In Praise of Humble Beginnings
I was reading an article called “How to invest even if you’re treading water financially” via Get Rich Slowly and a certain part jumped out at me (bolding and links mine):
“Don’t despise small beginnings.
The first steps in any endeavor are humble. Gustave Eiffel, famous today for his tower in Paris and the Statue of Liberty, started as an unpaid assistant in a foundry. Setting aside $10 a month might feel meaningless: “What difference can that ever make?” That’s wrong. It makes a difference in many ways:
It breaks the ice. You’ll never again wrestle with the question: Should I start?
It forms a base: It is easier to add a dollar to an existing savings account than it is to start with just one dollar.
It creates a habit.
And best of all, it sets in motion the power of compound interest.”
Start somewhere
Even the title of the article made an impact with me. Because I do slash DID feel like I’m treading water. But I refuse to wallow in it. Instead, I’m going to create small, actionable steps that I know will work.
When I started using Evernote, I was overwhelmed with it.
Even Evernote took some warming up to
Even though I signed up in August 2013, I didn’t actually create a note until September 2013. And I didn’t really start using it until mid-2014, 9 months later. And now I use it all day every day for a steady stream of uses.
Seeing my savings account in online banking would make me feel kinda shitty.
A free account that I never used… until 7 weeks ago
When I opened my Chase checking account in college, they threw in a savings account, too.
And I let it sit there for 4 years with nothing in it.
I didn’t have a use for it. Because I wasn’t saving.
And over time, seeing the $0 balance started to make me feel bad.
Then I resolved to start saving 10% of everything I make. I mean EVERYTHING.
Adding the first $20 felt anti-climatic.
But remember like attracts like.
Now I have over 13,000 notes in my Evernote account.
And I’ve saved nearly $3,000 since March 17, 2015. That’s already 5% of my $60,000 goal. In just ~8 weeks!
Just start
Don’t wait for a “day”
When I wanted to start saving 10% of everything in mid March, I thought, “Nah, I’ll wait until the 1st. Easier to track.”
And then I followed that with, “You know what. NO. I’m starting today. Today is a good day to start.”
People (including me) often say they’ll wait for:
New Year’s Day
Their birthday
The 1st or 15th of the month
Some holiday
Next check
Next time
No.
Forget all of that. What’s today? June 15th? June 15th is a great day to start. So is every other day.
Growin’ up
My socioeconomic background isn’t exactly the most thrilling. I’m from a small town in rural Mississippi. My parents were/are not exactly affluent.
My beginning
I have $80K in debt that I’m going to erase.
I’m not bummed about it any more. I’m cutting expenses, earning more with my side hustles, and throwing every cent I can toward it.
I’m also saving, paying down my student loan, AND maxing out my Roth IRA.
Because like attracts like:
The money I have in my savings account is attracting more money into it
What I’m putting into my Roth IRA is attracting more opportunities to contribute
Every time I erase a debt, all of my debts are zero
So I’m going to keep plugging away.
This is despite where I “should” be in life, based on my upbringing.
Anyone can start saving. Start with 1% ($1 for every $100!) and go up from there.
The travel angle
This applies to mileage accounts too! And it’s in line with setting a goal.
There are so many ways to earn miles here and there. And like everything else, humble beginnings are OK. I praise them!
Because soon enough, you’ll wind up with thousands of Evernote notes, or money in a bank account… or miles in a mileage account.
Really, setting a goal and making up your mind to stick to it sends a powerful message into the universe. And you instantly start attracting your goal to you.
Bottom line
We all gotta start somewhere, right?
And that’s OK.
It feels silly to put $1 into a savings account. Or only have 1 note in a notebook. Or 1 mile in a mileage account.
But once you get your machine working, you’ll soon have more than enough – to the point of abundance. Abundance is the goal. And then you can start sharing with those you love. 
Do you have a goal you’re starting right now? Or a big goal you’ve completed?
Would love some inspiration as I grab a shovel and start digging out!
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