If you’ve dabbled in personal finance issues, considered paying off all your debt, or looked for ways to become more financially astute, you may have run into Ramsey’s “Total Money Makeover” book, his Financial Freedom University or heard his radio show, which includes a hefty number of people calling in to shout “We’re debt free,” on the air after following Ramsey’s teaching.
Dave Ramsey is in Houston this weekend for two events.
His EntreLeadership event, designed with those in business for themselves in mind, is Friday, Jan. 23, at George R. Brown Convention Center, but you can still register.
His Total Money Makeover LIVE Event is Saturday, Jan. 24, at Reliant Arena. You can still get tickets here.
The beginning of the year is a good time to make goals and revisit your plans, especially your career plans. It’s never too late to turn a fresh page, get back on track or modify your plans.
That’s a topic Dave Ramsey knows a lot about.
Ramsey is known for his personal-finance radio and television shows and his books, including the best-selling “Total Money Makeover.”
While he now travels the country giving seminars and interviews on financial-management issues, Ramsey wasn’t always financially successful. In fact, during a recent interview, Dave gave me some background on his path to personal-finance personality.
He started his career in real estate, made a fortune and lost it, ultimately filing for bankruptcy. That was a turning point in his career and his life. “Losing everything made me realize that it wasn’t my career path that failed me; it was the guy in the mirror. My behavior had to change. Real estate wasn’t a bad industry; I just had too much debt,” Ramsey said.
“After the bankruptcy, I returned to real estate to support my family. As people saw us recovering financially, they started to ask how we were doing it. I found out there were a lot of people in financial trouble,” he said.
“I began counseling people just to help them. That led to classes, a book and a radio show. Eventually I had to make a decision where to spend my time — helping people with their money or in real estate.”
Ramsey said there were plenty of people who influenced him and helped him as he forged his new career path.
“First, I’m a reader who reads everything. The average millionaire reads a nonfiction book a month. This is a great goal for anyone in business. I also make it a point to talk to people who are where I want to be. After my bankruptcy, I talked to rich people about how they made money and kept it. When I set goals to syndicate my radio show, I talked to people in the radio industry.”
A career change coupled with financial stresses can seem overwhelming, but Ramsey found motivation by doing something he found fulfilling. “Teaching people about money is a calling for me. I didn’t plan for this to be my career. Helping people was all the motivation I needed to keep my on track.”
Ramsay believes networking is an on-going and active process that people need to do continuously, whether they’re looking for jobs or not. “You should surround yourself with good people. The more people you know, the more opportunities present themselves. You aren’t just collecting names. These are people you should be learning from and finding ways to help. Don’t start networking when you are in the middle of a search. Work on it all the time.”
Ramsey certainly has moved far from his days of bankruptcy. His company spreads his financial freedom message and methods through print, Internet and broadcat outlets. I asked him how he crafted his career comeback.
He said finding something he loved helped him focus all his energies on success. “Following my calling, doing what I’m passionate about, helping people and setting written goals have had a lot to do with the success of my company.”
He offered some ideas for those considering reinventing their careers by starting their own businesses:
1. Find something you love to do. “Do something you are passionate about.”
2. Learn all you can about the industry, preferably through hands-on experience. “Start part-time while you still have another income or volunteer at a company that does something similar. Make sure it’s something you really want to do. ”
3. Start your business debt free, and stay that way. “You can start a lawn care business with the push mower in your garage, then buy the fancy mower when you make enough profit to pay for it.”
Ramsey is very focused on goal setting, in his personal life — he recently ran a marathon — as well as his message of financial freedom. During our discussion he talked about goal setting and job searching.
“I like to quote my friend Zig Ziglar on this one. He says if you aim at nothing, you’ll hit it every time! You must have written goals. They must be on paper, a written game plan works.
“Goals that work must be specific, measurable, yours, time sensitive and be in writing. Last year I made it my goal to do four-half marathons. And because I wrote it down, I completed my fourth run in the freezing cold in Memphis last December.”
Changing careers and job searching is going to happen to most people at some point, so it’s encouraging to learn from those who have taken setbacks in their careers and turned them into a more fulfilling and successful career path.
