The Mike Tyson Guide to Financial Planning

by RJ

in Random

You might be wondering, what in the world can Mike Tyson teach me about financial planning. I promise you, will be surprised…

Quote # 1: “Everyone has a plan ’till they get punched in the mouth.”I listed this quote first because I find that assuming all things will go exactly as planned, is the #1 mistake of most financial plans.

For example, a typical financial sounds something like, “I will save X dollars per year, earn X%, and in X amount of years, I will have X dollars.”

That all sounds great, but in reality that plan has about as much chance of success as if I were to fight Tyson myself.

Why? No matter your situation, you’re going to get punched in the face. Jobs are lost and you no longer can contribute X amount of dollars, a recession hits and you can no longer count on earning X %, which means you’re now saving for more years than you originally planned.

So what do you need to do to reach your goal? You need to be constantly readjusting and reviewing your plan.

A goal like the one above is a good starting point. However, it needs to be reviewed at least once every six months. If changes need to be made, then make the changes now. Don’t wait till the end of the fight.

Would Mike Tyson take one punch and decide that the fight is over? Of course not. Your financial plan, needs to act the same.

Quote # 2: “As long as we persevere and endure, we can get anything we want.”

Another Tyson gem, that correlates with the principles of financial planning.

I have been tinkering with the tagline of this site recently. Right now, I have it as, “Personal Financial Planning | Because It’s Not That Hard To Get Rich”.

That’s something that I truly believe. With just perseverance and endurance, anyone can accumulate a large sum of money. I know this sounds over simplified to a lot of you, but compound interest can make you rich.

Quote # 3: “I’m a dreamer. I have to dream and reach for the stars, and if I miss a star then I grab a handful of clouds. “

There’s nothing wrong with dreaming big and setting a few financial BHAG’s.

Here’s a goal that I haven’t shared with a lot of people. I want to be financially independent at the age of 35. That means that to achieve this goal, I would have to be able to live solely off of investment income in just ten years.

I’m trying my hardest to achieve this goal. But if for some reason I don’t succeed and instead grab a handful of clouds, I guess being financially independent at age 37 ain’t so bad.

Quote #4: “Real freedom is having nothing. I was freer when I didn’t have a cent.”

I love following Mike Tyson on Twitter because he’s happier now, then ever.

He used to have multiple homes, cars, servants, and not to mention a few lions. However, he lost that all.

If you look on his Twitter profile, you will find a picture of him with his family, smiling. He might be the poorest person on the world on paper (Last I heard, he was millions of dollars in debt), but he sure is grateful to live everyday. A lesson that is important for all of us.

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Photo by: Drexler

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{ 1 comment }

Bret @ Hope to ProsperNo Gravatar August 23, 2010 at 3:08 pm

He was great on The Hangover.

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