Exactly what is money and what does it mean to you? Although you may believe you have already given this question some serious thought, I would like to challenge your present idea about money by suggesting that it means something quite different to you than you think. The fact is, people do not really like money – only what money can buy.
Money is a means to an end. There would be no purpose in earning money, in saving it, or even stockpiling it under your bed if it had no
buying power. So, what you really like when you say you like money is what money can buy.
In the lives of many, money serves yet another function. Consider the wealthiest wheeler-dealers in the world, those, who continue to involve themselves in major acquisitions, who work hard at making money, even though they already have all they will ever need. For them, money is a measure of success, a method of keeping score.
Perhaps your own feeling about money is a combination of the two definitions above. If so, you see money in its proper context, and now, it is simply a matter of earning as much as you feel you need.
What is the best way to earn money?
You should never underestimate the importance of this question, for the answer is almost certain to direct the course of your entire life. Let us assume you believe that the best way to earn money is through any means available to you. While this course of thinking could easily lead you into any number of illegal and potentially hazardous activities, it could also lead you into a life of dead-end jobs. And while you may feel that earning a lot of money is an end in itself, you will eventually realize that something is missing that you are not entirely happy or fulfilled by your career choice.
How sad it is that most of us think of our jobs or careers merely as a means of survival. Each of us has natural talents and abilities, and one of the most gratifying ways to use them is in our life’s work. This method also enables us to look upon work as a pleasurable experience,
something to be anticipated, and something to jump out of bed and eagerly prepare ourselves for each and every day.
When you take the time to study people who are truly successful, you’ll see that these people love what they do. Did you think they chose their professions only because they could earn a lot of money? Think again!
How well do you suppose they would do at something they hated something that made them feel limited in terms of expressing their inner potential? Successful people enjoy their work! They enjoy it because they are good at it and because it is the “right” thing for them to be doing. In many cases, successful people will even admit that their work was once their hobby.
Doing what you love and loving what you do will automatically ensure your future financial security. There is no way you can be assured of having more money just because you are willing to change jobs or careers. Rather, financial success lies in what you ultimately decide to do.
TAKING CHARGE OF WHAT TO CHARGE
If you want to turn the activities you love into a career, you must being to charge for the services you perform. When you charge for doing something you love to do, you deliver the positive message to your subconscious mind that your time, energy, and skills are indeed valuable.
Too many people only accept money for doing jobs they do not like. The message they deliver to their subconscious mind is that it is not possible to make a living doing what you love to do.
Although you may not feel entirely justified in charging for services rendered while you are still learning a new skill or trade, you should charge something! You should do so as quickly as possible, even if the fee charged is relatively small. It is important to begin associating what you love to do with earning money.
Your beliefs about money inevitably determine how you attract it, spend it, and relate to it. Do you sincerely believe it is possible to make money doing what you love to do? Or do you believe that making money requires doing something you don’t want to do, but which seems essential to your survival?
Here is another important question to ask yourself: Do you sincerely believe that you deserve to be successful or rich? If the answer is no, you should immediately attempt to isolate the reason for this feeling.
Don’t be surprised if it all goes back to something in your childhood, to a certain amount of negative conditioning from your parents. Once you discover that a certain belief is holding you back, you can make the choice to let go of it and replace it with a new one.
UNLEARNING THE THINGS YOU WERE TAUGHT
How did your parents feel about money? About earning it, saving it, or spending it?
Do you remember being told that you “can’t have everything you want?” That you should “save for a rainy day?” That you should “clean your plate because of all the starving kids in China?”
That you should “be grateful for what little you have because of others who have nothing at all?”
When you heard these messages, did they seem inspiring to you?
Probably not. More than likely, you felt guilty about the resentment you experienced as these messages were repeated over and over again.
Why do you suppose you were unable to sympathize with or relate to these messages? Because each and every one of them is a Poverty Message, and it is only natural to avoid poverty messages, to want to feel more optimistic and enthusiastic about your future and your life’s work.
Childhood Poverty Messages do not inspire us to “go for the gold,” to pursue any specific career with great enthusiasm or determination. Rather, Poverty Messages encourage us to eke out a living however we can, to be happy to be employed whether or not we are happy, and to settle for whatever is available to us.
Your parents should not be blamed. From their level of awareness, they were only advising you in the best way they knew how. And, of course, what they told you had also been passed down to them by their well intentioned parents. And so it goes. But it need go no farther. It can stop with you. Right now! TODAY!
Psychologists far and wide have determined that it is detrimental to a person’s health and well being to exist in conflict, to be divided against him. When you falsely assume that work is one thing and pleasure is
another, you are automatically in conflict. The conflict is between the thing you want to do and the thing you feel you must do. How much better life would be if you could unify these two ideas, make them one, and also, make them your life’s work. Yes, it IS possible!
If you already know this but are afraid of depriving yourself financially, if you fear you will cut off your income by pursuing your dreams, consider this: the real illusion about money is that it creates security. Security does not come from accumulating wealth. I know many people who are extremely wealthy and still very insecure. In fact, if you feel insecure right now, having more money will only increase your feelings of insecurity, since you will then have even more to lose.
The solution to this particular anxiety is to crate activities and circumstances that would make you happy even if you did not have money. When we realize that money is the key to every kind of human satisfaction, it ceases to be a tool and becomes our master. As we acquire more money, we have a tendency to acquire more material possessions. But these possessions can also become our master because they will require some form of care and maintenance, or will need to be repaired, protected, or moved about. In other words, whatever you own also owns you!
While there is nothing wrong with wanting to better your life, to have a certain amount of comfort and convenience. However, you will enjoy these things more if they are not your primary concern, if instead your primary concern is to earn your living by doing something you truly enjoy.
Assuming you already know what your life’s work should be, it then becomes necessary to ask yourself some specific questions about money. How much of it do you need? How much will make you happy?
If you have an earnest desire to be rich, it is not enough to envision yourself earning “a lot of money.” How much money is “a lot?” If you expect your subconscious mind to go to work on this desire, you will need to be more specific, and also more practical so that you do not allow yourself to become discouraged early on.
Let us assume you are presently earning minimum wage at some job you do not enjoy. Do you think it would be reasonable to visualize yourself earning a million dollars within the year? Of course not.
The first step is to envision yourself earning more than you are presently earning. Your first realistic goal might be to earn an additional one or two hundred dollars per month. Once you manage to do this, you will experience the confidence that comes with having reached your first financial milestone. What is really important here, much more important than the extra one or two hundred dollars per month, is knowing that you can increase your income! You need never again wonder whether or not you can do this. You have just proved to yourself you can! And having proved it, you are now ready to go on, to set a second goal, and to achieve it as well.
There is an important principle at work here that is the very essence of a creative life. A creative life has continuity of purpose. Past achievements are perpetually replaced by future goals. A constant fire of enthusiasm
and ambition comprises the fuel of a meaningful existence. No day can dawn without self-direction or motivation. There must be a target and an arrow directed at its center to be replaced daily by another target and yet another arrow.
And so it is with money. For now, it would be best to imagine yourself having a little more. When you start with amounts that you believe are possible, you will have a “success experience” in earning these amounts and thereby reinforce your ability to earn even more.
If you want more money, you can cultivate new beliefs that will help you to acquire it. For example, the belief that you can make a living doing what you love to do will motivate you to be creative, and through your creativity, you will make more money than you have ever made before. Believe it!
But before you can attract more money, you will need to strengthen your resolve and your feelings of entitlement.
Ask yourself right now: Is there any reason why I cannot have this is my life? Do I deserve it? Do I think others are more deserving than I am?
It is important to realize that nothing will ever materialize for you until you sincerely believe you deserve it. Wanting, in itself, is not enough.
Needing something is also not enough. And wishing for it is simply fantasizing.
It is an interesting fact that need is not as strong as motivator is as you might have thought. People quite often respond to a want before they will satisfy a need. Why do you suppose this is true?
It we were to ask our parents, they would probably tell us that it is because we have never learned how to manage our money, or because we have no sense of responsibility, or because we simply enjoy frivolous spending. But the fact is there is more to it than that.
Needs require intellectual decisions. A man might come to realize that the roof on his house is leaking and requires some repairs. However, his decision to do something about it could be delayed indefinitely. Need in it, then, is not necessarily a motivating force.
But what about those things we really want? A want requires both an intellectual and an emotional decision. And it is the emotion involved that causes us to act.
“I want it so bad I can taste it!”
Haven’t we all said that at one time or another? And if the desire was strong enough, whatever we were referring to at the time usually found its way into our lives. Once a high degree of emotion is involved, it is difficult for anyone to dissuade us. We know what we want and we are determined to acquire it.
As you become conscious of the thoughts and actions that produce money in your life, you will realize that money flows in and out like ocean tides. You will experience times when the tide is in, and also times when the tide is out. Some months you will have more money than
usual, and some months you will have less. If you have a business, some weeks the volume of business you enjoy may be truly exceptional, and at other times, it may prove to be unusually slow.
Everything in life is cyclical. Just as nature has its cycles, so too is there a natural rhythm or cycle connected with the flow of money. Once you clearly understand this, you will no longer be adversely affected by the “slow times.” Whatever the situation is today, you may be sure it is always changing.
Look at your monthly bank statements and you will soon recognize the ebb and flow of your finances. While we all look forward to the flow, it is necessary to prepare in advance for the ebb. The best way to do this is to keep expenses far enough below your highest income figure that you can handle the slow times when they come.
Bear in mind that no matter how well you master the art of earning money, you will always be in trouble if you spend more than you make. What good is a million-dollar income if you are spending a million and one? It is not the amount you earn, but rather the way in which you handle your finances that makes the difference.
If you are experiencing ebb, it is important not to allow yourself to become emotionally off balance. At such times, do not lose confidence in yourself, or begin to equate slow times with failure. Keep reminding yourself that everything in life is cyclical, and that all phases are temporary.
During slow times, it is still possible to be productive and creative. You can begin by analyzing the downturn in an effort to keep it from
happening again. Ask yourself how you might have impeded or limited yourself, how you might have done things differently.
During ebb times, you also have an excellent opportunity to add to your overall knowledge and skill. While things are slow, you can read up on the latest developments in your field, you can attend classes and seminars and make important new contacts. This will also give you time to explore new avenues of opportunity. Let those creative juices flow! Some of your ideas could well be worth a fortune.
STOP WORRYING – START CREATING
During ebb times, it is totally useless and counter-productive to worry about paying your bills. The only way you will ever get out of debt is to stop worrying and to start creating more! In other words, you must focus on what you want, not on what you DON’T want!
Don’t underestimate yourself! If someone asked you today to state your net worth, what would your answer be? In what context would you be inclined to estimate your worth? Most people tend to equate their personal worth with whatever material assets they possess.
You are NOT your net financial worth. Your real worth lies in your ability to create. All of your skills, your knowledge, attitudes, education, experience, and contacts are worth a great deal more than anything else you own. Your real bank account consists of whatever makes all the rest of it possible. People who are truly secure know that if everything were taken away from them today, they would still have the means of getting it all back. Whatever they did once, they can always do again.
DOING IT UNTIL YOU GET IT RIGHT
When someone pays you for the work you have performed, you are exchanging your skills and experiences for money. Every day you gain experiences that you can turn into money, and so, your earning capacity is constantly growing.
Ebb and flow times provide yet another lesson about life. Sometimes, life stops us to teach us something that must be learned before we can go on. I am inclined to believe that we set this up on an unconscious level. We continue to go back to the same point until we get another perspective on the situation and learn how to handle it. When we are experiencing ebb and have little money, we are learning lessons that will enable us to handle money better when we are in the flow. In order to achieve this kind of perspective, we sometimes need to keep our lives simple, uncluttered by the distractions money brings, until we understand what needs to be done.
Take it one day at a time. Consider the actions you can take today in order to create money. You may occasionally get lost in your long-term plans and feel unnecessary pressures from them. You may even feel like a failure for not having already accomplished your dreams but is easy to get back on course. Simply concentrate on what you can do TODAY.
COPING WITH THE DROUGHT OF DOUBT
Almost everyone is plagued with certain doubts about money – doubts that there will be enough, or that they even possess the ability to earn what is needed. People who have already amassed great fortunes are plagued with similar doubts – only on a much larger scale.
Instead of worrying about money, doesn’t it make more sense to increase your self-worth and self-esteem? There is an enormous difference between these two thought patterns, since one focuses on lack, and the other focuses on growth and expansion.
It is not enough to sit around and believe that things will get better. You must ACT upon your beliefs! Action is the link between wanting and getting. It is also the link between the mental and the physical world.
Your dreams exist in your mind, but they need to be brought to life through action. You will know when you are on the right path because things will begin to happen! The right doors will open. The right people will come into your life and the situations and circumstances that surround you will seem to support everything you do.
If you have to struggle and exert a great amount of effort to make things go right, you may be sure that you are going against the natural flow. The real test is not in how hard you try, but in how easily obstacles are overcome. There is a fine line between pushing ahead and allowing things to happen. If too much emphasis is placed on either side, you will obstruct your goals. One of the great secrets of life is to know when to push forward and when to let go. Once you understand this, you will be well on your way to creating anything you want. Unfortunately, there is no way to learn or to teach this. Ultimately, the lesson is learned through personal experience and a heightened self-awareness.
There will be times when nothing seems to be happening on the outside, but when considerable changes are taking place on the inside. At such times, keep trusting in your ability to handle what needs to be handled. It takes time for major changes to occur, and many people give up prematurely.
The bigger the goal, the bigger the change that is required. A certain number of steps will need to be taken and various events will need to occur before you can get from where you are to where you want to be.
Timing plays a very important role in every successful endeavor. If the right thing comes along at the wrong time, or if the wrong thing comes along at the right time, you will not be properly prepared. You will not be ready.
In Ernest Hemingway’s classic novel The Old Man and the Sea, the ancient fisherman, Santiago, has this to say: “It is better to be lucky, but I would rather be exact. Then, when luck comes, you are ready.”
To be ready means having the knowledge and expertise you need when you need it. Once you feel that you are ready, step back and observe your situation with total detachment. Detachment, in this case, can be defined as a mental letting-go. If you feel that you cannot live without some specific thing in your life, eventually you will be trapped by your need. But once you let go of what you feel you need, you will be free to have whatever you want. Remember too that the circumstances of life can change at any time.
The process does not take forever, unless, of course, you are convinced that it will. Undoubtedly, there have been times when you were worried about bills, when you feared losing your job or the support or affection of someone near to you. And then suddenly everything changed for the better. These are synchronistic events that occur when you let go of need and attachment and trust that life will say “yes”.
Money is neither good nor bad. Money is just idea in action. It is the way money is used that ultimately determines it will create positive or negative circumstances in your life.
It is all right to be rich. That may seem like a strange thing to say, but there are many people who feel guilty about having money because so many others are doing without.
Money enables you to help those around you. It also allows you to do what you love to do, to fulfill your life’s purpose. It also buys freedom – and time. Once you have enough money, you will be longer need to sacrifice your freedom and time to things that do not support your creative intentions, or to anything that makes you unhappy or leaves you feeling unfulfilled.
Thoughts intensified. Visions dramatized. Lifelong dreams realized. That is what money can do