Time To Dream With Your Friendly Cleveland Tax Professional

With the passing of Justice Ginsburg 45 days before the election, we have officially entered the political crazy season.

This — on top of so much conflict surrounding public health measures. It is also in addition to all of the conversation around racial pain, the difficult issues surrounding so many protests and urban riots. And many are without meaningful work and/or are dealing with schoolchildren at home while having to navigate all of this.

So this little political firecracker landed right in the middle of a dry pile of cultural tinder, and it’s getting hot in here.

And that’s why this is the perfect time to do some life planning.

Wait — WHAT, Rich?

That’s right, I said it. This is the ideal time to take a hard look at what you are really working and living FOR. Because when you have clarity about these things, you have the ability to put all of these issues in their proper place.

When you get clear on your direction, you have the ability to build a financial fortress, because you can decide what to build on … and what to eliminate from your life.

(And, of course, we can help you build the tax-saving walls around that very fortress: https://hinckleytaxservice.com/%E2%80%8B/schedule-a-call/ )

Now for some portion of my Cleveland readers, these political and cultural events DO have real impact on their day-to-day lives. For a host of reasons, these things are directly pertinent to their work, their families, and their outcomes.

But that number might be much smaller than is the number of my readers who are allowing (yes, allowing) these cultural riptides to keep them from moving their lives forward.

And today, I suggest that one strong antidote to the feelings of helplessness and anxiety that are running rampant around you (and maybe within you) is to take some time … to dream.

Time To Dream With Your Friendly Cleveland Tax Professional
“Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.”  -George Bernard Shaw

You’d probably be surprised if you sat in on some of the meetings I have with certain Cuyahoga County tax planning and preparation clients.

This is by no means the majority of my clients, but there are some who have socked away a significant nest egg … but who are bored, tired, and a little numb.

And, of course, there are those among my clientele who have not yet reached the financial (or otherwise) zenith they’ve been working so hard towards, and they are still stuck in the grind of “everyday living”. They spend hours reading the “news” and tilting at windmills on Facebook, and then they wonder: where is all this time that others seem to have to build their career?

In many instances, they haven’t taken the time to re-assess whether or not what they’re shooting for is, in fact, the place where they will be most alive.

They haven’t taken the time to dream. And, more importantly, they haven’t put a concrete plan to whatever dreams they might have had in earlier days. They’re dragged around by their nose by national events and whatever circumstance comes their way.

Maybe “they” is you?

So here’s what I suggest …

Get a piece of paper and make a list of all the things you want to do during your lifetime — no matter how crazy or undoable some of those things might seem. If you want to go on an African safari and become a famous gorilla researcher, then write it down. If you want to sip coffee at a Left Bank café in Paris, then by all means, put it on your list.

Include all the seemingly mundane things you want to do, too. Do you want to spend more time with your children, your spouse, or your parents? Write it down. Don’t hold back. Be as wild and daring as you want to be. Let yourself dream big.

Don’t think about the upcoming “civil war”. That’s not useful for this exercise.

Once you have finished the above exercise (and not necessarily in the same sitting) take another piece of paper and ask yourself, “If I had a million dollars in the bank that was exclusively for me — and I had no responsibilities and knew I would not need the money in the future — how would I choose to spend a perfect day?”

Maybe you want to write a novel, talk to a friend, or own a ranch and raise goats. Whatever it is, write out your perfect sort of day. These are not necessarily the big event things you want to experience, but your idea of your perfect day of living. Again, don’t hold back.

People are often surprised at how powerful these two exercises are.

How do they help you?

They help you know what your ACTUAL big dreams are. They help you see clearly where your priorities reside. And they help you see how far away you are from, or close you are to, your dreams and your more ideal daily existence.

And once you know THAT (your ideal, daily existence), then you can lay out a plan that lets you use your precious time for what you really want in life.

The world might be screaming at us from the edges of our lives, but if we get clear, we can build the plans to protect against it.

This can be really fun, if you simply let it be so. Shut off your cynicism, shut out the anxiety, take fifteen minutes … and send me an email through the email button at the top of the page about your experience with it.

I’d love to help you formulate a financial plan to get there:

https://hinckleytaxservice.com/%E2%80%8B/schedule-a-call/

To your family’s lasting financial and emotional peace…

Warmly,

Rich Rhodes

 

“CRISIS Action Plan” for my Cleveland tax clients and friends:

1) Don’t marinate in other people’s panic. Be mindful of your social media consumption.

2) Continue to stay financially and logistically prepared for worsening situations.

3) Make sure you have some ready, liquid assets, if you are able. (I.e., cash in the bank, and in hand.)

4) Set aside plans for any big spending until the dust settles — but especially look out for your small business owner friends and vendors.