as important if you want to become financially secure." ~ Keelan

The first step on the road to financial freedom is financial protection (see my previous post for more on this). In this post I want to explain what is step two: Financial Security and how much does it cost to actually achieve this.

You will have achieved financial security when through your various investments you’ve accumulated a critical mass of capital, that, invested in a secure environment at an 8% rate of return, provides you with enough cash to meet the following living expenses forever without you having to work again should you chose. For the purpose of this illustration we’re gonna assume some numbers.

1. Mortgage repayments on your private home until it’s paid off e.g. $1,500/month
2. Family food needs e.g. $500/month
3. Utilities, gas and electricity e.g. $250/month
4. Transportation needs e.g. $250/month
5. Insurance – health, disability, house e.g. $300/month
6. Taxes – such as property taxes e.g. $200/month

This would bring your total monthly living expenses to $3,000/month or $36,000/annum. Therefore, you would need a critical mass of capital amounting to $450,000 (which invested @ 8% return per annum would generate $36,000) to achieve financial security.

What I like about this calculation is that it removes fuzzy, subjective meanings of financial security; it distils financial security into a finite number…something which I think is enormously helpful for anyone looking to achieve it.

Financial Protection: The Fort Knox Gold Bullion Depository in Kentucky, USA under construction circa 1937. President Roosevelt ordered its construction when the The Gold Reserve Act of 1934 effectively banned the private possession of gold. Anyone in possession of anything other than historic coins or jewellery had to sell it to the US Treasury.

Step #1. Financial Protection

The key thing to understand about financial freedom is this – no matter how much money you earn, it’s vital to understand that you can only ever achieve financial independence through the generation of non-earned (passive) income i.e. a return on a capital sum invested. Or to put it another way, making money work for us, rather than us working for money!

Now, what I wanted to do was figure out ‘what’s the number’? In other words, how much capital do you need to achieve: 1. financial protection; 2. financial security, and 3. financial independence?

Below I have calculated how much it costs to reach financial protection.

Financial Protection is the minimum level of financial wellbeing and first destination on the road to financial freedom – making sure you and your family are protected no matter what short or long-term financial challenge may befall you or the economy.  Here’s how you know you and your family have achieved financial protection:

1. You have enough liquid capital to cover your basic living expenses for a minimum of 3 months and ideally up to 2 years. So, if your basic living expenses came to $3,000/month, you’d need a minimum of $9,000 and ideally $72,000 in liquid capital.
2. You have a life insurance policy in place that provides income to your family/dependants to maintain their lifestyle if you were to pass away.
3. You have disability income protection insurance to protect you and your family should you become disabled in any way and prevented from working and earning income.

The amount of disability insurance you should have is directly related to the amount of money you’ve saved. If you have say 3 months liquid capital saved, then you should really consider having disability protection to cover the outstanding 21 months so that ideally you have a combination of savings and/or disability income in place to cover 24 months basic living expenses.  As a rule of thumb, insure yourself for 60% of what your income is. Typically the monthly cost of disability insurance can be about $30(if your 30yrs old) and up to $100 (if your 50yrs old) per $1,000 protection

Discover what it takes in dollar amounts to reach the first 3 destinations on the road to financial freedom!

Everybody, no matter what their current financial circumstances, can achieve the rarefied reality of financial freedom. This article details what it takes to reach the first 3 destinations on the road to financial freedom. So, listen up, as what you are about to read would probably cost you a few hundred dollars if you went to a financial advisor to help work this out. Hopefully, this article will have saved you a trip and a few hundred dollars!

Myths & Misunderstandings about Financial Freedom

You’ll often hear people mention terms like financial security or financial independence in the course of everyday conversation. Within my own social and business circles, practically everyone I know desires some level of financial independence or freedom. However, I’ve found that financial well-being remains hidden and out of reach as a result of fuzzy concepts and even sketchier numbers people have in their head about what these terms mean. Therefore, the first thing I want to do here is dispel any myths or misunderstandings and reveal the true meaning of financial independence and financial freedom.

How Much Does Financial Freedom Really Cost?

The key thing to understand about financial freedom is this – no matter how much money you earn, it’s vital to understand that you can only ever achieve financial independence through the generation of non-earned (passive) income i.e. a return on a capital sum invested. Or to put it another way, making money work for us, rather than us working for money!

Now, what I wanted to do was figure out ‘what’s the number’? In other words, how much capital do you need to achieve: 1. financial protection; 2. financial security, and 3. financial independence? So, over the course of a weekend I decided to have a go at describing and calculating the hypothetical cost of each of these 3 levels of financial well-being. Here goes!

- Read Step 1: Financial Freedom Plan: Hidden Destination #1. Financial Protection

- Read Step 2: Financial Freedom Plan: Hidden Destination #2. Financial Security

- Read Step 3: Financial Freedom Plan: Hidden Destination #3. Financial Independence

In my next posts, I will define exactly what Financial Protection, Financial Security and Financial Independence is in terms of a sum of capital required to generate adequate non-earned income.