The R in the IDEAL Wealth GROWER model stands for “Reality”, and more specifically your current reality.
To be able to take advantage of the wealth generation strategies in the model where you invest in residential real estate for the long term and develop a passive income from cash flow to achieve economic and financial independence you need to recognize your current reality. That also includes a reflection on the path you took to get to where you are right now.
In his book “Integrity”, Dr. Henry Cloud describes parts of this reflective concept by the analogy of you being the captain of your own ship of life. As the captain, you steer the ship where you want it to go. With that in mind, when you turn around and look at the wake in the water you will see where you have been and how you came to where you are now. Dr. Cloud emphasizes that you can’t really change the wake in the water. I agree.
What’s you can reflect on and then change are the habits and behaviors that may have developed over time and are part of your current reality.
When you reflect on your goal or goals discussed last time, you know that part of the secret sauce to actually achieving your goals is to take action. Those actions are significantly impacted by what you think, how you channel your energy, and how you generally go about things when you divided to do something.
In our mentoring program for IDEAL Wealth GROWERs, I am combining a few approaches from programs and concepts I am certified in. One is called NEWS and uses the model of a compass to orient ideas and actions. Within that compass, our current reality is represented by the letter “E” for East. Things that come from that direction have to do with our inner motivation when we look at it individually, and with the values, when we look at it from an organizational perspective. In this approach, our values and motivation should be aligned with those of the organization we are running or working for.
To identify your current reality, we typically conduct a number of exercises. They are looking at:
• What are your values?
• How do you define each value?
• What are the values of your organization?
• What are your vision and mission, both for yourself and your organization?
• Where do you see gaps?
• How do the values and your daily activities reflect what you want?
• What is in your way that prevents you to move forward?
• Which learnings/teachings from the past have influenced your current believes and reality?
• How has your upbringing/parenting by your family influenced your current reality?
• Was there a traumatic event in the past that still influences your current reality?
• How motivated are you and why?
• Do you have any signs of fatigue, burn-out, lack of connection to your role, any feeling of moving forward on “autopilot” – if so, why and when?
By answering these and other questions and working through exercises around the topic of your current reality a picture emerges, similar to a puzzle getting completed. When we have developed that picture, we can hold it up against the goals we have set and explore how to move forward.
In some cases, the path forward is not a straight line. In some cases, we need to enter what the British would call a “Roundabout”. It has multiple exits that will allow you to start on your path to achieving your goal. To be able to determine which exit from the roundabout to take, you will need some reflection and clarity.
You know what your goal is overall as well as what your goals for economic and financial independence are. By reflecting on your current reality and the history that you brought you here, you can see what will be easy on your path to the goal and where you need to make changes and improve yourself, your behaviors may be some of your abilities and knowledge.
While in the roundabout we conduct a three-step process:
1. Identification of values
2. Definition of values
3. Identification of behaviors needed to live the values
Knowing what the behaviors are and how well we already know and practice them determines how soon we can leave the roundabout. In some cases, we can see that we can leave sooner because some of the learning can happen after we exit. Sometimes we need to stay as long as it takes to acquire the knowledge and behavior needed to live our values and have the skills to accomplish the goals we set. Mentoring can be an accelerator because as your mentor I can help you with all those aspects where my experience and expertise will provide you with the things that work and avoid those that don’t. For all the stuff that I don’t have experience or expertise, you will have to go through the normal learning process, either while in the roundabout or on the path to your goals following your exit from the roundabout. Just be aware that learning while on the path will slow progress down. We always discuss if it is better to first learn and become comfortable with new concepts, behaviors, and knowledge or accept partial understanding and move forward anyway.
In this context one rule has served me very well: “When you are aware of something you need to learn or get better at; you have already completed 50% of the path. The rest if motivation and energy and you will make it to 100%.”
Identifying your state of inner motivation, the energy you can corral as the wind that will push your boat towards the goals you have set is one of the most important steps towards success.
Yes, there will be both obstacles and opportunities as you embark on your journey. As your mentor I help you identify both, take advantage of the opportunities and avoid the obstacles. Let’s discuss that in more detail in the next articles about the IDEAL Wealth GROWER model.