A Bull's Eye View

Have you ever been in a situation where you looked lost with nowhere to go? This may not only apply in driving along a random road, but in life in general.

I've been there. Probably about a bunch of times. When I realized that after everything that has happened, where exactly is it leading me? 

The latest came about a week ago. I was on a roll, setting my plans and priorities for that day the night before. They included appointments, meetings, meet-ups with friends, and time for myself which includes having a book on my hands. I'd made a couple of those to-do lists worked out at the start of the day.

Then, one by one, some of my plans for the day started to falter. Appointments getting cancelled. Meetings postponed. Lost track of the time due to other unimportant stuff. To sum it all up, after all the plans and objectives, where was it leading me? Nowhere but nowhere itself.

How are you going to hit your aim when your aim is not even defined?

I realized that I had no definite aim to achieve that day. And it somehow got me into an awareness that this situation also applies in personal finance, particularly in the world of investments (now I'd love to talk more of this topic as I have been a victim of this who may have learned his lesson, but let's just stick to the consistency factor my blog posts regularly, okay?).

Engaging into investments without a definite goal, purpose, or aim for short, is like going through life just allowing yourself to be blown off the wind with no apparent direction. While investments are good options in appreciating capital and increasing passive cashflow, but without a true purpose and goal into why you're investing, it just wouldn't make sense.


Now, imagine playing a game of dart. The objective is simple: the player who accumulates the most points while taking aim at the bull's eye wins. You keep throwing your darts because you have an aim to hit.


For venturing into investments, the same thing has to happen. Keep your eyes on the goal while staying invested and learning how to get there. Here I have for you a DART principle which will guide you in really defining your goals and hitting your aim with a sense of purpose in your financial life.

D - Dream

Out from just earning a lot of money from investments, what do you really intend to do with the money once it has reached its desired amount? You may be thinking of your dream vacation, supplementing the basic needs of your family like a home and your children's education, or even providing you with an abundant and comfortable retirement. Regardless of which one, be clear of what you want to have in the future.

A - Amount

How much are your dreams? Thousands? If not, millions? Our goals all have price tags - even our own retirement fund. Determine how much they are (estimate or exact, and compute for inflation as well), and how much you are going to invest regularly - keywords are invest, not save, and regularly, not just one time. You may need help from your financial advisor on this matter.

R - Risk

I used to gamble a lot back in my college days. There's always that principle when I bet big, I can win/lose big, and if I bet small, I also win/lose small. In investments, we are not laying down all our savings on some gamble which will look like a double or nothing move. Investment vehicles with high risks almost always gives the highest return of your money to compensate the risks taken in the movement of the funds going up. For the lower risk investments, of course it's the other way around. Learn from within yourself whether a 20% loss of your fund would excite you or a 30% gain of your money fears you.

You don't have to be a risky investor. Be aware of these risks, and learn more to minimize them.

T - Time

The earlier you start, the more compounding interest plays a big part to your advantage. Think of a snowball rolling down the mountain. It gets bigger, right? That's your money, but moving up earning bigger returns the longer the time. Beat procrastination and take action. How do you expect to build your dream house in five years without even starting to invest?

Investments take time of learning and preparing yourself mentally and emotionally. As I am currently reading Napoleon Hill's 1937 classic Think and Grow Rich, the accumulation of riches starts with a desire, followed by a plan which you have to implement in order to achieve them. Like investments, it all starts with a purpose, then map out a plan on where you're going to invest and how you are going to get your desired amount.


Take the time to discover your real purpose of investment. Follow the DART system, and you might just hit your bull's eye on realizing your goals in life.


See you at the top.