I wish I could just sit around playing and having fun with my daughter. All day when I am at work, especially when the weather gets nice, I wish I could just take off to the park with her and my wife. However, checking my investments as they’re making money (optimism!) and scouring the market for plays in the early morning just isn’t my reality yet. Neither is removing myself from being tied to a “normal” workday. Heck I work best between like 7 and midnight, but having meetings then would probably be frowned upon in my work setting.

So the other night while I was feeding my daughter some macaroni I realized that I needed some concrete financial goals. Nothing like the “make a million bucks tomorrow” crap that everyone talks about. I wanted a realistic 5 year plan about creating some more financial freedom. Over the past couple of years I have turned my brokerage account over 4 times. It doesn’t sound like a lot, but do the math when you start doubling your money and things can add up quickly. I am going to try and do that 2 more times over the next 5 years. This will break up my investing goals into 2.5 year increments. That way I have tangible goals to attain and some time frames to metric to help me watch my progress as I move along. I realize this is going to be far from easy, and some would say impossible. But shooting for big goals keeps my eyes on the prize and motivates me immensely. Plus what the hell do I have to lose besides my money.

It’s that simple for me. These goals would remove me from the idea that I needed to operate in an 8-5 world if I choose. It also would allow me to focus my time on investments, growing my money, managing risk, and dipping my toes into some business ideas that I find interesting.

Take note that I never want to quit working and I really do love what I am doing. I just want to shift my focus into a faster paced world where I feel like I can flourish without becoming unmotivated. So, when you get some time, map out your financial goals no matter how big or small. Or just follow along with me as I try to make my goals become a reality. I might fall short, but most times I find setting goals is half the battle. Plus its tons better than sitting on the sidelines watching other people taking their chances and succeeding.