Wednesday 21st September 2005 AD
A VISION AND HOPE FOR THE FUTURE"
(The Discipline To Save ~ Part 2)

We are often asked, "Is there one single habit or routine that successful business men and women all exhibit?" Our answer; they have ALL learned the DISCIPLINE TO SAVE!

Yesterday we addressed the first in our seven "Discipline to Save" principles; The Discipline to Save Begins Before Business and Financial Success is Achieved.

Today, number two; "The Discipline to Save Gives You a VISION AND HOPE FOR 
THE FUTURE"

Our friend Michael had struggled for several years to keep the doors of his company open. The company was well positioned, the product was good, his market established, and on paper he should have been moving ahead nicely, yet for Michael, every dollar earned (net of direct costs) unexplainably disappeared and was effectively lost.

He had been working hard ~ everyday for several years his hands had been given to the job at hand. Hard work with no evident reward had eventually worn Michael down, and now he was desperate. Michael had been robbed of a "Vision and Hope for the Future".

Michael had done everything right yet something wrong. What? He had missed the FIRST STOP of his harvest.

The "Storehouse" was a strong, weather-resistant, stone-constructed, storage building positioned directly adjacent to the field on the family farm. As the grain began to come in from the annual harvest, rather than been sold at market, the "first returns" were carefully placed "in storage" within the storehouse.

WHY - Why take 10% of today's potential income and stick it into a dark cold building?

The first 10th of the harvest would become the seed crop for following year. As that first return came off the field and was safely placed into storage, at that moment our grain-grower knew that the agricultural risk of the last 12 months had been mitigated. Regardless of what happened with the harvest from here, or the market price for his grain, he had regained enough seed to replant the following year, his 12 months of labor and investment had been neutralized, and his Storehouse had become his Vision and Hope of the Future.

As we explained the purpose of Storehouse in history, our friend Michael decided to try an experiment. "What would happen if I took a small amount of company turnover, and put it into a Storehouse of savings?" he pondered.

Today his retail business is booming. How did the Storehouse savings approach help restore Michael's Vision and Hope for the Future?

Like the first of the harvest coming in from the field, savings need to be taken first from gross income or turnover NOT from whatever is eventually left over. It is better to start small than not start at all. That storehouse of savings, however small it may start, shows us a reward for our efforts and restores our vision and hope for the future.

People living in today's world are more indebted than any other time in living history. Just fifty years ago "saving" was normal and prudent, but in today's Western World savings have fallen to zero. What has changed and why?

"The Discipline to Save gives you the Vision and Hope for the Future" is a basic but important principle, and is the second in our seven "Discipline to Save" principles.

Best Regards - Philip Judge pjudge@anglofareast.com