Today my husband and I celebrate our one-year anniversary. I honestly feel aghast to know that I am 23, married, and thinking constantly about how to create a million dollars through intelligent financial decisions—things I never associated with myself before I met “Mr. Perfect.”

We started off like every newlywed couple—shopping and lounging on the weekends and eating out. Then we started to realize that we didn’t want to have to work for someone else forever. I was finishing my last semester of college, so not really working yet anyway. Yet somehow, I knew I had to change the way my future was already going.

The next thing I know, our spare time disappears. In addition to our weekday work and school, we start working every Saturday and Sunday from sun up to sun down. On Saturday and Sunday, we work for ourselves; we are our own bosses. We’re driven by the idea of financial independence. This search, of course, makes it difficult for me to convince employers of my absolute commitment to them as I search for a post-graduate job. Yet I think that we all have to have something that drives us forward. What causes you to cruise? Set that goal, and I think that you’ll jump into cruise control.

Our cruise control is definitely locked in. We work like crazy… and we couldn’t be happier. Since March we have taken off two days from our seven-day workweeks: Father’s Day and the Fourth of July. We love the sense of freedom we’re creating. No day off? No big deal. The other thing we’ve learned—you have to set goals and reward yourself when they’re done. We’ve finished the project we started in March; we’re taking a three-day weekend off right now.

So there you go:
1. find a purpose for yourself, seek change
2. set a long-term goal like our desire for financial freedom
3. set a short-term goal of several months or so
4. reward yourself when you reach that goal

When I think of this step-by-step process, I can easily identify one aspect that makes them successful for me: I have a business partner who shares my ambition. My husband is there to rub my shoulders, flag down the ice cream man driving down the street, and share the millionth peanut butter and jelly sandwich lunch with me every weekend; I’d do the same. We each see opportunity and troubles the other might miss—how does that dorky line go?
the mind of 1 person = 1
the mind of 1 person + the mind of 1 person = 11

5. consider a partner you can count on…and who can count on you, then cheer each other on

Thanks, my boy!