Live For Today – Prepare For Tomorrow

It is said that life is a journey. I agree. The thing about a journey is that it has multiple components, each of which serve a vital part in making the journey great and complete.

The Past or experience, is the first part. That is where every journey takes foothold. The ideas, the desires and hopes that you have for every journey stem from experiences. It is our past that helps us design our future. Whether it is the negative experiences that are to be avoided or the more desirable experiences that are sought, the experiences from the past help make that determination. The past is to be remembered for the pleasantries that it holds and appreciated for the many lessons that it has taught.

The Present should be treasured. Living in the past or the future causes one to miss the present and the opportunity for many experiences that can make the future even better. Every moment in the present is a part of the journey that should be cherished. It is an opportunity to enjoy every moment as it occurs but still taking into account the past and future.

The Future begins in the past. As we eagerly await the future we also plan for it. The experiences accumulated in the Past are used in the Present to plan for and design the Future.

All three parts of the journey are ever-present. All three exist even when the focus is just on one.

Recently many people have questioned the value of a college degree in light of difficulties faced by new graduates in getting desired positions and salaries. Recently, an article was posed on CNN Money Questioning whether the cost of tuition was worth it. It immediately spread through social media with everyone putting in their two cents. That was all you saw on Facebook and Twitter for a while. When looking at the face-value of tuition to current salary many are saying it’s not worth it. The real question is: When did a college education become a short-term investment. People don’t go to college because they recuperate their full investment the first year on the job. People go to college and beyond because over time they earn  more than they would without that degree and they have the luxury of earning a living doing something they enjoy. Sure you could make $40,000 working in management at McDonald’s, but how long will you have to work your way up to that level without a degree? And more importantly, are you willing to put up with the nonsense and rudeness of certain customers?

In the present we do have to be practical and cautious. You have to do what makes sense for this day, but if you are so blessed, tomorrow will come whether you’ve planned for it or not. That’s exactly why you must plan for the future but not necessarily live for it. You should not bypass everything that takes place in the present to focus on preparing for the future, but by the same token, you cannot be so focused on the present that you do not plan for what happens later. Those individuals who talk about the cost of college in comparison to today’s wages are doing exactly that- focusing so much on the present that they fail to consider the future.

Imagine students start to do what the current talk suggests- not go to college because their salary after graduation is not worth it. As the economy bounces back and salaries return to normal levels, these students will have to face the decision to now try to catch up. Even when they do earn their degrees, they will have missed out on accumulating years of post graduation experience.

Planning for the future may not be the easiest and most convenient thing to do. It often is not the most enticing because planning for the future frequently requires some level of sacrifice or the forfeiture of something much more exciting. In the end the rewards are great and worth the wait. More importantly the results planning for the future far outweigh the burden of trying to catch up later.

I remember when the economy was on the downswing and my 401K balance kept dropping. In my 20s, I invested aggressively, so my losses were just as aggressive. Very three months when I received the statement I though about crying and thought about cashing out. I did neither and now instead of having spent the 25% or less of my investment that I would have received in a cash-out, I’m looking at 100% of my investment which has come back and is now growing. Past experience has shown that the downswing of every pendulum is followed by an upswing. Giving up on that downswing also means missing out of the great things that come in the upswing.

As we look to the rehabilitation of our broken economy, I hope that people will remember that just as you don’t through out your shoes while recovering from a broken foot, we should not throw out resources that made our economy great before. Temporary setbacks always have and are likely to always be a part of our reality. Giving up on better days ahead should never be an option.

<span style=”font-family: ‘Calligraph421 BT’; font-size: 14pt;”><span style=”font-family: ‘Calligraph421 BT’; font-size: 14pt;”> </span><span style=”font-family: ‘Calligraph421 BT’; font-size: 14pt;”> I’m just saying though…

Dream Big… Live Bigger…

DrJudiC

<a href=”http://www.drjudic.com/”>www.DrJudiC.com</a></span 

It is said that life is a journey. I agree. The thing about a journey is that it has multiple components, each of which serve a vital part in making the journey great and complete.

 

The Past or experience, is the first part. That is where every journey takes foothold. The ideas, the desires and hopes that you have for every journey stem from experiences. It is our past that helps us design our future. Whether it is the negative experiences that are to be avoided or the more desirable experiences that are sought, the experiences from the past help make that determination. The past is to be remembered for the pleasantries that it holds and appreciated for the many lessons that it has taught.

 

The Present should be treasured. Living in the past or the future causes one to miss the present and the opportunity for many experiences that can make the future even better. Every moment in the present is a part of the journey that should be cherished. It is an opportunity to enjoy every moment as it occurs but still taking into account the past and future.

 

The Future begins in the past. As we eagerly await the future we also plan for it. The experiences accumulated in the Past are used in the Present to plan for and design the Future.

All three parts of the journey are ever-present. All three exist even when the focus is just on one.

 

Recently many people have questioned the value of a college degree in light of difficulties faced by new graduates in getting desired positions and salaries. Recently, an article was posed on CNN Money Questioning whether the cost of tuition was worth it. It immediately spread through social media with everyone putting in their two cents. That was all you saw on Facebook and Twitter for a while. When looking at the face-value of tuition to current salary many are saying it’s not worth it. The real question is: When did a college education become a short-term investment. People don’t go to college because they recuperate their full investment the first year on the job. People go to college and beyond because over time they earn  more than they would without that degree and they have the luxury of earning a living doing something they enjoy. Sure you could make $40,000 working in management at McDonald’s, but how long will you have to work your way up to that level without a degree? And more importantly, are you willing to put up with the nonsense and rudeness of certain customers?

 

In the present we do have to be practical and cautious. You have to do what makes sense for this day, but if you are so blessed, tomorrow will come whether you’ve planned for it or not. That’s exactly why you must plan for the future but not necessarily live for it. You should not bypass everything that takes place in the present to focus on preparing for the future, but by the same token, you cannot be so focused on the present that you do not plan for what happens later. Those individuals who talk about the cost of college in comparison to today’s wages are doing exactly that- focusing so much on the present that they fail to consider the future.

 

Imagine students start to do what the current talk suggests- not go to college because their salary after graduation is not worth it. As the economy bounces back and salaries return to normal levels, these students will have to face the decision to now try to catch up. Even when they do earn their degrees, they will have missed out on accumulating years of post graduation experience.

 

Planning for the future may not be the easiest and most convenient thing to do. It often is not the most enticing because planning for the future frequently requires some level of sacrifice or the forfeiture of something much more exciting. In the end the rewards are great and worth the wait. More importantly the results planning for the future far outweigh the burden of trying to catch up later.

 

I remember when the economy was on the downswing and my 401K balance kept dropping. In my 20s, I invested aggressively, so my losses were just as aggressive. Very three months when I received the statement I though about crying and thought about cashing out. I did neither and now instead of having spent the 25% or less of my investment that I would have received in a cash-out, I’m looking at 100% of my investment which has come back and is now growing. Past experience has shown that the downswing of every pendulum is followed by an upswing. Giving up on that downswing also means missing out of the great things that come in the upswing.

 

As we look to the rehabilitation of our broken economy, I hope that people will remember that just as you don’t through out your shoes while recovering from a broken foot, we should not throw out resources that made our economy great before. Temporary setbacks always have and are likely to always be a part of our reality. Giving up on better days ahead should never be an option.

 

I’m just saying though…

Dream Big… Live Bigger…

DrJudiC

www.DrJudiC.com