There are no straight lines
New Year’s resolution season is in full swing and there is no shortage of available plug-and-play health, wealth, and organizational systems out there for you to purchase right now. You know the ones I’m talking about…
Follow my three-step system and all of your dreams will come true! Look what it did for me and these other people with highly questionable before-and-after photos!
We might look at these and laugh but deep down there’s part of us that wants to sign up, right? We can’t help but wonder if this might be the thing that makes it all happen for us. Ever wonder why that is?
I believe it’s because we’re looking for a straight line.
We all want a system that tells us, “If we do this, then we get that.” We crave certainty. But unfortunately life is far from predictable and there are no straight lines.
BUT...
Systems are SUPER important to have in place.
They provide us with the structure we need to deal with the chaos that is life.
The real danger appears though when we get caught believing that what works best for someone else is going to work the exact same way for us. This is why rules of thumb – financial and otherwise – only take us so far. This is also how we can get caught searching for that straight line.
When we remove certainty as an option, we can replace it with two reasonable and achievable alternatives:
Flexibility and choice.
I’m a firm believer that the best systems are built with flexibility and choice in mind.
A good system is one that adapts with you as your life changes. It’s built to handle the “two steps forward, one step back” process that is life. And it doesn’t all go to hell when life throws you a curveball. That’s the flexibility a system requires to be effective and stand the test of time.
A good system also provides you with options. Choices provide the autonomy we all seek in our lives. It brings a sense of agency to our decisions rather than us just accepting life as something that happens to us. A good system doesn’t dictate how you live your life. Instead, it’s more like a “choose your own adventure” book.
So before you pull the trigger on this year’s latest and greatest plug-and-play system that promises you the world, ask yourself…
Am I chasing a straight line that doesn’t exist?
Does this system really provide the flexibility I need and the autonomy and choices I want?
If you’re ready to stop chasing straight lines and bring flexibility and choice to your family’s financial life this year, I happen to know a guy who can help you do just that.
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