You don't need to own the world to achieve your dreams
My perspective on life and the things I want to achieve has changed dramatically over the years. While at school, I like most of my friends believed we would all leave school and become millionaires and live happily ever after with a Lamborghini, a huge house and being able to party every day. The reality is however, these things rarely make us happy. I would now be a lot happier to live a more simplistic lifestyle.

So much of our money is squandered. This happens in the upper, middle and lower classes. Watching a few episodes of MTV cribs makes this clear: Celebrities buy big houses when they are always traveling, multiple cars when they can only drive one at a time, employ full time chefs to prepare meals for friends they don't like and amass a huge amount of costs in the process

The question arises... do we really need it all?
We often need less than we think to live the life we want. In fact, to quote Timothy Ferriss, 'Dreams become much cheaper as we exchange more and more 'having' for once in a lifetime 'doing'. The less we 'stuff' we have to have, the quicker we can achieve our dreams. Having a Ferrari costs a lot more than a backpacking trip with a friend through Thailand, for example. The former might make us feel good but keeps us working longer. The latter is one option for realising dreams in a way that is affordable.

I have spent time and worked with people of vairous net worth and income levels. One thing that never ceases to amaze me is that the majority of wealthy individuals seem to spend less than one might imagine. For example:

• A lot of wealthy people rent rather than buy houses (or recommend it in hindsight).
• Their investments are tied up in their own businesses, rather than public stocks or superannuation (or 401k).
• They monitor their living expenses and usually have a 'normal' income (even Warren Buffett only pays himself $100,000 per annum, an amount achievable by others).
• A lot of their wealth is only on paper, until realised (most of them plan to hold onto their investments long term).
• They only invest in a handful of businesses, and spend time actively involved in many of them, either as an advisor, a manager or a director.
  

With the chances of a comfortable retirement seeming unlikely for many, it appears that we will need to continue working into our old age. If you take away the wealth in shares and investments of the rich, then it soon becomes apparent that the picture looks like this:

• They have a cash flow (personal income) that is reasonably achievable if one applies themselves.
• They are happy with a simple life (see The Millionaire Next Door for good examples).
• They spend less than they earn and pay cash for what they want (IE: rather than getting a loan).
• They don't drive the best cars (and many advise buying a small, fuel efficient car for use).
• They generally have some cash available to support them short term.
• They save 10% or more of their income which they use to invest for the long term, usually in things which they have an influence in (their education, their own businesses, etc.).

Although we might like the nice things in life, the reality is to be happy we don't need them. By decreasing our desires we decrease the amount of money we need to live a happy fulfilled life. This makes it easier to get to a position where:

1. We can decrease our workload and enjoy semi-retirement while having the benefits of being employed or self-employed.
2. We can retire from work a lot sooner and more easily than when we need to have lots of 'things'.

Leo Babauta from zenhabits.net is an excellent example. I love the fact that Leo does not need a fancy, complex site that requires a lot of upkeep. He keeps things simple. He is a great inspiration for minimalism while increasing productivity to earn more. Lastly, Leo has obtained a number of achievements without all the 'stuff', and is living a life that is achievable.

Taking Action
Small steps lead the way to long term success. How can we begin to achieve our dreams? The answer lies in defining what we really need, then adding a few things that we want. We tend to want more once we have received our first want, and no individual has all the stuff they want. I would suggest the following actions to achieve our dreams with the things we truly need in life:

1. Assess what we really need to be happy and content in life.
2. Find ways to reduce the costs of this lifestyle (not by being cheap, but by eliminating wasted expenses).
3. Add a little margin (somewhere between 20-30%) for safety.
4. Begin to simplify on a small scale today (reduce number of online social networks, pay off some of our debt, start doing what we love, etc.).
5. Focus on scaling up simplification, while looking for ways to achieve more with less.
6. Be happy and content with what we have.

Review your dreams (IE: traveling to the Caribbean, working two days a week, etc.) and it is likely you will find that you don't need millions of dollars. Find out the true cost and begin taking action to realise your dreams! Sure if you want a Ferrari then put it on the list, but be prepared to do the extra miles associated to achieve these types of desires.

There seems to be a general trend on advice regarding how to become successful. Build an emergency fund, get a safe job, invest for the long term in diversified assets, etc. is all parts of the generally recommended path. Will the general advice and suggestions work for you and your personal situation?

Going against the flow
Have you ever taken the time to step back and look at what the people around you are doing? Many people give free advice (which always comes at a cost), but the reality is that few put into practice what they preach. Quite often you will hear advice such as:

• Go to college.
• Save money.
• Don't start a business, it's too risky.
• Just enjoy life, don't work too hard.
• Buy a house.
• Invest in mutual funds and diversify your portfolio.
• Buy an investment property and make sure it is negatively geared.
• etc.

While this advice is given with the best of intentions (and some of it is valid), it is always best to question any assumptions. One way to do this is to reflect on the advice given to you. This can be done with the following questions:

1. Is the person I am listening to practicing what they preach (why would I do what they don't do themselves)?
2. Is my knowledge in a particular field higher than theirs?
3. Does their advice make sense to my personal situation?
4. Do I have reasons for not embracing advice that they are unaware of?
5. What have my previous experiences shown me?
6. What are the people I am aspiring to be like doing?
7. What is the worst that could happen following this advice?

Doing the opposite of your friends
After questioning advice given out, the next thing to do is to observe what your friends are doing. There is a saying that states that the five people you spend the most time with is the person you will become. When it comes to my success, it is best to review the paths taken by your friends. I have found that in a lot of situations, I have been better off doing the opposite to them. Some examples include:

• Buying a car with a loan (I paid cash and have been much less stressed and never had a car repossessed).
• Getting a job (I did some tertiary education, worked to learn and am focusing on developing my own ventures and projects).
• Buying a house (I plan to invest my deposit money elsewhere and then buy outright later).
• Investing in superannuation (I am researching other alternatives that will allow me more liquidity at an earlier age such as business investment).
• Invest in the stock market (I invest in my own private companies and ventures).
• Watch T.V. (I read books).
• Buy more stuff (less is more).

You don't have to do the opposite of everything your friends do. However, if you find inconsistencies with what you want to achieve it can be wise to do the opposite.

The reality is that assumptions of the common ways of living need to be questioned before making decisions. If you want to be successful, find someone who has the success you aspire to and follow their lead.

Don't follow the advice of friends or 'gurus' who haven't achieved that level of success. Learn what is going to work to help you achieve your goals, and then focus on achieving the necessary steps for implementation.

A lot of aspiring entrepreneurs start businesses and hope for big success in a short period of time. Although some appear to strike gold and become overnight successes, the rest of us are left to struggle our way to the top.

Starting small with only a small amount of capital and a handful of customers may appear to be a frustrating experience. Although starting small is a struggle at times, it also provides a lot of advantages. In many cases, this can greatly enhance a businesses long term success.

How to be small
Every businesses begins with a single customer. Usually, the first few customers are the hardest to acquire, but over time the number of customers begins to increase. Momentum in a small business can be gradual, but is okay as long as the trend is continuing to improve over the long term.

When you first start a new business (especially without a prior reputation from a previous successful endeavour) you are seen as a potential risk. Finding the first few customers willing to take a risk on you is tough. You have to be willing to spend a lot of time and effort marketing your business, explaining the benefits of your products and services, and getting opinions and feedback on what customers would like to see from you. In addition, during this phase you are usually still developing your product which is only a fraction of the end result. Despite the difficulties, the first few customers will be some of the most beneficial you will ever acquire.

Always ensure that you treat your first customers with respect. Find out what they want from your product/services, and do the best you can to provide a win-win solution for them. Don't compromise your vision or restructure your business around their desires, but do your best (within reason) to accommodate their needs. This will help you to build a list of allies. Let's look at an example:

Jesus Christ started with no followers. He spent years of his life getting educated and learning aspects of the Jewish faith, as well as establishing his credibility within the industry. From there he went out and began looking for disciples (followers and supporters of his cause).

One of his 'disciples to be' (Peter) was a fisherman. This fisherman had not caught anything in the night, but when asked by Jesus to paddle out and cast his net did so. Peter ended up catching a huge amount of fish, to a point where he and his partners boats began to sink. Providing a win situation for Peter, Jesus was able to gain a loyal follower, creating one of several win-win situations.

Although Jesus had a small number of followers, most of his time was spent with the twelve disciples. Although a small number, the evidence of their commitment and work for the cause can be seen by the amount of Bibles and Churches in the world today.

Providing a win-win solution
When you are small, resources are tight. Every dollar needs to be used wisely. Finding customers and providing a win-win situation where they help refer you and your product/services in return for exceeding their expectations is a great way to help build an initial small following.

Loyal followers and supporters of your work will greatly help increase the pace and return of your investment over time. As you gain more loyal supporters and spend more time engaging with them, your influence as a business begins to grow and you begin to move onto the next stages of business.

Other benefits of being small
Entrepreneurs with limited resources learn to become really creative. Instead of spending thousands of dollars doing things, they learn how to create bare-boned results that can be built upon.

Entrepreneurs begin with a raw product and gradually refine it, smoothing the edges and ironing out the bugs involved in the process. The learning curve associated with this is invaluable for the first-time business owner. They learn the ins and outs of their business, and also learn where is the most effective places to spend money.

Being effective in a startup
New entrepreneurs need to find ways to effectively get results without spending huge amounts of dollars. Why spend a fortune on software upfront when all you need is a basic program online for free? Why spend thousands setting up an awesome looking blog when you can setup one for free on Blogger/Wordpress? These alternatives cost less and may have less features, but still manage to get the job done effectively enough. The frills can come later, but when other areas of business call for time and resources, finding effective solutions is crucial to business progression.

Start small and learn. Try new things and be willing to work to create win-win solutions with customers. Be professional in all undertakings and focus on the long term goals, but with short term actions to their attainments.

If you would like some further reading on this topic, then check out:

• Lessons Learned: http://startuplessonslearned.blogspot.com/2009/04/validated-learning-about-customers.html
• Bootstrapping: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bootstrapping_(business)
• Guy Kawasaki on Bootstrapping: http://blog.guykawasaki.com/2006/01/the_art_of_boot.html
• Minimalism part two: Micropreneuship: http://www.moorethought.com/2009/05/minimalism-part-two-micropreneurship.html