I Found a Gold Nugget Hiding in a Stack of Taxes

This week, I was going through that dreaded process we all engage this time of year.

Unless you’re a certified public accountant or simply overachieved in math, taxes are probably not your fancy. I’m not begrudging taxes; I’m just not a fan of the process.

Besides, there’s rarely a gold nugget hiding in a stack of tax paperwork.

However, this year, I found one.

 

Finding your treasure - photo by Matt | Goodies by Love, Mom

Finding your treasure

As I was going through my files, I saw an interesting change in my spending habits about July.

While the first six months of the year were littered with fancy dinners and golf outings as a means of wooing my clients and myself, the next six months were different.

In those months, I spent less on meals and entertainment and more on personal development and client investment.

I’d begun buying books to give away, donating to charities among other things. My spending habits had become focused around the needs of others.

I sat there and thought about this for a minute, enjoying every moment of this slow realization. The timing wasn’t ironic, but rather purposeful. These noticeable changes came just one month before I started writing.

A lightbulb went off. As if I had the gift of clarity.

I had overlooked it at the time, but now, I see what was happening. I was starting to understand the story I would tell.

I was starting to redefine what it meant to be rich.

I was orchestrating my life around personal growth.

I recognized that I was of little use to anyone if I wasn’t constantly growing.

I was more concerned with who I was becoming rather than how I appeared to others.

I was investing in other people.

I was more concerned with giving back than taking.

I started to understand the words of Ralph Waldo Emerson:

“We are rich only through what we give and poor only through what we refuse.”

In hindsight, the amazing part is — at the time — I had no idea the path I was getting ready to walk. I was completely oblivious of the calling I would soon hear. A calling to write.

I feel like God was preparing my heart all along.

He knew the road he would call me to walk and he was preparing my heart for the journey.

It’s incredibly difficult in the midst of our journey to gain clarity on the exact steps we need to take. Moreover, it becomes stressful when we pressure ourselves into making all the right decisions. When I looked back on the transformation in my spending habits last year, I saw that there wasn’t a big moment. There wasn’t a big decision when I stuck a stake in the ground and said, “From today on, I’m going to change.”

Change is organic. It happens slowly. It happens over time.

It is still happening today.

That’s the beautiful part of the call to live richly. It’s not a drastic transformation. It simply begins with a recognition of something greater. A recognition, “Maybe there’s more to this than I thought.” All great adventures start there.

That moment for me is fully described in my eBook “I Am Here.” I will be releasing the book in a couple of weeks and I would love to give you a free copy. If you haven’t already, please sign up for your free copy and as soon as it is available, I will send it to you. And if there’s someone you know that might find it helpful, I’ll send it to them too.

I believe there is richness living inside each of us, waiting to be found.

A treasure of the life that is truly life.

We simply need to understand what we’re looking for by clearly defining our pursuit.

So where do I come in?

I can help you dig.

What areas in your life would you hope to change if you only knew the next step? What’s one specific area you can focus on over the next week? Leave a comment below or send me an email. I’d love to hear from you!

mh

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I look forward to to hearing from you!

 Matt

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10 Responses to I Found a Gold Nugget Hiding in a Stack of Taxes

  1. DS March 5, 2014 at 12:41 pm #

    What a powerful moment of reflection Matt. This is great! What we do for others, and when we change our mindset, the difference is staggering. Thanks for sharing how you personally noticed this in your personal life.

    • Matt Ham March 5, 2014 at 6:49 pm #

      Thanks David – isn’t the clarity of hindsight a beautiful thing? Now if we could just learn clarity in plain sight!!

  2. Rod Semple March 5, 2014 at 5:50 pm #

    ‘We simply need to understand what we’re looking for by clearly defining our pursuit.’ – I like that one Matt. Really enjoyed your post

    • Matt Ham March 5, 2014 at 6:52 pm #

      My Aussie brother! Thanks Rod! I believe clear definitions are the foundation from which we grow! Cheers mate!

  3. Chad Biggerstaff March 6, 2014 at 9:44 am #

    Good stuff…

    • Matt Ham March 6, 2014 at 9:51 am #

      Thanks Chad! When are we getting lunch?!

  4. Tammy Helfrich March 6, 2014 at 8:16 pm #

    Love this, Matt! It’s exactly what I started doing a few years ago. Slowly changing my thoughts and habits and choices. God was definitely preparing me for something different. Looking forward to your journey!

    • Matt Ham March 6, 2014 at 8:25 pm #

      Hey Tammy! Thanks so much – isn’t it amazing looking back to see how we were in his hands all along?

  5. Kelly Cain Smith March 28, 2014 at 9:53 am #

    I love this post! Really made me think!