Welcome to the March 2004 edition of the Clarity Success Coaching Newsletter! For this month's newsletter we are going to focus on a topic very close to everyone's heart (and wallet) - money. This is part one of a two part series on money. The second part will appear in April.

As always, we welcome your questions, comments and stories. Don't forget to send us an email and share your thoughts with us.

In this issue
	Give yourself a gift! Money Issues Inspirational Quote Recommended Reading Final Thoughts

Money Issues

It's interesting that whenever I sit down to think about what our next newsletter topic will be that often the right topic comes forward immediately. I can't help but notice over the past few months with my clients from all over North America that the topic of money has been a popular one. A few weeks ago I did 30 coaching sessions at the World Conference on Club Management in Anaheim. The topic came up with a frequency that was very consistent with the interest that my regular clients are expressing. For some of my clients and colleagues it's about dealing with beliefs around money, for some it's about strategizing ways to fill a need for money, for some it's about building a reserve, and for some it's about creating a level of financial independence that gives them the freedom to do whatever they want. When it comes to people's beliefs about money I've heard many. Some believe that money is good, some believe it's bad. Some believe it's elusive, some believe it's scarce and some believe there's an abundance of it. Beliefs can come from our childhood and the financial position our parents had. They may come from our spiritual upbringing. My job as a coach is to help people look at their beliefs and choose whether or not to continue to believe them. In the book "Rich Dad, Poor Dad" author Robert Kyosaki challenges readers' beliefs about money by illustrating that he grew up with a poor thinking dad and took his financial lessons from his friend's dad, a rich thinking dad. The book is full of ideas and concepts that run counter to the way we have often been brought up to think about money. One of the major points in this book is that even with all the things we are taught as we go through our formal education as children and into adulthood, we are not taught how to understand and handle money. And yet it becomes such an important part of our lives, no matter which career direction we take. Kyosaki challenges readers to become financially literate and to understand their money, pay attention to it and to look at what they earn and what they spend. He also suggests that we do this with joy instead of dread. As a young boy, one of the first lessons Kyosaki learned was to never work for money but to have money work for him. He points out that the regular money model that we've grown up with is to get a job, hopefully with security and a pension, spend just a little bit more money than we make and continually struggle to get out from under debt. His rich thinking dad challenges him to think in a very different way. He challenges him to think about having multiple income streams, to have others work for him and to have money work for him. The rich thinking dad is able to change Kyosaki's beliefs about what an asset is and helps him to redefine an asset as something that brings money to him. This idea is different than the regular accounting definition of an asset. The author also suggests some shifts in thinking to support the reader to go from a poor thinking to a rich thinking person. For example, a poor thinking person might say, "I can't afford it". A rich thinking person says, "How can I afford it?" This doesn't mean going into debt to afford something; it means being creative in thinking of ways to make what you want affordable. He says that if a poor thinking person wins a lottery he will buy the toys he's always wanted. If a rich thinking person wins a lottery he buys assets which earn money to buy the toys that he wants. I challenge you to read this very helpful and informative book so that you can start to analyze some of the beliefs you have about money. Here are some questions I challenge you to think about and answer. What do you think about money? How do you feel about money? How does your thinking have an impact on your financial position? How have your feelings effected your financial position? Have you taken accountability for your financial position? Robert Kyosaki's web site »

Inspirational Quote

If money be not thy servant, it will be thy master. Francis Bacon

Recommended Reading

We have talked about Robert Kyosaki's book "Rich Dad, Poor Dad" this month. I do encourage you to read this great book. If you would like to learn more about the book please visit the Clarity Success Coaching library where there is a link to a great book summary by Ron Coleman. Please click on the link below to get there. Clarity Success Coaching Library »

Final Thoughts

We hope that you have enjoyed this edition of the Clarity Success Coaching Newsletter! Please feel free to pass it along to anyone you feel would benefit from it. We welcome your ideas and inspirations! Please share with us your stories and wisdom and, with your permission, we will share them with our readers! Clarity Success Coaching does not give out or sell our subscribers' names or email addresses. Privacy is always our policy. The Clarity Success Coaching newsletter and all contents are the property of Clarity Success Coaching and cannot be reprinted without the permission of Clarity Success Coaching.