It’s those differences that allowed me to reach financial independence at such an early age. Go full-on weirdo and embrace it, like I did. So what?!? Being different is actually a good thing! Take it to the extreme. In other words, they’re saying “You’re different and I don’t agree with that”. Well, like any good opportunist, it’s how you process the negativity that matters.īasically - Any negativity received is simply an acknowledgement that you’re simply doing something different than normal. Inevitably, you’re probably wondering how this negative-hate to positive-energy conversion process works. Let the flames burn bright my negative friends… because the hate is keeping me warm! This is what I learned to do with negativity - I learned to take all that hate (aka trash) and turn it into fuel for my Financial Independence dumpster fire. Heat and a little extra money sure beat throwing one-more-thing into the landfill! As any good hobo knows, even trash can be fuel for a fire. Metal pieces, such as steel, iron and aluminum can be recycled for cash at your local metal yard. In other words, you picked up someone’s trash that you thought was going to be a treasure… and it really was just trash.īut even trash can be useful if you’re an opportunist willing to put a little work into it - Worn out wood furniture can be chopped up and burned in a fireplace.
BE NEGATIVE NANCY FREE
That free furniture on Craigslist will turn-out to be too broken or worn-out to really be useful to you. Inevitably when picking-up free stuff like furniture, some of it is never going to turn out as expected. Just like that, a powerful switch flipped in my head and I realized - I most certainly CAN turn negativity into something positive I can use!Īs an opportunist, I’ve learned a few tricks over the years to dealing with trash.
Why can’t I turn THAT trash into treasure, like I do almost everything else? Then, the thought hit me - All the negative comments and hatred is really just another form of trash. We turn trash into treasure, and seize opportunities that others typically ignore - such as using frugality to build a financial snowball even faster. Opportunism is one of the key advantages that makes Financially Independent people so different. We seize opportunities that are incredibly advantageous to us, even if they take a little work to realize. It was on one of those walks that I happened to be thinking about how Financially Independent people are really good at being opportunistic. (I do some of my best thinking when I’m walking.) You see, every weekday I walk my son to school and then go for my regular morning walk. It was on one of those “blue days” in early 2018 when I had an idea. Sometimes I’d get to feeling a little blue. Some of it still got through and sunk its teeth in. I was never very good at letting that negativity bounce-off me. But that answer never really sat all that well with me. In the past, I merely said “learn to deal with it”. They can say terrible things with impunity. As I mentioned in the post, “mastering your stories” can really help control the amount of negative feedback you receive… but it doesn’t eliminate it entirely.Įspecially if you do anything online where people have some degree of anonymity.
BE NEGATIVE NANCY SKIN
In the past I’ve written about how having a thick skin is an important skill in early retirement. There’s bound to be some emotional pain along the way… Yes, the road to financial independence isn’t without it’s aches and pains. When that same criticism comes from friends and family it can create tension, strain relationships, or even lead to serious emotional pain. In fact, on the internet cutting someone down is almost considered a sport. Yes, the world can be a really negative place. Shade - meaning negativity, criticism, or hatred.Ī Negative Nancy or Negative Ned can really ruin a person’s day. Without fail, somebody somewhere is going to throw some shade your way. Heck, maybe you even start a blog where you tell the world your whole financial story… On your journey to financial independence, someone is inevitably going to find out you’re not exactly doing things “the normal way”.