Nuts & Volts - February 2004

In The Trenches

ure is an opportunity to learn something new. For "relentless" people, the only real failure is giving up.

Make a Plan

How you reach a goal can be easy or complicated, creative or conventional, fast or slow. It's up to you. Here are two plans to make $1,000,000.00.

The first way is to take a second job that brings in $200.00 per week after taxes (or set aside $200.00 per week from your regular job, if you make a lot of money.) Deposit this $200.00 in an account that provides seven percent interest. In 30 years, you'll have your million. Then you can retire and collect $70,000.00 per year, forever, from interest. This approach is mathematically guaranteed to succeed.

Another method (which I don’t endorse or recommend), is to go to

the art museum and steal the most expensive item and sell it for $1,000,000.00. Obviously, this carries a great risk of being locked up for 10 to 20 years — maybe with time off for good behavior. It's also socially unacceptable, difficult to accomplish, and simply rude. And, while the movies may glamorize art thieves and cat burglars, real criminals are not like the movies. Besides, what would your parents think?

These two plans are not acceptable to most people. Working 80 hours a week for 30 years is simply too long to endure. Being a criminal is also not something most people want. Obviously, a plan needs to fit you and your lifestyle.

Plans should be flexible, too. This is for two reasons. The first is that any plan may have problems. For example, you have an important job interview in the morning at 9:00 AM. The commute takes 30 minutes

so you plan to leave at 8:00. By adding a half-hour, you will have the option to take an alternate route if your planned route is too congested. (Note that even this small success has goal, plan, cost, and execution phases.)

The second reason for flexible plans is that goals change. For example, say that you are working hard for a promotion. Then you find out that the company is on shaky financial ground. Your goal changes from getting a promotion to not being let go. Hopefully, your plan can be modified for the new goal.

Execute the Plan

This is usually the hardest step. Most people fail here for the simple reason that it takes effort. Here is where you pay for your goal. TANSTAAFL! There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch (Robert