Five Keys to “Design a Decade”

So, what stages of life have you been through? What is your next decade of life?

Written by Chris Freeman

Unfortunately a large number of people move through life from single to couple to the beautiful chaos of having a young family to the weight of bringing through teenagers to being empty nesters, then look at each other saying “who are you, why is there no money in our bank and where did all these kilos come from?”

Quote
“People overestimate what they can do in two years and underestimate what they can do in ten” Bill Gates

After two decades of having a go at life, through single to marriage to having young children, Chris started to seek out people with the balance of lifestyle and financial wealth which he was looking for. The “Decade a Decade” program is based around the 5 keys he found that these successful lives were based on.

1. They had a developed perspective of life yet to be lived.
They didn’t resist moving through the ages. They considered the likely milestones in front of them. Looked at how to successfully navigate around them, at what they wanted to add to their life and what they wanted to eliminate. Today’s decisions were made with tomorrow in mind

Quote
“The wise simple have a developed perspective of life yet to be live, their present actions are thought through and considered so as to build a life not destroy one”. Phil Baker book; A Wise Heart the forgotten factor

2. They realized their weaknesses were a danger to their strengths.
They took both into all areas of life, whether that is work, relationships, sport and so on. The weaknesses often brought down all the good the strengths did. So they learned to acknowledge and manage their weaknesses in time management, relationship building and income and expenditure management.

Real Life Story
One couple’s weakness was their opposite personalities. They told us they had never done their finances together. They just couldn’t agree on spending habits so they had their own income and paid individual expenses. They had bought a home and had some superannuation but had not been able to agree on any investment. With a little coaxing they treated all income and expenses as one and worked with the BWC “Design a Decade” system. They found that they were really in a position to invest. They now have 2 investment properties and a share portfolio outside of their superannuation. They could have been investing 20 years earlier if they had a simple system to show them how to get agreement.

3. They were prepared to prepare for opportunity.
There is no shortage of opportunity, however, often opportunities comes along and people want to take them but are not prepared. When opportunity comes, if there has been no preparation they act in haste.

Proverb
The plans of the diligent lead to profit as surely as haste leads to poverty

4. They had coaches
They took the time to intentionally develop trusted personal and professional relationship. Without coaches, we are simply coached by our environment.
They were sure to let the personal relationships know what was going on in their life and what changes they were considering. This controlled the emotional aspect of decision making. They took the time to ensure the professionals they used not only had the skills to help but that they could be trusted to act in the client’s best interest, not just their own.

Quote
“Everyone needs a coach because the one thing nobody is good at is seeing themselves as other people see them” Eric Schmidt CEO Google

5.  They were teachable
Teachable does not mean being told what to do. It means being willing to take information from trusted coaches and personal relationships before making important decisions.

Proverb
Without good direction, people lose their way; the more wise counsel you follow, the better your chances.

About the writer: BWC Founders Chris and Heather Freeman and their team have developed the “Design a Decade” program over the last fifteen years. They have worked with all age groups; the poor and the wealthy; the organised and those in chaos (often both in the one household), to help them to create really solid foundations on which to build their lives and to agree on a path forward, whether theirs is currently great or terrible. 

Click here to read Chris’ personal story.