PART 1: START WITH THE END IN MIND

Building Lifetime Goals: We talk about tax returns as a story of your financial year. Lifetime Goals are similar in principal. However, it reaches deeper into key questions: What, How, When, Where, and Why – the Big Five.

Before we start, a common concern that is always asked in one form or another, is why should you plan if the future is so uncertain? That is a great question which focuses on the Big Five. When you begin with a goal in mind, change becomes more manageable along the way. Lifetime Goals are not set in concrete. They are designed to move you in a direction. As you build resources and eliminate debt, you are better equipped to make course corrections along the way – big and small changes.

Over four decades of working with people has shown that the beginning goals are rarely the future outcomes. However, that future result would never have been possible without the initial steps. Lifetime Goals are not about “control” of your future. It is about designing a lifestyle, monitoring the outcome, and being flexible along the journey.

The Lifetime Goals design process is about getting specific. It is not enough to say you want to retire by 60. Lifetime Goals reflects on what retirement looks like

First, it is an objective that is a positive statement – I want to retire at 60 versus I have to retire at 60.

Second, the goal is something which you initiate, evaluate, change, and control.

Third, and most critical to first steps, is that you set manageable parts toward goal attainment. Wanting everything yesterday or putting that large of a goal in your mind without appropriate steps may lead to frustration and inaction.

The initial phase is to do small things often.

In this first stage you also want to be sensory specific. That simply means, when you have the goal, what will the world look like? Where will you live – state, city, type of housing, surroundings, amenities, activities, people, social experiences, type of car or public transportation used, daily activities, shopping, your furniture.

These are the What, How, When, and Where. Now comes the big check on goals – the “Why” question. It may sound like an odd thing to ask about. Yet, if you start without the drive, vision, and intent to follow through, everything else may be an academic exercise.

Call us to discuss about your planning needs. In Carlsbad and North County, call us at 760.439.5616 or 760.518.5616.

 
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