Life can be scary, it doesn’t come with a guide. There’s no tutorial. There’s nothing and nobody that has all the answers. Nobody can tell you what you are supposed to do with your life, nobody can tell you how to enjoy it.
People will give you advice but truthfully it will all be rooted in what makes them happy. No two people are the same, and the same things will not make them happy.
Personally I enjoy kickboxing, travelling and keeping aquariums. While a combination of these things make me happy, I am sure my girlfriend can not imagine anything worse. On the other hand, where she enjoys gardening and swimming. Neither of those things appeal to me in the way they appeal to her and that’s okay.
In the same way many of us do not have the same passions, we do not have the same fears. People are scared of different things for their life, often based on how they want their life to pan out.
For me, I love the idea of backpacking. I have dipped my toes in a couple of times with short trips here and there. But the type of backpacking I crave is much more than that. To be carrying your life on your back, all your worldly possessions inside. Seeing whatever you want, nowhere to be but everywhere to go. Meeting as many people as you want. Visiting the world piece by piece, person by person, step by step. I’ve discussed this in detail before here, so I wont go too in depth. But my greatest fear is closely linked to this.
My Biggest Fear
In a way the thing I am most scared to do is what I am already doing. Working. At the moment I spend a lot of my time, like a lot of other people, working for someone else. I am saving and investing towards my own goal of being financially free, and travelling the world. While I have my goal in mind. I am more than happy to keep working towards it. Working for the day I will be able to travel without limits. The day when my wealth will multiply in amounts that mean I no longer need a day job.
But there’s one problem with this that hangs over my mind like a storm. Life is unpredictable, what if something happens to me before I get there? What if all this saving, investing, working towards a life I want. Ends up being a life I will never get to live. All that wasted time and effort, all for nothing. All of that along with the fear my investments don’t work out the way I think they will. What happens if all that work ends up being for nothing?
Overcoming fear
It can be scary, not knowing if I am ever going to be able to enjoy this wealth I’m building. Am I saving all this wealth for nothing? What if all this effort goes to nothing? One thought, one thought alone keeps me going.
What if it doesn’t? What if all this investing, saving, working, goes to plan. I become financially free, travel the world to my hearts content. Relax knowing that I made this life for myself. I earned it all, every drop of freedom I get to inject into my life. The way I see it, my plan can go one of 3 ways.
Never Try, Never Fail
I could give in to the fear, give up investing and saving. Decide I am happy living off my current wage, save a small amount for my pension. Keep living life the way I am now, working making someone else rich.
I know at the end of my life, I would look back and evaluate. Rather than having the fear hanging over my mind, I would have the “what if?”. What if I had tried? Could I have had a better life? This would fill me deeply with regret. Never realizing my full potential and actualizing my dreams.
Try and Fail
An alternative to this scenario is I try and fail. I continue pouring my time and resources into a life that never happens. Wasting all my time and money on a fruitless dream.
At the end of my life I can be smug, knowing that I tried. I gave it my best, tried as hard as I could. But fate didn’t have the life I wanted planned for me. I could rest easy, knowing that I gave it my all.
Try and Succeed
The third option of course, is that I try and succeed. All the time and effort I put into freedom pays off. I become free, travel the world. Answer to nobody other than myself. Seeing things I could never imagine as I am now. Meeting the people of the world. Experiencing everything this amazing planet has to offer us.
At the end of my life I could look back on a life filled with joy and wonder. Knowing I did my best and succeeded. I got to experience my dreams. While there may still be regrets. It will be nothing compared to the regret of not trying.
Reaching My Dream
So how am I going to reach my dream? Well I am well on my path already. I invest a portion of my income monthly. Into a variety of funds, fully utilizing a diverse portfolio. The importance of which I have already discussed here. This diverse portfolio hedges against big market fluctuations. I am looking to build my wealth over years not months. The most stable way to reach my goal with as few bumps along the road as I can afford. This diversity is managed through some index funds as well as my own stock picks. Saving a lot of time, and making it easy to invest my monthly income.
Investing is a risk I have to take. Saving just won’t quite grow my wealth to the degree I need it to. I’ve discussed the key differences between saving and investing previously. My reasons for largely choosing saving over investing can be found here. But put shortly, savings does not compound my money as quickly as I need for my goal.
Then when I am earning enough money annually to replace my income, plus about 10% extra to allow my investments space to grow. I can travel the world, live my life, visit friends and family without restrictions. Get to experience life my way.
But what about you? How do you want to live your life? Follow along and I can put the tools in your hand to make your own choices. Give you a chance to reach that scenario 3, try and succeed. Live your life to the fullest!
Effortless Investing 
Leave a comment