Life: A Balance Beam

We’re all trying to get up on that beam of life, aren’t we? Some of us meet with more success than others. Some of us are Olympians, actually. Watching those skilled athletes effortlessly defy gravity is a sight to see. So – how about winning your own gold medal? Or at least a silver – interested? Yes? Good for you. The desire to strive and succeed is half the battle.

Desire is like gas: it will propel you forward if you relax, take a deep breath and allow it to work wonders for you. Be open to the possibility that you are absolutely capable of achieving at least some of your wildest dreams: if you’re serious about getting in shape and mastering the balance beam of life, here’s some coaching to bring you up to the next level!

How High Do You Want Your Beam?

Before you can get up on the beam, you’ve got to know which beam you want to master. There are different levels of beams – or life. For some of us, working a 9-5 (with full benefits) and fishing on the weekends is a  true. Maybe you’re more into the idea of retiring a few years (or a few decades) early? Perhaps you absolutely love work and want the energy and health to keep going into your 90’s? Maybe you are a pharmacist – but you want to try your hand at real estate investing – or maybe you’ve always wanted to learn the unicycle! Regardless of what it is exactly you crave from life, you need to clearly define what it is you want. If you don’t know what you’re trying to master, you’re not going to be able to go all out and do it. Your wants may change over time and that’s ok – you can just set your beam higher or lower as you go…

How Do You Get Up There, Anyway?

Now that you know where you want to be, it’s time to figure out how to get up there. Athletes need a lot of support. Coaches. Supportive friends. Discipline. Training. Muscles that come from repeated action over time. If you know where you want to be, it’s time to figure out how to do it. Whether it means taking some classes at a local college, attending town planning meetings, tasting wine in Napa or paragliding in Uruguay – start doing it. Even if you need to start small (get a piggy bank and start saving up your spare change or gather together your high school transcripts), don’t lose hope. Remember that every Olympian started along their path without much more than desire.

How to Not to Fall

Now that you’re up on the beam, how’s the view from there? Standing on a balance beam is kind of tricky, right? Move an inch in the wrong direction and you could fall! Believe it or not, the secret to not falling is to allow yourself to fall sometimes.  Some people freeze when they get up too high – they don’t want to risk injury so they don’t do anything. Some people take a deep breath and do cartwheels across the beam (sometimes they fail, but mostly they impress).  Once you’re up on the beam, you’ve got to learn how to do cartwheels. By having fun and risking a fall, you learn how to truly master your life and avoid the big falls. If the beam is too high, set a lower one. If it’s too low, time for an upgrade! Remember that this is your life and you decide how to live it and how high to make it.

Key Takeaway for Life: Life’s not easy but if we want to, we can reach some dizzying heights. To do so, we need to set our sights on clear goals and then map out a plan to make our desires become reality. Falling is part of the learning process and to master any business or craft, we need to let ourselves relax and fall from time to time. Oh – and having fun is the key to all of this!

Key Takeaway for Real Estate Investors: If you’re an investor, you probably can relate to almost everything in today’s blog post. You know that you’ve got to get your feet wet, deals take time, sometimes they collapse and sometimes you fail as you learn – and you probably know that’s ok. There is no perfect way to do anything, be it in business or the personal realm. Think of the sport of investing like an athlete. Get coaches. Train. Build up your muscles. Endure. Conquer. Do cartwheels across the beam: go ahead and show off once you’ve mastered your art.

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