My Lifestyle
Soon after I turned 30, I woke up one morning and I had a revelation:
Life is not about working your butt off for someone else, getting stressed, getting anxious, and squeezing what you really want to do into the little time you have left at the end of the day. No! Life is actually about LIFESTYLE.
In the last few years I have successfully set goals, made plans and achieved a fantastic lifestyle. It is a lifestyle that is right for me. I am not suggesting that my lifestyle is right for you. But one thing I am sure of - you can achieve the lifestyle of your dreams.
I am not telling you about my lifestyle to impress you, but rather to impress upon you that you can plan and design the lifestyle you want, and you can set goals and achieve your Perfect Lifestyle.
I live in the country I most want to live in – New Zealand. I live in the suburb I most want to live in. I have a relationship with God that gives my life meaning and a purpose. I have a happy marriage and three beautiful children. I live in a lovely big house 150 yards (meters) from the sea. While our children were at pre-school my wife chose to be a full time Mom, and the fact that we could afford to do this took a lot of stress away from our family.
For the last few years I have worked around 20 hours a week (this does not include writing, research, charity work, and reading). I love the work I do, and I look forward to going to my office. Now that all of my children are at school, I have moved my office home. My office is modern, spacious and comfortable. I work around my family’s needs which come first. I have breakfast with my kids, and I see them off to school.
I earn money in five ways that perfectly suit the way I want to live:
• Semi-passive rental income from real estate;
• Semi-passive income from internet based business;
• Passive income from investments;
• Trading the financial markets;
• Writing.One of the advantages of having different income streams is that you have some protection if you have a bad year in one of your ventures. No venture is wildly successful every year, and in some ventures, in some years you lose money. I recommend you start to think about how you can have multiple income streams.
Because of the way I work, I have a lot of time in my “business week”. I use this time to do a lot of things I enjoy:
1. Exercise.
2. Prayer.
3. Spending time with friends.
4. Meeting new people.
5. Writing.
6. Reading.
7. Exploring new business opportunities.
8. Taking additional time for my family.I also spend time every week doing work for two charities, one international and one local. I also teach Bible in Schools for an hour a week at a local school. I regularly mentor people.
I take time out of my “business week” for my family. In the last five years, I have missed only two of my children’s sporting or cultural events (out of dozens). Both times I was overseas. I take days off to take my kids fishing. I take mornings off to be “Dad helper” with my kids school activities. I go to school assemblies to video my kids if they are performing or getting a prize.
From 1999 to 2009 I took nine weeks vacation with my family every year. In 2005 and again in 2009, I took two full months off for family vacations in Europe.
I estimate I feel stressed perhaps three or four days a year.
There are very few things in my life I don’t look forward to. Each new day brings interest, fun, fulfilment, challenge and enjoyment.
We have enough disposable income to provide for our needs, have some of our “wants” and to give money to people in need.
I’m not interested in making lots of money as such (except I have big goals in relation to the amount I want to give away). What I am really interested in is creating a lifestyle that gives me the time and energy to give to the most important things in my life:
1. Following Jesus.
2. Building the Kingdom of God.
3. Spending time with my family.
4. Spending time with my friends.
5. Keeping fit and healthy.
6. Being creative.Your list of what is most important to you may be quite different. But whatever is on your list you will only be content and fulfilled if you develop a lifestyle that allows you to concentrate on those things rather than trying to squeeze them in to an already overly busy, financially stretched, and stressed life.
I have deliberately chosen businesses that fit into the lifestyle I want to live. My businesses are internet and email based. This means I can run them from anywhere I can get internet access, i.e. anywhere in the world. Any phone calls can be diverted to my mobile phone or any other land-line, so I don’t have to be in my office at any particular time of the day. As I said, I love what I do so none of it feels like work.
I deliberately do not have a Blackberry or PDA. There are plenty of new gadgets that allow you to work or keep in touch with work 24/7, but why? My advice is just say no to anything that allows you or requires you to work when you don’t need to or on weekends or vacations. Life is for living and learning and family and friends and spirituality and bettering yourself – not being a slave to your business or your boss.