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Hello everyone and welcome to Intentional Fortune!
To anyone viewing the site for the first time, this is the first of many blog posts I plan on writing over the coming years.
I have been a frequent visitor to many self help and personal finance blogs for years and have used their pearls of wisdom to help make my personal, professional, social, and spiritual life better. I appreciate everything I’ve learned and started this blog to pay it forward.
About Me
I’m a 32 33 year old civil engineer and currently work at my “dream” company (not dream job, yet) and have worked hard to get here.
Growing up I was always told that I could do anything I wanted to when I grew up, but was never encouraged to identify my passion or set goals, or given any guidance on how to achieve those goals.
Throughout high school and college I skated by on studying as little as possible. My philosophy was that there is a point of diminishing returns with studying; I studied just as long as necessary to achieve a “B” average and would spend the rest of the time hanging out with friends.
When I graduated in December 2008, I quickly realized my mistake. Although I was able to find a job fairly quickly, it wasn’t my dream job (it wasn’t even close). Because of this, I made a vow to myself that I would quit wasting time and spend that time learning, planning, setting goals, and taking action.
Over the next 6 years, I worked hard and continued moving ahead in that first company, but always kept an eye on the dream job. Once I felt like I had achieved the goals I wanted to at the first company and polished my resume and interviewing skills, I started applying for select jobs at the dream company. It took about 2 years, but I finally was offered a position that was perfect for me and was also a higher position than I had anticipated.
Since then, my direct supervisor has retired and I have been performing his duties with an eye toward moving into a higher position. I’ve made my intentions known with my management and have been laying the groundwork. Barring some unforeseen circumstance, I hope to be moving into this position within the next year.
Also, this “dream” company will 100% reimburse tuition for me to go get my MBA in state, so I’ve recently applied to the best professional program in the state which is a 2 year program that meets once a week in a classroom, but manages the rest of the course online. Fingers crossed! I was accepted and will start in Fall 2019!
What I learned from this process is that, from a high level, life is very, very simple.
When it comes to finances there are really only two variables: spending and income. Spending should never exceed income if you want to get ahead and any excess income should be used to create more income (i.e. income producing assets).
When it comes to achieving goals, you must plan (set smaller goals) and take action; then rinse and repeat, refining your technique with each iteration.
Good fortune is made by those who take action. You can learn and plan forever and never take any action. Without action there is no result: good or bad. I think this is the biggest reason analytical types (myself included) never act on their goals and dreams.
This blog is me taking action to achieve one of my goals. Through this blog, I hope to share my thoughts, opinions, and advice on how to improve your financial situation and achieve your goals in life. By doing this, I hope to help you be intentional in how you approach life and create your own fortune!