3 steps to become a financial master

Does “taking control of your finances” sound impossible to you?

Sure, you might be able to budget for a week or two, but after that, fuhgeddaboudit.

C’mon, you’ll never stick to a budget. Right?

Does that sound familiar?

Listen carefully; you should know, it IS possible for you to master your money, once and for all.

Lucky for you, I have an ancient secret that’ll give you Lance-Armstrong-like endurance for budgeting.

(No steroids needed.  I promise.) 💪 💪 💪

What’s the secret?

The secret to money-mastery is in the Japanese concept: ShuHaRi.

Initially, a martial art approach, ShuHaRi represents the three stages of learning (Shu, Ha, and Ri) that transforms a person from being a novice to a master.

(Interestingly, in Japan they don’t talk about “ShuHaRi.” It’s just the way they’ve been learning for hundreds of years.)

In a nutshell, here’s how it works:

Step 1: Shu (obey) – In the beginning, you seek out a mentor. Mimic their methodologies — following directions to a tee. Just think of “wax on, wax off” in the Karate Kid.

Step 2: Ha (digress) – Once you got the basics down cold, you start to branch out and collect other techniques from other mentors. Kinda like scrapbooking.

Step 3: Ri (transcendence) – This is the highest level, where you start to mix, blend, and glue the foundational methodologies together with the new ones you learned.  Ultimately, you end up with a customized version of what you were originally taught.

But ShuHaRi goes beyond martial arts.

It’s the roadmap to master at anything you do in life. Including budgeting.

Where we go wrong

Sometimes I hear people say “Call Avraham; he’ll solve all your financial problems for you.”

I wish it was true. But it isn’t.

We (myself included) are always on the lookout for coaches, gurus, and thought-leaders in search for THE answer.

We wanna believe that someone has the magic potion that’ll cure all our financial problems.

Like there’s a tiny bottle out there with bold red letters that says “Drink this, and your financial problems will vanish!”

But unfortunately, lasting change doesn’t reside within the “secret-sauce” mentality.

How to REALLY make budgeting stick

Budgeting for a few days or even a week is easy. Anyone can do that.

But sticking to a budget for the long haul is tough and uncommon.  But that’s where change happens.  Endurance is where the tension is — it’s the part that’s hard and where we feel resistance.

Most people that I’ve seen successfully stick to a budget for the long haul, have used ShuHaRi.

Spoiler Alert:  Good financial coaches (myself included) have our own budgeting systems we created for ourselves through our own ShuHaRi journey.  We then pass our methodologies onto you.  But ultimately, when you master our teachings, you should keep on growing and blending beyond what we taught you.

If you do your own ShuHaRi, you’ll get a sense of ownership, a feeling of “this is mine.  I made it.” You’ll have your own budgeting system tailored for yourself.  You’ll be in the driver’s seat not just doing what you’re told.

And that’s the real trick that’ll get you smart with your money for the long-haul.

Where do you start?

ShuHaRi always begins with finding a mentor, and in the case of money management, you’ll need a financial coach (*ahem*.)

The key is to find a coach that has a fluid system, one that’ll promote using their teachings as a springboard to get you the next level in ShuHaRi.

If you incorporate ShuHaRi into your budgeting, you’ll have the sticktoitiveness you need to become a financial master yourself.

I’m curious…

Have you ever used ShuHaRi for anything before (even without knowing that ShuHaRi exists?)

Let me know in the comments below…