A few months ago, mentioning the name ‘Lance Armstrong’ invoked the following thoughts: strong, courageous, survivor; role model.

These days? The name might as well be synonymous with liar and cheat.

When faced with such outrageous news of a national hero’s veritable fall from grace, it’s only natural to feel some sort of betrayal; especially if you are an endurance athlete or cancer survivor.

But rather than harp on Lance Armstrong’s apparent shortcomings, why not learn from his mistakes?

For a man who has amassed a fortune from multi-million-dollar endorsement deals and six-figure event/speech appearances, Lance’s current situation illustrates that he can actually offer the average person a wealth of personal finance tips and advice.

Understand Your Limits

There clearly is a time when enough is enough. Whether it’s overspending, not paying your bills or simply (temporarily) resolving yourself to a lifetime of financial apathy when faced with a money-related challenge, there comes a time when you need to cut your losses and get yourself on a better path.

Clearly, Lance’s lies have caught up with him. What he chooses to do in the coming months could be anyone’s best guess, but it’s a great reminder that you need to gain control of the situation you’re in before the situation completely ruins you and the people/things you love most.

Get Your Head Out of the Sand

Any time there is foul play or bad behavior involved, there’s also a hefty dose of denial involved. Don’t follow Lance’s lead–do yourself a favor and face those debt balances, track your spending and/or set yourself a budget (and adhere to it!). There’s no amount of ego that can save your credit score or overdrawn bank account from entering the throes of despair after you make terrible financial decisions time and time again.

Get Over Yourself

This is probably one of the hardest financial pills to swallow: If you’re in serious debt or are living beyond your means, you have nothing to prove to anyone; you’re not winning at anything other than setting yourself up for future failure. No matter if you’ll do anything to “win,” you’ll be stuck in a maelstrom of mess if you continue to make the same financial mistakes over and over.

What you need to do is eat a gigantic piece of humble pie and realize that keeping up with the Jones’ isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Just as Lance Armstrong’s endorsement deals, a fat bank account can disappear in an instant if you’re not careful. Being full of yourself to the point of arrogance with decision making is a sure-fire way to destroy your chances at a stable, sufficient financial future.

Think Creatively

Despite the drama surrounding Lance, he’ll continue to live a comfortable lifestyle that most low and middle-class Americans can only dream of.

Why?

Because he’s savvy in his ability to parlay his life experiences into sources of capital. While we’ve already heard how J.J. Abrams snapped up the rights to a film about Lance Armstrong, it’s only a matter of time before Lance begins to rake in money for speaking appearances, book deals, etc.

So whether you’re looking to cut back on your expenses or find a way to bring in extra income, there’s one page from Lance’s story you can steal without guilt: Be creative. Pursue options that are unique, applicable and enjoyable for your situation.

After all, you never know when a current opportunity may turn out to be the key to your future success.

 

What else can we learn from Lance Armstrong’s fall from grace?

 

Photo credit:DonkeyHotey