The Key to Unlock Success Every Area of Your Life

My name is David Coss. My wife and I have 5 young children. We have been able to travel and live in many cities around the world. We’ve been able to retire even though we were on low wages, sometimes we only had one wage, and at other times no wages at all. I want to show you how we achieved financial freedom and how you can do it too.

Today, I'm going to reveal a key concept that has the potential to unlock success in every area of your life, especially your finances. I know that's a bold statement. But before I get to that I want to talk about your investments. To most people investments are only things like stocks, gold and real estate. But I would like you to consider that there are four areas of investment we need to manage to gain success. They are time, energy, resources and finances. We have a limited supply of each of these so we need to steward them well. Managing these four areas helps cut out negative things that keep you from moving closer to your goals.

Okay, let's look at how this relates to the key that'll unlock success in every area of your life. The key is actually a question you ask yourself. You're thinking I am a bit crazy now, right? Okay, for whatever you want do you need to ask yourself this: What is my return on investment (ROI)? What do I mean by that? We need to calculate the return on the investment for the time, finances, resources and energies in whatever we do.  It's probably best explained by giving some examples.

Exhibit A: Time

Watching a 10-hour Chuck Norris DVD series all the way through is generally not a good use of time. Unless it's some sort of documentary that helps you with your work or in your efforts to reach your goals. I’m not saying you shouldn’t watch it. Watching the DVD series isn’t the issue. But investing so much time in one sitting is. You’re sacrificing time on one thing to invest into another with very little ROI. And here's the thing: once you compromise the first time, you’ll most likely do it again.

Exhibit B: Energy

Anything that uses a lot of your energy for things that aren't healthy for you should be avoided. We only have so much energy in a day and it should be reserved for those things that will give us a good ROI. Teaching your children can take a lot of energy (so much energy!), but is necessary for their development. Now, worrying about something you can't change the outcome for is a thing you can do without.

Exhibit C: Finances

Our money is finite and can be easily consumed if we don't take stock of where it goes. Where we spend money will determine if we're gaining wealth or losing it. I wouldn’t consider buying coffee every day a good ROI. Why? Because it is addictive, so it's not healthy for you. It cost money and then just ends up in the toilet. Okay, so that’s my personal opinion. You need to calculate the ROI for yourself. Is what I am about to purchase a good ROI? If it’s not then why buy it? Think of the money you could save. It’s something you need to consider if you want to become financially free.

Exhibit D: Resources

Things we control can be used as consumer items that'll deteriorate to no value over time or for building wealth. The gifts and skills we have can also be used for creating wealth. Renting out your spare room on AirBnB could be considered a good use of an unused resource. We should direct our resources toward areas where we can add value to others.

Sometimes you might find that all four overlap in any given situation. For example, if you invite someone out to lunch you might use them all. You might use the resource of your car to pick them up. I guess you would be paying so you are using your finances. If you have to keep thinking of conversation points then you are expending energy. All of that takes time, so that is used up as well.

Before you make that lunch offer you’ll have to decide if it is all worth the effort. It might be an easier decision if you are asking your wife rather than someone who has bad breath and a quirky laugh. The decisions we make aren't as easy as just doing whatever gives us pleasure now. Because whatever you do now determines your destiny. So, if what you do now is selfish it will come back to you in the future. You’re always investing into something whether you’re working hard or relaxing. You’re excluding one thing in order to be able to do another. You're deciding what’s important at the cost of giving something else up. It happens in every single decision you make.

Asking the question, “What is my Return on investment?” for every situation might at first seem tedious or overwhelming. You might have to work on it. But like with anything if you continue in it for long enough it’ll become a habit and then it won’t be difficult. It’ll soon become automatic and not take any extra time at all. It can help you eliminate those bad choices from your life.

This has been one of the key factors in my wife and I becoming wealthy.