Love the quote, very profound.

When we read this, we tend to agree and concede its truth, but rarely do we all enact and keep this harsh reality in our minds (with exceptions always). I feel in order to be competitive and successful at this “game” we must keep reminding ourselves of the rules.

Dan Gazarek

And huge thanks to Hank for speaking his mind and laying it all out here. I would have never guessed that you (and others) have felt this way – sometimes I just blog from my head and see what happens, so glad it provokes some emotions!

As long as you’re reading this for motivation, that’s great. Def. not worth comparing your situation to mine directly since we’re all in different scenarios and jobs/preferences/etc. Everyone on this blog is *working* towards financial freedom, so pat yourself on the back just for READING about finances online! We may sound dorky to some, but we are rock stars here!!!

Some responses:

@Melissa – YES! keep it up!!! Sometimes you can’t do everything, every time, but you can keep pushing forward and rockin’ it! Very proud of you.
@Kaci – That is a VERY important notion – setting up ways to get that passive income. A lot of people look for the “quick fix” on this, but if you really put in the time and passion and get something up and running that’s sustainable and brings in money as you sleep (although usually you always have to do *something*), you can live way more financially free. I feel like my blogging empire falls into this a little bit, but def. not entirely as if I stop blogging and maintaining eventually the $ will go away…or maybe not? ;) (keep in mind that blogging for me is a hobby though more than it is a money maker – it took me months and years to make pennies)
@Molly On Money – Wow, that’s so interesting! Crazy how diff. lives can lead in extreme directions like that.
@Uncle EL – Love hearing that – esp since it feels like I’m doing much more spending than saving at times ;) Then again, yet another reason to track our overall financial picture every month! Sometimes I’m actually saving more than I think or give myself credit for. Glad it helps motivate you!!
@MoneyMan – Couldn’t have said it better – thanks for sharing this! So true, it’s okay to check out how we’re all doing separately from yourself, but we are all in different boats. Just keep pumping away on your goals and we’ll all reach them at some point!
@myfinancialobjectives – Thanks mate, glad they’re not as all over the place as I sometimes think :) keep paying down that debt! I need to do the same too in the mortgage department, we all have our problems to work out.
@Jenna – Thanks for reading and always commenting Jenna :)
@momcents – Home values are very frustrating, I agree. Mine’s not as perfect or definite as I’d like (nothing is ever that way until the day of contract signing), but at least educated guesses give you something to keep track of. We may not be able to control these numbers in particular, but we sure can all the others! (savings, investments, debt, etc etc)
@Jenna #2 – This makes me so happy hearing people DOING something about their finances cuz of this blog! thank you so very much for sharing :)
@Briana @ GBR – We all want to be on someone else’s level, even me ;) But it’s def. nice having goals and people to look up to a bit so we can get pushed toward the right direction. Glad I add value in this world! haha…
@Hank – Haha, thanks again bud. We’re all a community here, so holler any time!
@Financial Samurai – True, but also kinda not. I think people could def. hate on those with extreme net worths like that, but at the same time THOSE are the people I’d like to read about and try and follow so I can get to that point too. So I guess it can go both ways. And I’m fairly confident you are in this category of high net worths mr, and look how well you’re doing! ;) (you don’t have to list your net worth for people to know you’re on the right track, keep rockin’ it bro – you are killing it)
@Steve – Haha… it’s kinda comforting at least ;)

This is why I think it’s very important if you have a high income & net worth to remain hidden and let others highlight their figures to the world.

You’re my benchmark! Thanks for the motivation and for letting me “borrow” your readers today. I’m glad everyone didn’t hate the guest post as much as I thought they would. I forgot that everyone just wants to sing your praises….me too most of the time. Just not on the first of the month when you publish your latest and greatest net worth updates. Thanks again…

The thing I envy in J Money’s net worth updates is having a clear, set value for his home. I’ve been relying on Zillow and believe when I say it’s giving me a headache.