"The Debt-Free Athlete"

Recently a fellow newbie to Lavish Cheapskate Living wrote in and asked, "How can I muster up the mental toughness required to wipe out debt?"

A big part of debt-free success has to do with being able to clearly see the outcome.

Once you make the commitment to live a debt-free life (and you have a substantial amount of debt), it can seem impossible to achieve that kind of success.

The first step to fuel your ability to wipe out debt is to have a crystal clear image of what debt-free living looks like for you.

Second, you must fuel the fire of that outcome. This is an emotional investment. I had struggled with debt for years until I brought this vital element into my own crystal clear goal.

To simply say, "I want to be debt-free..." is a nice goal, but it lacks what is necessary to achieve the ultimate goal.

In a recreational sport there is the element of competition, but in a competitive sport there is much more of an emotional investment.

Whether it's a team sport and you're playing a specific position (point guard in basketball, forward in soccer, running back in football, etc.), or an individual sport competing against the clock (running, swimming, cycling, etc.), the emotional investment is filled with the desire to succeed in the way you visualize that success. It's a powerful mix: Emotions combined with a Crystal Clear Image of your desired outcome.

In an essence...

This mental and emotional shift will catapult you into a new category of success in debt-free living.

All great athletes have solid and crystal clear goals. Training involves certain sets in workouts, certain drills, as well as mental rehearsal combined with visualized outcome before the competition.

It's true with finances.

From here on out, instead of focusing on "the mess" or the accumulation of debt you have, start to look at it as an athlete preparing for the big game, the big race, or the big event. Athletes don't focus on the limitation... they focus on the desired outcome.

For me, I had over $70,000.00 of credit card debt alone, lost all my assets, and had to bargain free rent. If I focused on that, it would have expanded. I focused intensely on the desired outcome- and that was to become debt-free and to invest in myself.

What made me shift was one simple thing: I wanted the freedom to do what I desired in life... and that was to leave the rat race, write a book, and inspire others. Once I clearly saw that, the emotional fuel kept me surging forward until every last penny of that monumental credit debt was wiped out.

That was my emotional investment. You have one too!

And as I worked through it, I broke the "outcome" down into smaller goals. Just like an athlete using workout sets, I approached one debt at a time and watched that debt shrink each and every month until it was gone (and vowed that it would never return).

So now I welcome you to join me as a "financial athlete" and become debt-free!

I also want to hear about your own emotional investment. What is it? What is it that is going to fuel you through this process?

Join me. Share your own aspirations below and let's see you become debt-free and live in "Lavish Cheapskate Liberation!"

-Ardy Skinner

What inspires you to become debt-free?