Money has always been a massive point of contention for me. In my middle and high school years, I had two best friends, Craig and Laura. I’m not going to say that they or their parents were rich, nor were they poor, but it seemed that they were the ones getting a cell phone (when cell phones really became cool) or a new or slightly used car. Almost every weekend, Craig would drag me along to the closest music store where he would buy a handful of CD’s and/or some new clothes. At the end of any given day, I could be settling in for the night and looking around my own room thinking about how everything was old and nothing was really new and exciting.
It’s very rare that I have the current model of anything. A big lesson I’ve learned over the years is that we’re not competing with anyone by having the newest and shiniest. I love what Dave Ramsey says about the need to have a brand new car: “We buy a car we can’t afford with money we don’t have to impress people we don’t even like… or to impress someone at a stop light that we’ll never see again!” I don’t believe I’m competing with anyone, except that I know many successful writers and entrepreneurs that have many more resources than I can even imagine attaining. My technology blog, TechQuest, focuses on mostly Apple product reviews and training on how to get the most productivity out of your devices. Some of the other “big” tech bloggers I follow receive free “demo units” directly from Apple and they get one of each type of product that comes out (example: one of each color of the new iPhone).
Since beginning my journey into entrepreneurship, this is the one thing I have struggled most with. I developed this mentality early that I can’t be successful without all the right tools. I can’t be successful at being a business owner unless I start with a few thousand dollars in the bank. A big part of that struggle is that I apathetically allowed myself to let that seep into my subconscious thinking for years. Unfortunately, when I did realize how important it was for me to break that chain immediately, it’s not easy to adjust your course and create new habits or ways of thinking. Just like I said in my second post, 02. Starting From Scratch, “direction, not intention, determines destination,” but also:
Whatever direction you’re steering your ship in, if you need to change course, it takes time and patience and a LOT of elbow grease! [Click to tweet]
Am I right? I’m sure you’ve been there, too! If you think about the Titanic, they clearly didn’t realize they needed to change course in time. Anytime I become aware that something I’m doing may need to change, I try to spend less time figuring out how to change it and more time figuring out how fast I can change it.
I’ve recently begun the process of steering my ship away from the iceberg, so to speak. I’m neither a natural optimist or pessimist, but I do typically catch myself trying to be positive. As I begin this transition of realizing that money or tools or resources are not that saving grace in every situation, it helps me to think of the things I do have at my disposal in this particular season of life. When I focus on those things, I begin to feel a sense of motivation that anything is possible. I believe that the more that time passes, the more the tools and resources I have acquired with guide me.
We talked when I first started sharing these stories, in my post titled 02. What Really Matters, about the title question “what really matters?,” and I’ve concluded that while money isn’t everything, it does take you far in the business of life, as well as the life of business. But, if you don’t have it and can’t seem to get your hands on it, then look around and see what else is right under your nose. Maybe if you utilize those things to their fullest potential, it will lead you right into the money you wish you already had! This is my greatest ambition when it comes to my EntreJourney.
What’s been your biggest money struggle?
“If you want something you’ve never had, you’ll have to do something you’ve never done.” ~Dave Ramsey
See you soon,
TRIALS & TRIUMPH 
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