You Need To Know...It's Wednesday (FRIDAY, actually)
Listen to Tim deliver this YNTK! Click below:
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This audio essay was initially written and read two days ago—Wednesday—but it’s just as appropriate today!
YOU NEED TO KNOW… that it’s WEDNESDAY (FRIDAY, actually).
Yes, I know that this You Need To Know would appear self-evident, but after the Labor Day induced long weekend, you can’t deny that you’ve had the experience at least for a moment when you had to be reminded that, for all intents and purposes, you’re actually one day ahead of your week? It’s happened to me a few times this week—most recently with a realization that woke me out of a groggy stupor in the shower this morning.
When a realization like this hits us, it’s generally a good thing, because you’re basically ahead of the curve, especially if you look forward to your weekends. What is not such a good feeling is waking up and being given a reminder that you’re behind the curve. This happens to me occasionally when my four-year-old son plays a trick on me and messes with my alarm clock… the volume’s set too low and I slowly wake—feeling surprisingly refreshed for a mid-week morning—only to realize that I’m now running late.
These momentary hiccups in our personal space time continuum are fleeting; they come and go and we get on with our life. But through numerous—often self-preservative—acts of self-deception, events like these take place on a much bigger scale in our lives, and especially in our financial lives. When we’ve planned properly in advance, a surprise hits and you may realize, “Wow, I’m better off than I expected!” But often times, and especially in the midst of a tough recession, too many people seem to have one of those record-coming-to-a-screeching-halt-moments when it hits you that you’re underprepared, sometimes woefully so. Maybe you realize that you simply followed the wrong career path and are now backed into a corner; or maybe you didn’t keep enough in emergency reserves so your job loss now means home foreclosure; or maybe you didn’t save enough and now your options for retirement are severely limited.
These instances are not fleeting like the alarm clock or getting to the Wednesday [Friday] after Labor Day one day early—but they’re also not irrecoverable either. And the first step is self-awareness or recognizing where you stand at the moment. So whether you’re driving, sitting, standing or walking, consider this your wake-up call—your invitation to reality. Ask some hard questions and know where you stand. You’ll be glad you did… and that is something YOU NEED TO KNOW.