Great Financial Advice

Almost 30 years ago I heard a story called The Richest Man in Babylon and it left a lasting impression.  It is a parable about gaining wealth.  Although, I didn't really view it as gaining wealth as much as being about common sense money management.

The story can be summed up in one sentence and it is; a part of all you earn is yours to keep.  The story goes on with rich detail about the lessons learned by a young laborer who wanted to be financially independent.  He was neither greedy nor a cheat.  He simply saved his way to prosperity over a period of time.

I recommend reading The Richest Man in Babylon because it makes great sense.

Clarity in all that you do

Another key lesson that I have learned from several career coaches is that clarity is so important to success.  We really need to understand what it is that we want to accomplish and what direction we are seeking.

This falls in line with goal setting because with good goal setting, we clarify the direction of our work.  With clarity in objectives, we can establish a plan on how to get there.  If we know what we want, we can put together a plan on how to get it.

If the goal is higher profit, then we need to clearly set a profit goal so that costs can be structured to reach that goal considering our revenue profit.  If increased market share is our goal, then we can carefully measure our company or product's market share now and at the end of a campaign to raise that market share.

If our goal is to be well liked by everyone we encounter, we need to gear our every action and word to reach that end.  Without knowing exactly what we want, it is difficult to impossible to get there.

Clarity in goals and expectation as well as clarity in plans to acomplish them are keys to success.