3 Things You Can Do Now to Get Set Up for Financial Independence
What skills are you learning to live a life of Financial Independence?
I am and have always been a learning fanatic. Since I was a kid flying down the street on the bicycle I had just learned to ride—and knowing the feeling of freedom that gave me—I have sought out new skills to learn at every opportunity, a step towards financial independence.
I only get a truly satisfying sense of “learning excitement” when the skill I am mastering presents a true challenge to my current knowledge base. These learned skills have been vital in helping me become a financially independent woman.
I love learning new languages. In addition to my native language of Marathi, I became fluent in English and German, but probably take the most pride in learning Sanskrit when I was a child at my mother’s behest. Sanskrit is a very difficult language, with many pronoun forms and complex verb declensions and mastering it gave me the learning tools and the confidence to conquer the complex German terminologies I was faced with in post-graduate school. Additionally, proper recital of Sanskrit verses promotes speaking clarity and proper breathing. We would recite for at least one hour at our morning Sanskrit session–that was one hour of Pranayam (deep, controlled) breathing every day. Learning to enunciate and breathe in the controlled manner required for proper Sanskrit recitation greatly helped in my long and successful career as a keynote speaker around the world.
In Money Management Lessons from My Mother and Me, I encouraged you to learn money management skill, which is vital for your financial independence. Now you should examine your current skill set and make a list of the skills you have right now, regardless of their significance.
Most of the skills will fall into one of two categories: “school-based” (i.e. specific disciplines like mathematics or foreign languages), which usually were learned in a classroom by way of lessons and studying, and “process-based” (i.e. the ability to organize well, being able to plan effectively, having foresight, etc.), which has to do with the way you perform certain tasks.
Regardless of whether a given skill is “school-based” or “process-based,” it is still a marketable skill, and will take you one step forward in your journey to financial independence.
Here is what you need to do now if you want to live a life of financial independence:
1. Dig deep. Search your soul and find your passion. What do you really like to do? Passion is what drives people to work hard, and is essential to enjoying what you do while making money. If you are not sure about your goals, read – A 5 -step guide to setting goals for beginners
2. Do an online search based on your skill set. Using one or a few of the skills from the skill list you compiled, add the word “jobs” at the end and see what comes up. For example, I Googled “party planning jobs” and lo and behold, at least thirty pages of results popped up immediately, most of which were links to employment opportunities for party planners. Then I tried “tutoring jobs” and received a similar result, and many of those links showcased jobs that pay $60-$70 per hour. I suggest you to ask these 10 questions before accepting any new job, and these 5 things to never bring up in a job interview.
3. Research to find out what additional skills you might need to pursue a career that interests you. Determine which of these skills can be attained through coursework or self-initiated learning. One skill that is necessary in practically any job that pays well is to be able to use a computer, which means that you should probably invest in purchasing a computer so that you can learn this skill. Becoming Internet savvy will bring you closer to a lucrative job.
Personally, my next skill-learning goal (while I am completing my memoirs) is to gain expertise in social media so that I am able to communicate with people like you, to encourage you to reach your financial independence. I’ll be sure to keep you posted about my trials and tribulations as I learn to set up a “platform” to reach you via social media.
Let us know about your existing skillset today and what skills you are striving to master in the near future. Look for my next post in which I will be talking about How to raise financially independent kids.
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