Self Analysis

Goal Setting
 WINN
When, If Not Now?

I took liberties with the last line of a famous quotation attributed to Hillel (60 B.C. - A.D. 10) and
used it for the title of this book:
"When, If Not Now?"
The entire quotation reads: "If I am not for myself then who is for me?
If I am only for myself what good am I?
If not now, when?"
The second line gave me the motivation necessary to write this book. The third line is meant to
give you motivation to do something about your life.
Many people feel they cannot afford professional advice when it comes to planning for their
productive and financial future. In reality they cannot afford to be without this advice!
What can advice do for me? How much will it cost (or benefit me in terms of savings)? How do I
choose an advisor? The answers to these and other questions are found in this book.
This is as close as one can get to a do-it-yourself book in a field that does not easily lend itself to
the self-help concept. The purpose of this book is to educate you to the fact that you can benefit
from professional advice and to show you that such advice should save rather than cost you in
terms of time and dollars.
However, it is up to you to choose your advisers wisely and to monitor their counsel. Rare is the
person who has not suffered at one time or another at the hands of an incompetent professional
whether he be plumber, mechanic, investment adviser or doctor. The incompetence of an attorney
dramatically changed ten years of my life—in response I studied law. I don't suggest you pursue
surgery as a career if you have been the victim of an unnecessary operation, but study you must.
Gather information and compare opinions before making the decisions that are ultimately yours
alone to make. To purchase stock solely on the recommendation of your broker is foolish. Listen,
get other opinions and check out any recommended companies. This book and others will tell you
the many things you must take into consideration before choosing the insurance, savings,
investment, retirement and estate plan that is best for you. Remember, advice in the area of
financial planning must always be taken as a whole, not piecemeal, and in the light of your
unique circumstances.
The purpose of this book is to educate not indoctrinate. The only point of view I wish to advocate
is the need for critical analysis. No one has your interests more at heart than you do! No one
knows your situation, your hopes, desires and needs as well as you. In the long run you and no
one else is responsible for the satisfaction or disappointments you get out of life. You can
respond to events haphazardly as they work on you or you can, through advanced planning,
anticipate and control events rather than always being controlled by them.
Isn't it time you took charge of your life? W I N N
WHEN, IF NOT NOW?

Self Analysis
Living without a plan is like drifting in a boat. You may, with the proper attitude, have a
marvelous time and even eventually reach the destination you had in the back of your mind all
the time, but that happens only rarely. Shakespeare put it this way: "Fortune brings in some boats
that are not steered." More often the drifter encounters storms for which he is not adequately
prepared and may crack up on unseen rocks. Even if he manages to survive he may find he has
had to put in at a port far different than the one he would have chosen. Even the lucky ones who
seem to do all right without charts and maps to guide them, could have reached their destination
and gone on to even more fascinating places with a little planning and discipline.
Financial planning is not only for the person with so much money that he needs help in deciding
where it should be placed. Foolishly the average man too often lets his creditors dictate where his
money should go: so much to the landlord or mortgage holder, so much for groceries, clothing,
doctors, and miscellaneous expenses. He assumes he has no surplus for savings. But savings
should not come out of surplus. A set portion of each pay check is what you owe yourself and
what you must set aside for your future just as you owe the landlord or mortgage holder. The
average working person is exactly the person who can benefit most from financial planning.
Perhaps financial planning should be referred to as the Goal Implementation profession; the art of
helping a person establish and achieve his goals in life. Whatever your present position and age
you can set and accomplish your goals with proper planning and discipline.
The fact that you are reading this book shows you have decided to stop procrastinating, delaying,
and have answered Hillel's ancient question, "If not now, when?" with "NOW!"
This book will do different things for each reader. I am confident that if you faithfully pursue the
worksheets provided at the end of each chapter you will have a better understanding of your
present position in terms of what you really want out of life; what assets you have to work with
and information from which to evaluate your strength and weaknesses.
Most of you will, at some time in your life, require professional help in one or more area. If you
have filled in the forms, given careful consideration to the questions and diligently gathered the
information required, the cost of professional services (attorney, financial planner and/or
accountant) should be considerably reduced. You will have anticipated the professional's need to
gather data and thereby made the job easier for him/her and less expensive for yourself.
A minority of you may want to invest the time required to implement a plan on your own and
there are numerous materials to help you. I have stressed here, and throughout this book, that it is
the person with the small estate who can benefit most from professional help. The fewer assets
the more important each becomes. There is no room for waste due to unfamiliarity with tax
codes, investment procedures or trust provisions. Trying to handle your financial and estate
planning totally on your own is a perfect example of being "penny wise and pound foolish!" It's
just not that easy!
But wait! Don't throw this book away and rush out to the nearest attorney, accountant, or
financial planner. It's not that easy either! In fact what prompted me to write this book is the fact
that so many people seem to be extremely docile with their lives and savings. Talk shows on
radio and television, magazines, newspapers, seminars, advertising—almost everywhere a person
turns someone is telling them "How to..." How To books are the easiest to sell nowadays and
you're right, that's exactly what this book purports to be; a How to Think for Yourself book
because there is no other way to succeed. I have heard, and possibly you have too, all the gurus
contradicting one another in a constant stream; "Buy gold. Sell gold. Get out of the stock market.
Hang in there. Buy term insurance. Buy whole life. Probate is bad. Probate is good." Who can
you believe; who should you follow?
The important thing to remember is that no one knows everything; even in his own field. Among
doctors an eye, nose and throat man might not be up on the latest treatment for cancer. A criminal
lawyer may have little knowledge of the latest change in tax law. But though they may not know
everything they will have a knowledgeable opinion; a judgment.
Do you then have to become an expert to recognize one? Remember that old kid's saying, "It
takes one to know one!"? Well, that is the ideal and as impractical, impossible and ridiculous as it
sounds, I am nevertheless advocating an approximation of it. You must be willing to research a
subject enough to know the right questions to ask, the suggestions to make and have enough
confidence in your own intelligence to evaluate arguments set forth. I defy you to think of an
issue about which no one holds an opposing opinion! Do not be led blindly by last week's
magazine article or this week's talk show. Check it out! In my experience the more dogmatic the
individual the less intelligent and probably less informed.
If you want to take charge of your own life then you have some work ahead of you. You may
even have to replace some television time with reading for nine months or so, but you'll become a
more confident and self assured human being. Okay then—let's get on with it!

Goals
Each generation attempts to Americanize the English language. One of my favorite phrases is
"Go for it!" It's puzzling to me that the generation that coined that phrase seems less able to
follow its dictates than earlier generations. It's hard to ask yourself what you want out of life
when you start with unnecessary restrictions. What kind of twenty-three-year old would answer
"Twenty-five thousand" to a question asking how much money you’d like to be making at age
thirty-five? — Why $25,000? Why not a million? Wouldn't he/she rather? Yes, but perhaps these
young people have no role models; perhaps no family member or any of their friends are/were
making a million dollars at age thirty-five. They likely hear unemployment discussed and pick up
tips on how to milk the system. They may have heard complaints all around them about the state
of the economy. It’s not surprising then that many end up doubting themselves and their abilities
without giving themselves a chance.
This workbook is not directed to any particular age group. The ideas here will work for you
whatever your age and circumstances. The earlier in life you learn how to form and implement
goals the easier it will be for you. In fact recent studies have proved what we always knew in our
family; financial education works effectively and naturally in the home environment and that ages eight
to twelve are the easiest, not the only, but the easiest age to acquire the habit of saving and
budgeting. As in all things it is not enough to understand; one must make it a habit by actually
doing. Having a goal—a specific use for the savings—is a powerful inducement to save.
In our family my husband wanted to give our five sons the gift of independence. Since he only
felt emancipated once he started returning the money his parents provided for his college
expenses he assumed his sons would feel the same. Needless to say not everyone considers the
news that you are going to be responsible for your own post secondary education an exciting gift
—but it worked.
From a very early age each boy in our family knew the money they had earned all year was to be
matched on their birthdays. Tripled up to age ten and then doubled until high school graduation
and matched after that with a return to doubling for advanced college degrees. It had different
affects on different sons. They not only learned to budget and save they also learned to recognize
and persuade in order to turn a bad deal into a good deal and a good into a better by bargaining
for lower costs or interest rates. As adults they still talk about the crummy deal they got pulling
weeds for ten cents a bag and then Mom pressing down on the contents to make sure it was full.
Only the middle son would take the dishwashing job for a quarter a week and the others thought
he was crazy. It was not surprising that he was the first by twelve years to purchase a house on
his own. He was an example of what compound interest can accomplish when even very small
amounts are consistently deposited in an investment. That should be a lesson to those who would
chose to stay out of the job market until something comes along in their field and at an acceptable
salary. It is far better to take anything that is available because at least a portion of the money that
is made can go to work for you.
All five sons took advance placement courses and that saved a year of tuition. One sped through
Johns Hopkins in two years with a huge academic load. Others acquired skills that commanded
good enough salaries that summer work paid for the academic year. One son tried for a student
loan as an undergraduate but was denied because his family did not meet the financial
requirements. However his own financial statement met the student loan requirements once he
had graduated and he was able to get a law degree using a student loan. The second son financed
his doctorate via a fellowship. The youngest son liked the job he chose as a means of working his
way through college so much that he took seven years to get his undergraduate degree.
But getting back to the need for self-analysis, I'm certainly not saying all twenty-three-year olds
should have making a million dollars by age thirty-five as their goal! I am expressing amazement
that they should restrict themselves to answering, "$25,000" on the basis of what they see and
hear around them. "$25,000" may well be the answer I would encourage a certain young person
to come to, but only after taking into consideration data such as in the following hypothetical:
Jon, age twenty-three does not want to marry until past age thirty, if ever. He is a teacher. He
likes backpacking and things to do with nature.

"Hypothetical Jon" has no need for a lot of money. He anticipates

no dependents, enjoys a profession which does not pay well and a non-working environment
which is comparatively inexpensive. Jon, at this stage of his life, has determined that he values
non-material things more than material. It just so happens that teaching and nature-loving
complement one another; the profession providing both enough time and money to enhance the
avocation. But even Jon has need of further planning and should read this book for information
on insurance, passive investments, retirement planning, and much more.
Those beyond age twenty-three may have seen themselves when reading about Jon—themselves
before they met their spouse and had several children. Planning cannot be done once in a lifetime.
It’s not a once and for all proposition. The priorities in all lives change constantly. Plans should
be reviewed whenever an event such as a marriage, birth, death or career change takes place, and
at any rate no less than once every five years.
In forming goals of course, there are constraints. "Go for it!" means that more is possible than
you may have let yourself dream. And even then most of us dare not soar, even in our
imaginations. There is however, the other side which one encounters occasionally. The five foot
six inch guy who wants to a basketball star; the 150 pound awkward large boned girl who dreams
of becoming a prima donna on the ballet circuit; the person with 20/100 vision who always
wanted to be a jet pilot, or even more tragic, the pianist who loses a hand; the painter who goes
blind. One must learn to be realistic in forming goals and may on occasion need some objective
feedback. There are role models that prove that nothing is impossible if one wants it badly
enough, but an adjustment in planning may be in order. Vision can be corrected so one could fly
even though the policies of the air force and commercial airlines prevent pursuing those two
particular avenues as a career. Music can still be pursued with one hand; perhaps in composing,
teaching or conducting. Dreams need not be scrapped when the unexpected intervenes; only a
slight shift might be called for.
You should make friends with yourself. Get to know yourself. Your likes and dislikes; strengths
and weaknesses. The questions at the end of this chapter are geared to help you do just that.
I have on occasion addressed the graduating classes at the Defense Language Institute in
Monterey, California. I usually begin with a short story I heard some time ago. My version
follows:
In Berlin one day, a man, a detective, follows another man. He loses him; wonders if he has
stopped at a particular hotel. To find out without causing suspicion, he decides that the best way
is to enter the hotel, go up to the desk clerk in the lobby and give his own name and inquire if he
is registered there. While the clerk looks for his name on the register he plans quickly to scan the
list to determine whether the man he is pursuing is registered at the hotel.
Everything works out according to plan—at first. He enters the hotel, crosses the lobby, walks up
to the desk and asks the clerk if he himself is registered there. Then he gets the shock of his life!
Quickly, almost without looking at the register, the clerk says, "Yes, he is registered here and he
is waiting for you in Room 1233." Stunned, the man backs away in a daze. Victim of his own
scheming, he takes an elevator to the twelfth floor, and knocks on the door of Room 1233.
Slowly the door opens. There, standing before him, is a man looking amazingly like himself—a
little grayer; a little heavier with a few more lines in his face—the man he will be in about twenty-
five years' time. I will leave their conversation to your imagination.
The point being that for each of you there is a person — a YOU five, ten, twenty, twenty-five
years in the future. When it is your turn to open that future door twenty-five years form now and
look squarely in his eyes, how will you like what you see?
I was going to start this section with the following words written almost 2,000 years ago by the
Roman philosopher, Seneca: "Our plans miscarry because we have no aim. When a man does not
know what harbor he is making for, no wind is the right winds." However, the more I thought
about it the more I realized Seneca is generally, but only partially, right. He substantiates the
importance of goals but Shakespeare realized life in the real world does not always work by cause
and effect. Often the bad guys win-- unfortunate things happen to good people: "Fortune brings in
some boats that are not steered." (William Shakespeare)

Sometimes one event leads to another, to another, in an almost

gentle sequence.
As if one must get from step #1 to step #7 without seeming to do so. Somehow, psychologically
or physically or because of lack of education or experience, if step #7 were presented directly to
the person at step #1 it would be turned down flatly as a preposterous, unacceptable idea.
No matter how well you plan you cannot foresee all your future needs and wants. That's why the
yearly review is so important. Some people will inevitably experience more changes than others.
You do the best you can at the stage in which you find yourself. Use honest and thorough
evaluations, and then prepare for the unexpected-- the unforeseen events which strike from time
to time in all our lives.
Keep a separate notebook or computer file for the worksheets found at the end of every chapter
so your answers and all the information you have gathered while reading this book will be in one
place.

Worksheet
Self Analysis
DO YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE AND
WHERE YOU ARE GOING?
This test is designed to help you know yourself a little better and define your goals.
DO NOT GENERALIZE -- BE SPECIFIC
1. My three best character strengths are_______________________________________
2. My three worst character traits are _________________________________________
3. My three best physical features are _________________________________________
4. My three worst physical features are ________________________________________
5. I used to be ______________________________________________________ but now
___________________________________________________________________________
6. I am satisfied with my educational achievements _____________ or would like to pursue

_______________________________ and it will take _________________________ years.

7. If I could make three changes about my present job, _______________________________

__________________________________ and _____________________________________

8. Most people see me as ______________________________________________________
9. I see myself as _____________________________________________________________
10. I would be willing to work longer hours if
___________________________________________________________________________
11. I would like to work less because
___________________________________________________________________________
12. I don't mind taking direction as evidenced by
___________________________________________________________________________
13. I enjoy taking responsibility as evidenced by

___________________________________________________________________________
14. I prefer city to country living or vice versa ______________________________________
15. I prefer office work to physical activity or ______________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
16. I would like to make ____ dollars next year, $ ______ in five years, $______ in 10 years,
$_______ in 20 years.
17. My greatest achievement to date has been
___________________________________________________________________________
18. Taking risks is ____________________________________________________________
19. My feelings about SECURITY in home, marriage, job and money are

____________________________________________________________________________
20. If I could have 3 wishes which must be spent selfishly they would be ________________
_____________________, ________________________and _________________________
21. Name the ten public figures (sports, religious, political or from the entertainment field) you
most admire and would like spend some time with.
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________

Recommended Reading
Chapter Two
Make it a habit to read 1/2 hour of motivational material each day. I recommend the following
oldies but goodies:
Anything written by:
Napoleon Hill
Norman Vincent Peale
Dale Carnegie
J. Paul Getty
Erich Fromm
Leo Buscaglia
Og Mandino and all of the books listed below. Search amazon.com
The Magic of Thinking Big, by David Schwartz
How to Attract Good Luck, by A.H.Z. Carr
How to Give and Receive Advice, by Gerard Nierenberg
Be the Person You Were Meant to Be, by Jerry Greenwald
Self-Renewal, by John Gardner
Advice form a Failure, by Jo Coudert
Shifting Gears, by Nena & George O'Neill
How to Live 365 Days a Year, by J.A. Schindler
The Art of Thinking, by Ernest Dimnet
A Guide to Rational Living, by Albert Ellis & Robert Powers
Only the Best, by Wallace Hildick
Success Forces, by Joseph Sugarman
The Psychology of Self-Esteem, by Nathaniel Branden
Psychomatics/The Power of Super-Persuasion, by Norvell
The Magic of Thinking Rich, by Ralph Charell
How to Get Rich Slowly but Almost Surely, by William T. Morris
More recent and extremely useful
The 250 Personal Finance Questions Everyone Should Ask by Peter J. Sander