Did a Commonwealth Medalist give away insider secrets to achieving your dream retirement?
There I was listening to names being read out for sports awards at my children’s school.
Only to be stopped and the guest speaker announced…
Funny story…she’d made her way to the senior school instead of the junior school. It’s about a 20 minute drive between the two.
She was meant to speak prior to the awards given out and shake the hands of the kids as they received their award.
Her name was Jess Stenson, Commonwealth marathon gold medal winner…
I was shocked at first…wasn’t expecting that.
Jess started telling us of her journey from a young age.
Playing all sorts of sports at school in Naracoorte, South Australia.
But it wasn’t until Jess entered a cross country event in Naracoorte during her junior school years that she found her sport.
From there marathon running became her thing…
In 2012, Jess placed 39th at the London Olympic games. Surprisingly, this was her second ever marathon.
Jess went on to secure a bronze medal in 2014 at the Glasgow Commonwealth games. Followed by finishing 21st in the Rio Olympics.
The secret to success revealed…
As Jess clicked the next slide. There I was stunned thinking she’d just stolen my playbook to a successful retirement.
You see for Jess, it wasn’t until 2020 the real challenges came.
COVID meant training was limited…
…parenthood…
…injuries early in 2022.
You would have forgiven Jess for giving up and letting her dreams of a gold medal melt away.
Sure, Jess at this point thought her marathon career was over.
And then the slide came up…
Me quickly grabbing my phone so I could take a pic…
Control what you can control…
You see, Jess thought the mountain was too hard to climb.
Her coach was the one that set the path right for her. Focusing on the things within her control.
Her training programme…small little wins…
The big one…not focusing on the end goal, just the little improvements day by day.
Leading to her entering the Perth Marathon in 2021, where she had no expectations.
Followed a process and ended up winning the thing.
She was surprised to find this qualified her for the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.
The rest is history…she won gold…
This is one the biggest blind spots we see in people trying to plan for their comfortable retirements.
There’s so much focus on the end game, that they forget steps they need to take to get them there.
Sure it’s important, but many spend too much time on things outside their control.
It’s the shiny objects…media hooha…roller coaster share markets…Dr Doom and Gloom…high inflation rates and many more.
They spend so much time focusing on things that they have absolutely no control over that they forget about the main game.
You need to make the main game the main game…
The simple, yet overlooked process of focusing on all the little things you have control over.
Sounds simple, right?
In reality, it is much harder to implement. Just like Jess, it was her coach that helped her refocus on what she could control.
The Goal is Attainable But Not Easy…
Jess, in her speech, spoke a lot about her journey.
It’s not a linear path from point A to point B…
Just like everyone, there are challenges you are going to have to overcome.
Planning your comfortable retirement is no different…
At times everything seems like it’s chugging alone. Other times, like it’s falling apart.
It’s how you embrace these challenges and the decisions you make that will define your whether you achieve a comfortable retirement or not.
Do you know whether you are on TRACK for a comfortable retirement?
You need to know…
Which Retirement Path are you on?
No matter who you are, you are on one of three paths.
#1 Sinking Retirement Path
With the simple passing of time you’ll be in your future state.
Do you know what a sinking path might look like?
This is where drift can be dangerous to your retirement prospects. Where you drift away from your retirement dreams without any adjustment whatsoever.
A sinking path is a combination of distraction, lack of discipline and poor habits.
Once you know, you can make sure you’re not drifting and take the necessary steps.
Make the decisions to keep you from drifting. Steering down the right path to achieve a comfortable retirement lifestyle.
#2 Floating Retirement Path
Think back to the endless New Year’s eve resolutions you’ve made.
You start out with good intentions. You’re going to do this. Then you fall off a bit.
You get back on it. Then get distracted. No, I’m going to do this.
What happens here is you just end up in the same place you started.
Planning your retirement is no different.
Most people have good intentions. They make a start but life gets in the way. Distractions are your enemy.
Before you know it, time passes and no real progress has been made.
#3 Swimming Retirement Path
What does the pathway look like for you to achieve a comfortable retirement?
Do you even know?
What are the gates or the checkpoints you need to walk through to know you are on the right path to get there?
With checkpoints you know whether you are on track or off track. To achieve your version of a comfortable retirement lifestyle.
The key to being on the right pathway is decisiveness. A combination of accurate thinking, clear decision making and taking the right course of action.
Success is not the decisions you are making when you are winning or ahead. The key is clarity of the decisions, accurate thinking and decisiveness when the unexpected happens.
Do you know if you’re on track for a comfortable retirement lifestyle?
If not, you need to know before it’s too late. You need a game plan, a clear roadmap to make you enjoy a comfortable retirement lifestyle.
A simple yet effective process to help you work out if you are on track. While knowing when you need to course correct.
If you think you are on track, what are the blind spots that could derail your retirement?
Like great athletes, they know they can’t do it alone. They need a coach, a guide to help them along the challenging journey.
Retirement Planning is no different. You only get one chance to get it right.
Book your Retirement Clarity Call here where we’ll help identify some of your hidden blind spots.
Glenn Doherty – CFP – Financial Planner | Retirement Planning Made Simple for aspiring grey nomads and avid travellers within 7 years of retirement
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