Money plays an important role in our lives, whether we have a lot or a little. But no school teaches us how to manage money. We learn it through trial and error. The problem with the unstructured learning is that many of us never understand how to deal with money. We rarely explore our relationship with money and try to understand whether money is a “means to an end” or an “end in itself.”
Money can mean different things to different people. Some people see money as a means to an end and other people see money as an end in itself. Some rich people see money as an opportunity to help others and other rich people see their wealth as a tool to wield power. Sometimes the same person may see money differently in different circumstances Furthermore, the worth of money changes with change in situation. Besides, how can we define the worth of money that in itself defines worth, at least for lesser mortals?
Let me share a different perspective on wealth. I have many rich friends and relatives. Nearly all of them are getting richer, and many of them are multiplying their wealth year after year. But I consider my uncle Dr. Puri, a professor at a premier engineering institute, as the richest among them, who are certainly good at making money. My uncle’s personal financial status is average. He does not own a big house or a great portfolio of investments. Why I consider him really wealthy when he hardly follows any moneymaking strategies discussed in this book?
Because he understands money. He knows it’s true worth. He had a clear vision of future, which prompted him and his wife to invest their money and other resources on providing their three children the holistic upbringing and empowering them with all the important abilities including the ability to create wealth. On maturity, these three investments individually will have the potential to beat others not only in the moneymaking game, but also in the ultimate analysis of life, which is certainly a worthy achievement in itself. Their future vision may not have given them huge wealth, but they are really happy in the process of making others happy.
While financial vision is all about making money, it can never outsmart that sort of future vision. I know that admitting it can adversely impact the market potential of the book. But there is more to life than just money, and it is important to put the relative importance of money in perspective.
Moreover, this book does not claim to provide you a slot on the richest persons list or make you super rich next year. In fact, it is not for super people. It is for normal people who want to make the most of their financial resources. It is for people who have dreams and the resulting vision. It is not for negative people. For pessimistic people, tomorrow never arrives and yesterday keeps on replaying itself, albeit in slow motion. It intends to encourage positive people to optimally tap their financial potential. While the financial vision process encourages envisioning the financial future with the purpose of marrying the short term with the long term, it discourages the habit of ‘wishful thinking’ and aims at inculcating the habit of ‘thoughtful wishes.’
What’s more, financial vision is not just about making money. It is about validating your existence and fulfilling your desires. It is a way of reinventing and redefining your financial potential. It aims to empower you to harmonize your financial goals with your personal aspirations so that you can live your life as you wish. It provides a systematic and practical framework that seeks to enhance the psychological impact of the material, sometimes even at the expense of syntax because the objective is not to aim at an interesting read but to take care of your financial interests. The objective is to help you to rightly understand your financial vision, have conviction in it and take steps to make your financial dreams a reality. Simply put, it is intended to make you money conscious and empower you to realize your financial vision.
Keeping in mind that managing money is a skill that can be learned, let’s envision the future. Let’s discover your financial destiny.