We’ve all heard it before. I know I have. If I just had more money. Life would be so much easier if I was rich like other people, like sport’s stars.
Not so fast.
According to a 2009 Sports Illustrated article, sixty percent of former NBA players are broke, within five years of retirement. By the time they have been retired for two years, seventy-eight percent of former NFL players have gone bankrupt or are under financial stress. Sucked into bad investments, stalked by freeloaders, saddled with medical problems, and naturally prone to showing off, many pro athletes get shocked by harsh economic realities after years of living the high life.
Lots of money didn’t solve their problems and it probably won’t solve yours either. It’s seldom not how much you have, it’s what you do with what you have. I don’t think the lack of education is necessarily the reason for the lack of success with money. Early in my career, I remember working with a surgeon who with an annual income that far exceeded well over a quarter million-dollars, yet he had little money to show for it; but he owned plenty of toys and an opulent lifestyle. It wasn’t what he earned, it’s what he did with what he earned, just like sports stars.
The key is discipline. Many simply haven’t been taught discipline or have fallen into a “wants”-based life; I want this, I want that and I want it now; which reminds me of the character “Veruca”, from the original Willy Wonka and the chocolate factory movie. One of the funniest lines of that movie is when Veruca tumbles down a chute and Willy Wonda nonchalantly says, “She was a bad egg”.
Don’t be a bad egg. Embrace Discipline. No matter the resources you have, start building a disciplined strategy today.
