"A slave to the ferrari" 🏎️
I was interviewing a lawyer who'd been the general counsel for a publicly listed company. He'd done well for himself. Part of it, he asserted, was that he was very in control of what he could control.
"I'm not too materialistic," he said. "I paid my debts, built up my FU money [PK's note: FU stands for Freedom Unlimited 😊], and I did my best to get to that point as soon as possible."
"Why was it important to you?" I asked.
"I'm not stuck. I don't need the money. I get to choose what to do."
"Was it hard?"
"Well, don't get me wrong," he said. "I want things too. I'm not some monk that meditates all day. I like nice things." He chuckled. "The thing is, we all have a threshold. You see, everything that I want that I don't have costs at least $5,000."
My eyes widened. That definitely wasn't me.
He saw the look on my face and laughed. "You have the threshold too, it's just probably a different number. You've probably bought everything you want that costs less than $30."
"Yeah, my threshold is definitely higher than $30."
"Right," he said. "I've just done my best to keep that threshold down and I've never let it expand beyond my means. You want to buy that ferrari? Go ahead. Buy the ferrari. But you gotta realize you're a slave to the ferrari."
I nodded.
"Thing is," he continued, "I get to choose. And that freedom to me is more important than anything else I could buy."
💵💵💵
This is an example of a lawyer clear on what he wants who acts in an aligned way to get it for himself. He doesn't need to work anymore, but he still does. When we can be clear on what matters most to us and we act intentionally in a way that sets us up for success, the game is more than half won.
How clear are you on what you want?
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