Treat life as an adventure. Enjoy it as a game. As G.K Chesterton said,

“An adventure is only an inconvenience rightly considered. An inconvenience is only an adventure wrongly considered.”

Follow your path. Blaze your own trail. Don’t worry too much what others think.

Bob Dylan did a world tour in 1966 backed by the Band. Boos and hisses greeted them at every single concert they gave all around the world. The audience didn’t like that he had gone “electric” and wanted him to sing folk songs on his acoustic guitar.

Dylan recently won the Nobel Prize for Literature. Critics now agree that music is among his best. It is a highlight of all popular music. The advice he gave Robbie Robertson and the other members of the Band was: whatever happens, don’t stop playing.

Keep at it. Keep striving to make things better. You have the power to change any part of your life, including your finances.

To get the results we want, we have to take action. Decisions drive all actions. This sequence is the basis of change. We certainly can’t control all the events in our lives, but we can control how we decide to think and feel about what befalls us, and what to do about it.

Our ability to control our responses and accept what happens is the basis of stoic philosophy. Not getting upset and angry is a superpower.

Few situations — no matter how greatly they appear to demand it — can be bettered by going berserk.

Melody Beattie

Stoicism is an ancient philosophy and practice that emphasizes self-control and fortitude as strategies for overcoming destructive impulses and emotions. Watch a couple of quick YouTube videos on stoicism, read some articles, and pick up a book on it. You will find insights and support for your journey. It will also provide comfort that people have been wrestling with this struggle for a long time. You are not alone.

Results come from choices and decisions. Use your power to choose. Decisions determine destiny.

How you are living right now is a result of your daily decisions. You are what you eat, who you spend time with, what you believe, watching TV, drinking, smoking, learning, and so many more. These everyday micro-decisions define who you are and what you are capable of achieving. Seemingly small choices are cumulative and add up to directing and controlling your life.

Burn the Boats

What got you here will not get you where you want to go. We need to make some new decisions about what we stand for and what we are going to do. Decisions are choices.

Burn the boats. Burn the boats refers to famous historical episodes where, after landing in a hostile country, the commander orders their ships destroyed, eliminating any thoughts of retreat. Having no easy out tends to focus one’s attention.

It’s what Caesar did when he landed his men in England. As soon as the legionnaires established a beachhead, he ordered the ships burned. The Romans burnt every single one of their boats. No way back, only forward.

We have to commit to our new choices. They must become non-negotiable. Giving up is not an option.

Here are the steps:

· Decide what you want

· Take action

· Be mindful of what works and what doesn’t

· Course correct and be flexible

· Rinse and repeat

It’s all about experimenting and refining your approach. In Silicon Valley, they talk about this kind of constant refinement as iteration. You don’t worry about being perfect, you start and course-correct as you go along.

The key is starting and follow-through.

Don’t wait for the time to be just right. Start where you are, and work with what you have. You will become better as you go along.

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