One Fundamental Question

Can everyone become financially independent? I believe it comes down to one fundamental question. Simple and yet complicated. I feel like the whole financial independence story can be boiled down to one basic idea. Will you get there? Will you not? It is less about where you started. It might even have nothing to do with education or even opportunity. The actual road you take probably doesn’t make a lick of difference. There are so many different paths available. We have to let go of the idea that we are a product of what has happened to us.

One straight forward question.

Can I Effect Change?

That’s it. The one fundamental question. Can I effect change? Your answer to this question will likely determine the viability of you financial independent aspirations.

Let me explain. My neck has been hurting for months. Maybe years. When it got bad enough, I made an appointment to see a physical therapist. Why? Because I held the belief that with the right coaching and exercise I could make the pain go away.

This has been my experience in life. Whether it be searching for a job or buying investment grade real estate. I believe with the right mix of knowledge and luck, I can effect change. I can turn a profit. Make a buck. Build a career. Whatever the task may be.

Of course, I fail from time to time. Or even often. But behind that failure, is the belief that I can pivot, try again, and succeed. This optimism is almost a part of my genetic make up.

Is it a decision I have made? A mindset I have adapted? I have no clue. it is just what I believe.

The Hopeless

It has only dawned on me recently that a majority of people walk around hopeless. They have asked the one fundamental question. Can I effect change? And their answer is a resounding* no*.

They feel that every time they try, they fall on their face. They approach real estate, businesses, and investments as a trap that will ensnare them instead of set them free. No matter how hard they work, the result will always be the same. They will fail to move the needle.

This idea of aggregation of incremental gains is unknown to them. Thus they adapt a limiting mindset. The argument going on in their brains convinces them of imminent failure before even trying. The battle is lost in their minds before the first volley of bullets is even shot.

Dead in the water.

Nature vs Nurture

The one fundamental question is obvious to me. Those who think they can effect change will eventually make it to financial independence if they so choose. Those who feel that they are helpless to what life brings to them will not.

But the deeper issue is whether outlook is changeable. Was I born with this mindset? Or did I develop it? Is there personal responsibility or are we just who we are?

Try arguing with someone with a limited mindset about becoming financially independent. You can expand on the most logical of debates and speak till your face is blue, they will always have a reason why you are wrong.

Maybe it is just foundationally out of their control. Maybe it is not a choice but a way they were programmed from birth and childhood. I cannot turn iron into gold. No matter how hard I try.

Final Thoughts

Can everyone become financially independent. I think it all comes down to one fundamental question.

Can I effect change?

If the answer is yes, than the world will be my oyster. If the answer is no, I will be ruled by limiting beliefs.

The more intriguing question, however, is can I change mid stream?