The Money Marathon – Zero-Based Thinking

Posted by André Nosalsky :: December 11, 2007 @ 10:29 am

I learned this technique from Brian Tracy. It applies to a lot of decisions that we have made in the past and it’s especially applicable to your Money Marathon. Zero-based thinking is not about changing your mind after you have made a decision that you’re having some second thoughts about. It’s about learning from the past and taking definite action.

The question that Brian Tracy asks is: Knowing what I now know, would I ever make this decision again?

The answer to this question is either yes or no. If yes, continue with that same decision and develop it further. If no, then you ask: how can I get out, and how fast?

When training for a race, you end up spending a lot of time on training or other activities that take you away from your normal daily life activities. To free up time for training, I had to ask this same question about many of the things that I was habitually giving time to. Knowing what I now know, would I ever start these habits again? After going through different areas of my life, I ended up cutting many things completely and reducing the time that I spend on others.

For your Money Marathon, you need to ask the same question to achieve the results that you have set for yourself. Look at every part of your life that involves money, finance or work and ask yourself: knowing what I now know; would I ever go into this again?

Here’s a sample of questions for you to consider:

• Knowing what I now know, would I make the investments that I’m invested in?

• Knowing what I now know, would I take this job? Or would I hold out for something that I enjoyed better?

• Knowing what I now know, would I save my money in the bank? Or would I go for bigger returns by lending out it with p2p lending?

• Knowing what I now know, would I continue leaving the thinking about my money to other people? Or would I become actively involved in my own personal finances?

If any of these questions are answered with “yes,” you should ask yourself, ”How I can opt out, and how fast?” This will free up many of your resources to let you focus on making better decisions and winning your Money Marathon.