Blog | Personal Finance

Reaching Your Financial Goals: Success Starts with the Right Support

Support is a major key to success

Summary

• You can’t reach your financial goals alone

• Negative people can deter you from your dreams

• Your support system will help you reach your financial goals

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You may have come across many articles on the Rich Dad website to guide you on your path to financial freedom. Among them, understanding your personal financial statement, and the importance of choosing the right advisors. But in addition to those, putting together a support structure in order to reach your financial goals is just as important.

As the famous quote by John Donne goes, “No man is an island, entire of itself.” And as Kim Kiyosaki says in It’s Rising Time! , “for you to get from where you are financially right now to achieving your financial dream, you cannot do it all by yourself. It is impossible.”

Unlike your group of good advisors, your personal support group is your reliable, go-to place to get moral, mental and emotional encouragement. This is a group made up of people you trust and can turn to, especially when times get tough. They listen, are aligned with you to accomplish your goals, and most important, give you honest feedback – even when you don’t want to hear it!

Face it. People can make a lot of excuses, especially when it comes to money. But imagine making these excuses out loud to a group of close friends whom you trust and admire. They want you to succeed and will provide the encouragement you need to turn your negative thinking around. Without this ongoing support group in place, you will probably quit.

According to the Mayo Clinic, some of the benefits of support groups include, “Feeling less lonely, isolated or judged, gaining a sense of empowerment and control, improving your coping skills and sense of adjustment, and reducing distress, depression or anxiety.” Who couldn’t use this kind of positive influence in their life? So with this in mind…

Is your circle of influence actually helping you reach your financial goals?

The people you surround yourself with and interact with can have a huge impact on your motivation, your mindset, and ultimately whether or not you achieve your financial goals.

Ask yourself these questions and make a "lifts me up" list:

• Who can you share your thoughts, feelings, and ideas with and know they will support you, not judge or criticize?

• Who gets genuinely excited when they see you succeed?

• Who feels bad for you when you fail (and doesn't say "I told you so" even if they had told you so)?

• Who supports you no matter what?

When seeking any level of success and happiness in your life, here’s the biggest key: Surround yourself with supportive people.

Said another way, get rid of the negative people in your life. Supportive people encourage you to go for your goals and dreams. They want you to win, tell you why you’ll succeed, and offer their guidance and support.

Negativity pulls you down

Negative people will tell you all the reasons why you can’t do something. They’ll tell you, “It’ll never work,” “Don’t be ridiculous,” “What makes you think you could pull that off?” or “Don’t take a risk. You might lose.”

While it may seem difficult, the price of keeping negative people in your life is higher than giving them the axe. Negative people kill creativity. They squash your dreams. They keep you doubting yourself. They drain your energy and waste your time. Negative people keep you small.

Negativity pulls you down when you should be soaring!

Finding—and being—a good partner

Lester Crown, chairman of Henry Crown and Company, an investment firm, said it this way: “You can’t make a good deal with a bad partner.” There are two points to that statement.

1. No matter how good the deal—be it business, investing, or personal—if you have a partner who’s unsupportive, negative, or working toward his or her own agenda, the good deal will become a bad deal.
2. To attract a good partner, you have to be a good partner. So don’t just look at those around you. Look at yourself as well and ask yourself, “What kind of a partner am I? What kind of a partner do I want to be?”

When you sever the ties with the negative and pessimistic people in your business and personal life, you’ll find yourself searching for the right people. But it’s important to ask yourself. “Am I the kind of person and partner that I want to be for others?”

Building your support group

Building your support group is entirely based on your own preferences. You’ll need to find the right people and group size that work best for your situation.

To start your group, approach your spouse or significant other. This person is usually your number-one supporter. If not, and your partner is more of a liability than an asset, do not let this get in your way. Simply do not include him or her in your support structure to start (they may come around when they see that cash flow!).

Next, look at pulling together two to four other people embarking on similar journeys. Powerful things happen when ambitious people encourage one another to pursue their dreams. And if you study and learn from your experiences together, it becomes a priceless collaboration. You receive a financial education you cannot get in any other way.

Another vital member of your support structure is a coach and/or mentor. A mentor is someone who can relate to your situation because he or she has already been there. A coach is someone who works with you towards a specific outcome via structured training. Good coaches and mentors have extensive experience and success in the areas you are trying to pursue. They should be people you respect who provide guidance and knowledge and are there when you need help.

When it’s all right to walk away

If you have negative, toxic people in your personal or professional life, walk away from them. It’s rarely an easy thing to do, but knowing now that these people no longer have any influence on you will only make you wish you had done it sooner.

Stretching yourself and going for your financial goals is tough enough without negative, limiting baggage. Your success will be much grander, easier, and more fun when the people surrounding you are on your side.

Successfully attaining your financial goals requires structure

You may find that your support structure will change over the years. As your aspirations and situation changes, so will the people you count on for encouragement, guidance and knowledge.

But no matter where you are, whether you have big dreams of financial freedom or just want to get out of the rat race, create your support structure now. Surround yourself with people who provide trust, knowledge, experience, and encouragement. Without a support system, you are setting yourself up for failure. Instead, you deserve to win on your journey to financial freedom!

Who are you going to ask to be part of your support structure today?