Face It, Then Fix It

Welcome to another Big 3!

Quick one, last week’s edition of the Big 3 was the most well-received to date, with an impressive 95.5% open rate (the highest user opened it 22 times). Wow!! 

What made it so special? I am looking into it. What is the timing? The content? Serendipity? Pure luck? The delicious fruits of consistency? Time will tell. So, thank you. 🙏🏾 

Now, let’s go to work!

The Lesson 

Face What You Want to Fix

Once upon a time, there was a little girl who did not want to face her toxic financial habits. She ended up accumulating bad debts, but, she looked fly, and wore expensive perfumes and fancy clothes to match.

I was her. Up until I became fed up and decided to do something about it. It was petrifying and didn't change overnight. But it was worth it.

Having my wants while neglecting my needs was a cycle I had to break. I started small and became consistent over time. In the process, I became obsessed with financial literacy, building wealth and financial wellness. 

So today I want to share principles that continue to help me stay out of a financial furnace, and I believe you can apply them to whatever situation is taunting you:

1 - You've got to face it: You must stop beautifying the story and tell it to yourself like it is. If it is ugly, call it so and recognize that you don't like it. Face it. Don't wallow in it.

2 - Find others who have overcome it: Seek stories of success in the area of your struggle, read the books, listen to the podcasts, ask the tough questions and dig, to understand which tools you need to overcome your issue.

3 - Build systems to protect it: Now that you've done the research, and gathered the tools to help you, adapt them to your reality. For financial wellness, if putting 10% of your income aside isn't feasible yet, start with 3-4%, just start and stick with it.

4 - Be kind to yourself when you stumble: We're human and you will fall for temptation sometimes, hello, Sephora, or that vacation you booked because you deserve it. Don't punish yourself. Instead, admit that you fell, and plan to get back up and do better. 

5 - Have faith and believe that you can: If whatever you are facing is truly important to you, keep at it. You got this!

The Book

The Obstacle is the Way, by Ryan Holiday

"Ryan Holiday is one of the world's bestselling living philosophers." Get ready for a book that will give you an infinitely elastic formula for turning your toughest trials into triumphs.

I've been into philosophy since high school and recently got into Holiday's writings on stoicism. "The Obstacle is the Way" is a great starting point for anyone looking to start a new career, open a business, or change their perspective on challenges. It's a seminal work on the attitudes and mindset of stoicism.

This is for those willing to tackle life with an open and effective mind.

From the book: 

- The Now: “Focus on the moment, not the monsters that may or may not be up ahead.”

- Urgency: “We’ve all done it. Said: “I am so [overwhelmed, tired, stressed, busy, blocked, outmatched].” And then what do we do about it? Go out and party. Or treat ourselves. Or sleep in. Or wait. It feels better to ignore or pretend. But you know deep down that that isn’t going to truly make it any better. You’ve got to act. And you’ve got to start now.”

- Quitting: “It’s okay to be discouraged. It’s not okay to quit. To know you want to quit but to plant your feet and keep inching closer until you take the impenetrable fortress you’ve decided to lay siege to in your own life—that’s persistence.”

The Strategy

Play the Long Game. Lose the Stress

Today's strategy is a gentle reminder to play the long game and cut yourself some slack.

Who cares that the plan didn't work out as you anticipated? That you're not as far as you had hoped to be? That the choice you made turned out to be a bad deal? Who cares? In the face of infinity, does it matter?

I think what matters is that you are still here and you still get a shot. 

For the rest of the week, act as if none of your "perceived failures" hold any weight on your future moves. Brush them off, set new goals and shoot your shot.

Period. 

Thank you for reading. 

What did you think of this edition? Let me know.


Until next week,
Stay Consistent.