|:: Race to Financial Independence ::|

today i finished a very important book on how to think like the rich. the book is a story with lessons of how to manage money and how to be financially intelligent. i've really been looking for a book like this which really explains the meaning of money, and how to create and maintain money.

ever since i was 12 years old, i've been working. whether it be working at the mall as a sales clerk, a janitor, a ball boy, knives salesmen, grocery dairy clerk, cake maker, cashier, help desk clerk, paperboy, database admin, you name it and i've probably done it in some sort of manner. and all the while i've always wondered what the whole meaning of it all was. no matter where i worked or what i did, it was never fulfilling, the feeling of getting that paper paycheck or seeing my bank numbers increase at the end of each month was just not cutting it; it never was.

at the start of each job, i would be happy that i got a new job, because there would be something new that i could learn from the job. but after a few months of doing the same repetitive things, without any new things to learn, i get really bored and then lose all motivation to work. i would spend most of my time finding reasons or ways to not have to go to work the next day. laziness starts to sink in and before long, i would hate the job. i would then get so uneasy about it that i would quit and find a new job, and at the new job, the same thing would happen again; the process never ends.

all my life, this is what i have know any done. and never was i happy about having to follow this endless track of working with no passion. i never found happiness or satisfaction with my money, no matter how much i had, it always felt like it was nothing or meant nothing. and the reason was because, like so many millions of people out there, i was forced to work hard and waiting patiently for a paycheck to come at the end of each month. and when it came, i would worry about the next month, whether i would get another paycheck. not that i didn't have job security, but it was more like i felt tired of running in circles aimlessly for monthly paychecks.

it was so unsatisfying! how was it all worth my time and effort? was this how my life was going to be for the next 20 to 30 years? the thought of it terrified me to death. but now, there is a way out of this vicious cycle, and i have finally discovered it. finally, the empty feeling in my heart about the whole purpose of money and the value of my time has a meaning.

for a long time, i had thought that the real issue was either the job, the type of work, the managers, the company's policies, the co-workers, etc etc. and i would blame all my woes on these factors for my unhappiness; yet job after job, i found myself repeating this blaming game over and over again. but i now realize that it wasn't the case at all, because my dissatisfaction lies on a much deeper level than simply pointing the finger at others or factors that i could not control. it was me! it was my laziness that led me to be stuck in the situation that i was in, working for someone, and it was my laziness that blinded me from all the other possibilities out there other than slaving away for a company.

first, understanding that my mind set and attitude has to change, i am able to fully embrace new ideas and teachings. i can now grasp the lessons of this new book that i finished and start applying it to my life to move me away from the anger of chasing for paychecks to ultimately controlling my money, and having money generate more money for me. now instead of chasing and slaving away for someone for money, i'm going to create money, and have a stream of money coming to me without me having to slave away ever again! i'm going to reach for my financial independence.