A Pearl of Wisdom: Diligence

"Lazy hands make a man poor, but diligent hands bring wealth."

How much money do you have? How much money do you want? If you have less money than you would like, read on.

Many people understand that making a living is not easy. Day after day we all have to get up, get dressed, and make our contribution to society. After we offer or time and efforts, we expect something back: money.

Money is the power to purchase things that we want. It gives us the ability to give quality gifts to others, keeps a roof over our heads, and gives us the opportunity to help others who have less than we do. Complaints fill the airways non-stop about how we never seem to have enough for everything we want, and sometimes what we need. The reality is that we have more control over money than we give ourselves credit for. Financial freedom comes from diligence.

What is Diligence?

One dictionary definition states that diligence is: Earnest and persistent application to an undertaking; steady effort. In other words, diligence is continuing to strive after a goal with focus, and without giving up.

How Diligent are You?

Think for a moment. Can you honestly say that you always put 100% effort into 100% of the things that you do each day? Could you truthfully admit that you use all of your time wisely? If so, you are quite exceptional. If not, then you are like most people. Being human, we sometimes get tired, bored, or frustrated, and that's okay. The thing that we can all learn is that diligence has great value.

Have you set any goals lately? Whether it was to lose weight, save money, or create something, there must have been some kind of goal that you were hoping to achieve. Now, rate yourself. On a scale of 1 to 10, how disciplined were you at actively pursuing that goal? (1 being no effort, 10 being all possible efforts) Now, think about other goals. How much effort did you put into those things?

The reality is that we could all be a little bit more diligent.

Getting Rich

Most people wouldn't mind having at least a little bit more money than they truly need. It is sometimes very difficult, due to adverse circumstances and disadvantages, to get to the place where we do have that extra money. If we focus our energy to strategically reach the goal of financial freedom, we can achieve it.

People who retire with over a million dollars are often very diligent people. Saving money is a major key. It is not necessarily that all rich people have incredibly high incomes. It is a matter of diligently saving what they have. Effort has to go in to making money, budgeting, saving, and spending wisely. Of course, this may be more difficult for some, but, anyone can make himself better off than he is; if he really puts his mind to it.

A diligent person, no matter what the goal, will stick to the tasks necessary to reach their goal. If the goal is financial security, they will have to work hard and save money. Putting in overtime and picking up an extra job is not easy. In order to gain savings, they have to live below their means and sacrifice purchasing the more expensive luxuries for a long time. They have to learn about long term investments, and budget carefully. A determined person will deal with the current pains of the present to make the future what they want it to be.

If you find yourself making excuses about why you could never be financially secure, give it another thought. A majority of the time, the only thing in our way is ourselves. No one can stop you from reaching your goals unless you let them. Educate yourself. There are tons of ways to save money, budget, and invest. There are jobs out there somewhere for you. Trying will only make you better off than where you are now. Think positively and make a plan. Add diligence to your plan, and you can't go wrong.

The truth is that not everyone will be rich. It is up to each person to decide if they want to be rich, and if they are willing to do what it takes to get there.