CFO of Life #30 - Dreaming for the perfect future! Why you should have a long-term plan and how to make it

"Money doesn't buy happiness" but it enables it. It is a tool that allows you to buy the things that will bring you happiness. But why do you need money and how much do you need?

Without a “North Star” to follow, you will simply float to the end of the world. Well, that’s why you need to plan, a guidepost, or a light on the difficult path towards your North Star.

To kick off this journey, you need to understand this, your long-term plan doesn't have to be perfectly thought through. You don't need to write up the smallest details. But you need to spend some time and "dream" in order to find that North Star.

This will represent your goal(s) and your plan would be the path that you choose to walk. Your day-to-day decisions would be the small steps that take you on the way.

Those elements are the building blocks of your "dream". Interestingly, most people just start their journey without knowing where they are going. Or some would make a plan without a long-term goal. Although those are not ideal ways to start, they are significantly better than just dreaming up a better future and not doing anything.

Some of those people are the ones with the highest potential to achieve their long-term goals as they already know what they want and they have wanted it for a long time. But if you are not in that group, you need to find that "goal". The bigger it is, the better.

To start, try to imagine your perfect life:

Are you happy?

What do you have?

Why do you have it?

How does it make you feel?

What does your day-to-day look like?

Who are the people around you?

What makes your life easier?

How do you "save your time"?

Do you have anyone to help you?

There might be other questions that are more applicable to your situation. Those are only meant to make your creative juices flowing. It should prompt you to visualise what everything looks and feels like and what enables it.

Once you have the answers to those questions, write them down and try to synthesise the most important goals. Those should be in two categories: financial and life goals. The financial goals would go directly in your plan. But the life goals would need to be broken down further.

Example: I want to be able to travel the world without thinking about money. For this type of goal, try and break them down into smaller pieces. The smaller the pieces, the better. When you get to the “12 flights a year and 12 locations with 365 hotel/Airbnb stays” part, you will be on the right level to embed it into your financial goals. This is when you will have all your goals translated into actionable financial objectives that will enable your life goals, just like a North Star gives direction.

Interestingly, you will find that those life goals are made of small details. For me, those are the small things that make the biggest difference.?

Let me give you a few examples of small things that I have as part of my? “long-term” plan:

1) Ship my luggage with DHL to any destination I am travelling to

- This would probably cost me $1, 000 - $3, 000 a year at the moment and will save me a lot of hassle and make travel even more exciting

2) Not have to drive anywhere

- In an ideal world, I would love to have a driver. Driving is fun but I never got used to it.? At the same time, I got used to spending my travel time doing something productive, like writing articles or reading books. And I find that a lot more efficient and pleasing. That's why, it is one of my long-term goals to get a driver.

3) Get an assistant

- Just imagine how much you can get done if you have 32 hours a day. While this is not possible, a great assistant can "extend" your day. They can act as an extension of you and unlock those extra hours. And they are priceless. You can spend them with your family or do more productive work. This one is the biggest “good to have” in my future life.

While those are not my actual goals, those are the things that will enable them. Maybe you have recognised a pattern, but I aim to do anything I can to save time, so I can spend it more productively. And this is part of my “dream future” where those small details are both a lifestyle feature and financial objectives.

I know you must have your own goals or similar smaller objectives. But the first step to make them happen is to start and spend that time to “dream”. Don't forget that "a journey of a thousand miles starts with one small step".?

I hope this helps you understand the journey towards finding your North Star. And next week, we would look into how to transfer this into your plan with actionable objectives.

Thank you for reading! All comments and topic suggestions are highly appreciated.?Post #30 in the series CFO of Life?

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