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Dare to Dream: The lighting of a fire

Every now and again I find something that really inspires me. That inspiration can come from many places. This evening it came from a random blog that I was reading.

I stumbled on this post: Dare to Dream – A decade at a time by Banker On Fire and reading it just lit something in me, particularly this quote

I can keep going, because somehow, my immediate circle of friends is full of people who have decided to reject the conventional life.  Who refused to succumb to the sweet inertia of a glass of wine and Netflix at 8 pm.

Banker On Fire

That hit home hard. How many times have I loved that sweet inertia of a glass of wine and Netflix at 8pm. I’ve known friends who live pretty much that same lifestyle everyday. After work and dinner at around 6/7pm most just put their feet up and watch the latest Netflix series, till bedtime. Whilst there is no doubt benefit in switching off and winding down, that time could be easily used for more productive ends. Damien said it best so I’m just going to copy his text here:

A 9-6 job, a one-hour commute each way and 7 hours of sleep leave you with 6 hours of free time a day.  Let’s say other commitments (parents, I’m looking at you!) take up another 4 hours.  That leaves you with two hours of free time.

Weekends are a different story.  There’s lots of life admin to catch up on, but a motivated enough individual can carve out 5 hours of time on Saturday and Sunday.  You know, like doing that crazy thing of actually waking up at 7 am and working until noon?

That adds up to 20 hours a week.

1,040 hours a year.

10,400 hours a decade. 

That’s about five years of working a full time, 40 hour / week job.

The list of things you can accomplish in that time is endless.

You can perfect a skill.  Change careers.  Create a business.  Build a property portfolio.  Supercharge your ascent up the career ladder.

So where will you find yourself a decade from today?  Will you still be a bystander, with a glass of wine in hand, another Netflix originals on TV and a deep sense of discontent inside?   Or will you design – and live that dream life you’ve always imagined?

Remember – time will pass no matter what.  But where you end up is up to you.

Banker On Fire

It’s certainly lit a fire within me again to be more productive with my time and to hustle.

I’m not a fan of ‘hustle culture’ by any means but I do believe you should pursue things that are important to you and to do it with reckless abandon. Wasting time is not an option.

There are so many paths to build wealth that I haven’t considered. Yes, my situation isn’t great at the moment. I’m just climbing out of debt and trying to somehow put a deposit together to buy my first home in the first 12 months, but there has to be ways to make more money or create more value. Learning, growing, developing and actively working towards it bit by bit. I definitely don’t have all the answers. I probably don’t even know where to start but I’ll tell you what —starting right here, right now, right where I am is all that I can do. Spend my time more wisely; spend my energy more wisely and consider my financial decisions more smartly. Bit by bit, I have to make something better out of my financial situation.

They say a journey of a thousand miles starts with a step. Well, this is my step.

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