Ten years ago or so, I was waiting for a flight from… I think it was probably Chicago or Minneapolis to Denver or Phoenix.
Oh well, I guess it’s not that important… but, it was from someplace to somewhere anyway… and I happened to pick up a book by Harvey MacKay called “Dig Your Well Before You’re Thirsty.”
The basic premise of the book was… well, to dig your well before you’re thirsty. And if you’ve ever dug a well… you know that’s some pretty sound advice. I believe the dust jacket said something to the effect that it was the only networking book you’ll ever need.
That’s fine… but I took it a lot further than that. See… digging your well before you need it gives you margin… in your career, in your family, in your finances, and in your relationships. It gives you advantages when life gets crazy… when the economy stumbles… when people let you down.
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So, take two individuals… they both earned about eighty-seven thousand dollars a year in their careers before they were downsized this afternoon. Neither one says they saw it coming.
Whatever.
Also, they both lost 47% of their retirement account in the sixteen months since October of 2007, and their home equity fell to near zero as the market in their area collapsed by almost 38%. Now in their late forties, it is likely they will never make up what they’ve lost.
Oh, I almost forgot… one of the individuals happened to dig a well a few years ago. He is carrying no debt outside of his mortgage, and has three additional part-time income streams from his own small businesses that add up to about eighty-four hundred dollars a month like clockwork.
Stress is more prevalent in one of these homes than in the other.
Takeaways:
Digging a well five years ago would have been a very good idea.
Starting today is better than five years from now.
Some of us will help you dig.
I look forward to speaking with you.
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