How to Set and Complete Financial Goals: Work in Reverse

A lot of people have difficulties setting goals and then completing them.  I read a lot of biographies and self-improvement books as well as practice this theory myself and I think one of the best ways to set and complete goals is to work in reverse.  Think about 60 years from now or think about your obituary (seems a little morbid right?) and then set goals of what and where, financially or otherwise, you want to be at that point.  Once you’ve done that, then work in reverse on what you need to do to get to that point and then start completing each task in order to get to your goals.  Instead of just preaching about, I will let you know mine goals; letting people know about my personal life is something I rarely do.  My goal at 60 or when I pass away is to build a multi-headed Empire.  I want to own everything.  So here is each task, how I plan to get there and where I’m at now.  The goals are incredibly high, so if I miss a mark I still hope to achieve major success.

· Hedge Fund Manager – I would like to retire as a hedge fund manager.  I want to own so many investments, including all possible types of assets, that I can affect political policy, change corporate strategies.  I want to own stocks, bonds, gold, art, real estate, land, etc.  To get to that point I have to have displayed success with my own portfolio, once I retire from the Air Force, I will have to work up the corporate ladder and then sell myself to potential investors.  I’m currently an Air Force Finance Officer and plan to get my CPA, Accounting Certification, or the required mutual fund/stockbroker licenses.

· Real Estate Empire – I want to own several properties and land in several cities in several states.  My goal is to be a major player in America’s real estate future.  At 31, I’m starting late in the game, but my wife and I plan to purchase our first house when we PCS to Barksdale AFB, Louisiana.  I will have to keep purchasing homes at the right time, taking advantage of the greed-to-fear cycles American continuously has.  To have a real estate empire, I’m going to have to learn a lot about multi-property management and ensure I balance the risk-to-reward ration that I’ve been comfortable with.

· Media Empire – A person’s relevancy is increasingly becoming more dependent on his or her success on social media.  I DO NOT want to be famous at all.  I would like a large following of people who share my values and/or want to learn from my mistakes and successes.  I want to educate people on what I believe (some may call it brainwashing) through normal media, social media and fictional novels.  Frequency and persistence is the key to success in forming a solid following.  Currently, I have this blog, Military Finance Report, that I try to spread around.  I’m frequently offer financial advice and discuss politics on my personal Facebook page.  Lastly, I self-published my own fictional novel called Blood Flows Like Wine, that I’m currently re-writing.  I hope to make a series out of it called, The Vampire Wealth Chronicles, and is a covert and overt attempt at pushing my ideological beliefs through fictional Vampire novel.  Check out the books Facebook page at www.facebook.com/vampirewealthchronicles and the Twitter page @vwcbooks.  You can purchase it on Amazon here: http://www.amazon.com/dp/ASIN/B00AEFFHRW or on Smashwords here: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/300393.

This is just a small sampling of what my future goals are.  As you can see, I set the main goal in the future, then I identify all the milestones needed to execute each one and then I start completing each milestone.  I continuously review them and check my progress and adjust as needed.  Your goals can have shorter time horizons or not be as grandiose.