Look out below

Today I will add another part of my philosophy of success to my blog.

I have noticed that a lot of time and energy has been given to succeeding by thinking big or doing more and doing it better etc.

What I haven't noticed is people thinking of some bad scenarios, that if happened, would stop them in their path. Yet, depending on the bad event, these events wouldn't necessarily have to stop them.

Think of it as a form of risk mitigation.  Come up with "what if" scenarios and assess the probability of the scenario playing out. Think of what this will do to your plans and put something in place to  lower risk or impact.

I do have one example of this. Recently I have been made aware of the chance that interest rates will go up in the next number of years.  We have a lot of debt: so called good debt as it is tied up in two mortgages and my wife's education.  If interest rates go up dramatically, then my plan for early retirement and to go south for the winter is finished.

My plan is to hold on to gold stocks and bullion and pay off a good portion of debt when interest rates start going up. I also, will lock my mortgages into a fixed rate at some point in future. While reasearching this out, i decided not to lock in now because the collapse of bond market (like what is happening to Greece right now won't  happen for at least five years,(I my opinion).

So, when you are dreaming big, look out below because there are some nasty things that can be preventable or reduced so as to not stop you from what you want to do

Cheers,

Pete