How much would you risk NOW for possible future success?

[m38967]

If someone said to you in 6 months to a year you will be happy and successful, but first you have to be homeless for 3 months, would you do it? What are you willing to sacrifice NOW for future happiness?

[Shamou]

Well I did sacrifice four years of my life to work my way through College... I was going to College during the day... sleep late afternoon and early evening and working all night... not an easy schedule... after two months, I had piss holes where my eyes should have been... but I stuck it out...

There is no free lunch... and you get nothing for nothing... there is always a price to pay... however, it's for you to decide... and no one else can take that decision for you...

The best of luck to you...
.

[A.K.Light]

Can I be happy while I'm homeless too?? Or is there a rule against that?

I just figure a person should always work towards the next thing and always be happy. It's not just something you earn once and are content with forever.

[openeyes]

Originally Posted by A.K.Light

Can I be happy while I'm homeless too??

Yes, and it's particularly doable if you still have a car and some cash.

My ~30 day trial: no house

[m38967]

In my opinion most successful people sacrifice something in the beginning to achieve what they may have later. The reason i ask this question is because i am in an abusive relationship and have been for some time, and am at the end of the rope, feel very close to leaving and starting fresh and new.

The only problem is fear, i am afraid that i wont be able to take proper care of myself and my pets. Why? because of lack of support in my life, i am a bit isolated and disconnected, more than i would like. Some of it is my fault and some of it is circumstance, but i want to do better and get out of the mess i am in.

I am currently working, but make a meager amount, not enough to get my own place. There is nothing i want more right now, than to be independent and get my own place, and start a fresh life.

My plan is to save for a (month or two) just to get enough to get my own place, and then move out, and go from there.

Anyone else been there, done that, that can offer support and advice?

[ellie]

Originally Posted by m38967

There is nothing i want more right now, than to be independent and get my own place, and start a fresh life.

My plan is to save for a (month or two) just to get enough to get my own place, and then move out, and go from there.

Anyone else been there, done that, that can offer support and advice?

I can't say I have been in the same situation as you, but you sound as though you have a strong belief in what you have to do and I think you will do it

All I can say is that I did cleaning for about 3 years (where I felt like the scum of the world) through my uni, which I became to despise more and more each day. I hated how the people in the office thought they were better than me, even though I knew I would make more money than most of them in the first year of working in my field.

I was waiting for the day for when I could leave and yet I knew I had to wait a little bit longer. It was like a carrot being dangled in front of me, where I was so close and yet seemed so far away.

The day when I quit was like the best feeling in the world.

[Ponce]

Originally Posted by m38967

If someone said to you in 6 months to a year you will be happy and successful, but first you have to be homeless for 3 months, would you do it? What are you willing to sacrifice NOW for future happiness?

A shell camper in the back of my truck was my home for eight months and then the warehouse where I used to make my product for another five years but at the end I was able to buy my home for cash and with all the money that I needed in order to retired in comfort.

PS: My "comfort" might not be your comfort..... "I have all that want because I have all that I need"... Ponce

[Jill]

Most everything good in life or in business take some form of investment. That investment might come in the form of time or money, and usually requires a lot of effort as well.

Anyone who is simply looking for a quick fix or get rich quick scheme is deluding themselves. Invest in yourself and your business. Work hard, and one day it will pay off.

[Ponce]

Jill? I started my business with $58.00....... product plus swap meet charges...
and I never had to look back.

People just to compared my product to the pet rock, something simple that everybody wanted...... as a matter of fact it was so simple that I was unable to get a patent.

At the end it was not what I was selling but the way that I was selling it, I "created the need for my product"......something like RLS commercial that you see on tv, up to that point there was no need for the drug in order to treat RLS.

[Jill]

And your point is, Ponce?

[Ponce]

That when you really want something you sometimes must give something untill such a time that you find the square hole for your square peg, in my case my truck was my home for eight months and my warehouse for the next five years in order for me to save all the money that I wanted in order to retired for good.

I had a choice, either live in a house in CA and pay $1,850 every months in taxes or retired to where I am now and pay only $465.00 in taxes per year... also in CA you have local and state taxes and I don't have those here.

I could be broke today (impossible) and in one year I would smell like a rose once again seek and you will find.

[finandom]

My answer is definitely my car. It is a the greatest liability that usually take out all my money.

[songwriter]

? If future happy sucess was guaranteed for me I would sacrifice everything. I would not hurt the ones that care about me because things will be successful in the end.

[Erki]

How can I sacrifice my home when the whole world is my home? And it's pretty sacred as it is already.

[10kc]

If someone said to you in 6 months to a year you will be happy and successful, but first you have to be homeless for 3 months, would you do it?

If it was 100% guranteed, the decision is easy. I'll do it, and it won't even be a sacrifice. Being homeless can be an interesting adventure and growing experience. Especially if you know in advance that you'll survive it

The catch is, you'll never get such a gurantee in real life. That's why it is called "a risk". And bear in mind that being homeless might actually sabotage your way to success. It will certainly make things like applying for a job much more difficult.

[silicon toad2000]

I sacrificed my free time and social life to some extent over the last 10 years studying and working more hours than needed in an effort to learn everything I could before moving on.
Paid off well for me, im staring down the barrel of a payrise putting me into 6 figures.

[brooke]

I wouldn't live homeless, at least not at this point in my life. But that is only because I have kids and it wouldn't be fair to them. If I only had myself to think about, I would be willing to take a lot more risks.
That being said, my husband and I did do a major downsize about a year and a half ago... we sold our home and paid off most of our debts. We applied to a graduate program that he really wants to complete (and that will have a great financial payoff). We have been renting a small place ever since. Even though we are packed like sardines, it is worth it because we are reaching for something more in the end.
When we owned our house, we were always short on money and extremely stressed and frustrated about it. I never want to go back to that again.
If you are in an abusive relationship, there are ways you can get help getting back on your feet after leaving, at least in the US. Have you checked into those kinds of options?
Brooke
ps I have a co-worker who lived in his car for about 3 months this past summer to get ahead financially... I wrote about it on my blog, you may want to read about his experience...
Creative Problem Solving: Get Outside the Box Advice on Marriage, Life and More : Plain Advice

[Lola]

Originally Posted by m38967

In my opinion most successful people sacrifice something in the beginning to achieve what they may have later. The reason i ask this question is because i am in an abusive relationship and have been for some time, and am at the end of the rope, feel very close to leaving and starting fresh and new.

Been there - Risked it all - home, car, financial security, relationships with my children, family, friends - to escape an abusive relationship. I could only take those risks when it became absolutely intolerable for me to remain in that environment - when I realized I was failing to value and care for myself. Even if it meant that I lost EVERYTHING and was living under a bridge with no friends, no family, and no resources, I was willing to take that chance. I was ready to get out at any cost.

Best action I ever took in my life.

I can now look back and see that once I made the decision to value myself enough to remove myself from such an unhealthy and unsafe situation, once I trusted myself enough to believe my intuition and believe I could survive, the universe opened up and started providing for me in ways I never imagined. In other words, I began receiving value that matched the value I placed on my own life and well-being.

[Mighty Morgan]

Did it all....I actually gave up everything! I wouln't make that suggestion to anyone to just go out and do...because itwasn't easy. But I guess it all depends on the situation and what one would essentially be giving up. In my case their was no risk of loss, except the loss of the life I had been living within the constraints of the limits that were relflected in my absolute hatred of my life......

[m38967]

I want to thank everyone who responded and shared advice or their own story. I have not yet made a decision, as you all know, life is complicated and sometimes we don't know what to do (at a certain time for a certain situation). That is where i find myself. This person im in a relationship with has been diagnosed with HepC, and now i find myself feeling guiltier than ever for wanting to leave. It is just complicated. This upcoming part may sound silly, but i have 3 cats, and i have sacrificed quite abit for them, as i love them, and do not (cannot) give them away, so i can live better. That plays alot into it, as well. I am responsible for them (i dont have children) and wont give up on them.

I have thought of getting help locally, but am just plain scared. I suppose it is probably WORSE to have fear and not do anything, than to go for it. Try to get out.

I'll update when i decide what im going to do. Thank you again for caring and sharing.

[Sam988]

Originally Posted by m38967

If someone said to you in 6 months to a year you will be happy and successful, but first you have to be homeless for 3 months, would you do it? What are you willing to sacrifice NOW for future happiness?

I think i would be willing to sacrifice a lot of stuff now in order to have a bright future. I would NEVER spend a lot of money now just to have a great live in the present knowing that in the future i won't be able to live as well. I rather having my life slowly and gradually getting better. But that's just me. I'm a "pleasure delayer" (heard this term in Vanilla Ice and liked it).

[emilee]

m38967....I've been there too....Lola has offered you some very wise words. Sometimes life offers us the opportunity to take leaps of faith. You will be in my thoughts. You are not alone here. Call on the energy of this forum, call on the energy of your sisters all over the planet--the tribe called Woman. Peace to you, inside and out. emilee