Are you on track to attain your financial dreams? Most people are not. If you're hungry, financial freedom is possible.

You need specific written goals and a plan of action. Good mentors are crucial for learning and accountability. Realize that you won't reach your financial dreams by simply working hard to trade your time for money. Financial success requires that you build a passive income system. Don't discount your future. Learn how to launch your unstoppable cycle of success.

Attaining financial freedom requires burning discontent with the limitations of your life today. Hunger motivates changes to get on a new path leading to your vision of the future. An appetite for success demands something different than the familiar complacency that 95 percent of people accept as reality. In "Launching a Leadership Revolution," Orin Woodward and Chris Brady state, "Hunger provides the energy to begin, the stamina to persist, and the will to finish an endeavor."

Why do you want financial freedom? What were you put on this Earth to do? Those who strive to fulfill their purpose attain success. Napoleon Hill, author of "Think and Grow Rich," said, "One must realize that all who accumulate great fortunes first did a certain amount of dreaming, hoping, wishing, desiring and planning before they acquired money." What would you do if time and money were not limitations? What is your dream for your family and friends? How will you be remembered?

Dreams require specific goals with a timeline, otherwise they are fantasies. The Second Law of Thermodynamics says the universe spontaneously reconfigures to increase entropy (i.e., disorder) and minimize potentials. That applies to your potential, too. A plan of action launches you on a trajectory toward success, but life continually knocks you off course. Remember, "goals are etched in stone, but plans are drawn in sand." Be resolved to constant course corrections to attain your goals.

How do you set goals and plan for a future of abundance? In "The Slight Edge," Jeff Olson talks of "The Law of Association" that shows every aspect of your life equals the average of the five people closest to you. Napoleon Hill revealed that successful people create a "mastermind," a group of achievement-oriented individuals who amount to more than the sum of their parts. Associate with the 5 percent of people who choose to elevate their existence and serve their purpose.

Seek counsel from people who have achieved what you want. It's said that experience is not the best teacher; other people's experience is. Warren Buffett said the keys to financial success are eliminating debt and investing in self-education. Good mentors help you learn and grow and they hold you accountable. Read educational books and listen to empowering audios. Enroll in seminars on finance and leadership. Join a community of people who will lift you. Create your own "mastermind."

Trading your time for money won't result in financial freedom. Active income is limited by your finite time. Robert Kiyosaki points out in "The Cashflow Quadrant" that average people can attain financial freedom by building a passive income business system. Leveraging a system is like building a pipeline so you can stop carrying buckets of water. Associate with those people who can teach you how to establish passive income on the side while excelling at your current job.

According to Kiyosaki, the first key to wealth is long-term vision. Financial success is achieved by those who put great effort into attaining dreams and purpose. Research shows it takes 10,000 hours to gain mastery in any endeavor, including the passive business system to gain your financial freedom. Stay focused on your purpose and don't give up. An unstoppable cycle of success begins as financial growth enables purpose; fulfillment of purpose increases happiness; and happiness fosters further success.

Financial freedom depends on faith and liberty. Faith in purpose instills hunger and liberty enables free enterprise. Excessive government control and high taxes rob us of freedom and the opportunity to build wealth. Our Founders established a nation to protect "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness," giving every citizen a chance to work toward financial freedom. Stand against those who strive to give away your freedom to government in hopes that it will confiscate and spread your wealth.

Henry David Thoreau said, "Most men live lives of quiet desperation." Have you given up on your dreams? Do you think your purpose is just fantasy? Buying into such beliefs is a costly mistake. You have the power to live your financial dreams. Write out your vision. Develop goals and a plan with a timeline. Seek mentors and commit to constant learning. Build a passive income business system. Launch your unstoppable cycle of success.

James D. Kellogg is an engineering consultant, author, and business system advocate. He is the founder of RadicalActionForLife.com and the author of "Radical Action: A Colt Kelley Thriller". Look for the novel on amazon.com and visit JamesDKellogg.com or email jameskellogg@comcast.net.

Read more from the original source:
Kellogg column: Launch your unstoppable cycle of success, attain financial freedom - Glenwood Springs Post Independent