Before you return to the race...

Malcom X said. ‘if you are ready to receive the truth, it is helpful, if you are not, it’s hurtful’.

I hope the statement I'm about to share isn’t hurtful, I hope it’s helpful.?I hope it’s thought provoking and the catalyst for some deliberate introspection around how you’re living your life, where you’re spending your time, your effort, and your energy.

My statement is this:?

Even if you’re winning the rat race, you’re still a rat!

Many men unknowingly end up in the rat race, I’ll explain why later but first, let’s develop our understanding of exactly what the rat race is.

Robert Kiyosaki, the author of Rich Dad Poor Dad describes the rate race as 'an endless, frustrating, self-defeatist cycle creating a financially dependent lifestyle that’s hard to break’.

Let’s expand.

An employee might work hard for an employer in order to receive a promotion and pay raise, a business owner might make significant life sacrifices to generate a profit, but in both examples, as their income increases, their cost of living their lifestyle and their levels of debt increase at scale as well.

In turn, this creates a ‘rock and a hard place’ scenario whereby the employed or self-employed become further tied to their job, and even more reliant on their financial income.

The result, they enter into the ‘self- defeatist cycle’ and are compelled to work harder and longer for their next promotion or to increase their net profit simply to offset the demands of their lifestyle or the debts they have accumulated.

For many men, entrance to the ‘rat race’ begins as a child.?

From an early age, we’re conditioned to believe that academia is a gateway to a successful and happy future life, so we commit to and often incur significant debt whilst getting a degree.?The next move in the rat race, AKA, the game of life is to secure employment in a sought after company or to build a profitable business; the expected outcome from both of these avenues is that we believe they will guarantee financial independence.?

We then go on to save of money to buy a house and get a foot on the property ladder.?

What money is left over is often spent on lifestyle and life comforting items but paradoxically, the more one plays the game, the more one pays, the more debt one is likely to incur and the deeper into the rat race one sinks…

Kiyosaki has his own methods to escape the rat race, they centre around financial education, not working for money and paying yourself first; these are all valid and have likely helped many a man but I have my own, and these are what I want to focus on here.

Firstly, I want to focus on what I believe to be a fact and that is that:

many middle aged men are earning a living without the living.?

I’ll evident my statement by sharing the findings of a OnePoll.com survey.?It found that 7 out of 10 people surveyed said they felt their lives have become too busy.?The same survey, of over 2000 people revealed that 48 % said their busyness prevents them from having a clear and calm mind.

When you’re in the rat race, you’re busy being busy, things like fun, friendships, hobbies and interests don’t even come close to sneaking into your diary.

Lacking time for things like distraction free fun, connected friendships and time to pursue hobbies and interests can diminish a man’s experience of life and can result in what Tony Robins, the personal development guru calls, the ultimate failure, ‘success without fulfilment’.

Up and down the country, there’s lots of professionally successful men out there living the ultimate failure.

Next, I want to highlight what we have been taught and conditioned to believe are the metrics of a successful life; I am talking about status symbols.?The items, experiences and possessions that were once viewed as luxurious have now, because of clever and targeted advertising seemingly become a necessity.?

Our reliance and ‘need' for these items serve to heighten our dependency on money and compounded our experience of the rat race lifestyle.?You know what I am referring too:

A German car, or maybe nowadays, a Tesla.

A Swiss watch, or maybe more recently a Bremont.

A couple of weeks in Spain have progressed to the Indian Ocean or the Caribbean.

A modest detached house has become a ‘grand design’.

I am not judging or criticising any man that has or enjoys any of these, and I recognise the irony in that I have a Tesla, I wear an Omega, I holiday in the Indian Ocean and live in lovely property.

I highlight these without feeling hypocritical because I have what I believe to be the ultimate 21st century status symbol, the one thing almost all professionally and financially successful, rat race racing men want…?

I have an abundance of free time.

Take a moment to reflect on how much free time you have…?I suspect you feel it isn’t enough…?

But imagine what would be different if the world we were born into truly recognised the importance of and valued free time; if we weighted and based our life success on how much time we had for fun, freedom and distraction free experiences...

The uncomfortable truth is that the fastest and easiest way to find out if something is or isn’t working for you is to pay close attention to how 'feel' about your life.?

Consider these:

Am I enjoying life, or not?

Am I happy, or not?

Am I fit and healthy, or not?

If you find yourself living a life of lack, the common denominator linking your answers to the rhetorical questions above is likely to be your engagement in the rate race and the fastest way out of the rat race is to know and understand your personal financials.

If you don't have a financial advisor, get one (I am very happy to recommended if you'd like a personal recommendation).

Then using your predicted/projected monetary numbers, it's a simple process of working backwards from your retirement age or exit plan and ensuring you live within your means whilst securing your financial future.

Please note...

When you exit the rat race, you can slow down, perhaps for the first time in your life and instead of constantly racing and competing, you can decompress, relax and enjoy the ride more...