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With the holiday spending season just around the corner, I thought it
would be a perfect time to bring up the topic of money. How do you feel
about money? How do you feel about your own personal financial situation?
Does thinking about it energize you? Does it keep you awake at night? Are
you about to stop reading this because you have a habit of avoiding the
topic? Are you a person who loves to manage your own money and find
yourself reviewing it often? If you think money is a four letter word,
count the letters. It doesnt have to have a negative connotation to it.
I can share with you that the people I work with who are playing the
biggest games are constantly working on themselves. They work on
themselves and they do so in a balanced way. They focus on career,
health, family, relationships, spirituality, and yes even money. Money is
an important part of the overall picture. It usually equates to the value
they put on themselves. When they are earning what they deserve and know
how to manage it well, they experience money as something that is working
for them in the background and not something that gets in the way. I can
tell you that earning a lot of money doesnt necessarily equate to a solid
financial position. A large portion of our society spends more than it
earns. There are people with modest incomes that through sound financial
management can be in a better financial position than someone earning
substantially more. In other words what you keep is more important than
what you earn.
There are so many benefits to getting this part of your life in order. I
believe it makes you more powerful and attractive. Getting your personal
finances in order helps you to sleep better. It improves marriages, it
reduces stress or as Forest Gump said after Lt. Dan had invested his
money in some kind of fruit company (Apple) One less thing to worry
about! The fewer things you have to worry about the more you can focus on
the things that count.
When I am coaching people on getting their financial house in order I ask
them to determine which of the following four levels they would consider
themselves to be in.
Repair/ Recovery
Foundation
Reserves
Mastery
Some people are in a state of repair and recovery. This may be as a
result of a job loss or some catastrophic event or simply by building up
debt. From a financial perspective this is a stage of not enough.
Some people are in the foundation stage. They have put the systems in
place; have a plan and safety nets in case something catastrophic
happens. This is a stage of enough.
Some people are in the Reserves stage. When there are reserves of money
they experience more freedom and are in a position to be more powerful
and confident. This is a stage of more than enough.
Some people are in a state of Mastery when it comes to finances. This is
a place where money flows toward them. Their money is working for them.
It is possible at this stage that the money their money makes greatly
exceeds their expenses. They are working because they want to not because
they have to. At this stage they have more than they need and money is a
given, like having good health.
One of my jobs as a coach is to help people see how they are accountable
for their own reality. In the Happy Healthy Wealthy Game we teach that
our thoughts or beliefs generate our feelings, which leads to our actions
which creates our reality.
Thoughts plus feelings plus action equals results.
What we find as we are coaching people in various areas of their lives is
that when they dont like the results they try to change actions to get a
different result. We notice that this is successful sometimes but for the
most part the success comes when they change their thoughts or beliefs.
If someone has a belief that they dont deserve money or they dont want to
be like the people they know who have money, even if there actions bring
them money, there is a good chance they will not have it for long.
If you dont like the financial position you are in, take some time to
consider your beliefs about money.
Here are some limiting beliefs I have heard from clients, see if you
recognize any.
I am not very good at managing money.
My family has never had money.
Money isnt important to me.
Money is the root of all evil.
I would rather do what I love than have money.
No matter what I do to get ahead something always knocks me down.
I am comfortable giving but not receiving.
Rich people arent happy.
If you would like to change your financial position I would suggest that
you do some work with your coach to change your thinking or play the
Happy Healthy Wealthy game. I recommend then to get some support from a
financial professional that can help you to put the plan in place.
My hope for you is that you will get the support you need to have your
personal finances working for you and not against you. In this newsletter
my recommended reading is The Secrets of the Millionaire Mind by T. Harv
Eker. I recently attended a seminar on the topic and I highly recommend
this to anyone who wishes to change their beliefs around money.
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