How to Smash Your Life Goals by Getting Fit and Wealthy

Are you sick and tired of feeling unhappy with your life, and unable to change it? Do you want to smash your life goals and create an awesome future for yourself? If so, you are not the only one. Many people struggle with feeling stuck in the loop, in the rat race, in their personal and professional lives. But, you don’t have to settle for this as your reality. By getting fit and wealthy, you are doing the two main things that will create the discipline and respect needed to smash your life goals. Here are some simple steps you can take to start your journey:

• Set SMART goals for your fitness and wealth. SMART stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. SMART goals are clear, realistic, and trackable. They help you focus on what you want to achieve and how you will get there. For example, instead of saying “I want to get in shape”, you can say “I want to lose 10 kg in 6 months by eating clean and working out regularly”. Instead of saying “I want to make money”, you can say “I want to make $10,000 in a year by cutting crap expenses and increasing my income”. SMART goals give you direction, motivation, and accountability.

• Create a plan and a budget for your fitness and wealth. A plan and a budget are essential tools for achieving your goals. They help you organize your actions, resources, and time. They also help you monitor your progress and adjust your strategy if needed. For example, you can create a plan and a budget for your fitness by deciding what kind of diet and exercise you will follow, how much you will spend on food and fitness, and how often you will check your weight and fitness indicators. You can create a plan and a budget for your wealth by deciding how much you will save, invest, and spend, what kind of income sources and opportunities you will pursue, and how often you will review your financial statements and goals.

• Take action and stick to your plan and budget. The most important step is to take action and stick to your plan and budget. Without action, your goals will remain dreams. Without consistency, your results will be short-lived. You need to take action and stick to your plan and budget every day, every week, every month, and every year. You need to overcome procrastination, laziness, temptation, and distraction. You need to develop discipline, habits, and routines that support your fitness and wealth. You need to celebrate your achievements, learn from your mistakes, and keep improving.

• Seek support and guidance from others. You don’t have to do this alone. You can seek support and guidance from others who can help you achieve your fitness and wealth goals. You can find mentors, coaches, advisors, or experts who can teach you, inspire you, and hold you accountable. You can join communities, groups, or networks of like-minded people who can share their experiences, tips, and resources with you. You can also ask for help from your family, friends, or colleagues who can support you, encourage you, and cheer you on.

Smashing your life goals by getting fit and rich is not easy, but it is possible. By following these simple steps, you can start your journey and transform your life. Remember, you are the boss of your own life. You have the power to change your situation and create your own happiness.

Of course, all of the above is not easy, but if you make it simple and build on one habit, one action step at a time, you will get there faster than you think.

Until Next Time,

Take Back Control

Want to Make 2024 the BEST Year Yet?

Life is full of challenges and opportunities, but also full of choices and decisions. How do you know what to do, where to go, and how to get there? How do you make the most of your time, talents, and resources? How do you achieve your dreams and aspirations?

One of the most powerful tools that can help you answer these questions and guide your actions is goal setting. Goal setting is the process of identifying and defining what you want to accomplish, and how you plan to do it. Goal setting can help you clarify your vision, focus your efforts, and measure your progress.

Here are a few examples to establish WHY goals are so important:

To illustrate the power and importance of goal setting, here are some anecdotes of people who used SMARTER goals to get ahead of life:

• Oprah Winfrey: The media mogul and philanthropist had a vision and purpose of inspiring and empowering people through her work. She set SMARTER goals for her career, such as becoming the first African-American woman to host a nationally syndicated talk show, launching her own television network, and producing and starring in movies and shows. She broke down her goals into stepping stones, such as getting a job as a news anchor, creating her own production company, and acquiring the rights to books and stories. She took action, such as working hard, learning new skills, and building relationships/networking. She evaluated her goals and made new ones, such as expanding her brand, diversifying her portfolio, and giving back to society.

• J.K. Rowling: The author and activist had a vision and purpose of sharing her imagination and passion with the world through her writing. She set SMARTER goals for her books, such as finishing her manuscript, finding a publisher, and reaching a wide audience. She broke down her goals into sub-goals and milestones, such as writing chapters, sending queries, and promoting her work. She took action on her goals, such as dedicating time, seeking feedback, and facing rejection. She evaluated and revised her goals, such as improving her craft, expanding her series, and supporting causes.

Those are but a few examples of successful people who have used the premise of SMARTER goals, even if they did not think they were. A lot of the time, this principle will come naturally, as it is innate in those who want to achieve more for themselves and their community.

But not all goals are created equal. Some goals are vague, unrealistic, or irrelevant, and they can lead to frustration, disappointment, or failure. That’s why you need to set goals that are SMARTER: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound, Evaluated, and Revised. These criteria can help you create goals that are clear, realistic, and meaningful, and that can motivate you to take action and achieve results.

Let’s look at each of these criteria in more detail, and see how they can help you get ahead of life.

Specific

A specific goal is one that answers the questions of who, what, where, when, why, and how. A specific goal is not vague or general, but rather precise and detailed. For example, instead of saying “I want to be successful”, a specific goal would be “I want to start my own online business by the end of this year”.

A specific goal helps you to:

• Define exactly what you want to achieve

• Identify the steps and resources you need to take and use

• Avoid confusion and ambiguity

• Communicate your goal clearly to others

Measurable

A measurable goal is one that has a quantifiable indicator of progress and success. A measurable goal is not subjective or abstract, but rather objective and concrete. For example, instead of saying “I want to be happy”, a measurable goal would be “I want to increase my satisfaction score by 10 points in the next six months”.

A measurable goal helps you to:

• Track and monitor your progress and performance

• Evaluate your results and outcomes

• Celebrate your achievements and milestones

• Adjust your actions and strategies if needed

Achievable

An achievable goal is one that is within your reach and ability. An achievable goal is not impossible or unrealistic, but rather challenging and feasible. For example, instead of saying “I want to be a millionaire by tomorrow”, an achievable goal would be “I want to save $10,000 by the end of this year”.

An achievable goal helps you to:

• Assess your current situation and capabilities

• Set realistic expectations and standards

• Boost your confidence and self-efficacy

• Overcome obstacles and difficulties

Relevant

A relevant goal is one that is aligned with your values, interests, and purpose. A relevant goal is not irrelevant or random, but rather meaningful and significant. For example, instead of saying “I want to learn how to play the piano”, a relevant goal would be “I want to learn how to play the piano because I love music and I want to express myself creatively”.

A relevant goal helps you to:

• Connect your goal with your vision and mission

• Prioritize your goal among other competing demands

• Stay motivated and passionate about your goal

• Enhance your happiness and fulfillment

Time-bound

A time-bound goal is one that has a specific deadline or timeframe. A time-bound goal is not open-ended or indefinite, but rather timely and urgent. For example, instead of saying “I want to travel the world”, a time-bound goal would be “I want to visit 10 countries in the next two years”.

A time-bound goal helps you to:

• Create a sense of urgency and commitment

• Plan and schedule your actions and tasks

• Manage your time and resources effectively

• Avoid procrastination and distraction

Evaluated

An evaluated goal is one that is regularly reviewed and assessed. An evaluated goal is not static or fixed, but rather dynamic and flexible. For example, instead of saying “I want to lose weight”, an evaluated goal would be “I want to lose 10 pounds in the next three months, and I will check my weight and body fat percentage every week”.

An evaluated goal helps you to:

• Measure your progress and performance

• Identify your strengths and weaknesses

• Recognize your achievements and challenges

• Learn from your feedback and experience

Revised

A revised goal is one that is modified and updated as needed. A revised goal is not rigid or final, but rather adaptable and responsive. For example, instead of saying “I want to get a promotion”, a revised goal would be “I want to get a promotion by the end of this year, but if I don’t, I will look for other career opportunities or pursue further education”.

A revised goal helps you to:

• Adjust your goal to changing circumstances and conditions

• Incorporate new information and insights

• Explore new possibilities and alternatives

• Maintain your relevance and competitiveness

How to Use SMARTER Goals to Get Ahead of Life

Now that you know what SMARTER goals are and how they can help you, how can you use them to get ahead of life? Here are some steps you can follow to create and achieve your SMARTER goals:

1. Identify your vision and purpose. What is your ultimate dream and aspiration in life? What is your reason for being and doing? Write down your vision and purpose statement, and use it as your guide and inspiration.

2. Brainstorm your goals. What are the specific outcomes and results you want to achieve in different areas of your life, such as personal, professional, financial, health, social, spiritual, etc.? Write down as many goals as you can think of, and don’t limit yourself by any doubts or fears.

3. Prioritize your goals. Which of your goals are the most important and urgent for you right now? Which of your goals are the most relevant and meaningful for your vision and purpose? Rank your goals by order of priority, and focus on the top three to five goals.

4. Make your goals SMARTER. For each of your top goals, apply the SMARTER criteria and write a SMARTER goal statement. Make sure your goal is specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, time-bound, evaluated, and revised.

5. Break down your goals. For each of your SMARTER goals, break it down into smaller and more manageable sub-goals or milestones. For each sub-goal or milestone, write down the specific actions and tasks you need to do, and the resources and support you need to use.

6. Take action on your goals. For each of your actions and tasks, schedule them on your calendar and set reminders and alarms. Follow your plan and execute your actions and tasks on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis. Track and monitor your progress and performance using a journal, spreadsheet, or app.

7. Evaluate and revise your goals. For each of your SMARTER goals, review and assess your progress and performance on a regular basis, such as weekly, monthly, or quarterly. Celebrate your achievements and milestones, and reward yourself for your efforts. Identify your strengths and weaknesses, and learn from your feedback and experience. Modify and update your goals as needed, and incorporate new information and insights.

Goal setting is a powerful tool, and it does come with a warning, because once you set and start achieving your goals through hard work and discipline, you will not want to stop. If you want success and to be an achiever, setting goals and writing down your dreams is a must.

Until next time,

Take Back Control.

Unlocking Your Potential: The Power of Self-Education for Everyday Australians

In the hustle and bustle of everyday life, the pursuit of knowledge can often take a backseat to daily obligations. Yet, in the digital age, the opportunities for self-education have never been more accessible or empowering. Just as we invest in our homes, careers, and families, investing in our personal growth through self-education can be a game-changer for every Australian seeking to realise their full potential. We have found at Take Back Control that the start of it all came down to that small spark of curiousity and asking the question, “What would it be like to live a better life?”

That is how I came to be on the path of self-development and have continued seeking more and more knowledge and growth.

1. Empowerment in Your Hands

Self-education places the reins of learning directly in your hands. In a world where information flows freely, you have the liberty to choose what to learn, when to learn, and at what pace. This level of autonomy allows you to cater your learning journey to your interests and goals, making the process not just informative but deeply engaging.

2. Unleashing Your Curiosity

Remember the days of childhood curiosity, when every question led to another, and the thirst for knowledge was insatiable? Self-education rekindles that flame. It encourages you to explore diverse subjects, from history to science, art to philosophy. This exploration doesn't just expand your knowledge; it nurtures your creativity, adaptability, and open-mindedness.

3. Personal Growth and Confidence

Each new skill you master, each piece of information you absorb contributes to your personal growth. As an everyday Australian, self-education empowers you to step outside your comfort zone, acquire new skills, and develop a stronger sense of self-confidence. This newfound confidence has a ripple effect, positively influencing various facets of your life, from your career to your interactions with others.

4. Career Advancement

In today's rapidly evolving job market, adaptability is a prized trait. Self-education equips you with the tools to keep up with industry trends, acquire new skills, and remain relevant in your field. Whether you're seeking to climb the career ladder, switch industries, or start your own venture, the knowledge you gain through self-education is an invaluable asset.

5. Flexibility and Convenience

Traditional education often requires a fixed schedule and location. Self-education, on the other hand, thrives on flexibility. With online courses, tutorials, and e-books available, you can learn at your convenience, fitting your studies into your existing routine. This flexibility is a boon for everyday Australians juggling work, family, and other commitments.

6. Cost-Effective Learning

Formal education can be expensive, but self-education offers a cost-effective alternative. Many online resources are either free or available at a fraction of the cost of traditional courses. This affordability ensures that knowledge is within reach for everyone, democratizing education in a way that benefits everyday Australians.

7. Lifelong Learning

The beauty of self-education is that it fosters a mindset of lifelong learning. Learning becomes a continuous journey, not limited by age or stage of life. Embracing this mindset enriches your life experiences, keeps your mind sharp, and ensures that you remain intellectually curious throughout your journey.

In the tapestry of life, self-education weaves threads of empowerment, growth, and fulfillment. For every Australian seeking to enhance their personal and professional lives, self-education stands as an open door to a world of possibilities. It's an invitation to reignite your curiosity, cultivate your talents, and nurture your potential to its fullest. Embrace self-education as a lifelong companion, and watch as it transforms your ordinary days into extraordinary chapters of growth and discovery.

How To Improve In Any Aspect Of Your Life!

I once heard that if you are not growing, you are dying…

The many things that occur in the natural world seem to justify this law, a law embedded into every natural living organism on this Earth.

Plant’s continue to grow and change, whether that is in size, in bloom or even in shedding its leaves. Animals are constantly growing, getting rid of old cells and creating cells anew. Humans shed our skin and make new skin cells every seven days, and over the long term we are constantly evolving. Every single living organism is changing, adapting and becoming stronger, faster and more adept at facing the challenges we see in every day to day life. In fact, we became the apex predators of Earth for the very reason that we are masters of adapting, re-inventing ourselves and facing challenges head on.

Therefore, the first thing we need to do is accept that we are capable of change and truly the masters of adapting to all environments and situations.

To improve, we need to embrace the change and step outside our comfort zones, no matter whether you are introverted or extroverted, physically strong or mentally strong.

You are born to be more than just what you are now, the very fact that you were born at all is simply an amazing feat in itself, a one in one trillion chance!

Once you have accepted that you are capable, that you can change, that you are ready to be more…

You need to work out what you want to do and who you want to be. Most people stop at this part, because in all honesty, this is the most difficult part. A life long journey of trying to understand self, others around you, their nature, why they do what they do. Why you do what you do…

And the hardest part, there is no one size fits all approach, it is a path only you can really decide to walk down and only you alone can navigate. Of course, there will be people along the way to show you a way that might be easier, or others who will show you a way that will be more treacherous, however you are the only one that can truly decide on which path you can walk.

There are signposts along the way that can also make this path a little bit easier, these signposts are quite difficult to spot and you have to be aware of them for you to be able to see them. Meaning you need to be vigilant along your journey, you have to be looking out for these sign posts and be on a constant look out.

The best way to be able to recognise these sign posts that I have found, and therefore the best way to keep you growing and moving along the path of self-improvement and growth, is to understand your priorities/goals.

Your priorities and goals, much like life, will be constantly changing as well, therefore you need to be able to reflect on your life, your career, your health, your finances and more to be able to understand what you want.

A few priorities you may have:

+Children/Family

+Health/training/eating well

+Friends and socialising

+Work/business/career

+Paying bills

+Living extravagantly

+Living minimally

+Retirement

+Holidays

+You time

+Significance and fame

+Freedom/choice

The list of course can go on and on, depending on who you are, what stage of life you are in and whether you are walking the path alone currently, or with a partner/family.

To work out your most important priorities, I use to ask clients to list their top 5 priorities they have, priorities you need to make sure happens otherwise your life becomes a total mess/miserable.

Most constantly, I found that people would say #1 is children or family, #2 is work, #3 is the mortgage and paying the bills, #4 they might say holidays and #5 might be holidays/travel…

However, no one would actually say that they prioritise themselves, their growth or time for themselves either…

After that, I would ask them what their top five goals would be, and again it comes down to losing weight, going travelling, etc.

Most people would realise they are prioritising things all wrong when I asked them this, as their top five goals in life and their priorities did not match up in any way at all.

The moment when the light bulb hits, that is when I knew it would a life changing moment and they would begin to realise that they can improve in any aspect of their lives. Once they begin to prioritise their goals, living the life they need to achieve that goal every day, that is when true improvement begins.

That is what it takes to be able to improve and succeed, living your goals everyday, which means you need to prioritise them and continue instilling habits that will help you to be the best version of yourself.

Does it work though? Most people have tried "losing weight” before, or tried saving what they need to be able to go on that holiday…

However, they may not have been able to follow through, which is fine, because at least they or you have tried!
The key is to keep trying, to keep prioritising and staying disciplined enough to keep at it.

You keep thinking about what you want your life to be, what you want to improve in, what you want to achieve and prioritise that every day, that is when you will be able to achieve it. You just need to keep on keeping on!

Until next time,

Take Back Control

What To Do When Feeling Burnt Out?

Burn out, its a term that has been used consistently over the last five years especially. According to the Queensland government, burn out is a state of complete mental, physical, and emotional exhaustion.

You may feel as if you are tired all of the time, or simple tasks that use to be easy actually feel extremely overwhelming. You may be feeling irritable and find yourself feeling frustrated at small things more often than not. You could even feel symptoms of anxiety and even depression due to being burnt out.

There are of course varying degrees of burn out, but sadly Australians in 2021 and beyond have been experiencing burn out more than most other countries according to a global study completed by Global Consultants McKinsey. In fact, 61% of Aussies were experiencing stages of burn out, which is the highest rate in any other country.

Now, we could blame plenty of outliers and situations that are causing said burn out, but today we want to focus on what you can do when you are feeling burnt out and what coping mechanisms you could put in place to help you in your every day to day life.

Burn Out Remedies -

1.Take it easy on yourself and stop expecting so much of yourself (You may not feel it, but to this point in time, you are truly doing an amazing job).

Admittedly, this is not so much a remedy, but just a reminder to be kind to oneself. You are doing the best you can, with the resources and skillset you have right now at this point in time. Therefore, putting more and more pressure on yourself is only going to cause more mistakes and that is when the burn out will increase significantly.

2. Take the breaks you are entitled to!

You cannot sustain long periods of constant work for months and years on end, your body and mind are actually not suited to consistently working on the one task or sitting at a desk for ten hours straight. You need to make sure that you are taking the break’s where you can, such as your lunch breaks, annual leave/holidays, sick days when you are feeling too ill to work. In Australia, we are known for always battling through, but when it gets to the point where you are battling through for years on end, your going to burn out sooner or later.

3. Go on little sabbaticals, or short-term retirements.

A weird one and not overly used in Australia, but something that is catching on a little bit more these days…

People are quitting their work and deciding to not work for 3-12 months at a time, to re-energise themselves and build up that battery that has been so depleted from working for years on end. Something that is truly worth thinking about if you can do it financially and have been burning the candle at both ends for years at a time.

4. Take up a hobby and go to the gym.

Of course, an ex-personal trainer/gym owner is going to tell me to go to the gym… I know that is what you are thinking, but truly, we all know the benefits of keeping fit and staying healthy. However, taking up a hobby and exercising your creative juices are also just as important. Now everyone has different tastes and hobbies, so if you do not have anything that you do outside of work that makes you feel good, please go out and try a few new things. You will definitely find that having an outlet is going to be a massive win against burn out.

5. Find Your WHY!

The last and probably the most important remedy to burn out comes down to simply understanding why you do what you do.

The great philosopher, Aristotle said, “Knowing thyself is the beginning of all wisdom.”

To know ones self and why you wake up each day is the simplest and most under-rated of all things that you can do to reduce burn out and increase your own success. However, it is the hardest one of them all, because most of us do not dedicate the time needed to actually understand YOU!

Finding your why and understanding yourself takes years of reflection on your values and priorities, working out your strengths and weaknesses, and even when you have done all of the work it is on going, because we are forever shifting and changing. Therefore, you have to dedicate your life to personal development and carve out time each week, or month at the very least, to STOP and REFLECT.

Burn out can have mental, physical and psychological ramifications that can be detrimental to your health and the health of your family. According to the stats, you are most likely going to be burnt out in one point in your life.

Hence, by being able to create coping mechanisms and understanding yourself, you will be able to catch it when you are starting to burn out and hopefully save yourself from going over the edge.

Truly I hope that this can help, even if one strategy above can help you get through a tough period at work or in your family life, that means that you are slightly better off and you can go out and make the world a slightly better place because of it!

Until next time,

Take Back Control

Do You Feel Life is Like a Juggling act?

The passed four weeks, I have not written a blog, because I will admit, life has been like a juggling act for me this past month. You have your main five or six balls that you keep juggling constantly, which is finance, relationships/family, education, work/career/business and health.

However, every now and again, those balls seem to increase in number, sometimes the work/career ball gets a whole heap heavier and people keep throwing in smaller work/career balls for you to juggle. Which means you have to drop something, because you can only juggle so much at one time.

Other times, and especially as you get older, your health ball will be the one dragging you down, and you have to drop the work/career/business ball, maybe you have to drop it and decide to never pick it back up again.

There are so many elements to our lives, especially in western society, where achievement is deemed to be the most important aspect of our lives, however, what if I told you that it is okay to drop a few balls here and there?

You may drop the work ball, or the health ball, or even the family/relationships ball for a short period of time, and that is okay. There is nothing wrong with dropping the ball, because no one is capable of juggling all of the balls at once for the rest of their lives. The key is to knowing what you value more than anything else, do you value family the most? Or do you value career/business?

And I don’t want you to feel bad about what you value the most either, because there is no right or wrong answer, some people will value family higher than even their own health. And others will value career or business above family…

There is nothing wrong with valuing one above the other, that is your choice, but you have to know that it is the right choice, based on how you feel, whether your partner and friends are okay with your values to stick around for the long haul, whether the job/business you are currently in accepts these values as your own priority.

Once you know what you value the most, the aim is not to drop the ball for too long. If work gets too much and you have to spend more time at work, but your main values are health and family, then you have to make sure that you don’t get stuck in the rut of continuing to juggle the extra career/business balls in perpetuity. You have to make a forced decision to drop a few career balls and pick up your health or family balls again.

Multiple factors and multiple balls make for really difficult decisions, day in and day out.

Hence why I wanted to write this post, to help you (and myself, let’s be honest) to be okay with dropping the ball every now and again.

But, and this is the major problem we have in Western society especially, we have an expectation that is placed on us from work, from partner’s, friends and family…

And some of this expectation is actually made up in our own heads, where we think we are expected to act in a certain way, it is simple psychology, as we are socially oriented to act in a certain way to “fit-in” and be accepted amongst our peers.

However, what if I told you, that the expectation you think is put on you, is actually a lot less than you think? In some cases, it is completely a figment of your imagination.

Of course, there are some expectations, which have already been communicated, and these are the hard truth’s, but most of the time, we create pressure on ourselves to be everything and do everything, when really you just need to meet your own standards and expectations.

One of the key statements that I remember to this day about choosing which balls to pick up and which balls to drop comes from the great Gary Vaynerchuk and multiple others before him…

“When you die, who is going to remember you for more than one day? Your manager/boss whom barely knows you outside of work? The masses of people on social media? Or your family that you interact with on a daily basis?”

Even celebrities and monarchs need to really think about this question, because most people forget about you once you have passed away and after the funeral, they have their own lives to get on with, their own struggles. You only need to think of the great Kobe Bryant, who sadly passed away in early 2021 from a freak helicopter accident, or even more recent, the queen of Britain herself. Do you think of these two truly inspirational and amazing people on a daily basis?

Probably not, and they had such far reaching impact on so many lives, much more than your own impact most likely. Yet still, you or I never really think of these amazing people, not unless we are prompted by something such as this post.

When you realise that humanity as a species, as much as you love to think we are all doing the right thing by each other, which for the most part is true, are inherently selfish, the better it will be to help you choose which balls to pick up. We focus on our own lives, our own thoughts and we perceive things directly from our own frame of reference and thoughts.

Therefore, everything you do here on this Earth is only going to be thought about very briefly after your passing, hence why you need to really think about the ones who will truly remember you, which are the ones you have an impact on a daily basis for multiple years, where you are irreplaceable. Hence, I find it really easy to be able to choose which balls to pick up once they have been dropped and you can too once you get your head around this concept.

Another strategy you can use is the power of reflection, truly it is probably the most powerful thing anyone can do, especially when you get busy and you are feeling overwhelmed by life. Being able to reflect on what you are doing, and which balls you are dropping or juggling currently is the key to understanding where you are at and where you want to go with life.

Without understanding the past or present, you cannot truly look forward to the future. Now some of you may think, we don’t need to worry about the future, and that is fine, you don’t need to worry about the future… Until the future gets here of course, and then what?

The key to being able to pick up the right balls and juggling them constantly, whilst you have kids wanting your attention, a boss hounding you for work to be complete now, or assessments that are due next week, is to know what you value and to communicate this with the people who are constantly wanting your attention/energy.

The great Ron Malhotra once said to me, when I asked him about how he kept juggling all the ball’s of life, “The key is knowing when to drop what ball, and when you have been neglecting it for too long, to drop another and pick that one back up.”

You are the only one who can choose to drop and pick up the balls, therefore I hope you can use what I have written to help you choose what balls to pick up at and at what time.

The rest is up to you,

Until next time,

Take Back Control

How We Bought Our First Home!

Have you dreamed of owning your first home?

A place to to make your own, without parents or in-laws on top of you all the time. Or without having to worry about rental inspections, having to move every two to three years and landlords who just won’t fix that damn fence.

Having your own home does come with a whole heap of perks, especially if you are a young family or starting to think about beginning your own family.

However, Australia’s housing market is extremely difficult to get into, buying your first home for many is a milestone that is almost impossible.

But, for those who are persistent, for those who are working hard towards a Dream of Buying that First Home, no matter what, it is still possible.

First thing my wife and I did when we bought our first home was talk to family and friends, unfortunately during that time, there were not too many people who could give us advice.

Most of our friends had not bought their first home, and family members who had bought their first home, bought nearly twenty years ago or more!

Unfortunately, twenty years ago does not even begin to relate to the most recent times. Therefore, with not a lot of help, we turned to reading (I am an avid reader) and enlisted the help of a professional mortgage broker.

After reading a few personal finance books, one of which was Scott Pape’s “Barefoot Investor’s- The only Money Guide You Will Ever Need,” (Great initial reading to get the ball rolling) we realised that we needed to build up a deposit.

We then talked to a mortgage broker who was able to go through our financial situation and give us a ball park figure to aim for a good deposit, which was roughly around $80,000 at the time for a $500,000 house and land package. (We had around an $18,000 deposit saved up at this time)

We didn’t have anywhere near this figure at the time, and this was below the 20% deposit that the “Barefoot Investor” suggested, but we knew that we just wanted to get into our first home and didn’t care too much for the Lenders Mortgage Insurance (LMI)[1].

[Lenders mortgage insurance is the insurance a bank will take out, and make you pay for, if you have less than a 20% deposit. In case your property decreases in value and you need to sell due to defaulting, the bank will not lose money.]

So these are the steps we took to buying our first home:

1. Read about personal finance and build a budget (Work more to earn more and reduce expenses where possible, SACRIFICE is necessary)

2. Research the areas/locations that you want to buy in, you need to decide this before you know how much you will need to spend for your first home.

3. Engage a Mortgage Broker, one who is experienced in helping first home owners! Build a plan to get that deposit (Need to have a final figure for your home before engaging in this step).

4. Be Patient and review your financial situation once a month. Keep looking on Realestate.com and Domain, but don’t get caught up in wanting anything until you are close to your deposit goal.

5. Be DISCIPLINED- Pay yourself first (ie; Transfer your savings into a separate savings account, one that you cannot touch.

Being young, a little naïve and not having any experience at all did end up working in our favour though, as we decided that we were going to build a deposit and buy our first home within twelve months. If you know my wife and I, we are extremely stubborn and once we make our minds up about something, we work hard to make it happen. If we were older, had more experience and knew how much we would have to sacrifice, it may have been a bit different. But above all else, we wanted to buy our first home and take the first step in making our lives our own.

In late 2017, we built our budget and started saving like crazy, putting away 60-70% of our wages into savings, it helped that we were living with our parents at the time, especially considering we were earning less than $90,000 before tax between the two of us.

We started working more, and took on extra jobs, any way in which we could earn a little bit more to build our deposit faster.

During this time, there are a lot of emotions, especially if you feel stuck in your parent’s house, like my wife did. Emotions start running a little bit higher, the closer you get to your goal, the feeling that you will achieve your goal soon will actually make your decision making process less realistic. Not to mention more arguments/frustrated tension between family members or roommates.

Hence why it is important to have your plan and budget that you need to be disciplined enough to stick to.

How did our first home buying story end? Well, by mid-2018, we took the plunge and signed on a house and land package contract. (Against the advice of our mortgage broker at the time.)

Our very first home - Moved in Oct - 2019 (Sold early 2022)

Which was a story in itself, as we went through a whole heap of problems throughout the build and learnt a lot about the building process. The main learning was you buy land, you do not need to go with a builder that has their name on that land. No matter what the sales person says to you, you are buying the land and not the builder!

We haven’t been deterred by our horrible first building experience though, as we are now building our second home, having bought land late in 2021. (Either that, or we didn’t learn from the first time LOL)

But we can leave that story for another time, as there are just a few more things you need to know before I leave you to start DREAMING about your first home…

As mentioned above, we were pretty young and very naïve when we decided to buy our first home, so here are the things we wish we knew before we started planning our very first home!

• First Home Owner Grant - $10,000 contribution from the government for a first home owner (New home or build up to $750,000) [2]

• First Home Super Saver Scheme - Can put up to $15,000 of contributions per FY and Save up to $50,000 in your Super Fund (Saving on tax and potentially getting better returns than a savings account.) **Talk to a professional Financial Adviser before deciding on this strategy.

• First Home Buyer Guarantee - The government will insure up to 15% of the home value, so you only need a 5% deposit [4]

• Stamp Duty Exemption or Concessions - Pay $0 on stamp duty for first homes valued up to $600,000 or get a concession for between $600,001-$750,000

There are plenty of incentives to buying your first home and a heap of different strategies to help you to build/buy your dream first home…

**Please see all links to government sources below for more information!

Therefore, you should speak with a professional, such as a mortgage broker or financial adviser who may be able to help you get a great understanding of your personal situation and circumstances. As everyone is very different and there are multiple ways in which you can build your deposit to buying your first home.

Hence, why should enlist the help of a professional whenever you can, and you can meet with a mortgage broker or even an adviser free of charge in the first meeting most of the time. Whom will be happy to give you a few hints and tips to help you along the way to owning your first home!

Buying your first home can be daunting and can be something that seems impossible, but it does not have to be. You just have to know what you want, and go out and work for it. Truly, that is what it takes if you want to finally get into your first home, and it doesn’t sound all that difficult, but it does require discipline and an ability to sometimes say ‘NO’ to friends or family.

To Sacrifice a little bit now, for something good in the future!

For now, go and do some research on where you want to live, read some personal finance articles or books and start building out your plan to BUYING YOUR FIRST HOME!

Until next time,

Take Back Control

________________________________________________________________________________

[1] - Lenders Mortgage Insurance - https://insurancecouncil.com.au/articles/lenders-mortgage-insurance/

[2] - FHOG - https://www.sro.vic.gov.au/first-home-owner

[3] - FHSSS - https://www.ato.gov.au/individuals/super/withdrawing-and-using-your-super/first-home-super-saver-scheme/

[4] - FHBG - https://www.nhfic.gov.au/support-buy-home/first-home-guarantee

[5] - Stamp Duty Exemption or Concession - https://www.sro.vic.gov.au/fhbduty

What is Stopping You from being Financially Free?

Since starting in the Financial Planning profession and working as a client relationship manager, there has been a lot of learnings. You can learn a lot about the technical side of Superannuation, Estate planning, Retirement, Investing, Trust structures, Business/Companies, Budgeting and Cashflow projections…

All are really valid and great to know, however, there is no point learning all of that if you don’t understand how money and your everyday to day behaviour is interconnected. Locked together in a constant battle of wills, discipline and decision making that over a lifetime can lead to Financial Freedom and a great retirement or can lead to living off the age pension and counting your pennies everyday.

Everyone of course wants the Financial Freedom and the ability to do whatever you want, but not everyone is going to get there…

Therefore, today I want to share with you the top tips to attaining financial freedom and being able to significantly change your life at the same time!

And also explain why you have not attained Financial Freedom yet….

Understand the Past to Create the Future You DESIRE!

The key to unlocking your potential, as corny as it sounds, is to understanding your past and what behaviours you picked up from your upbringing. Most psychologists today are learning more and more about how our upbringing and the way our parents treated us truly affects how we behave when it comes to money decisions, and life in general.

The understanding of a psychologist who studies the evolutionary theory, is that we are born with 50% of our behaviours already embedded in our DNA. Therefore, we have no control over some aspects of our life, which makes it even more important for you to understand your strengths and weaknesses.

25-30% of our behaviours come from our upbringing, between the ages of 0-6 years old, where our brains were the most malleable or think of our brains as sponges that were prone to taking in everything from our environment.

The other 20-25% comes from our peers and social groups, where we try to fit in and mould into a group that we can connect with and find purpose.

If we were to take the idea of evolutionary psychology and put it into effect, it makes it even more important for you to understand how your parents view money and whether you are a spender or saver.

Hence, you need to really look back at your upbringing, ask your parents or look back into the past and ask yourself, what is money to me?

Do I save up every penny? Or do I spend most of my money? (If you are like the 80-85% of us, you are a spender, so don’t feel bad if you are)

Did my parents complain about money or see it as “Bad”? Do I?

Were my parents comfortable with debt or were they always stressed about the mortgage? Do you find yourself also becoming stressed?

What was your first money memory? Was it of piggy banks and saving to buy your first toy? Or were you given everything?

There is no right or wrong answers here, you should not feel guilty about your upbringing or blame your parents for the way you are now, although there is partial responsibility on their part.

What you need to do is start to understand your past, and start to understand that you can make life easier by setting up a plan based on your behaviours and how you view money now. The key is to become aware of your own behaviours, to stop and reflect, which is difficult at first, but like anything, the more you do it, the easier it becomes.

Having a VISION of what your FUTURE is like and bring your PARTNER along for the journey!

It may sound a bit corny again, but truly having a vision of what your future looks like, even tastes, smells, sounds and feels like, is going to make it way more likely for you to succeed.

Once you have an understanding of your past, you need to set your eyes to the future, and you need to truly envision what it will be like in 1, 3, 5, 10 or even 20 years.

For most people, you don’t think all that often in the future tense, biologically, we are more adept at surviving in the here and now, therefore most of us will always be thinking in past or present tense. But, for true financial freedom, there is a necessity to think about the future.

Therefore, to buck the trend, to “escape the rat race,” you need to do what most people are not.

One of my favourite exercises to do which will help you to envision your future is to ask yourself, “what is a day in the life [insert your own name here] in 12 months time?”

**Remember, there are no right or wrong answers, it needs to be reasonable, but let your imagination take effect here. What does your morning look like? What are you doing throughout the day? Who are you with? Where are you going and where do you live?

Take at least 15 minutes to type or write this down, my preference is to write as you are more likely again to achieve this if you physically write it down. You are taking it from your minds eye to a physical manifestation in written form.

The key to this is to do it multiple times, to live it in your minds eye and to describe it as accurately as possible. You will find it difficult at the beginning, however with practise, it will become easier and easier. Or, if you are not a visionary and it is not a strength of yours, ask your partner to help you and to build a vision together.

If you do not have a partner, discuss it with friends or family, someone you can truly open up to and let it all out.

Create a SYSTEM and have the DISCIPLINE to stick to it!

Once you have an understanding of your behaviours and what you actually you want to achieve, you can look to breaking it down into manageable steps to getting you to that overall vision.

The best way to do this is to find someone who has done what you want to achieve previously, which I can guarantee there is someone out there who has achieved your vision of life.

Otherwise, talk to a professional, someone who lives and breathes helping people to live their goals and vision of the future everyday.

Either of these people will be able to help you formulate a system, however if you want to do it yourself, you can always look to creating your own systems.

You can do this by simply doing what I call reverse engineering, where you make your vision and create a goal around that vision. An example is you may want to be financially free and for you to do that you need to earn at least $90,000 per annum.

How do you get to $90,000 per annum from a mix of passive and active income streams? Where will it come from essentially?

Investments? Property? A business? A YouTube/podcast channel?

There are multiple ways you can do it, it all depends on your vision and understanding yourself, how you behave and what your strengths are!

Once you have the vehicle (investments/business, property etc.), you can step out goals to work on everyday to help you bring your vision to life.

That system may mean that you set up your bank accounts correctly, automating your savings so when your pay goes in, your savings goes out to another account, maybe even at a different bank.

The system could be simply you sit down every two weeks to revise your budget and spending, understanding where you money is going. Or getting your partner to do it, because they may be better at it then you.

Once you have set up a system, you just need to keep doing it, week in, week out. Having the discipline to make sure that it is on track by reviewing it and setting little milestones in which you can celebrate once you hit them.

A great way to make sure that you are keeping on track is to talk to someone, a partner or professional, who will keep you accountable. The power of telling someone you are going to do something is significant in helping you to living the vision you wrote down, just having someone to be there when it gets tough or discipline wanes. It is very underrated in our current society anyhow.

If Financial Freedom comes down to only three things, why don’t you have it in the first place?

Because most people get stuck in the day to day, they forget about their dreams and visions they had as a child growing up, they forget about being curious and don’t have time to reflect.

They grow content and settle for what they have, which is fine, if you are happy and living the life you want to live, but most people are not!

The other reason is simply because financial freedom takes TIME!

You need to have PATIENCE, and do what my wife calls “building your empire.” We live in such a fast pace society that we forget we have 90-100 years of life in us, not everything is going to come to you straight away and sometimes takes years if not decades of work and perseverance.

Hopefully this has effected you in a way that you will stop and think a little bit about your own life and where that is going.

But until next time,

Take Back Control

7 Simple Steps to Achieving More Energy and Reducing Stress!!

For me, being healthy means having more energy and having the ability to make good decisions and improve other people’s lives, no matter how insignificant it is. Which means I need to be in a positive mindset and have a great attitude, which means my ability to have control over my stress and ability to regulate is pretty important.

So let’s go through the top 7 steps to achieving more energy and reducing your stress…

1.       Prioritise yourself first!!

I know this sounds easier said than done, but it really is most important…

You are the cornerstone, the foundation and the most important figure stone in your life. You need to realise that you are also all of those things to the family and people closest to you. You are the supporter, you are the mother/father, you are the nurturer and the first person that deals with all the troubles. So what would happen if you were to get sick, or injured?

“You must first build your own house and then you can look to help others…”

Meaning you must look after yourself first, so that the ones closest to you do not have to suffer. That is right, if you are not a little selfish and look after yourself, you are in fact making the others around you suffer. No one wants to put the loved ones around them through suffering.

So, prioritise yourself first, you are number one, you are the creator of your own universe and need to realise that without you, those who depend on you would be extremely stuck without you.

2.       Communication

Communication is always the key, it is not just verbal communication though, but your body language, your delivery of said communication. You need to start making sure you communicate more efficiently to your family, to your husband and to your children. This will increase productivity in the family dynamic, take a lot of stress off of you and you will find those closest to you will love you more for it. Be translucent, be completely open to everyone you are close to and tell them what you are doing and what you are doing it for. They will support you, no matter what.

A great place to learn more about being more open and communicating more is to check out “The Imago Process,” which my mentor has just recently got me researching to improve my own communication skills. So far, it has been amazing the results you can get by improving your communication.

3.       Make a morning routine

This is so important, you want to expend the least amount of energy in the morning and make it as easy as possible for you to get the day started!

So figure out a morning routine that works for you. You could go for a walk when you wake up, you could shower, eat breakfast and meditate before anyone else is up. Wake up at the same time, every day, no matter when it is.

It does not matter what your morning routine is, as long as you build a habit around it and make it the same as every single morning. For a quick example, I will wake up at 4:30am on a weekday, shower, eat breakfast, brush my teeth and journal for 10-15 minutes every morning. It could be as simple as that (Doesn’t have to be at 4:30am either). Find your routine and stick to it!

 4.       Get Moving!!

Physical activity is truly underrated by a lot of people, by simply just moving a little bit and doing some vigorous activity three to four times a week (such as weightlifting, running/sprinting, boxing/Muay Thai, HIIT) this will vastly improve your bodies ability to regulate hormones and energy levels.

Not to mention, it will help improve your sleep along the way, helping you to improve recovery and everyone automatically feels better on a good nights sleep!

5.       Organisation is key

You need to be organised, yes I know it sounds cliché, but having a plan for the day does increase productivity and also decreases the energy demand on your decision making throughout the day.

So make a to-do list, or use 10 minutes to plan out your day. I do it in the shower, I think of exactly what I will be doing in the shower. I spend about 5 minutes thinking about what I am going to do the next day at night and in the morning when I wake up and shower, I consolidate it.

Make sure you have a plan and then DO IT!

6.       Stop saying YES to everything

This is the worst for most people, especially to the people you care about and also if it affects them in any way. However, you must prioritise YOU first, meaning you cannot say yes to everything. If you take on more and more, you will start to burn out and become quite irritable. Which will make you hard to deal with and people will not even know why.

You need to say NO every now and again, your energy needs to be directed to the most important things that you need to dedicate yourself to. Saying no makes you stronger and also gives you your own power back, the more you say yes to someone, the more indebted you become to that person.

7.       Allocate YOU time

This is the most significant thing you can do to reduce stress and increase energy!!

Allocating you time, whether it is 30 minutes at lunch or maybe it’s your morning walk or even a session with your personal trainer/coach. Without this time, you will become flooded, overwhelmed and everything that seems like such a simple task will get extremely difficult.

You need time for yourself. Don’t make excuses, just do it!

Not to mention, it helps improve your sleep, by giving yourself time to think about what might have happened during the day or what is to come. Your mind can organise itself a little bit and start to put things in order, which will reduce stress significantly.

These seven steps are definitely not the only thing you can do to improve energy and reduce stress, in fact there are a multitude of things that you can do.

However, they are a great starting point to helping to reduce the angst and pressure that we have in our everyday to day lives. Most of which work extremely well, but you need to find what suits you, which means putting a bit of time into yourself and giving yourself every opportunity to live your best life.

Let me know if you use anything else in particular that helps to reduce stress for you, I would love to know about it…

Until next time,

Take Back Control

Health is Holistic: Sleep/Recovery

There is no better way to start this post then with a story of how sleep and prioritising recovery led to an improvement in overall health, stress reduction and weight loss in the majority of my previous clients. [1]

Sleep takes up a third of our lives, but just like the subconscious rules our decision making and habits, sleep plays a vital role in neural development, digestion, memory, cardiovascular and metabolic function, as well as overall health. We all know that sleep is good for you, but just how good are we talking here?

Well, based on my own experiences and previous clients experiences, here are the results…

For myself and those clients who were only getting 5-6 hours sleep, the likelihood of a decrease in performance at training was significant, not only that, but a decrease in metabolism as well, whereby the body just did not efficiently take in and digest food. Which led to an increase in body fat, impaired judgement leading to poor decision making, less energy and therefore less productivity and increased stress/anxiety. These are results that I have seen over the span of ten years of training people, hundreds of people, just by simply asking how much they sleep on average and noting it down and tracking all of the above.

I myself, fell into the trap of only sleeping 5-6 hours per night when I was younger, thinking if I had more time in the day, then I would be able to get more done. When in fact, what was happening was the more time in the day led to more distractions and procrastination, impaired judgement and lack of energy.

Now, what happened when clients started sleeping the recommended 7-8 hours a night, or 7-9 hours a night for athletes? [2]

Well, of course there was an increase in energy levels almost instantly, weight loss occurred over the first few weeks and bowel movements were regular (based on my own experiences, didn’t have the guts to ask clients about their bowel movements, probably should have though on looking back).

Of course, this led to a significant impact on overall health and performance in training, whereby results were happening faster. So to re-iterate, we all know sleep is good for you…

How do we start sleeping the recommended 7-8 hours per night and getting a good sleep which is not disturbed, where you sleep all the way through?

First thing is taking a look at your environment, is it set up for a successful nights sleep?

Your sleep environment, generally speaking, your bedroom, is truly significant to getting a good nights sleep. Here is how to set up your environment for success.

1. Get rid of all artificial light! Including any electronic clocks or anything that may disturb your sleep.

   Increased artificial light in your room decreases the onset of melatonin (think this as the wind down chemical in your body), which in turn will mess up your circadian rhythm. (A fancy term for your natural sleeping pattern) [3]

   Which includes decreasing the amount of artificial light before bed as well, a lot of smart phones will automatically switch to night mode these days, whereby the blue/white light, which the brain sees as daylight, becomes a yellow/grey light. Just a simple change like this is powerful, as the brain will start to onset melatonin levels and naturally start signalling bedtime. If your smart phone does not do this automatically, you will be sure to find an app that will do it.

2. Go to bed at a set time each night!

   Studies have proved over and over again that going to bed at roughly the same time each night will improve your sleep throughout the night, but also improve your ability to fall asleep.

3. Not able to get a full nights sleep? Napping throughout the day is just as effective!

   Studies have shown, especially in athletes, that if you are not able to get the full 7-9 hours sleep for recovery and performance. According to Mathew Walker, sleep specialist and international best seller of “Why we sleep?”, napping throughout the day is just as effective, however timing is key for this one. As you should aim to nap between the hours of 11am-2pm, depending on when you wake up. You also should aim for no more than 10-20 minutes sleep or you will need to sleep for at least an hour to two hours depending on the person to stop the grogginess and drowsiness you get after a nap.

4. Eating and drinking affect sleep!

   Your nutrition and what you drink will affect how you sleep, the main reasons for a hangover is not so much the alcohol consumption, but due to alcohol being a somnogen (chemical that induces sleep) it actually makes you sleepy, but affects the second half of the night by causing major disruptions. [5]

   Therefore, what you eat and drink does affect how you sleep, ever get the meat sweats or have too much food and start to get drowsy? A similar affect occurs, and it is this disruption of sleep that actually is worse than getting only 5-6 hours of continuous sleep. Hence, eating a naturally balanced nutrition and limiting alcohol consumption will also improve your sleeping habits.

5. Exercise will help improve your sleep!

   Incorporating daily movement into your life will help to improve your sleep as well, by incorporating 3-4 sessions of training per week at a moderate to high intensity, of only 45-60 minutes per session, you will be well and truly on your way to a great nights sleep!

Finally, I want to end on this, 1 in 2 Australians and nearly 60% of Americans will not be getting enough sleep or have sleep-related issues. [6] If you are not getting an uninterrupted 7-9 hours of sleep at least five to six days a week, you should be looking to change a few small things here and there right now, to help improve your sleeping habits. Taking one to two steps out of the five steps I have given you bove will help dramatically.

My advice, is to start with one or two things, make it easy and simply convenient. You could just start with downloading an app or checking your smart device for the sleep mode, and maybe setting a time for sleep each night.

By doing this, you are not only going to be improving your health, but increasing longevity, productivity and energy levels across the board. All it takes is a simple decision and taking action on that decision!

Until next time,

Take Back Control!

____________________________________________________

References:

[1] - https://www.atsjournals.org/doi/10.1164/rccm.201504-0767ST#:~:text=Sleep%20is%20an%20essential%20biological,removal%20(2%E2%80%935).

[2] - https://www.sclhealth.org/blog/2018/09/the-benefits-of-getting-a-full-night-sleep/

[3] -https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26375320/#:~:text=Exposure%20to%20artificial%20bright%20light,cardiovascular%20and%2For%20metabolic%20functions.

[4] - “Why we sleep?” Mathew Walker, published 2018.

[5] - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4427543/

[6] - https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/risk-factors/sleep-problems-as-a-risk-factor/summary

The Most Important Number to Know if You Want Financial Freedom!

We all want to be able to live a life on our own terms, to be able to wake up one morning and say, '“I am going to do what I want to do today…”

Getting to the point where you can wake up, go for that two hour morning hike, or go to the gym whenever you want to, eat breakfast at your favourite café or be on a plane to your dream holiday destination, it takes knowing a certain number.

That number comes down to some simple math really, it comes down to knowing your net worth and whether your net worth can pay for your dream lifestyle (or dream expenses).

What is your net worth? You hear about Jeff Bezos having a net worth of $140 billion USD, but what exactly does that mean? Does that mean that he has $140 Billion dollars sitting in a bank account? Imagine if he had $140 Billion in cash, how many rooms would that fill up in his mansion.

No, net worth comes down to whatever you have in assets minus liabilities, meaning that whatever you own which could potentially reap monetary benefit in the future minus the debts or mortgages that you have taken out to own those assets.

A great example would be a house, you may have spent $950,000 on a new home, let’s keep it a nice round figure and forget about stamp duty, conveyancing fees etc.

You have $250,000 in cash to pay for said home and you acquire a mortgage from a bank to pay out the difference, in this case $700,000.

The asset before you signed on the dotted line was $250,000 in cash, and you had no liabilities. Now that you own your home, you now have $950,000 in assets, but you have a liability of $700,000.

In both instances, you still have a net worth of $250,000. Scenario one, you had cash only, scenario two you minus the debt/mortgage from the asset, so $950,000 - $700,000 to make a net worth of $250,000.

Now you know your net worth, you can start to create a plan around building the net worth you will need to be able to gain enough financial certainty/independence to be able to live your best life, without worry of running out of money before you die.

That is all retirement is, isn’t it? The ability to pay for your living expenses, without concern of outliving the money you have. Unfortunately, not everyone who retires actually has enough net wealth to be able to do this. Which is why knowing your number is so important, what number do you ask?

The amount of net wealth (net worth) you will need to be able to live in retirement, which takes a bit of planning and understanding of the average lifespan in Australia (the endpoint).

You have to start at the end point, when it comes to attaining or achieving any goal, you need to know what the end will look like.

How do we know how or when we will die though? Well, you don’t and who would want to know anyhow, imagine if you were told that you would die tomorrow, and you had no way to change it?

But, we can make estimations based on statistics and averages, whereby the average Australian male life expectancy right now is just over 81 years old and females are just over 85 years old. [1]

Now you know that you will most likely live until the age of 81-85, we will add on 7 years, just in case, so that if you are a male, you will most likely live until age 88 and female to the age of 92 years old.

We have the end date, not to say that it is concrete, you may live to 100 years old, but based on the stats, that is unlikely, for now…

Once we have the end, we will need to ascertain your dream life’s living expenses, how much will it cost you each month to live the life of your dreams? $5,000 per month? $10,000 per month? Maybe $20,000?

Let’s say that you have a simpler lifestyle and don’t have big plans to travel the globe and party everyday, you simply enjoy the presence of family and friends, will go on a few trips a year and just want to be able to go out once or twice a month to a nice restaurant.

Lets assume for now that the holidays will cost you $10,000 per year, gifts for children/grandchildren may come to $3,000 per year, living expenses may come to $2,200 per month (assuming that you own your home and don’t rent.) Maybe you still have children in schooling, education costs may come to $10,000 per year. Entertainment spending comes to $300 per month.

Adding all of that up, your number that you need to know before you can truly find your net wealth number that you need to attain to retire is…

$53,000 per annum or $1,019.23 per week.

You would need to be earning that much from investments/drawing down from assets per week or annually to be able to survive and that does not include inflation that continues to increase living expenses each year.

Not to mention, things can go wrong, emergencies or accidents occur and that costs money too. Therefore, you may need extra cash to fall back on, just in case.

Continuing with the example above though, we won’t include any more emergency cash bucket or include inflation etc.

Assuming that you are 50 years old, how much would you need in net wealth to survive off of $53,000 per annum? (Not including your home, I mean, you need somewhere to live.)

Based on the life expectancy averages above, a male will live another 38 years and a female another 42 years.

A male would therefore need… $2,014,000!

And a female would need $2,226,000!!

Sounds like a hefty sum of cash, but of course, that is why you would invest and make your money work for you. By investing your money and making it work for you, most couples would actually only need $402,000 to drawdown $64,000 per year, according to the Super Consumers Australia. (Assuming retirement at age 65 though, not 50 years of age) [2] I will not go into investing today, but I will touch back on investing in some future blogs again.

Therefore, in our example above, the net wealth the individual would need to be able to live in their home and live the life they want, would just be the number above plus the $950,000 from your home. For the male, the net wealth would be $2, 964,000 and for the female, it would be $3,176,000 **Again, not taking into consideration increase/decrease in home value for simplicity sake.

Now you know the number you need, you can track how far off or how close you are to attaining the goal through your net wealth.

A great way to do this is to use the money smart net worth calculator, it is a simple and easy way to calculate your net worth once a year to see how you are tracking on your way to attaining the number you need to live your best life!

Just click on the link to take you to the site - https://moneysmart.gov.au/managing-debt/net-worth-calculator [3]

By calculating your net worth once a year, you will be able to keep track of how you are doing, and by doing that, you can change behaviours to keep you on track.

As long as that net worth is increasing each year, you are on track to achieving that retirement goal and taking back control of your life fully.

Until next time,

Take Back Control

**All expenses are examples only, and do not constitute a real life scenario, so please do your own due diligence and work out your own living expenses and net wealth. Or speak to a trusted professional advisor who can help you do that as well.

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[1] - https://www.abs.gov.au/media-centre/media-releases/life-expectancy-hits-new-high

[2] - https://www.superconsumers.com.au/retirement-targets

[3] - https://moneysmart.gov.au/managing-debt/net-worth-calculator

How To Deal with Life When it Throws You Curveballs!

Taking back control generally requires a level of knowledge, planning and action. However, life is not all about control, sometimes life needs to be generally about letting go of control to refresh and re-calibrate. Especially seeing as life has a knack for throwing curveballs when you least expect it. That is why today, I want to write to you about actually learning to let go, as holding on to something, and trying to control every aspect of your life is only going to land you in a depressive state or full of anxiety.

Over the past week, in fact, over the past two months, I have had to let go of a whole heap of things, including an identity I had built up for the past nine years. Which is not something that is easy to let go of, and moving towards the unknown can bring up all sorts of emotions, emotions that generally you are not able to control. As emotions are primordial, they are connected to our flight and fight, where ten-thousand years ago, it was either run away from a sabre tooth tiger or protect your young children from a stalking predator.

Unfortunately, if you are not emotionally intelligent, it is hard to discern and make out what is fear, what is anxiety, what is stress or what is nerves, excitement or a mix of all. I will save emotional intelligence for another article, because I could go on a whole tangent about that, in fact I may write a series about emotional intelligence.

But what I want you to understand is that you have to learn to be able to let go of many things in life, including emotions, identities, relationships, businesses, careers, money etc.

Letting go is difficult though, as it is a sign of quitting, you could be afraid that you may be seen as someone who didn’t leave everything on the table, you could be shunned from social circles for letting go of a relationship that was harmful…

The list could go on, letting go, can sometimes be harder than holding on to the remnants of the known!

Especially in our modern day where GRIT and Hard Work, or HUSTLE, have become buzz words that the media throws out to make us feel something, generally to make us feel bad for not working harder.

You listen to a motivational speaker and they will throw out these words quite often, but not many westernised speakers or thinkers have given enough credit to being able to let go and just go with the flow of life. Due to the fact that it is the opposite of their own philosophy, the very opposite of what they are trying to sell you, because for you to be motivated, you need to work hard and not quit.

You need to be the one to work from dawn to dusk and hustle hard, so that you can get a semblance of control back in your life, so you can beat the system or “the rat race.”

However, letting go requires you to stop, it requires you to reflect and look backwards at memories that can sometimes be truly traumatising. Some memories could bring up that flight or fight response, it is so powerful it could leave you paralysed with fear!

When it gets to that point, you may not be able to do it alone, and that is when a councillor or psychiatrist may be able to help, as you just might not be able to let go of the past without strategies to do so. We are not taught how to let things go, not really, we are actually taught to keep moving forward, to suck it up and get on with your day.

Which is why I wanted to talk about how I have been able to learn to let go of things from my past, which has helped me to move forward and become a much more emotionally intelligent and less stressed individual. Not to say that I don’t feel stress, we need stress to keep us moving forward and for change, but letting go helps you to manage your stress so that anxiety and depression is not a constant in your life.

1. Write down your memories, whether they have been brought up from something happening in your life or maybe it has just happened to you. Journal about how you feel about the experience, what made it traumatic and put yourself in the other persons shoes if there was someone that brought on that experience. Ask WHY?

2. Talk to someone about it, someone who is a family member or friend. Being able to talk it over, may shed some new light on the scenario or the experience. It may make it seem less daunting.

3. STOP! Just be in the now, stop what you are doing right now, take in five deep breaths and with each breath out, expel all of the air until you have none left. Another way is to actually take in your surroundings, rather than just pass things by, be curious about the things around you.

4. Which leads to my last point, BE CURIOUS and let wonder enter your mind on a daily basis! Children, especially young children, are generally always happy and worry free. Due to the fact that they see everything in a different light. They do not just see a tree on the footpath, they see a place to climb and play. They see the flowers blossoming in spring, they see a fantastical world, full of new things and adventure. The spark of adventure and curiosity is what can keep your mind young, which means you will need to STOP to allow your adult filter to stop running, because who can be curious if you are thinking about the next thing all the time.

I am sure there are multiple other strategies that can help you to let go, but I have found these to be the best and healthiest way to do so.

I truly hope that this has helped in some way, it has helped me in my life up until now, but if you have something else you use as a strategy, please I would love to hear about it.

Until next time,

Take Back Control

(I am no psychologist or psychiatrist, I am no doctor, but I have a good level of general knowledge from having a curious mind and from being taught through many mentors in life and through reading books. I just wish to pass on my knowledge, so I hope this can help you as it has helped me.)

Life Happens… It’s Not What Occurs That Matters, It Is Your Reaction!!

My last blog, I promised that I would write an article on a quick guide to Superannuation and where to find some comparison websites that would help you to choose a great fund.

Unfortunately, as the title states, life happened, and I have had a massive last two weeks. I won’t go into details just yet, but let’s just say that there will be many changes taking place over the coming few weeks which I am hoping will be a great learning experience for all of us.

Therefore, I wanted to delve into the fact that life is always going to happen, in fact, it was the great philosopher, Gautama Buddha, that said life was about embracing suffering, to let go of the idea of seeking pleasure.

Of course, I am not a Buddhist monk, nor will go to their level of devotion, however, I do believe that life will always include some suffering, because without it, we would never have the direct opposite, pure joy and happiness. Just like there cannot be light without dark, we cannot have happiness without suffering.

Therefore, I have always been able to maintain a pretty optimistic outlook on life and that has always challenged me to react better than most. Which is why I am writing this blog today, because I wanted to share with you that it is ok for things to happen, it is ok for life to happen.

It is not the happenings of the past or the challenges that arise that define you, no, it is rather The Reactions you have to those scenarios.

Your reaction to life, to pressure situations, to challenges, to change, that is what makes you who you are. You can learn to take control of your reactions, which in turn, will help you take control of those situations.

All it takes is for you to let go of your fear, of your doubt, of the failure that occurred or the very identity that you cling to.

Which is much harder to be done, and it may take a very long time, but I always believe it starts with letting go of your EGO, the very essence of your belief’s and ideals.

I want to run through what I have done over the last two weeks that has helped me to get through what has got to be one of the more difficult stages of my life. In the hope it can give you some tools to help you react better, to help you grow and be a better person for it.

1. Step One is Simply Accepting the Scenario or Circumstance

No matter what happens, being able to accept it goes a long way. The way I work towards accepting it is through journaling, whereby I write down my thoughts, feelings and reflect on my goals. Journaling may not be the thing for you, therefore, you need to find what works best, whether that be drawing, painting, walking in nature, writing poems, coding data or answering difficult mathematic problems… Something where you can shut off from the world and fall into the flow of your creative/intellectual side. (Intellect can be just as creative as drawing a field of flowers.) It may take you time, depending on what has happened, but in the end, you will accept what has happened.

2. Step Two, Comes Down to Letting Go…

Probably the most difficult part of the whole process, which is letting go. Letting go of the person you are, the identity you held on to, the ego you have. We all have an ego, and according to Sigmund Freud, we have a superego or collective ego, as well as an individual ego.

Now, when it comes to ego, understanding that life is in a constant state of flux, nature is forever changing, your very cells are dying and being replaced as you read right now within your body.

Therefore, being able to learn to let go, let go of old ideas, old identities that you have built up to survive in a society/world that you have been so use to…

That is the next step, and like I said, the most difficult, especially if you are clinging to old identities or friends, family, potentially money even etc.

The best way to learn to let go is to stop, something we don’t do much within western society. Being able to stop and breathe, being able to take in all of your emotions that are buried deep within, now boiling up to the surface. And just simply let them go. You can start by simply taking a deep breath in and holding your breath, wait until you are struggling to keep it in and then exhale deeply, until you have nothing left.

Do that three to five times, which will take no more than three minutes. You will learn to be able to let go pretty quickly, you learn to relax your muscles, which are tensing due to the anxiety building up in your chest. You will learn to breathe and potentially might learn something about yourself.

3. Step three requires you to TAKE ACTION!

You have now taken the time to get clear on the difficult circumstances and you have accepted it and let it go, now you need to take action. What is going to be the best next thing to do moving forward, that will align with your goals and who you want to be in the future.

Of course, that requires you to ask the question of who you want to be and where you want to be in the future…

However, if you do not know that just yet, which majority of people do not, that is ok. You do not need to know all the answers, this is where asking for advice from a mentor/coach/advisor who has no emotion attached can help significantly. Once you have a clear path forward, you simply just need to take the first step, no matter how hard it is.

No matter how scared you are, fearful of failure or success, with self-doubt resonating, you need to push that to the side, as you have your ego and just take the first small step forward.

I truly hope that has helped, as it has helped myself being able to move forward and not get stuck in the past.

I would love to know if I have been able to help you, if I have, please let me know in the comments below.

Until next time,

Take Back Control.

The Number One Secret to Becoming Financially Secure…

Getting Ahead of the Curve: Part 1

Pay Yourself FIRST!

To actually pay yourself first, it requires a few things, the first being a mental shift, a shift in consciousness or a shift in perspective. If this blog can help you to have a light bulb moment, a flick of the switch whereby you take action and start paying yourself first, my job would be part way complete.

A mentor once told me, “the reason you are still broke is because you are paying everyone else first, you are paying your bills, you are paying the local cafe, you are paying the supermarkets all first. You need to shift your mindset from paying everyone else first, to paying yourself first!”

When it comes to finances, you have to think of yourself, you and your partner, your family, as a corporation or business.

That is the another bit of advise I was given by my mentor a long time ago, which has helped me to truly get ahead and I hope will be able to help you to follow in my footsteps by truly taking the first step to becoming financially secure and potentially even wealthy!

That one bit of advise was what gave me my light bulb moment, because in business the number one rule to being an owner is to pay yourself first. However, it takes a lot of strong will and discipline to keep paying yourself first week in, week out.

I use the athlete analogy quite often, as I am a personal trainer, CrossFit Coach and love sport, but it is probably the best analogy to use as well, because athletes have such great discipline. Much more than the general population, like you or I.

Athletes need to be disciplined in their training schedules, their eating habits, the lifestyles they live, especially seeing as they are in the spotlight and looked up to as role models. The sacrifices they make, for the love of their sport, it is truly inspirational. That discipline is but an iota of what you and I need, because all you have to think about is sitting down every week, fortnight or month, depending on how you get paid, and transferring a small percentage of what you get paid into a savings account you do not touch. Which probably takes 15 minutes, whereas athletes commit to 40-100 hours a week, cooking, eating, training, sleeping and doing everything right.

But, just like an athlete, you can have speed bumps in the plan and process, where an athlete may get injured, you may have things happen that you were not expecting…

What happens when you get those unexpected speeding fines? Or you are seeing fuel prices soar?

Food is getting more expensive, inflation is going up and will only go higher, so how do you keep to paying yourself first, when you need more money to live and get the necessities?

You will need this discipline to stop yourself from reaching into the account you should be leaving alone, and the best thing to do here is to have a strong reason WHY you should not touch that account.

Having a goal for saving is just another tool in your arsenal to help you remain strong willed and disciplined.

Having a goal or reason to pay yourself first will be the only thing that will keep you going when times get tough. It could be as simple as saving for that holiday to Fiji or it could be more complex, such as achieving financial freedom and retiring when you are 45 years old.

Having that goal is great, but it needs to be anchored to strong emotions, that are linked to pain and pleasure. For an example, you may want to retire by 45 years old, but you need to have a really strong reason as to why you want to retire by that age. Is it because you truly dislike your job? Do you want to be able to spend more time with family? Do you want to give back to your community and you believe retiring early will give you the time and money to do so?

Your goal is of your own making, if you need help with regards to creating your own vision of your life, check out my first ever blog!

Other than strong will and discipline, you also need a sound plan, a process that you follow, week in, week out. Only a strong process will keep you from falling back into old habits.

Going back to treating yourself, your family, as a business, what do all good businesses have, all successful businesses anyhow? They have a strong process and systems to keep the business running.

Which is what you will need, and I am going to share with you the process I use every fortnight and month to be able to keep paying ourselves first (My wife and I, plus our dog too, he is apart of the family).

1. The hardest part is starting, and you need to figure out how much you would like to save/pay yourself first, as well as how much you need to live. That is why creating a budget to start is a great way to understand where you are at, to take the next step forward in your finances. You can follow my budget process right here, just click that link and follow it step by step.

2. Once you have complete your budget, you need to agree upon a number that you will save each week, fortnight or month that you can commit to for the whole year. (This number will vary on your circumstances, hence why it is necessary to complete a budget.)

3. You need to carve out 5-20 minutes each week or fortnight to commit to paying yourself first. Simply, once you get paid, take out the amount that you have agreed upon, with yourself, your partner or family, and transfer it to an account that you will not take from. Or you can invest it, but I will go through this later on.

4. It is best to also have another savings account, whereby you can commit a small proportion to big expenses that may come up out of nowhere. I call it an emergency savings account, where any fines or big expenses that pop up out of the blue get paid from this account.

5. Repeat the process and review your budget every year, as life gets more expensive, or your wage increases, the number you can pay yourself first will change!

If you can continue to complete these 5 steps, paying yourself first will be full proof, now of course, some of these steps may not suit your situation, or you may not like numbers. That is where having someone else look over your circumstances and budget might be a good idea.

The last step comes down to figuring out how to achieve your goal, which comes down to understanding the investment vehicles, and the complexities of risk.

Understanding the markets and understanding where your money should go to get the best outcome for you is truly a minefield, that is when having a great Financial Advisor by your side would help significantly. They know the ins and outs of the markets, they have been taught the complexities of financial products and have the processes to help you achieve your goals.

I will delve into how to look out for a great financial advisor in a new blog after this series, so look out for that.

However, I will also be going through the investments vehicles you can use to help you achieve your goals and dreams in part III of Getting Ahead of the Curve.

But next week, I will be taking you through what to expect of your tax this year and some truly simple ways in which you are entitled to minimise that tax bill or receive more of a refund from the tax you have paid in Part II.

Until next time,

Take Back Control

Sometimes Letting Go is What Will Help You Take Back Control!

Have you ever been stuck before? In a rut? Feel like you are not going anywhere?

Generally speaking, if this is how you feel, it means that you are holding on to something that has taught you everything there is and now you are just going through the motions. Whether that be a relationship, a job, potentially the area you live in, a sport or training style, or it could simply be the very career/industry you are in right now.

One thing I have learnt, being a business owner for the last ten years, training for the last 16 years and accomplishing a lot of things through both…

Sometimes you need to let go of things that you hold dear, that make you comfortable and feel secure, to truly grow and give you back control of your future growth.

Coming to terms with letting go of it is scary, not knowing what potentially may come in the future and the unknown has always been the single most feared thing in human existence, alongside the fear of failure. However, it is embracing these fears, taking hold of your future, by letting go of something in the past that is holding you back from growth, that is how you will truly be free to Take Back Control.

There is a lot of connotations to letting go of something as well, things like being afraid of the judgement from others, from disappointing people you hold dear or even yourself, to being seen as a quitter…

You need to be able to let go of that as well, to truly become someone else, to be the person you need to be for you to achieve your goals.

How do you know when to let go though?

When you have exhausted what you think is every avenue, when you have nothing left to learn, when you have been feeling down for some time. When you have been disappointed for the last time, when you know that there can be no change, because you yourself cannot change others or the situation.

That is when you know it is time to let go, and embrace the unknown, embrace your new self that you need to pursue to grow and Take Back Control of your future.

Taking on a new journey can brighten the spirits, motivate you and necessitate growth, because if you do not change and grow, then you will fail.

And sometimes a fear of failure, when you have no other alternative, will help you to spring out of the cosy cocoon and become something else completely.

I hope some of this may help you in your journey of Taking Back Control of your Life-Health-Wealth, I would love to know what else you would like to learn when it comes to Taking Back Control!

If you have any personal finance questions, questions on career/business, health (training and nutrition), investment questions, retirement etc.

I would love to know, just subscribe to our e-mail newsletter here.

Until next time,

Take Back Control

43% of Marriages End in Divorce According to New Statistics (2021)

Which is actually better than the divorce rate 20 years ago, according to Ibis World [1], where the divorce rate was closer to 50% based on divorce rate to marriages.

However, that percentage still seems extremely high to me, that means 2 in 5, almost 1 in 2 marriages, end in tears and messy finances.

And do you want to know what the number one reason for divorce in Australia is?

You probably already know, but it comes down to money most of the time, from partners lying about their finances to not being able to create the lifestyle that was promised and changing values surrounding money.

Therefore, one way to help bring that divorce rate down significantly would be to do what you reckon?

If you thought, well its simple, you just need to acquire more money…

You would be right to some degree, however, when it comes to money, having more doesn’t mean that you are happy.

In fact, a recent study completed by the Purdue university [2], using the Gallup World poll data, suggests that earning more money up to a certain degree can indeed bring more happiness, if the money is spent the right way. Mainly by buying back more time to spend with family and loved ones, as well as giving back to the community you live in.

Therefore, having more money is definitely going to help decrease the statistic, however it is also how you use your money, how you communicate with your partner about it and also will come down to how much time you spend earning said income.

So first of all, how much money is needed to be happy/content in your relationship and also yourself?

Well according to two different studies, from Princeton (2010) and Purdue Universities (2018), the bottom line is US$75,000 or AUD$100,634 per year.

That is the amount needed to be earned each year to at least be happy, to live the life you want, afford everything you need and to be able to service all of your debts as well, plus have some surplus cash to do with what you like.

If you are not earning that much personally, but you are married or in a De Facto relationship, don’t stress, because that corelates to household income as well. Therefore, between you and your partner, if you earn at least this much between you, based on the studies above, you should be content with your life.

Of course, that brings me to the next issue when it comes to money in relationships, which also is probably the number one reason why money is the killer of most marriages.

And that comes down to how you spend said money and communicate that spend with your partner!

1 in 4 (23%) have lied to a significant partner about their money spending habits [3], with the main reason of lying to said partner being debt (50% of respondents blamed debt for lying).

There are a few things that my wife and I do that I would like to share with you, which has definitely helped improve our relationship.

1. We have a night every one to two months where we go through our finances/budget and talk about where we are heading honestly and openly.

2. We have no hidden accounts, the only account I have which my wife doesn’t have access to is a business account. However, if she wanted to see it, all she has to do is ask.

3. We have a few standards, if we are wanting to make a purchase above $200, we need to talk with our partner about it first. Especially, if the purchase is a want, rather than a necessity.

Has that stopped us from having disagreements every now and again? No, of course not. We still have areas where we don’t agree, because we are fundamentally two different people.

An example of this would be our use of surplus cash, I love experiencing things and seeking adventure, we both do in fact. However, I am more risk-oriented, therefore I am fine with having less cash on hand, my wife is not though.

My wife is the opposite and has been taught to save and have cash in reserve, which is a great lesson to be taught. That is why we discuss the use of our money and where it goes, we disagree on some elements, but that is where compromise is needed.

Once we have agreed on the compromise of how to use said surplus cash, we need to stick by it. Which is what the monthly, to two monthly “date nights,” as termed by the ‘Barefoot Investor’ Mr. Scott Pape, are for.

To keep each other accountable and to make sure that we are moving in the same direction and spending the money in the right way.

The subject of relationships and being able to build better connections through open and transparent communication is a big one, and all it takes is for one person in the relationship to prioritise it and bring up any frustrations/concerns.

I truly hope that the above has been able to help someone in their own relationship, to help make your connection last!

Until next time,

Take Back Control

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1. https://www.ibisworld.com/au/bed/number-of-divorces/30/

2. https://www.renolon.com/can-money-buy-happiness-statistics/#:~:text=A%20study%20done%20by%20Princeton,after%20earning%20beyond%2080000%20USD.

3. https://www.finder.com.au/marriage-and-divorce-statistics-2021

The Greatest Hedge Against Inflation!

On my morning walk with Marlow (my 12 month golden retriever) this morning, I listened to a Jim Rohn lecture on wisdom. And in his usual way, Jim Rohn explained the concept of wisdom in his round-about, way through stories and parables (not from the bible, but some are).

I listened to the lecture for about thirty minutes and there is one thing I was able to take from it that stood out above all else. From all of Jim Rohn’s own wisdom, from the knowledge he took from Socrates, the greatest philosopher of ancient Greece, from the wisdom of King Soloman, of the bible, and even the success of an investing banker friend that had it made…

Each and every person from history that you would deem wise and all-knowing (omniscient, a word to add to the vocabulary if you want), they all had one thing in common!

The fact that they believed they did not know anything, they were seekers of knowledge and of truth.

In fact, I remember last year being in a meeting with a mentor of my own, and we were talking about inflation, the affects it has on the broader economy and to every day people like you and I.

The one thing that really stood out from that meeting is that inflation does not matter, in fact, you should be happy about inflation. Rather than complain about rising costs of living, go out and work on using this opportunity of rising costs to get a promotion or a salary increase.

You do not have control over the greater economy, but you do have control over the knowledge you accrue and over the income you earn.

The more knowledge and value you give back to the company you work for, the more your income will increase. Inflation, if it becomes set and on-going, leads to wage increases, you just need to be able to demonstrate your value and ask for that raise!

But, the person who believes they know everything, will not increase their value to the company, in fact, they will not change at all.

Therefore, become a seeker of wisdom and knowledge. Make it your ethos, your life’s goal to accrue more information and life experience. Be more valuable than the next person and inflation will not matter, in fact, you will sing and dance when you hear that fuel and food prices are increasing, as it means that it may be time to ask for that extra raise.

Which is why you should ask great questions, seek more knowledge and be more valuable. If you think you know nothing, that means that you will be even more hungry to seek out what will benefit your life and the lives of others around you!

I know I will be seeking to understand and gain more knowledge to make myself a valuable asset to the marketplace,

Until next time,

Take Back Control!

How to Change Your Thinking and Mindset to Achieve anything!

Within the previous blog, raising standards and deciding to choose your own fate was the most important factors to being able to Take Back Control…

Before you can do that though, you do need to be able to change how you think and your mindset!!

One of the book’s I have read in the past that drummed into me that mindset is key, would be “Think and Grow Rich,” by Napoleon Hill.

With such a simple message that is pounded into you from the very title, it truly opened my eyes to the fact that anything is possible, if you just think about it and obsess over it enough!

There are a few factors that led to the change in my mindset to be more successful and to work on achieving what is truly valuable to myself and my family.

These factors are completely transferrable to yourself, most importantly, if you work on them everyday, you will be able to create a bulletproof mindset!

These factors come down to;

• Getting clear on who you want to be as a person, what your strengths/weaknesses are and knowing the lifestyle you want to live, including career, business, relationships etc. (The journey you need to walk)

• Surrounding yourself with people who want to be achievers, growing a network and just being able to challenge each other. (Environment and relationships are pivotal to change)

• Moving away from pain or heading towards pleasure (Having a make or break moment in your life)

Let me run through what pushed me on the path of change to being more successful, in the hope that my story can help you to also change your thinking and mindset!

Starting with a make or break moment, a time in your life where you have either had enough of something or you are challenged to the point where it becomes necessity to survive.

For my moment, it was both!!

The moment for me was when I was asked by a friend to join him in a business venture when I was 18 years old, at the time, I was running my own sole trader business and working casually as well as going to university.

Unfortunately, the timing was just not right for me, because at that point in time, I was broke…

In fact, I remember having -$7.03 in my bank account at that exact moment, I was utterly distraught and the feeling of shame, disappointment, and even a little fear of missing out, was crushing.

That was the moment I knew I had to change, I needed to change and push myself further than I had ever done so before!

From there, I knew I had to move away from the emotional pain and setback, and move towards the person I wanted to become.

I didn’t truly know who that was until I started surrounding myself with people who wanted even more success in life than myself. I started paying a business coach to help me create a better Personal Training business, I pretty much spent all of my spare time working towards never being broke ever again!

The idea of not having the money to afford fuel to just get to work weighed on my mind…

It drove me to be better and to change my mindset, I stopped spending money for myself and put everything I had back into paying down the rent, business coaching and just being better!

The moment is what made my mindset shift, which drove me to change my environment and relationships and in the end has led me to get clear on who I am as a person.

The thing is, you don’t need a moment of pain to help you decide on what you want to do or who you want to be.

No, I was young and pretty naïve at the time, but I know you can be better, I believe that you can be more.

All you have to do is decide right here and now to prioritise what you stand for as a person!!

You just need to want it more than anyone else, you just need to learn to sacrifice a little bit now for long term gains later.

Once you have decided to do something, set out small actions to take and help you to achieve your bigger goals.

I went from -$7 to owning our first home with my wife within ten years from that moment, we have also now brought our second home, our dream home which we will live in for the next 20-30 years.

Which is where we will hopefully start a new journey, where we can build our own family and strive for heights we didn’t think was possible ten years ago.

It just goes to show, if I can go from -$7.03 in my account to being a home owner in ten years and running a business, plus buying our dream home…

You can do it too!!

Until next time,

Take Back Control

What it takes to Take Back Control of Your Life-Health-Wealth!

Would you agree that you feel like the days are just flying by, you wake up and before you know it, you are getting ready to settle down for the night, putting the kids to bed, or doggo/cats, or both!!

You may be bringing out the glass of red, or ice-cream for some, its been a big day and you want to give yourself a treat. Well-deserved too, you got that big deal today, or you were able to finish a massive project and you feel accomplished and relieved that it went well…

But, you still don’t feel completely happy with yourself, you may not be feeling fully fulfilled, maybe you just aren’t doing anything for yourself anymore!

You drone out to the white noise on the T.V as you eat your ice-cream or share a glass with your partner, trying to re-coup from what felt like a huge day.

You start scrolling social media on your phone, as the T.V show is not really all that interesting, and you start seeing all these people away on holidays, escaping the mediocrity of their lives.

You start wanting to get away, to escape it all, you start becoming jealous and envious of all these people on social media that are working out, just like you use to when you were younger.

They look fit and most of all, they look HAPPY!

How did it come to this?

…Today, I wanted to share this story with you, because this is how a lot of people feel!

You don’t feel like you have control of your life, you don’t feel fulfilment, nor are you completely happy, you are not content and always want more.

If this has touched something within you, this story above, I want to share with you how you can Take Back Control starting as of this very moment.

I like to tell my clients, it first starts with a decision to WANT to do more, to be more. And truly, you need to DECIDE that you want to change before anything else, which can be scary, but nothing good comes from standing still.

You only have to look at nature to understand this, nothing stands still, the trees bend with the wind, or they snap in half…

The rocks on the foreshore are slowly eroded away by the consistent pounding of the waves, becoming smaller and smaller until it breaks off from the cliffs and erodes down into a pebble.

You cannot stand still, you cannot expect to feel content, or happy if you have decided to stop achieving for YOURSELF!

I found this out the hard way, whereby I stopped for around two years, which mentally, was the worst two years of my life, I tried achieving for others and it just led to frustration.

You need to DECIDE to ACHIEVE for YOURSELF!

Once you have done this, you are a step closer to Taking Back Control.

The next step is to deciding to becoming someone else entirely!

Everything that has happened to you up until this point in time that you have control over, things like deciding to reward yourself with ice-cream or a glass of red every night, these are based around who YOU are, your identity.

Everyone loves a treat every now and again, but when did it become EVERY night?

Maybe it was an accumulation of multiple bad days, maybe you got too busy and everything was hard, so a comfort at the end of the day was really nice to make you feel better…

However, now you have even less energy, you feel even less happy, you stopped being that person who worked out, you stopped identifying as a healthy and fit person.

You can also contribute this to every scenario that was a bad habit built up over time, if you don’t identify as someone who is always struggling with money, you will continue to always struggle with money.

If you believe yourself to be the person who snacks consistently, you will always snack!

You need to decide to be someone else and raise your standards to match your new identity, that is how you Take Back Control.

In my previous article, I wrote about the four pillars of health and within that, I gave you my standards that I always meet, each and every day.

That is how I remain healthy, that is why I am able to be positive and full of energy. All because, I made a decision, a decision to be the healthiest I can be.

Sure you will make mistakes along the way, you will give in to temptation and you can enjoy a night out every now and again, but you still need to decide on WHO you will be and whether you will CHANGE who you are.

No matter where you are struggling in life, whether it is with relationships, wealth, health, education or career, you can always CHOOSE to be better, simply by deciding and taking action on raising your standards!

Hopefully this has lit a small ember within your stomach, a spark to change, because that is all you need.

In my next blog, I will be writing about how I changed my thinking and who I was when it came to money, going from -$7 in my bank account to owning my own home!

Until next time,

Take Back Control

New Year brings New Achievements!

Every year I will sit down and reflect, however, that is only one part of the process that has helped me to Take Back Control of my life, business, finances, relationships and health.

On Monday, my wife and I sat down to plan out our goals for 2022, which is an integral part of being able to Take Back Control.

The first phase of understanding what you want to achieve is understanding where you are right now and knowing what your dreams are.

There was a phrase I learnt from the great Tony Robbins that is a four step process used to creating achievements and it went like “Dream-Goal-Plan-Action.”

You have to be able to have a dream and vision for what your future will be like, then you must write that down to become a goal and set a timeline for it, create a step-by-step plan to achieve it and then take action on the plan. Seems pretty simple and it really is, although there is one more step that needs to be added to the process which becomes pretty important from my experience…

That step is being able to reflect on where you have been, what you have achieved and what you have learnt, adding the reflection process in with Tony Robbin’s four steps to achievement process is much more effective and is quite similar to the SMART-ER goal principles for creating goals.

SMARTER goals means “Specific-Measurable-Achievable-Relative-Timely-Evaluate and Re-assess.”

Now, you don’t need to know all of the theory, but understanding that this stuff truly works and is really simple to follow is imperative to creating success, taking back control and achieving more from life.

On Monday, when my wife and I sat down to map out our year for 2022, we utilised the processes above in a very simple way.

We sit down and jot down the main categories that we need to grow in each year to feel fulfilment and purpose in life, you don’t need to just do these five, you could add more if you like, but here they are;

1. Relationships

2. Health

3. Education

4. Career/Business

5. Finances

Under each of them, my wife and I will talk about what we want to achieve in each of these main areas in our lives for the year and write down our goals and when to achieve them by. However, my wife and I have discussed at length what we want to achieve together and know pretty well where we want to take our lives.

Becoming clear on what your lifestyle will look like together in 5, 10 even 20 years from now is just as important to creating your goals. Which is probably a conversation you should have with your partner, or having a conversation with a friend if you are single, to get a bit more clear on what your lifestyle and dream for your life will look like. (If you need help on getting clear on what your life will look like, have a read of one of my first few blogs here )

Your dream/aim for your lifestyle does not have to be exact, it just has to be a vision of what it may look like and that is when you can start breaking down how to achieve your dreams.

My wife and I do this through reverse engineering, or essentially taking backwards steps from the dream. Let me take you through a quick example of one of our goals.

We want to move into our dream family home, as one of our goals is to start creating a family of our own. The goal required extensive research, financial planning and much more. Thankfully, I am studying to be a financial planner and a mortgage broker, which made that side of things a whole heap easier, and we have also bought a house before as well.

Ps. With experience and knowledge we have been able to make quick and calculated decisions through planning and taking action, that is why you should seek advice from a professional and leverage their knowledge to make the goal seem attainable. Which has led us to be able to make quick decisions like we did for when we bought land and found a builder for our dream home to be built by mid-2023.

First and foremost, we have a dream of creating a family and having a four bedroom home for that family. Once we have the dream, we set a goal pertaining to achieving the dream, which for us was a few different goals under different categories.

Under relationships, my wife and I placed “Start trying to have a baby by December,” under Finances we placed “sell house” and “save $20,000 by end of year.”

Under career/business, my wife decided her main goal was to “remain consistent in her job,” and for myself it was to “start working as an associate planner part-time once we sell the house.”

As you can see, once you have been able to create your dream, the goals are just stepping stones towards it, the goals become your plan and all you need to do is take ACTION on that plan/goals.

Goal setting is imperative to Taking Back Control of your Life-Health-Wealth and using the start of the year to evaluate and adjust goals as needed is an important part of that process.

You could even evaluate your goals every six months, or even every three months. The last two years have shown just how quickly things can change, which means your goals may need to change along with the world as well.

To summarise on how to start writing down your goals you need to;

1. Get clear on your dream/lifestyle for the next 5, 10 or 20 years

2. Reverse engineer how to achieve your dream (Ask a professional or someone who has done it before, they can help here.)

3. Write down your stepping stones (goals/plan) and make them SMART-ER.

4. Once you have the goals and your plan, purely and simply take Bold Action!

Use the above to help you get clear and if you need any more help, write a comment below and I would love to get back to you on how you can truly Take Back Control.

Until next time, where I will be getting back to the beginner investor series for the last two blogs!

See you then,

TBC

If you have found this Blog valuable, I would love it if you shared it with friends and family. The more the merrier, as I want to see each and every one of you learn to Take Back Control of your Life-Health-Wealth !