According to a 2015 study by Country Financial, only 24 percent of people achieved all their financial goals set as new year resolutions. With the new year approaching, controlling finances will be a goal many of us set.
If you want to be part of the 24 percent who achieve all their goals, then you need to learn the most important key to success — persistence. Luckily, we can all draw on experiences in everyday life where we’ve learned this.
When I was in high school, I spent one summer sailing along the coast of Maine for two weeks. Being on the open water with a sail full of wind and a boat full of friends is an experience I wish for everyone.
We began our trip by familiarizing ourselves with how every part of the boat works. By the end of the second day, the 10 of us knew how to assemble the sails, tie every type of knot under the sun — which I promptly forgot — and helm the ship while identifying the winds’ behavior.
The next day we would sail across the bay, a full day with no land in sight. I could hardly contain my excitement to be on the open water, wind in my hair and the boat running wide open at the speed of… well, the speed of wind. However, in some sort of cruel and sick joke, there was no wind that day.
Instead of spending the whole day on an easy sail, we rowed. When I say row I don’t mean a fun time going down a river in a canoe. Picture a Viking slave ship, and you’re not far off from what I was doing. To say I was upset would be like saying Les Miles was nervous during the Texas A&M University game.
We made it through the day because we took it a step at a time. Our goal wasn’t to make it all the way across the bay, rather to make it one mile, then another mile and another. We learned, as cliché as it sounds, persistence and manageable goals are keys to success.
In our day-to-day life it’s easy to forget or be blind to the significance small persistent steps has in our success. This adage has no greater application than in personal finance.
Many people believe, in order to be successful, they need to be the sailboat with a full sheet of wind, always investing in the next big trend. However, just like a sailor can’t control wind, we can’t control the economy. The sure way to have the money you want when you are older is committing to small simple steps, like automated savings taken from your paycheck and budgeting.
Once you graduate college and start your career, it’s important to plan your finances for where you want to go in life, whether that’s retirement by a lofty 45 or more realistic 65. Creating and sticking to an effective budget will make you richer than any single investment you make. Revise your budget every year to refocus your priorities.
Persistence and focus are keys to success in every aspect of life, not just personal finances. Look back to a moment in your life where you learned about persistence and start applying it in your life.
Jay Cranford is a 21-year-old finance senior from St. Simons Island, Georgia. You can reach him on Twitter @hjcranford.