Does everyone experience dynamic living? Each of us have a different meaning of what it takes to live a dynamic life. How many words come to mind when you think of living a dynamic life?
What Does Dynamic Living Mean?
When I was growing up, every time I met a successful person I asked them how they did it. There were many different answers. I still ask the same questions to people I meet because I am forever curious. Everyone’s path is different, but there are common threads to living a full vibrant life.
A key to dynamic living is goal setting. I thought long about this part and decided the direction needed to be more about the benefits of goal setting. If you are struggling with “how” to set goals for you or your business, contact me. Let’s talk.
These words describe examples of areas in my life that I’ve focused on:
Life is full of ups and downs. Just when we think we’ve got it going on, something happens to throw us into a tailspin of change. That’s life. Finding happiness and a sense of purpose is a journey that’s made up of many experiences. Even the best laid plans can go haywire, so you have to learn to improvise.
I’ve learned that dynamic living isn’t for everyone. The level of personal discipline it takes to create a dynamic life isn’t easily achieved for every person. Many prefer to sit on the sidelines of life vs. becoming engaged in building a life. Success happens because of focused effort times using natural talents plus created opportunities.
We set goals every day in our lives. The challenge is to recognize we’re doing it and then to take control of the process so that we drive our behavior to accomplish the goal. All the little things we promise ourselves but never do are sure signs of setting yourself up to achieve less in life than what you want.
The more goals you set and work to achieve the more success you’ll have. The more you succeed, the happier you become. A pattern emerges that’s contagious and exhilarating all at the same time. Ok, go back and reread those sentences again.
Success is Different Based on Your Stage of Life
Depending on what stage of life and career you are in, the definition of success is different. At 22 years old, you might want to conquer the world but at 62 that drive and motivation changes. People are living longer and 70 is the new 50 so you might want to have more quality life experiences than you did when you were really 50. Now, go back and reread this paragraph again and maybe a few more times.
I didn’t grow up with a silver spoon in my mouth. Achieving financial independence was an important goal for my wife and I. We knew we also wanted to create emotional freedom by living our lives with a minimalistic mindset while enjoying family values.
We’ve always planned how we would allocate money on investments, furniture, eating out and all the other assorted areas in a couple’s life who were running a business and have a family. This discipline carried us through raising children and our career development. You can read more about these principles in my other articles about Dynamic Living.
Love from family makes a wealthy man. The love and respect from family and friends mean more than any amount of money. This isn’t something you can buy. It’s earned. It’s earned through years of practicing unconditional love, and being there through good and bad times.
It is a fact that most wealthy people make significant sacrifices now to get ahead in the future. You can learn and then model these behaviors of those whom you want to be like. By the way, that’s financially and/or emotionally wealthy.
Health, Wealth, Family and Respect – What’s Most Important?
You’ve heard the statement that money doesn’t solve problems, and that this is always from someone who has money, right?
I knew a man who was 57 years old and owned a very successful second-generation business. I knew him pretty well having worked in his business for a period of time doing analysis work and training the management team. One day he called me to say he was getting a divorce from his wife of 30 years. I was stunned. She was a gracious southern bell of a woman and always stood by her man.
He went on to tell me that his wife was getting older and not the same as when they were younger. He met this young lady that is full of energy and really appreciates him. So, he divorced his wife and started a life with the other woman.
The rest of the story……………..
A couple of years later, he called to share that he was diagnosed with cancer and wasn’t expected to live much longer. The young woman left him because he wasn’t fun anymore. He was trying to re-establish a relationship with his previous wife and his two children who were estranged after he left the family.
His wife wasn’t able to forgive him nor was his son. His daughter did visit him in hospice before his death. I talked with the family afterward but never asked the questions I wanted to. He had life in the palm of his hands. The business was super successful with high performance and high profits. He had a beautiful family and close friends. All that changed with one decision to have temporary satisfaction for a lifetime of disappointment.
It didn’t matter how much money he had because he couldn’t gain the respect again from his family. No amount of money could cure his disease. He died financially rich but emotionally broke. So, you say that money makes people happy? He repeatedly told me how he would give millions to go back in life to where he and his family were together, and he was healthy. No amount of money could make that happen.
Dynamic Living: Happiness Factors
We are the happiest when we’re striving to reach goals. Once a goal is achieved, there is emotional satisfaction, and we’re excited, then it dissipates over time. It is only recreated when new goals are set, and the desire and passion for achieving the goal are pursued. The cycle repeats itself, and we learn to get better.
There are many forms of creating wealth and as many definitions of what makes you wealthy. One might say a million dollars doesn’t go as far as it once did and yet another will say our mental and physical health can’t be measured in dollars and cents.
- How much money do you need to live a dynamic life?
- Is money going to solve your life’s ups and downs?
Minimalistic vs. Materialism
There is a term called “minimalistic” that is best described as living below your means because you like not having the pressure of always wanting more. You live a life with less “desire” and more satisfaction. My wife and I have practiced it for years. Materialism suggests you always want more stuff. We have to have a bigger home or a larger boat or that new car. The desire for more creeps into every aspect of life and becomes the master of thought and motivation. Marketers have done an excellent job convincing us why we need material things to make us happy.
Life isn’t really about all the things in life we accumulate but until we get our heads right we think it is.
There are more ways to make money today than ever before. There are more young millionaires than any time in our history. I’ve had the privilege of working side by side with wealthy people and business owners. The most special of these are people you would never know have millions. They learned how to live and give. They gave back to their family and communities in silent and public ways. They work at being balanced in life and business.
I’ve also had the privilege working side by side with people who didn’t have much money but were wealthy beyond measurement. The volume of contributions they’ve offered others is immeasurable. They are eager to learn and apply the principles of personal and professional discipline to be in a position to achieve their life goals. It’s incredible to hear their stories and see how they achieve their view of success.
If I Won The Lottery, I’d Be Set For Life. Really?
According to lottery statistics, 70% of winners are broke or in bankruptcy in a few years after cashing in their tickets.
The National Football League (NFL) states that 78% of players are bankrupt or under financial stress within two years after retirement. The National Basketball Association (NBA) estimates that 60% of players go bankrupt within 5 years of leaving their sport.
The statistics about people who inherit, win or make millions of dollars a year and end up broke is astounding. They didn’t follow any of life’s best practices and lost it all. The fundamentals of financial management got lost in the quest for more material things.
How is it that someone who wins $10 million in the lottery today can be bankrupt in 7 years, while someone who makes $70,000 per year can live comfortably in their life and then enjoy retirement? It’s because the lottery winner spends everything they have on consumable products and relationships that disappear, while the hard worker sacrifices and invests to enjoy the fruits of their labor later.
Building a dynamic life has very little to do with money and everything to do with mindset. It’s all about the goals you set and the decisions you make over time.
Are you planning to live a dynamic life?
