This is a guest post by Gustavo Silva, a writer and cartoonist at Frugal Science. Gustavo writes about what he learned from a blog post I wrote not too long ago. The cartoon to the left was drawn by Gustavo.

In a previous article about ways to indulge in luxury posted here on The Niche Clarity Coach, Sherrie noticed that the definition of luxury did not mention anything about monetary value.

Moreover, she pointed out that it is never defined exactly what is considered a luxury item.

Based on this observation, Sherrie proposed that “All you need to do is concentrate on what is luxurious to you and remove the illusion that luxuries cost tons of money”.

Being a self proclaimed frugal scientist -not much of a luxury dude, I tend to dismiss everything that is not essential. On a first sight, this would include all types of luxuries but using Sherrie’s approach the things I truly enjoy doing, even the most frugal, should also be considered a luxury.

That changes everything. Looking at things from that point of view implies that you have a choice. You decide what is luxurious for you.

In my list, enjoying the small and big things of life is essential so, I will have to step back on this one and admit that my notion of frugality may afford some exceptions.

The Real Luxury.

The article continued by listing five ways you could follow to indulge in luxury immediately. In this post I will concentrate on the third option: “Carefully choose things and experiences that meet this definition. Be sure the luxury is what you want, not what you think will impress others.”

I think this is the key of the whole process: Identifying what is it that you really, really want. In fact, in my experience, answering that specific question is one of the best investments you can do independently from whom you are or what you do. Believe it or not, most of the people spend most of their existence without knowing this same issue until they are too old, too tired or too embarked in the life they supposedly wanted.

The desire beneath the physical goal.

What happens when what we really, really want does not match our reality? Suppose you are a big truck driver who dreams about being Lady Gaga and you can’t even sing at the karaoke without people begging for you to shut up.

Understanding what is the dream, that deep desire that hides inside of you,  is not an easy task. There are too many obstacles and interferences. Schopenhauer once said; “. . . and the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence.” Just as Sherrie pointed out: Ask yourself if you are not trying to impress others, that’s the first thing.

Here’s another hint from the book of author and friend Steven Rice: “An imperceptible Spark”: “…The problem that I faced lay in the fact that I was chasing every image –being an athlete, a singer or an artist- that I believed would give me value in the eyes of everyone else… When I lay aside those dreams in favor of my own true authentic dreams, I started to dream things that I had never dreamed before.”

So, turn off the TV set, top listening to everyone else and start listening to what your own heart has to say. It is just that important.

Gustavo Silva writes about life’s simplicity and posts  his cartoons at Frugal Science.

I know the drill. You started your business so you could earn the kind of money you want. Does that mean you are waiting to earn lots of money to live a life of luxury? Since I’m a coach who is all about creating your dream business and dream life I thought I would talk a bit about living a luxurious life that doesn’t stress you out at your current income level.

Maybe you have set goals to earn x amount of dollars so you can buy your dream car, you dream house, and/or take your dream vacation. And then . . . the money hasn’t rolled in quite that fast.

But what if you could live a luxurious life right now? All it takes is a shift in your perspective about wealth and living a luxurious life.

First, let’s define luxury. I grabbed this definition off Dictionary.com:

Luxury: a material object, service, etc. conducive to sumptuous living, usually a delicacy, elegance or refinement of living rather than a necessity.

Notice that the description does not give any monetary value to what is a luxury. Only that it’s not a necessity. For this blog post I want to focus on the part about refinement of living. After all, when your necessities in life are met (Meaning food, shelter, medical care, etc.) almost everything you buy would be considered a luxury except for that detail of refinement or elegance.

Money wasn’t mentioned in the definition of luxury and it never defined exactly what is considered a luxury item. All you need to do is concentrate on is what is luxurious to you and remove the illusion that luxuries cost tons of money. Here are five ways to redefine luxury for yourself and start living the luxurious life you desire today:

• Change your view of what a luxury is and how much it should cost.
• Define what luxury means to you.
• Carefully choose things and experiences that meet this definition. Be sure the luxury is what you want, not what you think will impress others.
• Indulging in luxuries that create memories that can share with loved ones.
• Indulge in luxuries that raise your self-esteem. If you have to go into debt it’s not a true luxury. If you feel guilty indulging then search from within to find out why this luxury doesn’t match your values.

Look around and see what you have in front of you that could be considered a luxury. Bet you would find that you have already started living a life of luxury, defined by you. I’m a big believer in living life now and not waiting until everything is perfect. My beliefs are that you needn’t go into debt striving for a lifestyle out of your financial reach. You can start living a life of luxury now.

Do you see luxury in a new way? If so, please let me know what you consider a luxury, redefined on your terms, by commenting below. 

I love helping people find their life’s work and get them moving on their path fast! Be sure to enroll in your free E-course “Five Ways to Leverage the Power of You” to the right of this post. —->