Time is the mysterious and invisible “something” granted by our Creator as the roadway of the soul.

The flow of time is graphically recorded throughout nature and although seemingly infinite, all persons are allotted the same amount each day… no more, no less. One can neither buy it, sell it, nor barter it. Lost or unused time vanishes as a shadow in darkness, never to be found again.

Upon the skein of time are woven life’s patterns from the threads of love, joy, sadness, and pain. It is the magical element that heals the deepest wounds and lessens the spectacular.

Yesterday is dead time.
Tomorrow is unborn time.
The now time is the only live time.

Therefore, fill each waking moment with the highest you know and understand. Let the fertile moments of today spawn greater works for tomorrow.

This week’s guest writer, Duane, posts his above work in the bathroom of his airport hangar. At 90 years old, Duane continues to operate his own airport, take visitors on scenic flights, fix airplanes, and teach people to fly. Duane is the epitome of happiness–he holds passion for the aerial business in a way that few people love their career focus. He’ll kiss a girl’s hand or cheek, invite you for ice cream, show you his favorite websites and e-mail his friends, and hop up and down with cheer when he emerges from his plane work. He has the money for his dreams… that’s all he wants, all he needs.

Duane, you’re an Aridni hero.

A lot of people look at financial websites and scoff, figuring we have nothing but dollar signs in our eyes. Is that scenario really the case? How do you feel about the thought of having more money than you need? Are you thrilled? Are you disgusted?

To me, the idea of accumulating more money than I need today means that I can do more and give more in the future. What about you? If you told someone, “My goal is to be wealthy,” do you have a reason? What would people think of your goal?

A lot of finance blogs talk about ways to cheat the system. I used to love to read a particular blog… then the author found a way to register for an online banking account multiple times with his same information. He thought he struck gold; every time he registered for a new account, he got a $50 gift card to his favorite store. Ideas like this, and it’s no wonder people scoff. At Aridni, we don’t believe in these strategies. If you want to make money, we think you should find a way that enriches people.

Todd and I grew up in a mining town. The city started off as an underground mining hayday. Then the mine owners found a way to extract minerals at less expense and more profit’strip mining. Strip mines continue to operate today, and the northern half of the town looks uglier than sin. I can barely stand to look to the north. Todd and I have seen what greed can do, how it can damage a society and stain our environment.

If you feel good about your money behaviors, then earning more money can enhance your feelings and spread a positive experience to others. Is it wrong to want to be a wealthy person? I don’t know’how are you getting that wealth?

What one thing are you the worst at? Your new goal is to make that something that you are the best at. Okay so you don’t have to become the best at it, but your mission is to be great at it.

It doesn’t matter if you want to be able to solve complex mathematical equations, become a marketing guru, or simply make a perfect omelet every time. This should become your new passion. And in order to achieve it you need to do two things.

Practice and study… but that sounds boring when said like that, how about if you were to gain experience and wisdom! That is something that you might be more willing to strive for.

Of course it works best when it is something that you want to achieve as opposed to something you don’t particularly like. For example I was in band during high school and I didn’t strive to be an exceptional trumpet player by any means. I went to every practice after school and performed at every basketball, football, and volleyball game but I was still a sub-par player.

In almost the same amount of time that I spent showing up and going through the motions, I could have focused on my playing and come up with a goal to be 1st chair by the end of the year. Granted our section didn’t really have a competitive environment, it could have been a motivation to do better.

But now in my college’s food court there was a guy who could make some serious omelets. They were perfectly crafted and great tasting. So whenever there was an omelet day, his line would be huge. And with good cause as well.

Not much later I began attempting to cook them as well. At first there were a number of failures. There were egg flipping problems, burning problems, and who knows what else, let’s just say I had a few disasters on my hands. Since then I have spent time trying to emulate his techniques, and then even expanded upon them. Does this mean that I could beat him in an omelet throwdown? I don’t know, but it would be a close match!

I’m sure that there would be more productive things to become the best at instead of frying eggs and blowing on horns. Perhaps it’s your company that needs to improve things. So go figure out what you or your company is awful at and go turn that around!

People talk a lot about the keys to wealth. Yet somehow, they forget something we have to find in ourselves.

Every week, I determine two primary goals for my spare time. This week, my goals are

(1) restructure our personal finance files and paperwork and
(2) write about my personal expectations for life in a journal every day.

I find that one of my goals is satisfied for the week, I cross it off. I find great satisfaction in drawing that bold line. And I challenge you to do similar projects.

What’s this list stuff got to do with money?

Lining up your finance files this week will put your current financial situation in perspective. You know exactly where to find items for banks, stock trades, mutual fund purchases.  You can see how much risk you’re comfortable taking and a rough sketch of your financial obligations, assets, and needs.

Second, what’s the point of pinching pennies and spending every spare minute on accumulation of wealth if you don’t have a plan for this money in the future? Take time every day this week to reflect on your direction. Ask yourself these questions:

1. In twenty years, I see myself spending my evenings with whom, doing what?

Imagine your ideal town, beautiful house, and hobbies. Do you have kids?  How are you all dressed? What are you eating? Here’s your chance to day dream about your happily ever after.

2. In twenty years, how do I want to spend the hours of 9 to 5?

You basically have three options: work for someone else, work for yourself, or not really work much at all. What do you pick? Why did you pick this choice?

3. Do I want a specific amount of money? When will I be satisfied with my amount of wealth?

Are you shooting for a specific dollar sign in the bank? The feeling of a specific lifestyle?

4. What do I want so much money for?

You probably want a specific lifestyle, but what else? Do you want to give money, give time? Do you want specific things? Why are you equating the value of money to the value of your future dreams?

5. Who do I want so much money for?

Do you want your spouse or kids to have a certain lifestyle? Are you hoping to give them specific opportunities that you had or never had? When you’re working with someone else in mind, you can find yourself much more eager to go the extra mile when all you want to do is quit. (Know any new fathers who hate their jobs? They go every day for that wife and baby, no question, no hesitation.)

6. What’s one idea I have for increasing my net worth in a way that can grow without my constant supervision?

This question requires an absolute, which makes it the hardest question to ask yourself. But ask yourself this one every day. After a while, you start to see opportunity where you never did before. You’ll be like Walt Disney, seeing the potential in full-length films and cartoons, discovering the significance of a destination family vacation like Disney Land, then spotting the rapid love affair with televisions and tapping into the channels with shows like the Mickey Mouse Club.

7. Finally, what can I do better tomorrow to reach these goals that I learned from today?