All that Glitters…

My ten-year old daughter wants to be a superstar. I’m not sure doing what, but that’s mere detail. She expressed some anxiety today, proclaiming she’d best “hurry up” as time was running out. Most well-known people are already famous by the time they’re ten, she maintains. I proceeded to explain in what sounded eerily similar to my own mum’s parenting 101 tones, how being famous is not all good blah blah, lose your anonymity blah blah. Duh mum – that’s the whole point! Being recognised and adored, being noticed and revered. Celebrity! Her aspiration together with every other self-respecting Gen-Z.

Generation Z (what else could it be after X and Y?), label for those born from the late 90s to the late 2000’s, the offspring of Gen X. Also called the iGeneration (apt I think as these kids are all about Me! Me!), born into a wired world, babysat by DS’s, iPads, evolving to Playstation, Facebook etc etc, instant interaction and indulgence at their whim…

Obviously fame has its appeal. Don’t we all desire it at some level? Hankering for the shiny airbrushed lives led by the fortunate gracing our screens? Problem free and zero financial woes! But forsaking anonymity is a high price to pay. As a new arrival to Sydney, I got to experience that initial rare feeling of being completely unknown. It was refreshing! For a few weeks or months, when no-one knows or cares who you are or what you “do”, you are not defined by any of those artificial social markers people use to measure you or your worth. But before long, the craving for recognition emerges, and I can remember the feeling of satisfaction when a local shopowner remembered my name, or I randomly bumped into a new friend in the high street. As usual, we want the best of both worlds.

I recently saw Searching for Sugarman, a movie documentary describing the inspiring story of a genius 70’s era musician, Rodriguez. Rodriguez shot to cult status in South Africa with his album Cold Fact, which became an oppressed people’s anthem to anti-establishmentarianism (I always wanted to use that word) in the late 70s, the height of the apartheid regime. At the same time, despite his incredible talent (judge for yourself, listen to the album), he was a spectacular failure in the US selling literally only a handful of records. And, bizarrely, he was unaware of his stellar fame on that faraway continent - he continued to earn a meagre living as a construction worker in his home town of Detroit. This weird anomaly led later in his life to his having the most surreal experiences on several visits to South Africa - playing to sellout audiences of passionate fans, experiencing the mad clamour and glamour of fame in one life, while retaining a humble reclusive alternative life back in the US. The best of both worlds.

That situation would be impossible nowadays but in the pre-internet age it wasn’t. By the way, the movie was inconclusive about what became of the rivers of royalties derived from the hundreds of thousands of albums sold in South Africa before Rodriguez became aware of his success. But what is a good story without enduring mystery?

Here's the Thing About Goals...

I have a friend who, in the last year and at age 50, left her marriage with a very small pot of capital, retrained and started a career in a profession with higher income potential and last week, purchased a small 3 bedroom flat in her local area.

Another friend just told me she, at 55, has completed a Masters of Teaching. She has a hearing impairment and is a breast cancer survivor 10 years free of disease.

Isn’t this fantastic? They are living, breathing examples how the power of having goals in our lives can bring about massive change in our circumstances.

Yet, sometimes when I articulate my admiration and congratulations on their achievements they look somewhat bewildered and nonchalant.

This is the insidious thing about goals. Sometimes we forget to look back and see how far we have come and pat ourselves on the back before we look ahead to the next thing. Gratitude and appreciation for our achievement feeds in to our happiness and confidence levels, which helps propel us forward to whatever the next step may be.

Having goals is a human predilection. Without them, we would never have conquered Everest, discovered antibiotics or won Olympic gold medals. On a more modest scale nor would we attain degrees, buy houses, run half marathons, start investment portfolios or the myriad desires which takes our fancy.

We all have different ways of expressing our goals. Some people are more internally driven and need only to set their own internal compass to get them on their way. Others proudly announce to family, friends and anyone who will listen whenever a new target is in their sight. There is no right or wrong way to verbalise what you want.

Lists help. So do dream boards, life coaches or whatever you need in that moment to motivate you. Setting some is the key, not necessarily how you go about it.

When it comes to financial goals most of us have an overriding ambition to have financial security (whatever dollar amount that means to you). To get more specific in how that looks for you talking it over with a financial adviser can help. More pertinently, they can help you with strategies to get where you want to go.

Maybe the goals seem very obvious and not worth the effort to specify. Paying down your mortgage and building your super balance or saving for a first home deposit may appear quite generic but remember this is your journey and your efforts. They are worthy of communication to yourself, at the very least.

Just remember, every so often to take time to see how far you’ve come. Think back 5 years and celebrate your finer moments and the person you have become as you’ve brought about the successes in your life.

So, to my two dear friends, and they know who they are, I raise a metaphorical (and hopefully, an actual one in the not too distant future) glass to you and say…Woohoo. You go, girls!