This is a guest post by Millionaire Mob, a blog focused on investing in dividend growth stocks and travel hacking. We have helped thousands of people with bettering their financial future through passive income and dividend investing.
Financial success is a goal that many wish to achieve in their lifetime. What does being financially independent really mean? It means that you can afford to cater for all your expenses and live without working. People who are financially independent have accumulated wealth through making various investments.
It’s no doubt that money guarantees you financial freedom but does it really guarantee financial happiness? Financial freedom is more than having money but also being who you really are and doing what you really desire to do in life. It is about being happy. The secret to happiness is building stable long-term relationships.
When you think of established relationships, what comes into your mind? Someone you are fond of like your spouse, someone you work with, someone you went to school with, someone you grew up with. Whatever the case, there is no doubt that those relationships didn’t just occur, they were cultivated. You invested both time and effort to have them flourish.
How then can you achieve financial freedom through creating relationships? It’s about giving your time and money to establish great connections that will be part of your lifelong identity.
To achieve financial freedom, you need to make investments that generate passive and active income. There are dozens of passive income ideas that you can consider like dividend income, investing in a crowdfunded real estate, peer-to-peer lending, and affiliate marketing, among others. They give you stable revenue that will ultimately help you achieve financial freedom.
You also need to make alternative investments like starting an income-generating project. This can be a business that will help you generate income. In business, strong connections and relationships play a major role in business success.
To create good relationships, invest your money on experiences with people and not just things. Consumables are good but the satisfactions they give soon fade away. It‘s a short-lived thrill of buying the latest fashionable item, but, once you get it, it lives you yearning for more and better.
Investing in relationships means caring for the other person and it requires making huge sacrifices. Investing in experiences gives us a unique identity than investing in possessions. In life, people are remembered more for the impact they made on their family and to the society.
“We make a living by what we get. We make a life by what we give” Winston Churchill said. Life is more important than money and life derives more value in giving than in receiving.
Creating relationships also expands your financial circle of influence. The company you keep and the people you spend more time with heavily influence your habits and lifestyle in general. If you spend more time with people who live frugally, you are also likely to do the same which can in a way help you to save a lot of money.
On the other hand, if you spend time around people who are extravagant with their finances, you are also likely to live an extravagant lifestyle and end up living way above your means, not saving at all or even end up in debts. Your peer influence thus plays a major role in how you spend your money and that affects your financial goals.
While most people think they are above peer influence, it’s important that you understand the subconscious influence others may have on you. You need to be aware of how their actions and behaviors can possibly affect you.
Relationships and Your Financial Goals
Here are a few steps you can take to improve your relationships and their influence on you to achieve your financial goals:
1. Create and constantly assess your goals
It is imperative to establish clear financial goals. Always ensure that you have a clear vision and create tangible objectives. Assess your goals and vision regularly to ensure that you are still on course. Reduce diversions and detours that take you away from the path to achieve the ultimate financial goal.
2. Take a firm stand and stick to your goals
Once you have a goal in place, you need to stick to it. Don’t be afraid to say no to things that are not consistent with your goal. If your friends are inviting you out and they want you to take part in spending habits that are not in alignment with your goals, it’s okay to decline. However, find out if it’s something that is worth it and that you won’t regret spending money on.
Share your financial goals and tips with friends and family in a simple way to make them understand your stand. You will be surprised at how many friends and close relatives you can positively influence and might just join you in your journey towards financial freedom.
3. Create new relationships
You can always find new people who have similar ideologies about finances as you. Creating new horizons gives you new opportunities. You can seek new connections even virtually. There are dozens of online groups, blogs and message boards that you can join for support and inspirations to help you stick to your path.
4. Build lasting bonds
This is another very important aspect to help you achieve financial independence. Ensure that you create long-term relationships and keep a company of people who are aligned with financial goals. Create healthy friendships with people who can help you to achieve your financial goals
Creating strong relationships also helps you if you have a business investment. Whatever financial goals you intend to accomplish, you can’t do it alone. Similar to human relationships, creating strong relationships doesn’t come easy. If you want to build and maintain good business relationships, it will take time and other resources to become beneficial.
So, how can you Create Stronger Relationships?
Here are three key aspects that you need to put into consideration:
1. Building new networks
2. Nurturing & maintaining the relationships
3. Improving the already existing connections
Building new business relationships
So, how can you get to know someone?
It’s not rocket science that the first step to building a relationship is to know a person. It involves meeting with the person first. Then the next step is planning on how to spend time together. This helps you to get to know each other and to develop the relationship deeper.
This same principle applies to business networks. Knowing the business is not enough. There is need to spend the time to understand all the aspects of the business. Creating time to explain the business is the best investment you can make in your business and your future.
So, how can you spend time with your networks? Spending time goes beyond sending a bunch of emails, social media comments, text messages, chats, newsletters, blogs etc. These activities cannot be underrated and may be the ideal first step but also take time to go deep.
Organize face-to-face meetings which can be physically or virtually. Remember that people are the bottom line assets in any business and it is crucial to get to meet them in person for deeper connections. Zig Ziglar said that “you don’t build a business, you build people and then people build the business.
Spending time together creates trust. Trust is beneficial for future business and getting trustworthy referrals. This can ultimately help you generate income to build wealth and achieve financial freedom.
Nurturing Relationships
So, how do you remain relevant to your business networks?
The second and the hardest part is maintaining and nurturing relationships. To nurture a relationship, you need to communicate or engage and always be there for the other party. You need to be able to adapt and also listen to them. You need to have a different perspective to be able to influence others. You need to collaborate and be selfless. Shift your focus from seeking your own interest to being able to accommodate others. You also need to be accountable and transparent. Provide support and ask for the opinions of the other party.
Improving the already existing relationships
Ensure that the relationship is getting better with time. Maintain a positive attitude, make contracts clear and don’t compromise in any way. Go above and beyond and provide excellent results. This will ensure that the existing relationships do not end or break up.
Bottom line
Create relationships with people who will help you achieve financial success is of paramount importance to your journey. Invest in relationships to build a lasting impression and a positive identity. Financial freedom is a journey and is built by accumulating not just wealth but also healthy relationships. Build stable networks for future business. I hope that this article has given you some valuable insights.
Author Bio: Millionaire Mob is where people come together to find the best travel deals and financial advice. We specialize in dividend growth investing, passive income and travel hacking. Our advice has helped others travel the world and achieve financial freedom. Follow us on Twitter or Instagram!