Money! ..it’s a gas (à la Pink Floyd)
Let’s talk about money.
A charged topic to be sure! For many, it’s too uncomfortable to talk about…or it simply gets avoided - which is how I used to be around money, having grown up in a deeply entrenched scarcity mindset household.
Our mom’s money story was, “we don’t have enough!... those with it are evil harm-doers, and we’ll be lucky to survive this month!” It was anxiety-inducing for many years.
Collectively we don’t talk about money as openly as we could. It’s taboo. Do you remember when you had a conversation with a group of friends about money that lasted longer then 30 seconds?
How are your spouse conversations about money? If yours is good, you are lucky! For most it’s friction. Anxiety-evoking. What’s your guess as to why?
Comparison is so common in society – that could be a big reason. Most people believe they don’t have enough money (to live? to retire? to bequeath?). Deep reasons.
Warren Buffett’s quote about having enough money sums it up perfectly. “You can give someone a $2 million bonus and they’re happy until they see the next guy got $2.1 million and then they’re miserable.”
Of course, money is not the most important thing…only about as important as oxygen.
I’ve heard it said that most divorces would be saved with only about $500 more household income every month. Money stress is one of the most insidious forms of separation.
There are really two cycles when it comes to money:
1. Scarcity mindset --> lack --> need more --> more scarcity
Or
2. Abundance mindset --> gratitude feelings daily --> enoughness --> have --> share / give --> expands --> more grateful --> more abundance
Which cycle are you?
What was your family’s (including grandparents) money story growing up? And have you outgrown it?
Complete this sentence stem… ‘My feeling about money is ____’. The energy that comes up for you there is very telling. Explore that.
If I were to ask you what your earning goal is for this year – could you answer that briefly & succinctly? Or by what % you want to grow your income over last year? Does this feel odd to even be asked this?
The shift to abundance…I wish I could say it was fast. It wasn’t. And it’s ongoing.
One amazing quote I heard on a podcast during the pandemic helped speed this shift up: the speaker said, “Good people do great things with more money”. That really landed for me! Took away much of the guilt & negative energy I had picked up as a kid around money.
Contribution and Impact are words that are deeply meaningful for me, and I think for many of you. When money is reframed as a tool to do more good with – who WOULDN’T openly want more to do more?
Another funny thing about money is this: it’s like alcohol - it makes you more of who you truly are. If you are a giver at heart, more money will allow you to do more with it to help others and bring you more fulfillment. If you are miserable underneath a brave face – more money will likely just make you (more of) an asshole. But my readers are not the latter.
And the education system certainly doesn’t teach financial literacy very deeply to kids. Concepts like saving, investing, budgeting, understanding & using credit, how to make money, how to keep money, needs vs wants (big gratitude piece here!), and financial goal setting just aren’t taught well in the school system. That’s a whole other (nother?) topic!
Money represents an exchange of value. Yes, for products and ‘things’. But also, more for value delivered. Service delivered. If money behaves like energy, and flows, it flows to where it’s attracted. To those who know HOW to attract it. To those who solve problems. And yes, occasionally to those who just talk a good game.
If you want to improve your money story, here are a few of the many ways you can do it:
1. Learn more about how money works. Study money topics that actually interest you. Does the revolution of digital money & crypto interest you?
2. Watch ‘How to Get Rich’ by Ramit Sethi on Netflix. He’s the fellow who wrote the popular book, “I Will Teach You to be Rich”, and he is a genius when it comes to managing your daily finances to get ahead. To live your own “rich life”.
3. Work with a coach like me on how to shift your money story from the scarcity end of the spectrum to the abundance end…it will be one of the greatest challenges you overcome in your entire life. Trust me.
The more comfortable you get talking & learning about money and how it flows, the more you’ll figure out how to earn more of it and live more abundantly. Then the more contribution & good you’ll drive in your life, your family, and your community.
“You either master money, or, on some level, money masters you.” – Tony Robbins
Great reminder, thanks for sharing!