Your MoneySense coaches, Tom and Sonya Shepard, recently attended Coach’s Enrichment with Ramsey Solutions. During the two day event we were blessed to spend time with Dr. Henry Cloud (yep, he's the “Boundaries” guy). He shared with us 5 keys (he called them buckets) to achieving success (in finances as well as other areas), and how your issues can block your progress on the journey of getting from here to there.

Blocker #1 – You don’t know what your Desired Future State Is: Lacking Vision

Until you take time to figure out where “there” is, you will struggle to find it. Like the Cheshire Cat told Alice in Wonderland when she got to a fork in the path, “If you don’t know where you are going, it doesn’t matter which direction you go.” Many people are limited by having permission to dream. As Larry Page, co-founder of Google says, “You have to have a healthy disregard for the impossible.” The number one factor in achieving success isn’t motivation. The number one factor is belief that it can be done. Proverbs 13:12 says that “Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.”

That is why our first session in financial coaching puts so much focus on your goals and dreams. Not just where you want to be next month or next year, but what does retirement mean to you, what do you want to do with your time, talent and wealth once you have more of all three? (and you can!) If you don’t have that clear vision you will need to spend some time working through your vision, perhaps even create a vision board. This will help center you and give you drive to get through the tough times on your financial journey.

Blocker #2 – You haven’t engaged the talent needed to get there: Your Team

Dr Cloud shared that everything the research has shown about human change is that it relies on concentric circles of relationships. Nobody gets “there” on their own. Self-help is an oxymoron. None of us is gifted in all 5 of these buckets. That is why we all need help. A coach or mentor can help you quarantine your weaknesses and guide you through the areas you struggle at on your own.

Impulse control and Self-discipline are important parts of financial success. The Bible shows us that Self-Control is a Fruit of the Spirit. Why did God compare this to fruit? I believe one reason is because you have to grow fruit. You can’t just will it into existence. Who do you need on your team to help tend the fruit?

Blocker #3 – You don’t have a strategy for getting “there”.

You have to be able to answer the question, “How am I going to win?” You must have a strategy to follow to get you from “here” to “there”. Your strategy is like a road map. It is not a tactic. People try many tactics. For many of our clients, this strategy is the Ramsey Solutions Baby Steps, 1 through 7. These steps help form a road map to get people who are in debt, all the way to financial success. Whatever your strategy, it must be connected to a plan with action steps. Dr Cloud states that the #2 factor in success is the prioritization of activities that move the needle. (#1 was vision) If you have not defined specific plans to get you to the goal, and the goal and steps are not time oriented, success is far less likely. Research shows there is a 70% higher probability of doing an activity if it is written into your calendar!

Blocker #4 – You aren’t measuring your results.

John Maxwell, leadership expert and author of “The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership” (along with 85 other books on leadership!) says that while many people claim “experience is the best teacher”, evaluated experience is actually the best teacher. You have to measure whether or not you are doing what you said you will do. Part of your team (see Bucket #2) has to be a coach or accountability partner. You have to have the “adult in the room”. Your strategy should include mutually agreed upon steps and actions. At regular intervals you must take time to evaluate where you are in your steps. If the actions are not completed within the time frame you set, do a root cause analysis. Why did I not complete? What needs to be added or who needs to be added to my team.

Blocker #5 – You are not adapting and fixing.

Dr. John Delony, bestselling author and mental health expert says, “The four most important words in the English language are: I changed my mind.” What do you do if you are not getting the results you counted on? Adapt. Can you change your action items? Yes! Can you change your strategy? Of course! If you have taken the time to evaluate your actions and worked through them with a coach or accountability partner then you have to adapt and fix the process. John Maxwell shared, “We are taught to separate success and failure. They should go hand in hand. Success has to learn from failure and vice-versa.” Sometimes you win, sometimes you learn. Failure is only bad if you don’t learn something from it. To adapt and fix our actions or strategies we must: Test => Fail =>Learn =>Improve and then move the cycle up.

Remember, none of us is gifted in all 5 of these areas. Most of us also have injuries (which produce fear, shame and other negative emotions) that can produce gaps in these key areas. Whenever you are struggling to get traction and success, in finances or other areas of life, you need to identify and mend the hole in one of these buckets!

If you would like help in any of these areas or have other financial questions and would like some support, please reach out to us. We are here to help you win with money!