You Get What You Focus On

Jack Canfield's Success Principle #57

If we don't place value on money and seek it, we won't receive it. Many of us survived abuse, but we still carry around such poor self-esteem that we don't believe that we deserve to have money. My mother told me that I was more worthless than yesterday's trash. I had to shake off that limiting belief, decide that I was a worthwhile person, and that I was worthy of wealth before I could even begin to think about earning anything.

What's holding you back from your financial goals?

Decide to be wealthy.
If we want to be wealthy, we must make a conscious decision to do so. We have to decide from someplace deep within us that we want wealth--without worrying about how we're going to get it.

If you're stuck because you still don't believe that it's godly to have wealth, think about what the Bible has to say about the love of money:

Whoever loves money never has money enough. (Ecc 5:10 NIV)
You cannot serve both God and Money. (Matt. 6:24 NIV)
For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil.(I Tim. 6:10 NIV)

Notice that the second verse capitalizes the word, Money. The point in all of these verses is that if you love Money and make it your god, evil will follow. Becoming wealthy is not evil, but failing to share that wealth with others or to thank God for it is. Greed, envy, and criminal conduct involving money can get us into trouble. Having wealth, however, does not automatically make us evil. We can use our wealth to bless others in need.

Joe and I decided a couple of years ago that we wanted to make as much money as possible so that we can support the work of our church. We have cut back on expenses, worked extra, paid down our debts, and kept our budget on-track; so that we can give more to people in need.

What could you do if you had more money to give?

Decide what wealthy means.
There is no right financial goal, but each of us must decide what we want. Some people want to retire with a million dollars. Others want to make millions and give their money away as scholarships. Decide what you want and then write down your goals. Some examples include:

I will have a net worth of $_____ by the year ________.
I will earn at least $_________________ next month.
I will save and invest $________________ every month.
To become debt free, I will ________________________.

Find out what it costs to finance your dream life.
Right now, we are all living the life we dreamed of in the past. It's not the same life that we hope to be living when we retire. We need to decide what kind of lifestyle we want in the future so that we can visualize it.

We can research how much it costs for our dream life, which might include: setting up a scholarship fund, eating in fine restaurants, giving to support orphans, going on vacations or mission trips, buying a different home, and so on. Remember, at this point we're not worrying about how we will achieve these things; we just need to figure out how much they would cost.

Get real about retirement.
I think that the concept of retirement is completely wrong. People work all of their lives at a job they hate, looking forward every day to the moment when they will be free. A week later, they drop dead.

I don't ever plan to retire, but if you do, take time to figure out what you would need to maintain your current lifestyle once you stop working. Charles Schwab advises saving $230,000 for every $1,000 that you will need each month in retirement. For example, if your current expenses are $5,000 each month, you would need to have saved $1,150,000 just to maintain the way you live today.

Become conscious about your money.
If we want to become financially successful, we must develop a consciouness about our money. We need to know precisely what we have so that we can figure out how much we will need for the future. Do you know:

your net worth (total assets minus total liabilities)?
your savings?
your fixed and variable monthly expenses?
your total debt?
your annual interest expenses?
your insurance coverage?

Everyone must have a financial plan. Otherwise, over-spending lands people in hot water, such as the mess we've been seeing lately with foreclosures and repossessions.

In addition, it's important to have an estate plan and a will. If you don't have one, take time now to get it in order. Even if you're not a millionaire today, it will save your heirs a lots of trouble and money later.

Jack has more to say about these topics, but I believe the best place to go for advice about money is to Dave Ramsey. You can find him online at www.mytotalmoneymakover.com, on the radio, and in classrooms taught by trained advisors all over the country. Joe and I attended a 10-week class, and it completely changed the way we use money.

Today's Challenge
Decide today what your financial future will look like. Remember, you get what you focus on. If you're thinking only about your debts, you'll keep getting more. So write down your goals for the long-term. Then, find a financial advisor to help you achieve them.

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