This month marks the seven-year point of my stint working with military personnel based here in Hawaii. I consider myself fortunate to play a small role in helping our fighting men and women of the U.S. Armed Forces achieve their financial goals.

By doing what I do, they are given the peace of mind and the assurance that they can provide for their families on a long-term basis. For me this is why I do the thing I do.

There are great parallels between what we have created at SuccessHawaii and what I do at The Wheeler Group LLC through our association with the military. Like SuccessHawaii, our goal is simple–“to help our clients reach theirs.”

When meeting with prospective customers, I share with them the concept and idea that my mom, Dr. Linda Andrade Wheeler, passed on to me: If you don’t have a dream, you can’t make a dream come true. It all begins with goals. This is the beginning point. Without having a clear idea of what they want in life, the point of meeting with me is lost. They, like all of us, need a crystal clear vision of where they want to be financially in the future. Once we nail that down, we can move forward breaking their financial goals into manageable, realistic steps that will get them where they want to be.

“If you don’t have a dream, you can’t make a dream come true.”

In the past, Dr. Wheeler has given of herself and has conducted free seminars for the troops here in Hawaii. The emphasis of these classes is not simply money management, but rather a much more comprehensive approach to managing one’s life. It all starts with the notion of self-management. The core element in all of this is the empowering concept of developing a personal philosophy that makes you the owner of your own destiny, and not the victim of your circumstances.

In order to make this work, you need to develop a specific and practical plan of action for personal development. Your personal belief about yourself and what you deserve in life greatly impacts the actions you take in designing your destiny. In this day and age, it is all about balancing everything: mentally, emotionally, intellectually, physically and financially. In the Hawaiian language, there is a term that sums this up quite nicely. In essence the term, “Hookaulike”, means to bring into balance all the things to make you feel in harmony with the universe.

The second element she addresses in the seminar is the component of managing your time; ever critical in this fast-paced world we live in. A primary focus in this approach to time management is to plan your work; and work your plan. As she succinctly puts it,

*”Goals without action is daydreaming; action without goals is spinning your wheels; but action with goals will get results.”

I don’t know about you, but I’ve daydreamed and spinned my wheels many times. I appreciate the simple and constant reminder that we all need to put goals on paper, and then figure out the best way to make them come true.

So what does it take to accomplish your goals and meet with the success you’re looking for? Well, the next time I conduct seminars-for the 500th Military Intelligence division at Schofield Barracks (through Sgt. Major Marty Glenn) on October 17th, and on November 17th for MSgt. Noel DeMello and his crew at the Hawaii National Guard-I will share that it takes desire, discipline and dedication. Like anything else, you don’t get anything for nothing. When it comes to wealth accumulation, you never get anywhere if you don’t have the savings habit. ‘Pay yourself first and what you don’t see, you won’t miss,’ is the old cliché, but altogether correct. You’ve got to give and sacrifice to get what you desire.

Like everything else in this world, it begins with you.

*Discover more nuggets of wisdom like this in her smart, easy-to-read books that have the potential to change your professional and personal life. Click here for her books.