This week was a pretty special one for TK and myself. It might sound a bit silly, but we have just made our final mortgage payment. Yep, we’ve officially paid off our house, and it’s all ours now.
In this video, I want to share two principles that have been game-changers in my life
Now, I’m not mentioning this to show off. Paying off your mortgage is something many people do, and let’s be honest, plenty of people manage it much younger than I have. But I was a bit of a late starter when it came to this whole homeownership thing.
When I graduated, I landed some good jobs, didn’t have kids at the time, and the thought of buying a house never really crossed my mind. It was only about 15 years ago that TK and I decided we should probably get on board with this whole ‘owning a home’ thing. So we started pretty late and bought the worst house in the neighborhood – an old wooden place with a big pylon in the backyard.
I remember my mate Steve joking one day, “Cyril, do your kids glow in the dark because of that big pylon?” Classic Steve.
Anyway, after a few years, we managed to sell that place, buy another one, and gradually work our way up. Now we’re living in our dream home, and it’s completely ours.
People often see this as one big event – “Wow, amazing! You’ve paid off your house!” But I like to think of it more like Jim Collins’ analogy in his book Good to Great. He compares it to an egg. For a long time, it just looks like an egg, but then one day, it hatches, and a little chick appears. Everyone’s amazed by the event, but the reality is, there was a long process happening inside that egg all along.
For me, this ties into two key principles that have been game-changers in my life: impact long term and insignificant little things.
Impact Long Term – I’ve made it a priority to focus on these four words – “what impact long term” – in both my business and personal life. It doesn’t have to be something that impacts 15 or 20 years down the track, but we live in such a short-term world these days. We’re constantly responding to emails, rushing to meetings, and chasing short-term goals. But sometimes, it’s worth asking yourself, “Hang on a minute, what’s really going to have the most impact in the long run?” It’s an important question that has guided me.
Insignificant Little Things – The second principle is all about the small stuff. I try to think about what little things I can do regularly to support those long-term goals. These might seem insignificant on their own, but done consistently, they add up. You can apply this to any area of your life – your health, relationships, finances. If you know where you’re headed long term, what small actions can you take daily or weekly to make it happen?
These principles have had a massive impact on my life, my finances, and my relationships.
So, my question to you is this: What are the things that will have a huge impact in the long term? What are your real priorities that you need to focus on? Secondly, what are the insignificant little things you can do regularly to make progress toward those goals?
This is this week’s Work Smarter: Live Better tip.
Hope you have a lovely day!
A bientôt,
Cyril
