In this episode, we discuss how we should be conscious of our possessions so they don’t own us.
Full Transcript
Hi Everyone, welcome to the You’re Daily Cup of Joe Podcast, with your host Joe Bautista. In this podcast, my goal is to give you quick lessons that you can reflect on in your journal so you can grow yourself physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually and have a better career, better relationships, and better personal finances while you enjoy your morning cup of coffee.
I’m also the author of the book “More You Know, More You Grow: How to Get Better Every Day”. In this book I wrote down over 30 tips to help you grow in those four cornerstones. I’m also the founder of Grow With Joe, where I combine self-development coaching and financial planning for Latino Professionals.
At the end of today’s podcast episode, I’m going to give you a prompt question to reflect on in your journal. The idea is to take one to five minutes to reflect on today’s lesson and write a minimum of one paragraph on how you can apply the lesson in your life. You can use an actual journal, a word document like on Google Drive, or your note-taking app like Evernote. The idea is that you’re actually thinking about how to process the information to help you improve your life.
In today’s episode, we’re are going to talk about how we shouldn’t let the stuff you own, own you. This is a quote from the movie Fight Club and what a fantastic movie. It’s about being yourself and not letting yourself get in the way. As a financial planner, I get to look at people’s financial situation and it has helped my financial behavior as well. Just by looking at what people spend their money on, you can tell a lot about a person. You can tell if they are letting the stuff they own, owns them or not.
I hate it when the stuff that I own causes me more trouble. This is one reason why I don’t want to own another car ever again. The causes that I owned in the past just caused me a lot of headache. I love living in a city where I can walk or bike everywhere. You don’t have to worry about maintenance, car insurance, running over nails, getting speeding tickets, getting parking tickets, and just paying attention to the road. If you live in a rural area, then it’s less expensive but you as a person need to decide what you’re comfortable with having in your life and not.
I also don’t want to chase things just to have them. I remember buying clothes that I don’t even wear and they are just a hassle to move. And that’s money that could of been spent elsewhere. There are to things we can do with our time and money, we can either consume them or invest them. When you do mindless spending and chasing after activities that don’t provide a return, then one down you’re probably going to be stuck in a situation you don’t want to be in and you don’t have control over your life.
The idea is that you want control over your situation. Don’t work in a job that you hate so you can enjoy a nicer car. Don’t hang around people that you don’t like because you can’t stand being alone. When you give up your control to other things, then it’s like living in chains. I remember being in DC and it’s a fun place to live but it’s also an expensive place to live. I thought working as a federal employee was going to be amazing but I was wrong. I was miserable because I couldn’t be my creative self. But I could see how I could be forced to work at a place like that if I had kids, a big car payment, my rent or mortgage was huge, and all these other things. I want to enjoy every day I live, not just the weekend or the vacations I take.
This is a big reason why I started my own thing so I can have control over my life. I had to sell a lot of things, including my car to go live with my parents so I could save money. Now I’m traveling throughout Latin America experiencing life and I enjoy it so much. I just have two suitcases and a backpack and my entire life are in these three items. Latin America is way advance now and if I need something, I can just go out and get it. But since I only have enough room in my suitcases and backpack, I have to be really thoughtful about what I buy. I might have to get rid of something in order to take on this new item. I’m about to go see my grandparents in Mexico and I’m going to leave behind some clothes because I don’t really need them. This will just make what I carrying around lighter and I’ll have more room.
I’m free to do whatever I want and it’s because I don’t have a lot of stuff that I have to look after. If you want a lot of stuff, then you have to make sure you have a great income but you don’t want to be in a golden handcuff situation where you make a lot of money but hate your job, but then you acquire new things and then all of a sudden you can’t quit your miserable job because then you will go bankrupt. Now you have an addiction to alcohol or something harder, and what kind of life is that. A pretty miserable one. I love how I don’t have any boss but it’s also a lot more uncertain. I have to reach out to people to ask for business to grow my client base and it’s a struggle now but I know it will give me a future I desire in the future.
That’s it for today’s episode, to summarize it, don’t let the things that you own, own you. We only have a finite amount of time on this planet and we should make sure that a majority of our time is spent on the things we actually want to do and not do things that others expect of us. If you know yourself and your resources, this should help you make the right decision. The goal though is to have control and flexibility of your situation so that you live life the way you want to and don’t end up going to the grave with regrets.
So in your journal, ask yourself, does the stuff I own, own me? Am I chasing something that I should really go after or is it because I think it makes others like me? Just take some time and ponder about your life and try to go for that life that you really want. If you need help in making a change, then reach out to a professional. We can help you get started on getting that better life but you need to come to the conclusion yourself first.
Thanks for listening today! To get a free copy of my book “More You Know, More You Grow: How to get better every day” just go to my website growwithjoe.me/book and just pay for shipping and handling.
I have a quiz on my website that grades your inner circle, so if you want to find out if your inner circle is an A, B, C, D, or F, you can take that quiz at growwithjoe.me/quiz
I’m also trying to do a feedback Friday episode, so if you have a question that you would like to have my answer on the air, just e-mail me at [email protected]
I’m also on Instagram at Grow With Joe and Facebook just look up Grow With Joe
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Thanks for joining me today and remember if you go with Joe, you can grow with Joe, cause Joe knows Dough.
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