How a Horse is Inspiring Me to Reduce My Debt

Yeah, that's sort of a weird title, but it's true. I tend to look for sources of inspiration everywhere in my life and I try to remember them in my head. The great thing about this blog is now I can write them down because I tend to be forgetful :)

I was fortunate enough to catch the movie "Seabiscuit" on ABC last night. I have previously watched this movie and enjoyed it – but now since I have the goal of becoming debt-free it holds even more meaning for me.

In a nutshell, the movie is about a horse named Seabiscuit that no one imagined could be a race horse. With work and determination (in regards to the horse and everyone involved with the horse) he was soon winning races. This non-traditional race horse also had a non-traditional jockey named Johnny "Red" Pollard played beautifully by Tobey Maguire.

I don’t want to give the whole story away, but I want to mention one thing that Red said to another jockey when discussing Seabiscuit. It's something that hit close to home with me with my goal of debt-reduction. Unfortunately, I didn't write it down, so this is not word for word. But, the meaning is there.

Red told another jockey that Seabiscuit knows what he wants and he wants to achieve it when it comes to winning a race. He has the heart (motioning his hand to his chest) to make it happen.

Even though Seabiscuit is a horse and his goal is to win a race, his experience can easily relate to the goal of becoming debt-free:

Do you have the heart to make it happen to become debt-free? Do you have the desire to achieve your goal? Are you willing to do what it takes to defy the odds to make your goal of reducing your debt happen?

My answer – YES!!!

If you cannot answer those questions with a resounding “YES” then I suggest renting Seabiscuit when you get the chance. I think the motivation obtained from this movie is well worth the few dollars it takes to rent it (it's an older release).

Always look around for sources of inspiration even in odd places. When you find them – hold them close to your heart and remember them. Make your goal happen :)

Post included in the Carnival of Debt Reduction #34 at Frugal for Life.