Staying on Course

February has come and gone, and I’m left in awe of how wild this past month has been. I’m reminded of a scene in O Brother, Where Art Thou where the blind railroad man says, “And though the road may wind, and yea, your hearts grow weary, still shall ye foller the way, even unto your salvation.” What the events of February have taught me is that the road does wind. And sometimes the destination is nowhere in sight. But if you stay on course, you rediscover the personal power that has always been deep within you. How do I know? Because I’m writing this as a man who is officially debt free! Dave Ramsey, get ready for a call-in — “I’M DEBT FREE!!!”.  It’s been a long road to get out of debt. A road that I committed to over three years ago. And now that I’ve finally achieved it, I’m stunned. I feel lighter. But I keep pinching myself because I can’t believe it has really happened.

Money is energy. And now that I have extra money freed up, I’m feeling a little unbalanced — as if I’ve grown wings and a strong wind is taking me up to the sky. I have to keep reminding myself not to go on a spending spree. Over the last three years I’ve been pinching pennies. If I could save $3 a meal by eating at home, I would find a way to make it happen. If I could save $2 by ordering multiple sides on a menu instead of an entree, I’d do it. If  I could save $20 on a new shirt by waiting for it to go on sale, I would wait. Basically, my will to get out of debt made me hunker down on my finances to make the dream a reality. But some days it felt like the dream would stay a dream. Some months I had to scale back what I was paying towards my debt in order to accommodate some emergency expenditures. And when this happened my heart did grow weary. Sometimes I feared that the odyssey towards financial freedom would never end. But now the Scylla and Charybdis of debt have been slain, and I’m excited to enter a new realm of thinking. A mindset where the idea of building wealth finally seems like a viable possibility.

It’s amazing what can happen if you just stay on course. It’s easy to get discouraged when you face a long and difficult road.  It’s easy to give up and sink into a state of resignation. But if you stay on course and foller your way, you will eventually find a great fortune. You may find financial freedom. You may find “true love” and companionship. You may even find success beyond your wildest dreams. But you’ll only find it if you start the journey and keep on traveling.

Is there something you’ve given up on? Or is there something you’ve been wanting to do that you haven’t done? Well, then get off your butt and get started! Fear not the obstacles in your path because the road is pregnant with adventure, and Fate has vouchsafed your reward.