Success is a journey NOT a destination

Success is a journey NOT a destination is a statement that I thought was my own for many years.  But I have to tell you as a person who likes to read there are many folks who not only have made this statement but believe it as well.  One of those is our own Jim Whitt who is a writer and personal motivator as well as change agent for companies.  With all that said now I am going to move forward as if that statement, "Success is a journey NOT a destination" was uniquely mine and I will take full credit for the wisdom it gives.  Just kidding so don't get your underwear in a wad!

Growing up on a farm and a small town allowed me the pleasure of lying in the grass outside our house at night looking up at the stars dreaming about what was going on out there.  I always wondered how the milky way (not the candy bar) was formed and how they decided which stars were planets and which ones were most like earth and that there were other galaxies and so on and so on.  I was amazed and at the right age to witness the first landing on the moon and the first photos up close of Mars but most of all this star gazing allowed me to do what Americans do best, "dream the impossible dream".  I say impossible only because it was in the the song because I never believed in the impossible.   In fact it seemed like everyone around us only spoke in positive terms like these"

• what if?
• what do you want to be?
• what kind of job do you want?
• where do you want to travel?
• where do you want to live?

Life was never full of what you could not do, at least from a moral compass perspective.  I remember Sally Shumate, now Stinchcomb, and I would talk about becoming millionaires.  We did not talk about "if" we talked about "how" and "when" and there was never a doubt we would get there.

What is amazing to me today is that a very large number of folks have a net worth of over $1 million. If you don't believe me and you are over 50 take theses simple steps:

• take the equity (net positive value) in your land and house
• add your retirement accounts including IRA, 401k etc.
• add the value of your other assets like farm equipment, livestock, second homes etc.
• This one might be a challenge but if you know you are going to have $1500 per month in social security think of how much money you would need to have saved to get that much income.  For example if you thought you could earn 6% on your money you would need $300,000 in the investment to earn $18,000 per year or $1,500 per month.
• add any savings or other investments you have 

Add all these things together and I bet you have more than you thought.  Now some folks can add in the value of certain life insurance policies into this mix but for the most part folks have term insurance and it only has value after you die.  That sounds like a bad option.  In fact if you would like to keep the cost of insurance in your pocket for a savings account you should call me.  OK, back to the story.  

My point in all of this is not where i am winding up.  That really sucks, bad English.  My point is what we think about and what we do determines our successes, not what others think about us.  If you want to drive a truck then be the best truck driver in America or if you want to be a ditch digger then be the best ditch digger.  It is a whole lot more fun to pursue being the best at what you do than being as my dad would say, "half assed".  

You can be critical of my writing but don't bother telling me "cuz it don't bother me".  I just like to talk to you and tell you what I think and it makes me feel pretty good that I am relaying stories to my kids and the folks I love which include the folks from the Osage.  Man! this is fun.

I am ENJOYING the Journey.  Oh my!  I think I got back on the point of the story.

Thanks for spending time with me,

gary@thepioneerman.com