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
Showing posts with label money. Show all posts
Showing posts with label money. Show all posts
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
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
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
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