In life, what really matters? Work, play, family, friends, God? Probably a combination of all of them? Not in that order.
I always thought of my work as "something I did", "my career" and the thing that brought money to the table for the things in life. But what is work?
Is work to you, on the farm? Is it working for the family business? Or is it working for less than genuine owners, who look out for nothing but themselves and the profits they can make by having you work for them and not ask questions? I realized that I had been working for many years of my life, really my families lives, for other people, doing their bidding for nothing more than Judas' pieces of silver.
What I really needed to do was look out for myself, which is really the future of my family.
I was given some advice, from Dave Ramsey, "Always plan ahead, have at least 3 months of expenses, have a plan". I also remember from another person to "Always plan to have enough money and resources so there are no emergencies from week to week, this will keep you ahead of your own personal plan in life". Robert Kiosaki says that "You must have enough resources to plan ahead, because if you get trapped without a plan, you will be forced to make decisions you would not normally make or want to make" (paraphrased) and "The biggest trap, the biggest dungeon in life is isn't laziness or bad luck, it's comfort."
http://getmotivation.com/prosperity/ten-decisions-Robert-Kiyosaki.htm
NOTE: It can be comfortable, as I was, to simply work, enjoy it, and tell yourself you are doing well because you are providing for your family. This is NOT how rich people think.
Essentially, in my case, I had to sell stocks during the last 6 years in a company, because I needed a bonus, for which said company never gave out. Therefore I squandered the "free money" into a small piddly bonus, where if I would have waited, I could have made a substantial haul from the stock jump when the comany got purchased by a larger company. So my mistake was two-fold,
1) working at company in which I expected and maybe required a bonus to pay bills.
2) selling of stocks, to get said money, because I didnt plan ahead to live life without said shares.
If you work in the big corporate world, you are really working for big finance, you are working for the banksters in New York. It is through these banks which funnel the stock market money, the lending facilities of the rich and famous, the loans, and the capability to pay dividends to share holders. It doesn't really matter where you work, if that company has big money funding, or is public, you work for the banks.
If your career depends on this relationship, then think really hard how you get your cut of the profits, how you work your situation for YOUR benefit. Why simply work so many years, keeping your head down, oblivious to the end game? Manage your stock options to your benefit, be really careful how you play your 401k if you have one, keep in mind where you work, what your company does, will it get bought or sold, will it stand alone and defeat the competitors in its space? Think of it like war. Know your enemy, and the enemy is you without the right knowledge.
Never fail to realize you are in it for the future of your family, not because it makes you money in the here and now, but what happens down the road. Play to win. Never FAIL.
