Week 5: The Million Dollar Challenge
Passing Away & Passive Income
My father-in-law passed away on April 4, 2024. My husband and I said our goodbyes as we watched William Bruce McBride struggle to take his last breaths. Three hours after we left his side, he left us. To say the last seven days have been difficult is insufficient.
I watched him battle cancer for three years, and over the course of the last month, I watched him slowly fade away from us, until he underwent the process of active dying. (a phrase I was unfamiliar with until I witnessed it first hand) Then he was gone.
Being next to someone at the end of their life, has a way of changing the lives of those left behind. I am not the same person today, as I was a week ago.
Death provides the living with much needed perspective.
Death reminds us, that it’s not about the accumulation of material possessions that matters, it’s about how FULLY we lived and loved. Our character. Our impact on people’s lives. Our words. Our actions. How we made people feel. Our legacy. That’s what matters.
And if we can leave our family members unburdened with our financial problems, that’s a bonus. Even in death, our finances trickle down to our loved ones, from funeral plans to estate planning. (I have learned much and still have more to share)
This experience has taught me so many things. Things I have yet to process.
I have learned that our wealth truly is in our health.
I have learned that there will be times when we’ll be unable to physically or mentally work. Catalytic events are inevitable and apart of the human experience. We may encounter illness, bereavement, caring for an elderly parent, an unexpected tragedy, having a baby or growing old ourselves. Finding ourselves in a situation where we need to put our work aside and give our undivided attention to what it’s in front of us. The better prepared we can be fiscally for these moments, the better off we will be when they most certainly arrive.
I’ve had to pause my business, my personal life and my work during this period of grief. My days have been filled with tears, paperwork, memorial plans and supporting my husband as he navigates the devastating blow of losing his father.
It’s made me realize that there will be days, weeks, even months ahead, when I’ll be unable to work due to another major life event, and I know now more than ever that passive income must be apart of my one million dollar challenge. So that when life requires me to pause, the money will continue to flow in, even when I am not apart of the daily output.
I also know that some things in life are priceless, like memories, the scent or essence of a person, nature, laughter, dancing. My pursuit of one million dollars in one year is not about buying things that I can’t take with me when I die, it’s not about the superficial. It’s about the ability to purse what I love, with those I love, with control over my time and resources.
Lynne Twist describes what I am trying to express best:
“Money is like water. It can be a conduit for commitment, a currency of love. Money moving in the direction of our highest commitments nourishes our world and ourselves. What you appreciate appreciates. When you make a difference with what you have, it expands. Collaboration creates prosperity. True abundance flows from enough; never from more. Money carries our intention. If we use it with integrity, then it carries integrity forward. Know the flow—take responsibility for the way your money moves in the world. Let your soul inform your money and your money express your soul.”
― Lynne Twist, The Soul of Money: Transforming Your Relationship with Money
It’s about building a life where I can have the resources and means to live out my highest potential.
It’s about open doors and opportunities for myself and my family.
It’s about spending time with my loved ones any where, any time, any place.
It’s about the ability to afford health care and medical resources.
It’s about the ability to see the World.
It’s about supporting hobbies, interests, curiosities and organizations.
It’s about helping others and myself.
It’s about living out my dreams.
It’s about providing for those I love, and the things I believe in.
I learned that my father-in-law bought a lottery ticket everyday at his local grocery, hoping he was going to hit the jackpot. (Such a human thing to do!) A lot of us are waiting for a lucky break so we can finally start living the way we want to. So we can check off things from our bucket list, see places and spend more time with our people.
Don’t let money hold you back from really living.
Be grateful for what you have right now, enjoy it, savor it, relish it. It’s all temporary.
“When we are focused constantly on the next thing—the next dress, the next car, the next job, the next vacation, the next home improvement—we hardly experience the gifts of that which we have now.”
― Lynne Twist, The Soul of Money: Transforming Your Relationship with Money and Life
If you want to experience a financial breakthrough while you are living, don’t depend on lady luck or the lottery, go out and make your own luck. It is within your power.
You’ve got but one life, try to make the most of it the best you can, with what you have.
Xo Whitney Anne Ellis
P.S. My father-in-law will be forever missed.
P.P.S. If you’d like to join the One Million Dollar Challenge please feel free to write your intention in the comments below with the hashtag #onemilliondollarchallenge. I also encourage you to read my first blog post to get started. :)
P.P.P.S. I am a Money Life Coach, and I can help you. Find out how, here.
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See you next Friday!
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//DISCLAIMER: All content has been prepared for informational, entertainment, and educational purposes only, and is not intended as Financial, Legal, or Tax Advice. Seek a professional, if you need it.
© Copyright Whitney Anne Ellis