The first time I bet on myself

I was 25 when I bought my first house. I couldn’t afford it but I bet on myself.

It was a year before a big financial crash. Checks on U.K. mortgages were more lax than they are now.

But there was an opportunity and I suspected it wouldn’t be repeated. When I told my nan that there were 100% mortgages she asked if I could snap up two houses (no it wasn’t quite that simple, nan).

We were approved for the mortgage (!) We bought the house and I bet on myself. I banked on my ability to be promoted in 1-2 years and be earning enough for it to be more comfortable.

It was a risk. But if I didn’t bank on myself who would?

We got the house and life was tough for a while. We had to be creative. We asked the previous owner to leave furniture behind. We called in favours from relatives to help with decorating. I volunteered for paid supply lessons to bring in extra money.

After my first year of teaching I got the promotion. Then 18 months later I moved to another school and got another. Within 5 years I was earning more than double what I was when we moved in.

At 25 we could only just afford our house but I knew that future me would find it fine. I’d had evidence of creating opportunities for myself before and I knew it would happen again.

It wasn’t reckless, it was a calculated risk.

What can your future self do that your current self is scared of?

Ps.

In Career Pivot Pro we use my Next Best Step process to help clients create better career opportunities in a repeatable way. One client used it to create a bespoke career where they could pay for a wedding they didn’t think they’d ever be able to afford – while working part time.

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