Reserve Tank

When I was in high school I drove a yellow, convertible VW Beetle or “Bug”, as I call it. It was a cool car!! One unique thing about it was that it had a reserve gas tank in it. I never ran out of gas! By the way, gas was only $1.25 per gallon in 1980. I didn’t have much wealth in terms of money back then, so the reserve came in handy!

The lesson of having a Reserve of our resources is vital to us today!! Having a reserve takes away worry, apprehension and fear. It helps us focus with clarity!!

You can create more than enough of what you need, so you don’t need to fret about not having enough. Having a reserve also helps manage your emotional life so you are free to create, explore and take action.

There are 3 key personal reserve areas:
Time
Money
Love

Consider your response to the following questions:
1. A reserve of time for me would be evident in this way:
2. How I would then give it away would be:
3. A reserve of money for me would be evident in this way:
4. How would I then give it away would be:
5. A reserve of love for me would be evident in this way:
6. How I would then give it away would be:

Create a plan to get your personal reserve tank filled in each of these key areas. Take action toward getting more reserve this week. Maybe it’s time to simplify your life in order to attain true wealth.

How Much is Enough?

How much is more than enough? I grew up in the decades where the mantra was, “more is better” and “he who dies with the most toys, wins!” Many of us have lived through the period of frantic striving and now want to return to a simplified lifestyle.

As your read the following, ask yourself what you make of these facts:
“A 1997 survey asked the wealthiest one percent of Americans (those with a net worth of at least $2.5 million) how much they would pay for various sources of happiness, such as the following:
A place in heaven….$640,000
True Love………….$487,000
Great Intellect……...$407,000

“Since 1960’s the average American has doubled real income, eats out two and a half times more often, and pays less for air travel and hamburgers. Yet the average middle-income couple with children works an average of 8 weeks more that in 1979 and spends 22 fewer hours with their children that in 1969. Our divorce rate has doubled, our prison population has quintupled, and the number of babies born to unmarried parents has increased seven times.”

“In a nationwide survey commissioned by the Wall Street Journal and NBC News, three-quarters of those earning $100,000 or more a year said they have a bigger problem managing their time than managing their money. In contrast, among the population at large, money, not time, is more worrisome.”

Let’s examine our sense of real wealth. Real wealth comes from having a sense of having more than enough of whatever is at issue.

For some people, their sense of what it would mean to be wealthy is shaky. They don’t seem to have an internal barometer that says when enough is enough. Instead, they look to external sources to tell them when they have enough money, a big enough house, a good enough job. They mistakenly believe that they need to have a great deal to feel safe. When they get to that whatever that point is, they generally raise the bar, believing that they still need more.

We believe wealth is dependent on two things. First, establishing your own internal sense of knowing what “enough” is. Secondly, by creating a sufficient “cushion” for yourself, in order to secure for yourself that you do have enough. This is your safety net, you Personal Reserve.

The next issue of Living with Your Heart Fully Alive Newsletter will define and address further your own Personal Reserve.