I have had the pleasure of being in many different financial places in life. I have been FLAT broke, I have been “comfortable,” and I have been at many places in between. In my opinion, the most deadly place of all to be is “comfortable.”

Let me explain what I mean by FLAT broke

At some point between living in Beverly Hills and where I am at today running a successful freelancing company, I was FLAT broke. And when I say broke, I don’t mean that I had $50 in the bank account and had to live on Ramen Noodles. I mean that I had no bank account, no place to live, and $0.

This story illustrates my lowest FINANCIAL point.

At my lowest financial point I had 2 kids ages 8 months and 2 years and really felt like a loser. The reason I ended up there was because I took a risk (a risk that I’m still glad that I took and that ended up turning out very well.)

I had been living in a crummy hotel for a week paid for by a welfare program called “emergency assistance,” but the stay in the hotel room had ended. I had a college degree. I knew I that I had been and could be successful in just about any situation; it was just that at that moment, I had nothing.

With no money and a very urgent need to pay for the hotel room within the next few hours or be living in the car, I made a decision to hold up a sign for money at a stop light at a busy intersection. I hated it, but I bit my lip, stared up into the clouds to avoid looking anyone in the eye, and reminded myself over and over and over again to stay strong. That this was not who I was, this was temporary. I got enough to pay for the hotel, and each day found a new way to pull myself out of that situation.

Bouncing Back

It didn’t take long at all to bounce back to the level of financial stability I had enjoyed before. My previous boss who was a millionaire and entrepreneur told me that he had managed to earn a million dollars, lose it, and get it back again 3 times. That’s because being a millionaire was what was comfortable to him.

I too have been broke several times and bounced back at rapid speed each time. In fact, it’s quite astounding how fast I bounced back. But I always ended up at the SAME level of financial stability, “comfortable.”

Why Comfort Can Kill Your Dreams

Unless your comfort zone is in align with your dreams, reaching your perceived point of comfort can stop your progress dead in its tracks. “Comfortable” allows us to make excuses about why we should not take risks. Comfortable allows us to watch that hour of TV instead of busting butt toward our dreams. Comfortable kills that wonderful fight or flight emotion that can rocket launch you into a place of safety when you’re in danger.

If you’re like me and you always seem to be comfortable you might need to do something to shake up your world and make you uncomfortable.

This might mean going to test drive a new Mercedes, touring a house that is well above your current means, or planning an amazing trip that you can’t afford. Most importantly, you will have to rewrite your idea of success, placing the marker well beyond where you are at now.

If you can begin thinking of yourself as unsuccessful instead of comfortable, you can start making some progress.