A lesson from a 67-year-old BJJ white belt.

“I regret not starting sooner.”

Melissa and I had good friends over for dinner last Saturday.

The husband's name is Henry. He had a whole career in the Navy and then another whole career as a physical therapist.

He asked me a question and made a comment at dinner that led to some deep thinking.

Henry, now in his late sixties, recently decided to take up a little hobby called Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ).

BJJ is hard for anyone, but starting later in life makes it even harder.

The 67-year-old, one-stripe white belt looked at me and said, "So when did you start training?"

I told him I started training at age 19 when it was still sort of "underground."

That's when he said something so profound he didn't even know it.

"I regret not starting a long time ago."

A few moments later, he added:

"But I'm really glad I'm doing it now."

Here's the obvious point that is so easily missed.

You may not be where you want to be, but that doesn't have to prevent you from making progress.

Henry can absolutely reach a respectable level in the next five years or so, and that time, God willing, will pass either way.

Not only that, but he'll experience a massive amount of fulfillment and growth that he would have missed if he had said, "I wish I started younger. It's too late now. Not worth it."

I don't think there's a person on the planet who wouldn't do at least some things differently if they could rewind the tape of life.

We can easily relate this idea to money.

Here are four beliefs that might be holding you back financially.

1. Change must happen quickly, or not at all.

Just like Henry reaching a respectable BJJ level over the next five years, what could you accomplish with your finances over that same period?

Wouldn't it be better to make steady progress than to spend the next five years frustrated about where you are?

Financial success isn't an all-or-nothing proposition. It's a spectrum.

You don't have to achieve complete financial freedom to dramatically improve your life.

2. My past financial mistakes define me.

Do you take your lack of financial success as proof that you're a loser?

First off, your net worth has precisely ZERO to do with your worth as a person.

People who attach their identity to what's in their bank account are never truly satisfied.

Maybe you haven't experienced the financial success you want because you need a different approach, plan, or support.

Your past doesn't have to determine your future.

3. I can't afford to take risks or try something different.

If you're only willing to get in the game when there's no risk, you'll be waiting a loooooong time.

There's risk in almost everything we do.

And ironically, sometimes the biggest risk is doing nothing.

I'm not suggesting you make reckless financial decisions.

But continuing to do the same things that aren't working isn't much of a strategy either.

4. Getting ahead financially has to be extremely difficult.

While there's certainly hard work involved, much of what leads to financial success can be simplified, systematized, and even automated.

You can enjoy the process rather than waiting for some magical day when there's enough money in the bank, and you'll finally be "happy."

And sometimes success looks completely different from what you originally imagined.

I know a guy who didn't quite achieve his goals in professional sports. Then he failed in business. His marriage fell apart.

Today, he's built an amazing business serving people, earns a fantastic living, and has a beautiful family.

He didn't get there by pretending his failures never happened.

He kept moving forward.

Which brings me back to Henry.

He can't go back and start BJJ at 19.

But he can start at 67.

And he did.

Five years from now, he'll be 72 either way.

But the 72-year-old Henry who kept showing up on the mats will be a very different person from the one who decided it was too late.

The same is true for your finances.

You can't change what you did or didn't do five, ten, or twenty years ago.

But you can absolutely change what happens next.

Don't let regret about yesterday rob you of the opportunity you have today.