The moment of truth. Every financial planning engagement has one.
The gigantic math problem has been solved, all the jigsaw pieces have been put into place and now comes the hard part – the part where facing reality calls on you to do the hard thing.
For a young couple, the moment of truth might be agreeing to buy enough life insurance to protect their family.
For the forty-something entrepreneur in the making, that moment of truth may come when she has to leave a comfortable job to follow her dreams.
For the older couple, the moment of truth may come when they choose to give some things away to a future generation, releasing a lifetime of control.
No matter who you are or what your life stage is, the moment of truth always has two components: a hard thing and a big payoff.
Here’s the deal: you have to do the hard thing now, to get the big payoff later on.
Many walk right up to the moment of truth and look at it, study it, argue with it, stew over it and ultimately…delay dealing with it.
But the moment of truth never goes away…it just hibernates in the background of your life, growing and growing, until one day you no longer have the opportunity to do the hard thing…you simply have the bitter experience of a hard thing being done to you…a hardship, if you will.
Give up on the idea that you are ever going to have a risk-free, easy path to a big payoff. Those rarely exist in life. Whatever choice you make will have both risks and difficulties.
When you face a moment of truth, you cannot really avoid risk and difficulty – you can just put them off…which magnifies both.
Sometimes people in effect ask me to rescue them from their moment of truth. I’d never dream of being so cruel. Often, the risk and difficulty are the keys to the life they always wanted, but until now did not have the courage to pursue.
Are you facing a moment of truth?
Do yourself a favor…do the hard thing.
You’re welcome.
