advice | The Caleb Barney Collection

Requirements for success

“The three things you need in life to be successful are: hard work, stick to-it-ivness, and common sense.” – Thomas Edison.

My modified version: The three keys to success are diligence (working hard, smart, and with an end goal in mind), persistence (not giving up, OR knowing when it is right to let go), and pertinent intelligence (not just book smarts or common sense, but intelligence in the field of study that you are pursuing).

What are you doing today to lead to your success tomorrow and beyond? What quick wins can you get to build momentum? And what are big action steps you can take that may take a while to see the result, but are still incredibly important?

Setting your intentions

What is your intention for the day? Live with purpose! If you don’t have a plan, you’re unknowingly planning to fail. You need to map out your day, your week, your month, your year, your life. If you don’t, it’s like getting in your car and driving. Maybe you’re hoping that you’ll get to a specific place (like Estes Park, Colorado), but you have no map and no GPS. You MIGHT get there, but it’s unlikely. And even if you do, it will probably take much, much longer than if you had a plan on how to get there.

Be sure to have a plan for the best and the quickest results.

How to be financially prepared when things go sideways

The difference between an emergency fund and a sinking fund, as illustrated by The FI Guy.

Most financial experts recommend having at least 3-6 months of expenses set aside as an emergency fund. This is used for true emergencies/things that you weren’t expecting (like a job loss or car accident). Hopefully these things never happen, but if they do, at least you’ll be covered. If you have to dip into your emergency fund, re-supply it as soon as you can to get it back to where it needs to be.

The “sinking fund” is something not as many people know or talk about. This is for known future expenses. For example, if you’re a 1099 self-employed individual, you better be setting aside money for taxes, because the tax man comes around every year to collect. And guess what? The car you drive? It will need an oil change and new tires every so often. Christmas and birthdays? They come at the same time every year, so if you plan on giving gifts, you should put money away in a sinking fund to cover those expenses.

Trust

Always be conscious of your decisions and the long-term effects (or side effects) they may have. You can spend years doing the right things, but if you cut corners or are involved in questionable activities, it can take seconds to ruin your reputation. Once you break that trust, it will always be in the back of that person’s head on if they can trust you again or not. It could literally take a lifetime to repair that trust, but who knows if it will ever happen.

The best way to maintain and strengthen relationships is by thinking about the long-term. Don’t acquiesce to immediate gratification. You might feel pleasure once (in the short-term), but then live with regret for the rest of your life. Do yourself a favor and live with integrity. It will help others to like and trust you, but more importantly, it will allow you to like and trust yourself.

Perception, reactions, and our reality

“Reality is neutral. Our reactions reflect back and create our world. Judge, and feel separate and lonely. Anger, and lose peace of mind. Cling, and live in anxiety. Fantasize, and miss the present. Desire, and suffer until you have it. Heaven and hell are right here, right now.” – Naval Ravikandt

Change your perception, change what you focus on, and that becomes your reality. Be happy with what you have, but hungry for improvement. Not having many “needs” is an easy way to be content with what you have. Being inspired, dreaming, and wanting to reach your full potential is an easy way to continue to want progress.