Transform Your Life with the Surprising Power of Change

Good morning!

I hope this finds you well.

Welcome to another edition of The Matt Viera Newsletter.

The newsletter with the goal to inspire you to live the life you actually want to live.

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What if a single decision could transform your life?

Would you be willing to embrace the unknown for the chance at a more fulfilling future?

Would you be willing to make a change?

Change is challenging. No doubt.

What makes it more challenging is the fear of the unknown.

People are comfortable in their lives. There's an expectation of how every day of their life will play out (for the next 45 years). Any deviation from that expectation, real or imagined, may be a source of anxiety.

So what do they do? They resist change. They resist change with every fiber of their being.

But here’s the truth: change is empowering and life-altering.

Case in point: I had no idea what to expect when I enlisted in the Army.

All I knew was that from my first day in Boot Camp, each day moving forward would be drastically different than any day I've experienced.

Less than ~9 months after graduating from Boot Camp, I was living in Europe and skiing the Swiss Alps in Lake Lucerne, Switzerland on weekends.

Ultimately, the one decision to enlist in the Army that changed my life not only led to skiing the Alps in Europe but to extensive travels all over the world:

• Haiti

• Germany

• Zimbabwe

• South Korea

Then, 20 years ago, I decided to change from soldier to civilian (not knowing what to expect) and was employed by Florida International University in Miami, Florida, as a computer network engineer (true story).

I didn't "plan" to move to Miami, Florida; it's just the city I ended up in (and ultimately where I attended law school).

Today, I am a licensed attorney who doesn't practice law, working for a municipal agency where the prerequisite for my position is a Master's degree in Education, not a Doctorate in Law.

And now I spend my summers in Europe.

I've experienced a lot of change in my life.

Some of it was scary, as I had no idea what the outcome would be for any decision I made, but most of it was empowering.

And the unexpected benefits have been life (and mindset) altering on a level I can't begin to describe.

I consider myself grateful and lucky for my experiences and where I am in my life that spiraled from one decision I made when I was 18.

It's all prologue for how I envision the rest of my life.

A vision I do not believe I'd ever have without deciding to make the small change at 18 I thought I needed to help me live the life I actually wanted to live.

I can't imagine where I'd be if I decided not to enlist in the Army and ended up working some drab career for 30-45 years, doing the same thing daily.

So, my challenge for you is to consider this:

What change do you believe you need to make to live the life you actually want to live?

• Find a new career?

• Stop overspending?

• Increase your income?

• Increase contributions to your retirement account?

• Plan a trip to your dream destination to spend a month or longer?

Whatever change you believe you need to make to live the life you actually want to live, no matter how big or small, come up with a rough plan for executing that change.

Brainstorm some ideas on a sheet of paper.

Heck, I'll even help you with two simple prompts - answer these questions:

• What do I want?

• What do I need to do to get what I want?

It doesn't get much easier than that.

What you don't want to do is make it more challenging than it needs to be.

Make a decision and move forward (without overthinking).

Imagine the life you actually want to live, and let the decisions you make today transform your life.

You never know where your journey will lead.

And keep in mind:

Interesting reads:

I was surpised and delighted Nuremberg, Germany (the city I lived in for two years) was included in this article of the 15 places to travel to during Christmas vacation.

You can find the collection of my favorite financial tools & resources by clicking here.

Thanks for reading!

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If you have a question about personal finance, travel, or mini-retirements, email me and ask and I’ll discuss the answer in a future article.

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