How Others Resolve Financial Issues (HK)

(updated: 07.20.11) Finances can cripple many people's ability to move forward and chase a new path, a dream, a different direction. It helps to see how others have overcome different financial issues to pursue something of importance. When you are in it, you can't always see a way out. Our hope is that these answers spark something in you and give you a new idea or a new attitude about how you can do it too... Everything is possible, you just have to find the possibility that lies in everything.

How have finances played a role in pursuing your passion/dream?

How did you resolve it?

The state of your finances and your overall well-being go hand in hand.  See your finances as a mirror to your inner state.  I’ve had my share of ups and downs when it comes to following my passion and finances.

What I have learned is that when you are patient and creative you can find ways to live your dream without a significant financial investment.  For example, writing with the purpose of spreading love, and nature photography are both passions of mine.  Through blogging I have found a way to do my passion for very little financial investment.  In time, when you follow your heart and stay true to yourself, doors start to open before your eyes.

My favorite advice is to follow your passion and not worry about the money.  Many passions and dreams start as hobbies that are continually nurtured with long-term devotion.  Believe anything is possible and in time your passion may become a successful career.

---Wendy Irene, www.givelovecreatehappiness.com

Like time, I want the way I spend my money to reflect and support my values and beliefs. People always say things like "I don't have enough time" or "I wish I could afford that." They are usually sipping their regular $4.00 Latte from Starbucks when they say that. There are certainly a whole lot of people in the world who really can't afford to do things, but for most of us who are reading this blog, these excuses just don't hold water.

When my wife and I first got married, we determined to take one year off to travel and explore and just be together. We worked for a year, lived in a cheap apartment, sold one of our cars, didn't buy "stuff", paid off school loans and saved money. We had an amazing year together working toward a shared goal and then had an even more amazing year traveling around the U.S. and South America. We were able to do this because we brought all of our spending decisions in line with our values, which for then was this goal to travel for a year. I think the habits we formed that first year have carried over into how we live now.  It is different with kids and the challenges are always going to be there, but thinking clearly about the values we hold has helped us to think more clearly in the day to day grind of life in regards to how we spend our money.

 ---Aaron believes everyone can learn another language. You just need a little help. That’s why he writes The Everyday Language Learner and why he has developed the free Ten Week Journey. He wants to get you started on the road to language learning and then give you the tools to keep going. Get started. Don't stop.

 I’m passionate about living Awake. Aware. Alert.  I believe in doing the right thing at the right time for the right reason. There are many times when my projects (mountaineering trips, new lenses for my camera) have to wait until my finances can support the endeavor. That is as it should be. It’s better to want something and work for it than to want nothing and have little purpose-driven desire.

The resolution lies in a change of perception, a change of attitude. I live simply. Very simply. My house is tiny (and stuffed to the gills with two dogs, a cat and three humans). I drive an older vehicle, which, like an older human, is prone to complaining loudly in the cold, moving stiffly and occasionally refusing to perform. The trade-off? I can pack my duffel bags and throw a kayak on top of my Jeep and head hundreds of miles into the backside of nowhere and watch the sun rise over ancient, crumbling mountains, paddle the reflection on a lake to the sound of loons waking up.

No matter where your life is, unless you are incredibly sustainably independently wealthy- you and I are probably more alike financially than either of us want to admit. And your finances may well be in better condition. Make good choices. Put people ahead of Things. Trade in your entire savings account for that one experience with people that you cherish, at least once in your life (or theirs). I did. I have no regrets.

When it comes to finances, I’ve walked to the edge of the abyss and rappelled over on a sketchy anchor more than once. It’s not recommended, but neither is working three or four jobs just to make minimum payments on revolving debt in order to avoid filing bankruptcy. You have to know when to fold.

---Ti Conkle, www.titaniumvertical.com, Climber | Author | Photographer

Worries about money are not only the most valid concern about pursuing passions and dreams, they are also, hands down, the biggest excuse that we all use to hold us back from pursuing a dream. Because money issues are one of those "relateable" issues that everybody can understand, we use money issues as a crutch for holding us back. I resolved my money excuse by throwing myself into the wind and working to let go of any fears or concerns about money. Money is a silly thing.

---Dave Ursillo is a 25-year-old writer, blogger and life-explorer at www.DaveUrsillo.com. As an alternative leadership author and speaker, he teaches people how to "Lead Without Followers" in any walk of life by nurturing a quiet, profound sense of personal leadership

My dream is to be a fiction writer, and I’ve had to accept that I probably won’t be able to make a living at that unless I hit the NYT bestseller list more than once. But I’ve chosen not to let that stop me from writing and trying to get published. It’s actually nice to do something where money isn’t the goal, where I’m working for the love of it and not for a paycheck.

I’ve had to learn to balance my fiction writing with other writing, in order to make ends meet. In the end, this is better for me and for my fiction projects. Practicing all sorts of writing had made me better with words overall, and having time constraints on when I can write fiction means that I use that time better, too. I also try to remember that many famous writers first wrote while working other jobs.

---Sarah Winfrey, www.sarahwinfrey.com

Like articles like this? Read about how people have tackled topics like: overcoming mental barriers, how to be optimistic, death, time management or taking risks.

I think having a financial cushion has definitely helped me pursue my passions and dreams. It doesn't mean that I was completely 100% comfortable giving up a guaranteed stream of income to pursue my passion, but it did make it a lot easier to finally make that decision.

 ---Sibyl Chavis blogs about simple tips for Living Today Better than Yesterday over at The Possibility of Today. She's a full time blogger and the author of several eBooks.

Since I’ve always sort of “jumped in” and done whatever I’ve wanted to do, I’ve always ended up scrambling to figure out how to finance after the fact. Sometimes it has gone fairly smooth and other times it hasn’t. Right now I haven’t resolved it, this last year with the housing slump we have been way over extended. But I think once we can sell off our houses in the US, we should be in good shape.

---Doug Grootveld, www.wellnessrenegade.com

Finance can be an enabler or an empowering tool. As an enabler, it cripples creativity. You think that you can buy your way to success.

Lack of money, on the other hand, forces you to evaluate monetary decisions more carefully. You discover that 80% of the crap you thought you needed, you don't.


---Mitchell, www.morphodesigns.com

Given that I have been traveling fairly constantly since late 2008, finances are a concern and are more of one now than ever. I was lucky enough to have been a lawyer for about 10 years before I left and managed to save up a fairly good bit of money before leaving, but as those savings have decreased, I have had to start thinking more about coming up with income streams while traveling. But all in all, the main thing is keeping track of the money going out and doing what you can to keep that figure down. I haven't had any big expenses, like major health care, that have popped up yet, which is great.... knock on wood.

---Michael Hodson, www.goseewrite.com

Do you have a different perspective on this topic? Send us your unique perspective to dreamit @ juliossol.com