Develop a Positive Money Consciousness

Jack Canfield's Success Principle #56, continued

All success starts in our minds. First, we must decide what we want. Next, we have to believe that we deserve it and that it's possible. Third, we must think about any success and visualize it as if we already have it. And finally, we must be willing to pay the price to achieve our goals through discipline and perseverance.

Most people never achieve financial success, because their beliefs limit them. Yesterday, we learned about our limiting beliefs that developed as a result of childhood sexual abuse. Today, we shift gears to take a look at how limiting beliefs can prevent us from achieving financial success. Jack identifies limiting beliefs, suggests steps for eliminating them, and then provides ideas for turning around those beliefs.

Identify your limimiting beliefs about money.
We may not even be aware that we have limiting beliefs about money. Many of them were probably instilled in our minds when we were children, just like the inappropriate ones we developed about love in the context of sexual abuse. The following is a list of typical limiting beliefs about money:

Money doesn't grow on trees.
You have to have money to make money.
Money is the root of all evil.
People with money are evil and unethical.
People with a lot of money are selfish.
You can't buy happiness.
It's impossible to go to heaven if you're rich.

That last belief on the list held me back for years. Jesus said, If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven....I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God. (Matt 19:21, 24 NIV)

The point of Jesus' lesson was to make a rich man see that he was coveting others' possessions. By telling him to sell everything, Jesus pushed the guy to look at his sin. Jesus' message, if taken out of context, can be sadly misinterpreted to mean that Christians should not have wealth.

I was previously married to a millionaire who also happened to be an abuser. His actions made me come to the conclusion that all rich people are evil and don't deserve to get into heaven. I didn't want to be like him, so I developed the limiting belief that it's impossible to get into heaven if you're rich.

Joe had been taught the limiting belief that it was more godly to be poor than to have money. When the two of us got married, our limiting beliefs nearly destroyed us financially. They took us from a place of financial security to a point of living on groceries from a food bank and accepting hand-outs from the church.

God doesn't want us to be poor. He promises blessings throughout the Bible. One of God's dearest saints was Abraham, who eventually owned more land and possessions than we can imagine. God wants to bless each of us abundantly, just as he blessed childless Abraham, who ended up having more descendants than the stars in the sky.

Take three steps to turn around limiting beliefs.
It's possible to change our limiting beliefs with a simple three-step technique that Jack outlines. He suggests doing it with a partner or a group of people. Working with others can be far more powerful, not to mention, fun!

1) Write down the limiting belief.
For example, we can write down, If you're rich, you can't get into heaven.

2) Challenge, make fun of, or argue with the limiting belief.
We could brainstorm a list of new beliefs to challenge this old one. By making the ideas outrageous or silly, we can create a more powerful shift in our thinking. So, we can write out something new, such as:

*If you're rich, you can't live in a housing project.
*If you're rich, you can't get into the food bank.
*If you're rich, you aren't automatically limited spiritually.
*Some people with money may not get into heaven, but wealth can't keep me out.

Dave Ramsey teaches that money is nothing more than a tool. Like a hammer, we can use it to build something, or we can use it to smash in someone's head. The hammer isn't good or bad. Our use of it merely dictates the outcomes for us.

3) Create a positive turnaround statement.
When we are finished brainstorming, we can choose a positive statement that turns around our old beliefs. For instance, I may replace It's impossible to go to heaven if you're rich with It's possible for me to go to heaven after receiving unlimited wealth here on earth and sharing God's abundant blessings with others.

Like all of our goals, we need to write our new financial beliefs on index cards and add them to our stack. If we take time every day to read them aloud with intense emotion and imagine how we will feel, our money affirmations will come true.

Today's Challenge
If you haven't yet created personal affirmations about money, start today. Write down your financial dreams on index cards. Bring up images of checks in the mail, big paychecks, royalty checks, dividend checks, and cash in your hand. Visualize your ideal bank statements, stock reports, and retirement fund returns. Add your feelings to these visualizations, along with gratitude for already having these things.

Jack Canfield, America's #1 Success Coach, is founder of the billion-dollar book brand Chicken Soup for the Soul© and a leading authority on Peak Performance and Life Success. If you're ready to jump-start your life, make more money, and have more fun and joy in all that you do, get your FREE success tips from Jack Canfield now at: www.FreeSuccessStrategies.com