Author Says He Can Fix Your Finances in Less Than Week
Read an Excerpt From "The Six-Day Financial Makeover"
As a result of this overly simple approach to happiness, it is no wonder that we are poor predictors of our happiness. If we stop and honestly evaluate what will make our lives richer and more fulfilling, we might experience happiness. The next chapter will help you determine what will make you happy—in effect, it will make you think, maybe for the first time, about what drives you.
Because of the billions of dollars spent on advertisements and marketing campaigns, we incorrectly assume that our happiness is linked directly to material possessions. Too often, we set goals about what we want to own. While these things can add to our level of satisfaction, happiness will ultimately come from accomplishing goals and growing as people. Advertisements trick us into thinking that a product will satisfy our needs. A Hummer will make us a rebel. A Rolex will make us sophisticated. Chapter2—Design the Life of Your Dreams—will strip away the ads and products and will help you determine what you truly want to accomplish and who you want to be.
Armed with the knowledge of what it will take to enrich our lives and add excitement, we can use financial independence as a tool to help us achieve our other goals. What's the worst-case scenario? We become financially independent, get the things we want, accomplish what we want, and become who we want to be—and are no happier than when we started. Whoever said, "If I had a choice, I'd rather be rich and unhappy than poor and unhappy," was on the right track! In our pursuit of financial success, though, it is important not to neglect the other areas of our lives.
From The Six-Day Financial Makeover by Robert Pagliarini. Copyright © 2006 by Robert Pagliarini. Reprinted by permission of St. Martin's Griffin.
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