During my recent trip to Italy I got the opportunity to visit some of the most iconic buildings in the world.

Roaming around the Colosseum, Looking up at the Pantheon and even posing for the obligatory “Look I’m holding it up” photo at the leaning tower of Pisa were breathtaking, awe inspiring moments I won’t forget for  a long time.

The interesting thing is that, whilst standing in the shadow of some of these buildings it’s easy to forget one thing.

You can spend loads of time admiring the craftsmanship, considering their history and taking a deep breath whilst considering what these buildings have meant to people across generations but often we ignore how they’re actually built…

Starting with an idea.

Continuing with a plan.

and

Then building them…

Brick by Brick.

Thinking about it most of the ‘stuff’ which surrounds us, from the great reputations to the most admired businesses to amazing architecture all follow the same pattern…

Start with an idea.

Continue with a plan.

Build brick by brick (or nowadays I suppose that could be both girders or panes of glass)…

Now we all know in reality that the construction of any of these iconic buildings wasn’t as easy as it seems.

The Coliseum had building issues due to the fact that the roman’s were still getting used to using cement (and therefore had to play with the combinations to get it right).

The Pantheon has been involved in a bunch of fires over the years which means that the original entrance and original interior don’t actually exist any more but have been replaced on quite a few occasions (which for some reason makes me think of “Triggers Broom” for all you ‘Only fools and horses’ fans out there).

and

I’m pretty sure the original designer of the tower at Pisa wanted it to point in it’s current direction!

For many of us it’s like that with our financial lives.

We start with an idea (or our financial manifesto)

We then build it into a plan (our financial, erm, plan)

and

We then start building brick by brick.

However ‘stuff’ starts to happen…

Like the Romans had to experiment with concrete we have to experiment with how much we save and invest (and sometimes where is more appropriate to save and invest it).

Like parts of our Partheon were destroyed we sometimes lose (or have to spend) money we don’t want to.

and

Like that famous tower of Pisa, our financial path sometimes leaves us pointing in a different direction than we expected.

However the key lesson here is that regardless of these changes happening (and at least one if not all will happen quite a few times in your financial life) we need to take the approach the Romans took.

Brick by Brick

We all know the famous saying…

“Rome wasn’t built in a day”

and whilst we all know the phrase we sometimes forget how relevant it is to all of us.

As we try to aspire to be financially free (or actually to achieve anything great) we need to understand it takes a certain approach.

Starting with the end in mind.

Building a plan.

Then starting slowly. Brick by Brick. Step by Step.

Sticking the course.

Understanding that things will happen which will derail your path.

Carrying on anyway.

Understanding that achieving financial security (or any sort of massive goal) isn’t about luck, or chasing the big win.

It’s about adopting the right habits. It’s about building wealth not by winning the lottery but by building brick by brick.

“Yeah but Chris” you might say “How about business owners who sell their business and live off the proceeds”

Now it’s important to consider that many business owners rely on the value of their businesses way too often due to the assumption that their business is worth far more than they think there’s still some absolutely genuine validity in that argument.

I don’t want to decry running a business. It’s something many of us do and love. Not just for the money but for the satisfaction it provides, the experiences it gives us and the opportunity for both the chance learn and earn it potentially provide.

However  when you consider that anyone who’s built and sold a business business you soon realise that this principle still applies.

Task by Task.

Step by Step.

Brick by Brick.

So, if logically we know that anything great is built “brick by brick” when it comes to our financial affairs why do all of us often do the reverse…

…and that’s the subject I’m going to talk about in my next blog entry!