Continued From Page 4You've heard of the saying "It's lonely at the top"? Well, it's not only lonely when you're alone, it also can be stressful and debilitating. I remember building my first financial services company, just before the tech meltdown in 2000. There were days when I needed to bounce an idea off someone else, and there were days when I just needed to know that someone was there, listening. When I didn't have that, my confidence dropped and my excitement diminished. Isolation, plain and simple, causes us to lose perspective and confidence. Over the years, I found out the hard way -- and saw the same thing happen to others -- that if you start out trying to get to this pinnacle of achievement completely on your own, you will become frustrated, fearful, and angry.
The beauty of my path to wealth is that you are not isolated. You can get to that summit with the help of your LifeNet resources -- and you'll never again feel the anxiety and the loss of confidence of going it alone.
InactivityFeeling isolated and alone in the pursuit of your dream usually triggers feelings of inadequacy and helplessness. Then, when hurdles or obstacles arise, the tendency is to freeze up and stop moving forward. That's exactly how my friend in the TV audience described her feelings in the Introduction of this book. What's the inevitable next step? We quit.
This inactivity reveals itself in a variety of ways. Do you recognize any of these feelings or situations?
- You're too uncertain to reach out for help.
- You don't take even the smallest risks, when you know in your gut they'll pay off.
- You keep thinking negative thoughts: "I can't do this," "I'm going to fail."
- You have an idea for turning a passion into a profitable venture, but you don't think it's good enough.
- You want to start, but don't know where to begin.
- You know you need to learn more before diving in, but you don't know where to get that knowledge.
The result is that we don't move forward financially in ways that are possible, ways that are right before us:
- You let money sit in a checking account rather than investing it.
- You have a subscription to Entrepreneur magazine and you haven't read it in six months.
- You purchased software to manage your expenses but you've never opened the package.
- Your daughter bought you a book on Warren Buffett's investing philosophy and you haven't gotten past the first page.
The "S" SolutionThe cumulative effect of these feelings is that the goals that really matter to you -- the future that you feel so passionate about -- begin to look unachievable. You lose confidence and the next thing you know you're settling. Believe me, I know.
But if you keep reading, you'll discover that, with your LifeNet, you don't ever get into that cycle of the "the 'I' problem." That's because you're working within a framework -- a kind of safety net -- that leaves you feeling
supported instead of alone,
surrounded by resources instead of isolated, and
sure of yourself rather than inactive, which looks like this:
Supported Surrounded Sure of YourselfThe End ZoneWe've seen in this chapter that going it alone is not the right way to go about creating wealth. So what now? What do you do with this information? Now comes the part where you stand up tall, look yourself in the mirror, and say: "I have a responsibility to both myself and my family to wake up, to pay attention to the voice inside me that is saying 'I can do better' -- and to do something about it!"
If you're tired of not reaching your financial goals, and you're ready to make a change, read on! In the next chapter, I show you how to get started with my new, better way: the LifeNet way.
Excerpted from 'The Millionaire Zone' by Jennifer Openshaw Copyright 2007 Jennifer Openshaw. All rights reserved. Published by Hyperion. Available wherever books are sold.
