It is often being said that money is the most important thing in the world. Is money really as important as some people believe or should we consider them simply overly-materialistic? This is not necessarily true. Money itself, paper and coins are not important. What is important is that money can give you freedom and choices.
When you have money you have the freedom to decide for things such as where you want to live or the choice to hire someone to do all the things you might dislike such as cleaning your house, cooking your meals or washing the dishes and use the time you would spent doing that to do something you enjoy, like going out or spending time with your family. On the other hand, when you don’t have much money, choice may be something that you cannot afford. The choices available to you may not really be choices at all. Without enough money, or a true scarcity of it, life can be miserable. The most important use for money though is that they can help you turn the dreams you have today into the reality you live in.
As an athlete, you have the potential to earn substantial amounts of money from a young age, either from your playing contract and prize money or by building and monetizing on your image. There is a great possibility that these earnings will drop significantly after the end of your career, so it is critical to prepare financially for any possible outcome.
Most athletes don’t get the chance to develop their financial skills through the usual education path that the majority of people follow, because of their very busy training schedules or their choice to go professional before or during receiving higher education. Developing strong financial skills can support both your motivation and the attainment of your financial goals as it allows you to choose the lifestyle you want to have, help people you care about, experience the freedom to do what you want, when you want to do it, live without the stressors and negative emotions often associated with financial struggles and make a positive contribution to society.
Money usually does not change who we are. What it does, is magnify our personal traits inherent to our nature. If you have a mean and selfish disposition, you will have more to be greedy and selfish with. If you are caring, kind and loving, you have more to be thankful for and give. As Tony Robbins put it, “In the end though, what all of us are really after is not money, it is the feelings and the emotions money can create, such as empowerment, freedom, a sense of security and feeling alive.”
For more information on how you can attain financial skills, you can check out the Financial Education Programs APC Sports Financial Literacy Academy offers by clicking here or send us an email at [email protected]
