Trying Vs. Wanting

Every day I try my hardest to get to where I want to be on professional and personal basis. Seeing all seven days of the week as an opportunity to get to where I want to be is something many are not willing to understand.

Wanting Material Things

There is a big difference when you want things that are material. Most of them are easily obtainable but at a cost. The problem is by wanting something material and having it, could lead to losing it one day.

There is nothing wrong with wanting material things. Some things might be more of a luxury. If you investing your time and working hard my advice is ot make sure that you are focusing on the more important things in life that are not material.

Victims of Shiny Object Syndrome

I have seen someone obtain something material because they thought it they really needed it. In most cases it is someone wanting a luxury car, a boat, jewelry, or any other shiny object. The problem is that as human beings we want a material thing and go after it. Once we have it we are on to the next new thing. I personally set up a budget for shiny objects. If I meet my sales and profitability goals (and saved money) then I allocate a small amount to a small little luxury. If I don’t meet them those goals, I keep working hard until I get to where I want to be.

Your Goals First

I put my business and personal goals over any material object.  At one moment in my life wanting material things took over me and I ended up helping many other meet their goals. For example, I worked for a large accounting firm where I worked for the Partners goals not mine. I had the opportunity to travel and I had a steady stream of income coming into my pockets. This steady stream of income allowed me to buy some really awesome shinny objects. The problem was that once I had them I was looking for a newer shiny object or the latest model.

Trying My Best To Meet My Goals

At one point I stopped wanting things that where not in line with what I was trying to do. I was trying to be independent and go after my passion of solving complex business problems with practical, technological solutions but I was a slave of many shiny objects. Once I let go of my safety blankets like a salary, vacation time, and other perks of working for larger corporations as an employee I became happier even with less material things.

Bumps in the Road

Going after what I wanted gave me more options and decisions I completely controlled, but it also involved more sacrifice. Since I went on my own I did let go of many of the shiny objects I had acquired even my home. After not having income for a period of time which made it impossible to pay my mortgage, it put me into a tough position. I paid my mortgage out of my savings a year after being unemployed and not bringing any extra income. Later on when I got on track, Banco Popular de Puerto Rico decided to hit me with such ridiculous large fees and had me running in circles for almost a year. Yes they reached several agreements that they later backed off from. At one point I got the message that the greedy folks at Banco Popular wanted the house more than I did. This was the most difficult item to let go, but after all it was only a house not my home.

There is a big difference in trying and wanting. You can want many things but there is very little effort involved around wanting. Now trying to achieve those things is a continuous exercise that should be repeated day by day.

Make sure to have short-term goals towards having a better life, enjoying time with family, building something for your own self. Once you are able to get it through your mind that trying is something you will continue to do until we are no longer here on earth. I am more than sure that you will be a lot more conservative with the wanting of many things.

My experiences have taught me to only want the great things in life; making sure my family is healthy and that I have enough to survive until the next day.

If you are trying and giving it more than 100% you are doing a great job so far. Don’t give up and count on me for support!

photo credit by Christian Haugen