Doesn't it seem strange that different people react so differently with regards to money? You would think that, in difficult economic times, everyone would be bent out of shape about money. However, this is not always the case. Take me, for example. Even when times have been really tough, I have not really felt extreme amounts of financial stress and managing financial stress has never really seemed like an unwieldy task.
Now, don't get me wrong, there have been times when I have nearly lost my marbles because of financial stress; however, for the most part, these times have been few and far between and they have not lasted for very long each time. It seems that I have an uncanny ability to pick myself up and dust myself off and start all over again, even when debt loads have been really extreme and in all of it, I have never felt a need to declare bankruptcy. Am I just a special person or is there another reason for my supposed financial serenity?
Recently, I was reviewing my work history as I prepared a resume for a contract application. There is nothing that will make you feel older than a detailed resume review. As I did this analysis, I realized that I have operated a very wide variety of businesses covering all different types of business models and I have held a large number of jobs in many different career fields.
That resume exercise got me thinking about two different, but related ideas. My first thought revolved around variety as a tool for managing financial stress. Was the extreme variation in my work history a key factor in my feelings about money and finances?
My second thought revolved around passive income. Most of my business ventures were structured to create passive income streams. In other words, I did a whole bunch of work up front and then, once the structure had been created, I continued to earn money, whether I was working or not.
I came to the conclusion that my unique ability to manage financial stress came from both the variety in my work history - there are very few business sectors, in which I have not worked; as well as from the fact that many of the business models, I created, over the years, allowed for passive income generation. It seems the difficulty level of managing financial stress is reduced considerably when you know you have lots of options. Without even really realizing it, I have developed multiple streams of income in my life.
Over the past 25 years, I have run service and manufacturing businesses, I have done network marketing and Internet marketing, I have done real estate and stock market investing, I have done private consulting work and I have even tried my hand at self-publishing. I had different levels of success with each venture, but the one thing that has become very clear to me is that I am not afraid of finances or, put another way, I don't get stressed out about money because I have confidence that I can always go out and earn what I need to pay off debt or work toward achieving my goals. My experience has allowed me to be financially independent, so to speak, even when I was broke. I am happier, I believe, because I don't suffer from the classic idea of 'money worries' or financial stress.
Another key factor that jumped off the page as I completed the resume exercise was the extent of my financial knowledge. Whether it was banking terms, real estate jargon, stock market language or accounting rules, I realized that I am fairly comfortable with the language of finance and I now understand that this knowledge helps me to be far more confident in managing financial stress as well.
So what's the take away here? It is a good idea to have a wide variety of financial experiences under your belt, even if you only engage in each venture on a very small scale and all along the way, every person should try hard to increase his or her financial knowledge as much as possible. Some famous person once said, 'KNOWLEDGE IS POWER' and someone else said, 'VARIETY IS THE SPICE OF LIFE'. I think I finally understand these phrases and I hope others can experience my idea of financial freedom as well.
For more ideas on managing financial stress, check out
Three Steps to Managing Financial Stress
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