I love the pursuit of the new and maybe much like you, am attracted by bright, shiny objects. Far from running out of ideas, I’m running out of space.
And when I say space, I mean space in my head, space in my diary and yes, space in my savings account. If I had such a thing.
A decade or so ago, I sat in the auditorium of a massive venue to hear Robert Kiyosaki telling me all kinds of wonderful things about amassing and importantly, retaining, wealth. It all made terrific sense which makes me wonder why I’ve ignored all I learned in the intervening years. Well done me.
One story Robert shared has stayed with me though. It had to do with the great man’s penchant for classic Porsches. Well you would, wouldn’t you?
I’ve had a model Porsche 356A in my office for years, with the intention being it would magically manifest into a real one. But enough about me.
When Kiyosaki told his wife that he intended to buy this gorgeous machine, she replied to the effect, “Great. Just show me where you intend to raise that extra chunk of money, either by selling something you have or making a wad through a new action.”
Interesting. Not only did this show me who wore the driving gloves, it taught me the notion that for anything new to arrive in the Kiyosaki household, a full and complete ‘business case’ was demanded and ‘space’ had to exist.
And I think this is an approach we could learn from when diving into new, exciting sparkly projects. Too often I fear we shoehorn in more new stuff, to the detriment of what’s already there – diminishing something that’s probably doing ok, by adding something that needs more energy, more investment and more you.
If we’re not careful, we end up with a net loss.
What if each time a new project presented itself you had to either cease something you were already working on/in or have all the resources firmly in place before starting?
What would that make you do? I suggest it would make you think a little deeper and plan a little harder.
I don’t know if Robert bought his new toy, but I think he must have as it certainly hasn’t turned up in my driveway yet.
