Important Skills - Focus

One thing i often struggle with is focusing on one or two things.

I have a lot of ideas all the time (the curse of having an entrepreneurial mind apparently), and often flit from one to the other, without giving them a chance to grow properly.

One of my friends is always reminding me to focus on something, and not get sidetracked by other ideas and schemes.

So, with that in mind, I thought I would share what I intend to focus on over the next couple of years, and how i am going to balance them out...

Firstly, priority one has got to be what brings the money in and pays the bills.

I work in Marketing for a massive gambling company by day, which I enjoy (most of the time!), which pays the bills, and allows me to buy things like food and water. Which is pretty essential really.

The issue with "financial freedom" is that people get massively into the idea of it. People start to live their life differently, and plan their escape from the rat race at the earliest possible time.

I did this as well. I worked out how small a pittance I could live on, then worked out i was earning that from my rental properties, and promptly quit my job (this was a few years ago).

This was around the time the arse fell out of the property market, and I was stuck on a portfolio of 4 properties. I had been seduced by the idea of being out of the rat race, to the point I had not thought things through properly and planned them.

A while later, I realised i really needed to get back into doing some contracting, as living on 600 a month was not exactly living the high life. It also meant i had no provisions for emergency expenses, holidays etc.

What I am about to say is slightly controversial, but if you are hell bent on "financial freedom", it could be the best bit of information you ever get:

"The best thing I ever did was go back to work full time"

This might be the very opposite of what you want to hear if you are keen on getting out of the rat race, but it represents a serious point.

To really make something work you have to focus on it. Its impossible to focus on building up your property (or any other business) if you are actually focusing on how screwed you are financially.

photo by @tanata

I now focus on two things:

1) What pays my bills (my day job).

2) What is going to eventually give me financial freedom.

Of course, there will come a point when the two are the same thing, but you cannot force this. Too many people quit their job, thinking its a piece of piss to buy a few houses and live the life of reilly.

I intend to work as hard as possible at number 1, which will mean I can afford to put more money into number 2.

While i beaver away at my day job, learning as much as possible, and hopefully earning as much as possible, i will gradually build up my portfolio and rental income, until it is enough for me to sit under a tree in the bahamas without a care in the world.

Until that point - i will not be quitting my job or anything of the sort. And yes, this means I cannot afford to spend all of my waking hours searching for deals etc, but it does mean i can afford food. Which is a high priority for me.

So. If you are massively keen on financial freedom and all it entails, i would advise the following:

Only focus on two things, and do your utmost to do them as best you can.

Firstly, the thing that pays the bills. If you hate your job, get a different one. A bar job even, but don't quit on a wing and a prayer and put too much pressure on your ideas to succeed.

Secondly, the project that will get you free of the rat race.

The aim is, for the second to end up being the first, then you are financially free, and hopefully won't have had a nervous breakdown in the process.

Not exactly a get rich quick scheme, but important from where I am sitting!