090 If money were no object

What would you do if money were no object? Don’t answer that question. It’s stupid. Join us for this episode instead to find out why.

This week’s Inspire Me quote is from James Dean:

“Dream as if you will live forever; live as if you will die today.”

The question, “What would you do if money were no object?” is erroneous. Here’s why. It assumes:

• Your dream is costly.
• Your dream can be purchased.
• Your real dream can be achieved instantly. (All it takes is money.)

Quotes from Leary and Armin:

• “Our culture conditions us to think that anything that is worthwhile is going to take a lot of money to attain it.” —Leary
• “If God put you here on earth to accomplish something, and He didn’t give you the resources to accomplish it, then either He’s at fault or you’re at fault.” —Leary
• “We have this idea that we have to have something to get something. That’s not creating a dream. That’s buying a dream.” —Leary
• “What’s costly about our dream is ignoring it, thinking that it takes money to fund it. Because every minute that you don’t pursue the thing you’re designed to pursue is a minute wasted waiting.” —Leary
• “You have this idea and before you’ve done anything else beyond the idea, you’ve already come up with objections to the idea by saying, ‘How much is it going to cost in time?’ and ‘How much is it going to cost in money?’ Immediately, you have… reasons to say, ‘I’m not even gonna try.'” —Armin
• “Every time you say, ‘I’ll have more time later’ or ‘I’ll have more money later,’ you keep waiting for something that’s not going to happen because you’re going to stay just as busy and you’re going to have just as many bills.” —Armin
• “Sometimes the sacrifice that we think a dream costs is too much. But, for some people out there, the sacrifice of not pursuing your dream is the greater sacrifice.” —Armin
• “We can lose out on a greater path for us individually when we think the only solution to a path is an economic one.” —Leary
• “If you’re waiting for financial freedom before you pursue your dream, then you really don’t love your dream enough to pursue it—because you are looking to buy it, not to create it.” —Leary
• “The absence of money that you have right now may be a test of your devotion to the dream.” —Leary
• “Instead of thinking about money as a barrier, think about it instead as a constraint…. A barrier keeps you from advancing, but a constraint funnels you, focuses you, causes you to pursue options.” —Leary
• “We can choose to be for God or for money. Is it possible that when we defer what we’re supposed to do because we don’t have money, that we’re deferring to the wrong boss?” —Leary

This week’s Challenge Me:

Take out a sheet of paper create three columns. Label them: $1K, $10K, and $100K. Below each, write what you might do with the investment. What can you be doing now to prepare for those kinds of investments? Make a separate list of all the preparatory things you can do that don’t require any investment at all. What’s keeping you now from doing those things?

Resources mentioned or related to this podcast that may be helpful to you:

• Episode 29, “Are you frozen in place by linear thinking?“
• Episode 81, “How to take risks (safely)“
• Episode 28, “Principles to pivot in place: Moving from where you are to where you need to be“