Staying Off the Emotional Rollercoaster
If we are in a relationship, there will be days when we are flying, when our partners are the greatest people we have ever known, when we cannot believe how lucky we are to have these amazing people in our lives… Then something goes wrong. They leave the toilet seat up once too many times, and we've told them how that drives us nuts, or they wince at our driving in just the wrong way, and suddenly we are second guessing ourselves, wondering if we can cope with this exasperating moron one more second, and seriously contemplating homicide (justifiable, of course).
Then comes work. And there are days when we close that sale, or get that promotion, or make a great tip, and our boss is behaving well, and we feel great, and hey, I am lucky to be here, and I could be doing construction so things are pretty good, really… then the next day the boss bites your head off for getting their coffee order wrong, and a customer was just plain mean, and the customer we closed yesterday called to cancel their order, and they complained about us, and suddenly construction is sounding pretty good, especially as you get to hit things with sledge-hammers, and pretend they are your supervisor…
Is any of this sounding familiar? It should do, because life is like this. It has ups and downs. You feel great, you feel lousy, then great again. And, as you set out on your financial journey, you need to know that this roller-coaster will happen here as well. The trick is to never get stuck in where you are right now, and remember the great maxim "This too shall pass". There are, however, a couple of things one can do to even out the bumps in the road.
1. Keep your eyes on the prize. We have written before on the importance of goals, and, when you hit the inevitable blocks, this is an important time to pull them out. A coach once told me: "Your goals have to be bigger than the rocks you encounter. Otherwise all you will see is obstacles, and then you will give up". Reminding ourselves of our goals will keep us moving forward, and will help get us around the obstacles we encounter.
2. Do your homework. Often, the key to making good business decisions is to remove the emotion from the process. This is easier said than done, but, if you have educated yourself about your situation, then it will be simpler for you to identify the correct course of action, as opposed to reacting to a situation emotionally.
3. Enjoy the highs, learn from the lows. When things are going well, enjoy yourself, but don't get carried away into over-confidence, because that is when we make mistakes. We also need to remember that rush when we are down, because it will sustain us through a rough patch. The other question we need to ask ourselves at our low points is this: "How did I contribute to this situation?" We know that responsibility is an essential step towards taking control, so it is important that we analyze every situation (especially those in which we may have made mistakes) in order to learn what, and what not, to do should a similar situation arise.
These points become all the more important as you enter the world of investing and business (and we are all in business already, because we run our artistic careers like one, right? If not, visit Abundance Bound - Financial Education to change starving artists into wealthy artists" to find out why this is important.)
When you start investing, you will by a stock (for example), and it will take off. You will start having visions of weekends in Paris, a new BMW… and then something will happen, and the price will crumble, causing you to conjour Dickensian images of poor houses and debtor's prison. This will happen but, if you have done your research and chosen wisely, then "this too shall pass", and you will cling on when others are running for cover like rabbits in hunting season, and make your money when the stock recovers, while others have taken thumping great losses because they panicked (a very emotional thing to do).
As your business takes off, you will get 50 customers your first week, and again you will have visions of global expansion and corporate jets… only to have them dashed when half of them cancel, and the other half reveal themselves to be chronic whiners. Again, eyes on the prize (which is independence and a lucrative and long-lasting career in the arts), an analysis of why what happened happened, and forward to bigger and better things.
We are all, on some level, aware of this process. But, by consciously focusing on the three things listed above, you will find that the inevitable bumps you encounter will affect you less, leaving you free to concentrate on the things that matter most.
Related Tags: money, finances, planning, business, career, artist, financial, creative, art, actress, actor, acting, artistic
Adam Martin is an active Assistant Director (most recently on "Transformers", to be released summer 07), Producer and Director based in Hollywood. He also started Abundance Bound, Inc, (AbundanceBound.com - Financial Education and Planning for Actors and Artists") and his mission is to develop a community of artists able to pursue their creative goals free from the crushing weight of financial stress. Adam and his wife, Miata, are coached by Loral Langmeier, author of the best-seller "The Millionaire Maker", and apply what they learn with her to their clients within the artistic community.
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