About a month ago I was driving back from Dallas. I was loving life after a two days at a great inspirational real estate seminar. There was a great book on cd in the player (The Rules of Betrayal by Christopher Reich). About an hour outside of Austin I looked at the clock and was making great time. A few seconds later I just heard a thud and felt the car jerk. I was able to get control of the car within a split second and headed for the shoulder. There were cars in front and behind me, but fortunately none to my left. I made the shoulder and came to a halt. I jumped out of the car and saw this:
My rear driver side tire had completely blown out. The scariest part was changing the thing with traffic driving by at 80 mph.
As I went to grab my spare off the back of my SUV I realized something. I had a fullsized pare on the back. I was thankful because I could continue driving at full speed and had only 4 hours left to Corpus Christi. On a donut I would take about 6 hours at 55 mph. It reminded me of how important it is in life to have a full size spare spiritually and financially. Without one your journey will face delay and hardships.
Spiritually it’s important to have someone to help keep you going when you are facing challenges and struggles. Good friends, Pastor, and accountability partners are key. Most importantly is a strong relationship with God. Imagine how much better it would be to rely on a strong team and God during a struggle versus unreliable friends and no higher power. Relying on yourself alone in tough times is like riding on a flat donut.
Financially speaking the spare is your emergency fund. Being in real estate sales and building I know all to well about the need for back up funds. Last year was one of my best years, unfortunately most of it happened in the first 9 months. We had a major dip in income from me and when my wife took maternity leave to be with our new daughter Joss. We were prepared with a full size spare because of planning, discipline, and the urging of my business coach. With out several months of expenses in the bank we would have gone back in debt.
I have been through financial times with no spare, a doughnut, and times where it felt like I was driving on only two wheels. My urging is to get you to build up a full emergency fund. This gives you the freedom to continue focusing on your work, family, and life without spending all your time focusing on financial issues. If you spend your energy on your woes and not your work the woes will grow.
Please take time to figure out what your spare looks like. Life is better with a cushion. The freedom you give yourself will allow you to think and move forward with less stress and fear.
It’s a blessed life,
Joseph
Joseph Cortez 