APPLICATION #19: Travis Reynolds

Travis Reynolds is a 17-year-old student from Lacombe.

Here is Travis' video application:

Here is Travis' current situation:

Hey there!

I am a 17 (almost 18) year old student just finishing up my last year of high school in Lacombe. After this semester has ended I have decided to take a year off to explore my options. I live out in the country. I attend school in Lacombe even though Red Deer is a little closer. I enjoy my spare time by visiting friends, playing some sports, drumming, and just whatever else I feel like! I have a strong interest in entrepreneurship and investing. I enjoy talking to and hearing from different people.

Here is Travis' blog post:

What does freedom mean to me? Fancy car, big house, all the luxuries everybody dreams about…

Sure, but it means so much more than just those. It has to. Freedom to me is about being able to make choices. The choice to live unconstrained from the daily monotonies of life that wear us down. The choice to live as we want to without having to worry about not being able to accomplish our goals and dreams. The choice of being able to live our lives’ to the full value they were meant to be worth, and to be able to help others do the same. That is why I think it is so important for youth to obtain the proper education to learn how to properly manage their finances.

But let’s take this to a larger scale…Since money so often dictates too much control over the life of an individual, let’s apply the same principles to life. There are way too many misconceptions about wealth out there. Children aren’t taught about it so people age without knowing how to think about it. Too many people learn false myths about money.

People think they should do something, but they aren’t sure what to do, so they do nothing. They respond to the circumstances in the very way that has trapped them before. It’s easier to steer a boat that is moving rather than a boat that is still. Even when people aren’t sure what to do they should try to do something or else they won’t get anywhere. The more that a person is exposed to, the greater the chance for opportunities to come their way. The fear of the possibility of failure and embarrassment is a much smaller risk than what they are already facing if they don’t take action.

Sometimes I feel like the trick to life is to find out exactly where the fine line of your comfort zone ends, and then take a running leap over. Get comfortable with the uncomfortable, and deal with it. It’s easier to recover from something when you still have your youth anyways compared to being older. I’m not saying be reckless, but just be more adventurous. And don’t just do something to convince yourself you tried, but to do something with the specificness of accomplishing it, and having a vision of what it will look like when you are done.

This is how people will reach their financial goals; by grasping new styles of thinking and incorporating them into their old ways. People will take control of their lives’ when they learn to control their finances. Then I think it is their responsibility to teach it to as many other people as they can. It is this bold and daring change that I see in my generation that will lead to freedom over their finances. And through that, they will achieve freedom in their lives’ too. That is what it means to me to be young and free.

Travis