The most dangerous risk of all – the risk of spending your life not doing what you want on the bet you can buy yourself the freedom to do it later. Randy Komisar

Do what you have to do. Take care of your responsibilities. Grow up. Stop being so naive. How are you going to make money? Be realistic. You can do that after you graduate or retire.

How many times and in how many ways have you been told or told yourself to defer your dreams? to lower your expectations? to care less?

The Risks

• You miss out
  Some opportunities are truly once in a lifetime. I remember visiting New York City, and I passed up the opportunity to go to top of the World Trade Center. “I’ll do it next time”, I said. There was no next time. A year later, the towers were destroyed by terrorists.

  What if there isn’t a next time?

• You forget
  For years, I worked so hard and so many hours that when I thought about doing something different, I didn’t know who I was, what I enjoyed, and what my passion was. What would I even do if I didn’t do this job I hated?

  Who you are never changes, but it can get covered up with a pile of crap you accumulate as you go through life.

• You die first
  If only we knew how long we had to live, but there are no guarantees. Life is fragile and uncertain. You could live to a ripe old age of 110 or you could be hit by a bus on the way to work tomorrow.

Living a life for someday is dangerous business. You may never have the chance to be who you want to be and do what you want do.

The myth is that playing it safe is safe. We’ve been told that if we play by the “rules”, we can secure financial stability, but the last few years have shown us that financial markets can crash, real estate values can tumble, and jobs can disappear.

The Solution

Balance between living for today and preparing to live to 110.

• Be frugal
  The lower you keep your expenses, the more freedom you have to pursue dreams and opportunities. Is a $400 car payment worth feeling like you can’t leave your job?
• Think with the end in mind

  If you got the opportunity to attend your own funeral, what would you want people to say about you? what would you wish you would have done? Be conscious of who you are and what you want. Then live that life every day.

• Save and Give

  Accept the fact that there is never enough money today or for retirement. If you make $100,000, you’d be able to spend $200,000. If you save $1 million, you’ll wish you had $2 million. Stop concentrating on having enough and start focusing on the flow of money in your life. Earn some. Save some. Spend some. Give some. Then relax.

Give all of who you are to living the life you were born to live, pursuing your passions, and supporting your favorite causes. It’s not worth the risk of missing out on being your best.