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WHEN THE THINGS that occupy us so intensely in the present have receded into the past, we look back at these events, which produce such turmoil and pain, with an entirely different eye. How often have you heard, for example, of someone who is devastated by being fired, only to land a much better job and end up happier? Or of someone whose spouse leaves her, and who decides—one, two, five years later—that it was the best thing that could have happened to her? Or of someone who emerges from a serious illness with a wisdom and appreciation of life that he had never had before? The passage of time always offers a new perspective. “If only I knew then what I know now.” Haven’t you ever uttered these words? Time can reveal many lessons, but often it takes us too long to listen. The eighth step to financial freedom is about understanding and accepting the natural cycles of money—as it ebbs and flows through our lives, sometimes in harmony, sometimes in discord, much like the cycles of our bodies, our planet—and the constant up- and-down movement of the economy you read about in the newspapers.
It is so important to learn to accept that your own money will also have its ups and downs. No matter how carefully you plan—even if you do every financial thing right—money, like every other living thing, isn’t always going to behave in ways you can predict. Sometimes you’ll have more than you expected, and at other times, money will flow out and you’ll have less than you thought. There may be a time when you have money in the stock market and it goes down dramatically. Or maybe you suddenly inherit a valuable piece of property. Perhaps you are downsized from your job without warning—or given a surprise promotion. I’ve seen this kind of thing happen with my clients again and again. You think your financial life is rolling along a certain track and boom, you’re going in a different direction.
These transitions can be exciting, or often scary, but they are all part of the natural cycles of life—and money. In Step 8, there are two lessons to remember about these natural ups and downs.
First, you must always take the long view of your financial future. If you have taken the steps outlined in this book, the setbacks you may have today or next year will not keep you from financial freedom. In order for you to create what is in your power to create, you must believe that you can and you will.
Second—and for some people this may be more difficult to do than anything else I have told you so far—you must believe that everything that happens is positive, if you are willing to let it be.
I know some of you are going to say, “Suze, how can it be a positive thing if my husband leaves me and cleans out my bank account?”“How can it be a positive thing if I lose all my savings in a stock market crash?” Please understand, I am not saying such events won’t be tragic and painful; I have been through some of them myself, and I know how hard they can be. But I also have learned that they can, if we are open to them, teach us lessons and give us gifts that we would never have found at more comfortable times. Things that seem almost unbearable as they’re happening to you can even, in the long run, lead to riches you never imagined.
This is a very simple truth but it has tremendous power. That is how it got its reputation with our grandmothers. If you can believe that somehow everything happens for the best and hold firm to this belief, especially during troubled times or when you undergo what appear to be setbacks in your life, then you will be able to draw the good out of any situation. You will be looking for the benefit, the hidden treasure, and you will be able to profit from even the toughest experience.
I’ve heard it said that when you first have a dream for yourself, you think it’s totally impossible. As time goes on, you’ll think it’s highly improbable. In the end, you will know it was inevitable all along. Remember to remember your power— everything you’ve learned with these steps to financial freedom—and put it all into practice every day, because in the grand scheme of life, you’ll never really know how things are meant to turn out until they turn out. And when is that? When they turn out as they’re meant to turn out, you’ll know it.
I learned this from watching the life of my dad.