Conversely there are people that never lack the energy and confidence to jump right in. Unfortunately they jump in before they've taking any time to think about what they're doing. They live in a world of hope?hope that somehow things will just work out. Unfortunately, their lack of planning and research manifests itself as continual failure. I term this group as ?Coyotes? like the Coyote from the Road Runner.

Both these extreme personality types (and everyone in between) need to take action, but action in a controlled logical and planned way. But how?

If you're committed to taking the wealth journey need to start with small S.M.A.R.T. steps and build your way up to bigger and bigger steps. This is often referred to as crawling, walking then running. Each one naturally follows once the preceding step has been mastered.

S.M.A.R.T. stands for:

* Specific - goals that are simple, concise and unambiguous.

* Measurable - goals that are assessable by either success or failure or by some sort of scale, say 1 to 10.

* Achievable - goals that are ?attainable? goals, given your current situation and goal timeframe.

* Relevant - goals that will help you achieve your mission or vision

* Time-bound - goals that have a target date that's also realistic.

Taking small ?crawling? S.M.A.R.T. steps will help build your confidence and allow you to change your nature to one that is used to winning. This is crucial. Jumping out of the starting blocks like a Coyote with over ambitious goals and no plan is a recipe for disaster. It'll lead to disappointment, frustration, financial failure and most importantly, wasted time.

Alternatively, the ?paralysis analysis? group will feel more at ease taking smaller action steps and their fears will be less inclined to act as an insurmountable barrier. Starting off easy will allow you to get some ?quick wins.? It's important to constantly challenge yourself but not overdo it to the extent that you fail or become overwhelmed and unmotivated.

So whether you are a Coyote or a paralysis analysis type person the small ?crawling? S.M.A.R.T. steps is the best way to start your wealth journey. This is low risk, high effective way to help build your confidence and asset base. It also gives you some time to gain practical, real- life experience. You can only learn so much from books, tapes, seminars, etc. Your next level of learning is in the real world.

Once you get a few quick wins under your belt you can increase the difficulty of your S.M.A.R.T. steps. This is because the ?Achievable? part of your S.M.A.R.T. steps has grown and you are moving from crawling to walking. It is a natural progressive transition that will constantly challenge you and move your wealth journey to a faster plain.

Wealth begins with one answer:

?Are you going to take action today??

Answer ?yes? or ?no,? and then commit to your answer. Don't procrastinate and put off your future. The question isn't as important as your commitment to the answer. If you answered ?yes,? then it forces you to take action.

If you answered ?yes,? the question becomes ?What action are you going to take to validate this?? Well, that's easy! It's in your wealth plan. It's your wealth plan tasks. If you haven't written your wealth plan, that can be your action.