More than ever, we live in the Age of Information. Everything we might ever want to know about any given topic is laid out before us on the banquet table of the Internet. And it is a self sustaining system. The rate of dissemination of information means that advances happen more rapidly, and we know about them sooner, which lead to more knowledge, which leads to further advances, until we finally become floating beings of pure thought and energy, truly at one with ourselves and the universe.
But until that time, there is rarely an excuse for being uninformed about anything these days. Information breeds success, and the information for just about anything is literally at our fingertips.
Take financial issues. With such a wealth (pun intended) of personal finance articles and advice available online, and so many of them from reputable sources with proven track records and evident success, why do we still see so many people with financial problems? Is the system really stacked against them? Can the holes we dig for ourselves really be that inescapable? Or is there a different problem, some deeper rooted issue that must be addressed?
Articles about personal finance generally start with the assumption that you will be willing to work hard to achieve what you want. And they then go on to detail the steps to take to get there. But if that initial drive and willingness to dedicate time and energy to a difficult task is not there, then all the articles about personal finance on all the websites in all the world will not help one bit. Discipline, dedication, and the ability to delay your own gratification are all necessary traits to have before you can achieve success in any endeavor, but especially financial ones.
It may come as no surprise that some of the very best personal finance tips, the ones that really teach us something and stick in our minds, are the ones we learn ourselves, usually through mistakes or poor planning. Behind many success stories there is an initial period of failure. Those who climb the highest often started from pretty far down. And they try to help as many people avoid those same initial mistakes as they can by putting their stories into articles about personal finance and money management. But experience is, if not the best teacher itself, the best inspiration to get serious about self improvement.
Just know that, no matter when you decide to take the experts seriously, no matter what makes you decide to put your faith in them, and no matter what you have to go through to finally trust what people may have been telling you all along, the information and advice will be there when you need it. You just have to ask.