 The
following story exemplifies the success that is
within your reach when applying these techniques.
Our friend, Anthony, dreamed out loud about owning
a flashy BMW Z3. After repeated mentions of this
dream, we decided to see if he was serious about
this goal. We asked him specifically when he would
own the Z3 and how he would gather the necessary
funds.
Anthony did not have a date or a plan, just the fantasy.
We told him that unless he made several changes, he would
never get the car of his dreams. The first step was to
set a specific date. The second was to create a savings
strategy to obtain the money.
These steps were part of the physical homework. What remained
was the mental homework.
To assist him in becoming comfortable with the idea of owning
the new car we took him to the local BMW dealer, located
a new red Z3 and with a Polaroid camera took a picture of
Anthony leaning against the car as if he owned it. We took
another photo of him driving the car (during the test drive)
and another from behind him in the car. We also asked him
to close his eyes (after he had parked) and describe the
smells of the car – the new car smell, leather upholstery,
etc. – and to note the feeling of being in the car.
The reason for all this was to give him a multi-sensory
connection with the car. Later, back in Anthony’s
home, we placed the pictures in prominent spots such as
the refrigerator, the bathroom mirror and inside his daily
planner as positive reminders. The idea was for him to use
the visuals as constant reminders of his goal. The more
he saw himself in the car the more accustomed his mind would
become to the idea. Anthony reviewed his financial situation and determined
that he needed to save a lot of money for the down payment
of the car. As a result he decided to apply for that better paying
job that he had been procrastinating about for several weeks. He
got the job and the pay increase but, most importantly, vowed
not to increase his lifestyle. Instead, he cut his costs. He
consolidated his debt by getting rid of his high interest credit cards
and took out a small loan that he paid off over 12 months. The
loan was for $10,000 at 7.5 per cent and he placed this money in
a bank savings certificate at five per cent. Obviously this strategy
cost him $250. but it became a forced savings plan. He had
to repay the loan so he got used to having the payment automatically deducted every month.
In another strategy he took his weekly spending money
of $125 as cash at the beginning of each week and placed
it into his right pocket. Every time he went to make a purchase he
would look at the picture in his daytimer and ask himself if
it was really necessary. More often than not he would decide against
the purchase and transfer that amount over to his left pocket.
At the end of the week he would take the money from his left
pocket and put it into his savings account. Any money remaining
in his right pocket would go towards the next week’s fund.
Following these simple strategies, Anthony saved $12,823
over the 12-month period ($2,823 plus the $10,000 loan).
The lease on his old car expired the day before he was to
purchase his Z3. That afternoon he used the $12,823 as the
downpayment and financed the balance over a three-year period.
With this healthy downpayment, his monthly loan was $100
less than his previous lease payment. He took this $100
monthly surplus and rewarded himself by opening his first
retirement savings plan. Today, after applying these and
other creative savings habits(many of which are outlined
in later chapters), he owns a beautiful, mortgage-free condo
apartment overlooking the ocean and still maximises his
annual retirement savings contribution. He was able to accomplish
all of this through visualisations and a simple, but very
effective, realignment in his normal spending and savings
habits.
There is nothing Anthony did that you could not do with
the same expectation of success. To prepare yourself for
victory, you need to apply this approach to changes you
want to make in your personal and business life, knowing
that if you put effort into it, you are going to be successful.
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