Christopher V. Flett

My dad always said, “You can play now and pay later or pay now and play later. If you play now, it will always be more expensive down the road.” What he was teaching us is that you need to put the work in BEFORE you reap the rewards. With the credit/housing crisis here in the US, it shows that many people tried to ‘live the lives they wanted’ before they had earned them. Buying houses they can’t afford, cars they can’t service, and vacations that they pay on their credit cards. People are being wiped out because they didn’t do the work first. They wanted to ‘pretend’ that they had arrived before ever paying the piper.

I’m spending a month in the tropics which feels both relaxing, but more important, gratifying. While my friends were all getting the big homes, the big cars, and taking the big vacations with the impressive pictures…I was building. I didn’t vacation, I didn’t buy the big house, I didn’t buy the new cars, and I didn’t jaunt all over the map to party. Instead…I worked. I know that paying now, would allow me to play later without worry. Here I am. The stuff in your life will not make you happy just by having it. You can go run up your credit cards and live like a rock star and that will bring you momentary happiness. Then the dread will set in when you realize the Visa bill is coming tomorrow and you are paying 19% interest on a balance you can’t possibly cover.  A friend emailed me bitching that I get to take “all this time off” and he gets two weeks of a year. I told him that it isn’t unfair, it is that we have made different decisions. He chose the ’security of a job’ and I chose to build an asset that created revenue. Remember that security that you crave may keep things out (unemployment, no money, etc.) but it also keeps you in (doesn’t allow you time to explore things you are passionate about, spending time with people you enjoy, having the freedom to choose.

Building a business is the single most important time investment you can make in your long term ability to ‘play’. It will generate revenues that allow you to sneak away without financial hardship. You may work very hard for 1,2,3,5 years, but in the end, that investment will return to you over and over again. When you see people enjoying the spoils of their hardwork, don’t feel sorry for yourself. Instead, find the inspiration to model what they have done so that you can enjoy what the enjoy. It isn’t about taking risks, it’s about getting past instant gratification (which we are all to focused on). Stay your course, build your model in a sustainable model, and enjoy all that being a business owner has to offer. We all start with the same options. How will you leverage yours?

For me…I’m needed back at the pool. There’s a drink waiting…