I was going to title this “Grabbing For Everything Leads to Grasping Nothing” but, that was a little long. It does sound like a winning book title….moving on. We hear to “reach for the stars” but, it should be “reach for a star.” The shortcoming of most of our journeys towards what we want in life is our desire to complete it altogether. We want to find new ways to make money so we can quit our jobs, spend more time with the family, travel more, and invest the newfound money to make even more money.

We may even budget to perfection but, we budget for everything we want to happen. This over-ambition causes 2 issues. One doesn’t sound like an issue. That issue is the perfect budget will show you that all of it is possible, maybe even probable. This assurance keeps you going and reaching for everything because you see it is attainable for yourself. The second, one setback crushes that budget and demoralizes you. Your budget is based on consistent and sometimes compounding income. If you are big on budgeting, you know that a loss today will result in big losses showing in the future. How do we combat this? Why would the world show us everything is there for the taking only to tell us we cannot have it? What is it that we don’t understand?

Imagine your top 5 goals you want to accomplish in this world. Imagine you standing in the center of a room. Those 5 things are now 25 color-coated balls (5 Balls each goal/dream). They all drop and scatter all over the room. The game states you can have each goal you collect all fives balls for, as long as you grasp them before they stop bouncing. 99% of us lose this game. Why? What do you think happens? Well, the balls drop and, we plan to grasp all 25 of them. We may do well and finish with 16 out of 25. We look down and realize we have all 5 of nothing.

All the work we’ve done chasing everything has amounted to not a thing. Most of us play this game our entire lives and never get the hang of the game. Some have more than 5 goals when 3 makes the game impossible for most. Others seem to be color blind. They’ll run after their first of one color while holding 4 of another. The key to playing any game is to learn every aspect you can about it. We play the game, fail, and play again. No studying. No gameplan. No practice. No understanding of what exactly we are doing. No chance of success.

Let’s study the most serious game we’ll ever play for a change. The fact that we play continuously tells us we don’t need to catch all the balls. Our current strategy of everything now leads to nothing later. We’ve lived this scenario but don’t accept it. The game, like life and your excellent budget, shows you your goals are obtainable. The game drops them all for you to chase. You must know which one is first. Catching those 5 will be just as hard as getting 16/25 but, that 5/25 comes with the benefit of an accomplished goal.

A major key to more success after completing a goal is not adding a new one. 5/20 balls get you your next goal. This method is how you do it. This strategy may seem like common sense but, it isn’t. The ultimate cheat code in the game is to have one goal at a time. You are pretty much operating like that with the stategy but, those other balls bouncing around can be distracting, causing you to come up one ball short. Only having 5 balls bouncing creates the unwavering focus needed for perpetual success. Help yourself.

In closing, grabbing for everything leads to grasping nothing. We constantly get frustrated with setbacks and dealing with the feeling of failure but, it may be on us. Let’s say we want to quit our day jobs. We find a way to supplement our income. We then desire to make improvements to our home, take a fancy vacation, and finally get a new car. Uh, no.

Life will allow you to get all of these things before you can afford or are ready for them. That is the equivalent of obtaining 4 out of 5 balls. One set back and, the vacation you’ve paid half of is out. The improvements to the house you charged, will not be covered as soon as you thought and interest will pile up. The car note now cuts into your monthly budget meaning it has to go and your credit will take a hit. These new problems tell you something else. Those new problems state you haven’t supplemented your income and need to find a job. You had one goal locked up and dropped a ball attempting to catch others. You end up with nothing. Everything Now = Nothing Later. Don’t let it happen again.

Food for thought…You do the Dishes!!!