7 Steps to a Prosperous Life
Prosperity, from Latin prosperĭtas, means success in what is undertaken. But what does it mean to have a prosperous life? What path needs to be taken to achieve it?
There are authors who argue that wealth is the quantity of goods and money, while prosperity is a degree of satisfaction transmitted by them. According to the book “101 Keys to Prosperity”, by author Randy Gage, we are all born to be healthy, happy and prosperous, but it is necessary to understand some principles that govern prosperity, so that it is possible to achieve it.
1. Diagnosis
Whenever we feel bad, or are sick, it is natural to seek help from a doctor, so that he can make a diagnosis and tell us how to improve our health. The same must happen with our personal finances. The first step in achieving financial health is to identify your financial situation. Caso não esteja de boa saúde, analise o que pode ser feito para inverter essa situação. Making a financial diagnosis is looking at it from all angles, analyzing not only your income, but also your expenses.
2. Recognize the mistakes
After the financial diagnosis, the second step is to identify what are the mistakes you are making financially. Throughout our lives, and as a result of some habits and beliefs passed on to us by family and society, we make financial mistakes almost unconsciously.
To recognize mistakes, is to identify what is the impossibility of achieving financial success? What are you doing that is not allowing you to generate more wealth?
Analyze how you manage your income and especially your expenses. Sometimes the secret is in what we spend and not in what we receive. It is important to understand whether your expenses represent priority situations in your life, and what kind of needs you are meeting. According to Maslow’s pyramid, there are five categories of human needs:
According to the author, it is not possible to have motivation to satisfy the needs of a higher level, without those of the lower level being satisfied. That is to say, it is useless to seek self-realization and prosperity, without having the physiological needs ensured, which can be, for example, the simple act of sleeping well and regularly.
If you want to achieve prosperity in your life, it may be better to start the process at the bottom of the pyramid, and try to suppress some needs that are preventing you from rising to the next level.
3. Define Objectives
This step is very important, because it is not possible to achieve something that is not defined.
“Setting goals is the first step in making the invisible something visible” – Tony Robbins.
The definition of objectives is transversal. For all areas of our life, it is important to trace a path, an objective. Imagine what your professional or personal life would be without goals. What have you defined for your career? What position do you intend to occupy in 5 years? How much do you want to earn?
The same is true of your finances. Defining today how you want to be financially in the future will help you chart the path to get there. Through financial freedom you will have a more prosperous life, with freedom of choice and time. Take advantage of the opportunities and start setting your goals today.
4. Define tools
This is the time to identify whether you have what it takes to achieve your goals. If you do not yet have the necessary skills or tools, you will have to invest time to develop or acquire them. Imagine, that to reach the financial objectives you defined in the previous point, you need to make an investment through savings?
You will need to learn about the investment area, concepts about the stock exchange or other knowledge that will allow you to achieve the desired results.
If, for example, one of your goals is be an entrepreneur , should try to identify which are the main characteristics of an entrepreneur and work to develop those where you have the most difficulty.
5. Strategy
Once you have the objectives defined and have identified the necessary skills, the next step is to define the right strategy to get there.
“Either it defines its own strategy or it is part of someone’s strategy.” – Alvin Toffler
Did you know that indecision is also a decision? When we do not decide, we are accepting our current circumstances and sometimes we are involved in the strategies and objectives of others. Define your strategy, whether in business or in personal life, it will act as a guiding thread until you reach your goals.
6. Implementation
The sixth step is a very important step, which is the action step. It is this step that will determine your success, your ability to act. It is important that the steps mentioned above are converted into concrete actions.
7. New Life
The life we can achieve when we follow these steps. To continue at this stage of life you need to have this path very much in mind, so that you can stay on track.
References
Koltko-Rivera, M. E. (2006). Rediscovering the later version of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs: Self-transcendence and opportunities for theory, research, and unification. Review of General Psychology, 10(4), 302–317.