#47: How to Stop Being Your Own Worst Enemy, with Clark Howard

Today’s guest is New York Times bestselling author, radio and television personality, Clark Howard.

While Clark is known as a personal finance expert, that title doesn’t tell the whole story.

He started reading stock tables when he was in fifth grade.

He began investing in real estate at the age of 22.

He created his own travel agency business at the age of 25.

And he became financially independent and retired at age 31.

However, after four years of living on the beach, he was ready to get back to work. He wanted to help people take control of their money and, consequently, their lives.

Clark believes that money is the result of the discipline you bring into your life. Unfortunately, most people want to take the path of least resistance when it comes to achieving their goals. That’s why so many people fail.

Clark says that the most common mistake he sees his listeners make is getting in their own way. People give up before they’ve started and play the victim.

That’s not the path to success – financial or otherwise.

So, how can you stop standing in the way of your own success?

In this episode, we cover that, as well as:

• Clark’s journey to financial independence
• Why he chose to pursue this audacious goal
• Why he felt ready to jump back into work after enjoying four years of retirement
• Why we behave the way we do when it comes to achieving goals
• What money means, and why it matters
• How to control your reaction to the inevitable setbacks we experience in life
• Why everyone must live beneath their means and spend less than they earn to achieve any financial goal
• What the future of money holds

There were so many takeaways in this episode, I couldn’t list them all. Clark is brilliant and offers some amazing insights into the financial industry, as well as business lessons he’s learned throughout his years of being an entrepreneur and managing teams.

Enjoy!

Resources Mentioned:

• Clark.com
• Podcast
• Radio

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I also wanted to take a moment to mention the sponsor for this episode.

If you’ve been listening for a while, you’ve heard me interview many best-selling authors, including Gretchen Rubin, Laura Vanderkam, Cal Newport, Chris Guillebeau, and J.D. Roth. Before I interview these guests, I need to review their books, even if I’ve already read them in the past.

Sitting down to physically read the books can take a long time. That’s why I listen to their audiobooks, and I do this through a subscription I have called Audible. If you want to give them a try for free, head to audible.com/trynow for a free 30-day trial.