8) Spring Cleaning

    

 

The birds are chirping, the trees are blooming, and few of the diners have yet to start their air conditioning.  It's time to throw open the windows and clean.

            Cleaning also means organizing.  There are a number of 'starts' or 'births' per year and a number of endings: December 31/January 1, religious holidays (e.g. Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year), numerologically, your birth year, your marriage year, your fiscal year (i.e. Financial/business/tax year), the 'school year', the seasons & solstices.  All provide plenty of opportunity to take inventory and to take action.

            To take action, it helps to make a plan, an action plan.  To plan, it helps to know from where you're starting, where you’re going, and then to map out the different routes you might take to get there.

            Some routes might be fast & direct, but uncomfortable or distasteful.  Others may be relaxed, slow and scenic, allowing for diversions.

            So, you have to prioritize while maintaining balance (e.g. Living for today while planning for tomorrow), otherwise you may always be postponing your gratification for the future and miss appreciating or enjoying the present (or vice-versa).  Stopping to smell roses while being a workaholic.

            In addition, your life mission might dictate that you prefer the 'journey' rather than - or in addition to - the destination.

            You're the CEO of your personal business, so you decide (while considering the welfare of the others for whom you're responsible).  You have to take care of No. 1 (i.e. you), before you can save the world.

            So, while cleaning house, what do you keep and what do you mercenarily & mercilessly discard - and how do you decide?

            Start by downloading 'How Long Do I Keep It?' from www.SimonsFinancialNetwork.com).  Shred or totally burn what you're discarding to prevent identity theft.  Shredding and burning are cathartic, liberating, and satisfying.

            Include wine, music, or something enjoyable while you perform this act to make it easier.  Include family members but be careful of the risks of little fingers in shredders or fire.

Take note of your accomplishment upon conclusion and congratulate yourself, as it is a very difficult act for most people.  Make it a Rite of Spring.  The hardest part is simply starting.

            When the dust has cleared and you've decided what to keep, your starting point is defined.  Now financially organize it by visiting www.SimonsFinancialNetwork.com and downloading 'Initial Consultation - Client Homework'.

            Then set some goals and deadlines, the objectives you will use to accomplish them, and the priorities of your action plan.

            Implement and monitor, let cool.  This recipe should feed all.