hew a way to any goal, though walls of granite intervene.” Your spirit can do whatever it takes, even though it may seem impossible. This is the magic that emerges for something of great importance and meaning to you.
It is when your “spirit rises and commands” that the invisible becomes visible. And it is brilliant.
It Takes All of You
Pursuing and attaining your financial vision will take all of you: body, mind, emotions, and spirit. Achieving your financial dreams is a process. It is an incredibly enlightening, frustrating, eye-opening, and honest process of self-discovery and personal development. There is so much to learn. But in the learning come the growth, the confidence, the fun, and that special freedom.
To rise up to your inner strength takes…
Courage is a broad term. Courage may be reflected in acts of heroism, overcoming tremendous odds, physical bravery, or going against the status quo. No matter how courage reveals itself, there is always one thing that every act of courage has in common—fear. It wouldn’t be courage unless you were scared.
When it comes to money and investing, fear is the emotion that tops the list. That means courage will play a big role in achieving your financial dreams.
What kind of courage will be required of us? Most of us know what we need to do. The question is: Do we have the courage to accept the consequences?
There must be an unknown for there to be fear. And the unknown is the possible outcome or consequences we might face. Fear exists because we don’t know what the outcome will be.
The Consequences
For acts of physical courage—diving off a 75-foot cliff, jumping into a raging river to save a child, or thwarting a store robbery—there are three possible consequences:
1. Survive unharmed
2. Get hurt, injured
3. Die
Feats of mental and emotional courage actually have similar consequences. The fear of public speaking is one of the greatest fears for many people. You walk up on stage for the first time, notes in hand, face a group of strangers, and begin talking. For many people, this would be a very scary undertaking—scary because you don’t know how it will turn out.
What are the possible consequences?
1. The audience likes your presentation. (You survive unharmed.)
2. The audience isn’t wowed. Some fall asleep. (You’re hurt, injured.)
3. The audience boos you off the stage. (You’re completely humiliated. You die.)
Common Fears for Women Today
A study was conducted recently among 4,000 women in the United States asking them what they feared most. Surprisingly, 50% of the women surveyed (almost 2,000 women) fear becoming a bag lady. The “bag-lady syndrome” is the fear that they will end up alone, destitute, and homeless. What’s even more surprising is that this fear is prevalent among women with high incomes and net worth. (And I’m certain this fear is worldwide.) Becoming a bag lady would, for many women, be the ultimate death. This fear alone may be why so many women are hesitant to venture too far into the investing world. Instead, they play it safe which, in the long run, could be the riskiest thing they could do.
Facing Our Fears
Even though we may not have the courage to face the consequences, most of us know the things we need to do. What might some of those things be?
• Speak the truth or stand up for what you believe in, even if you fear people may not like you or agree with you.
• Pursue your dream, even if you fear the resistance and rejection you may encounter, especially from those closest to you.
• Get out of a toxic relationship, even if you fear you’re unable to survive financially or you fear being alone.
• Leave a job where you are unfulfilled and feel unappreciated, even if you fear the loss of a steady paycheck.
• Make a financial decision, even if you fear you might make a mistake.
What about confrontation? For many women, it is the fear of confrontation they’re not willing to face. I do not like conflict. I’m the kind of person who works to find the common ground when ideas or people are at odds. I do like to keep the peace whenever possible. I will not avoid a confrontation if the situation calls for it. God knows I’ve had my share. Yet, I can name many women who will avoid a confrontation, especially with their spouse or partner, at all costs, including the cost of themselves.
There’s Going to Be a Fight
Cathi is a bright, successful entrepreneur. She’s owned her own PR (public relations) company for 17 years. We were talking about investments one day, and she told me, “My husband and I are pretty conservative when it comes to our investments. We have mutual funds, some stock shares, and we each have our own managed retirement plan.”
She went on, “I like to do my homework so I began learning about investments that seem to deliver a better return than we are currently getting. After looking at several options, I’ve decided I want to invest in a specific real estate project that was presented to me. I know the people who are putting the project together, and their investors are extremely happy with them. I weighed all the pros and cons of the project, and I’ve made up my mind that this is the investment for me.”
Cathi’s plan was to pull her money out of her retirement plan, which had gone down about 30 percent in value the previous year, and put the money into this project which was on track to deliver a 10- to 12-percent return. Cathi confessed, “There’s just one problem.”
“What’s that?” I asked.
She sighed, “My husband. Jack’s going to look at this investment and immediately sum it up as ‘too risky.’ There’s going to be a fight. It’s not something I look forward to. This is what has stopped me from doing this sooner. I hate the idea of a fight. But I also want to be sure he doesn’t talk me out of it. I know this is what I need to do. It’s my first real investment. It’s my start.”
I asked her, “Are you willing to have this investment cause an upset in your marriage?”
She hesitated. “I am,” she replied. “I don’t like it, but I’m willing.”
Then Cathi came up with an idea, “I’m going to do this one way or another so I’ve decided that I’m going to invest my money first and then tell my husband.” And that’s exactly what she did.
Later, she told me how her discussion with Jack went. She said, “I rehearsed all day about what I would say and carefully
