Often people assume that to achieve success and wealth, you need a high level of intelligence, but it's not true. There are many unemployed Ph.D.'s-and yet both Bill Gates and Steve Jobs, who revolutionized the computer world and brought PCs into people's homes, had dropped out of college. Each of us has within us the wisdom to be rich. It is our inborn ability to use our accumulated knowledge and common sense to make sensible, good judgments that allow us to attract the abundance we deserve.
You may think that you don't have this wisdom, but you do. We all do. When we were young, we learned the basics of acquiring and maintaining wealth: Don't regularly have more flowing out than you have flowing in. Save for a rainy day. Invest wisely. Don't overspend. So why do people who may even be very smart and successful in other areas of their lives get into so much trouble with money, acquiring debt and spending so much that they create an imbalance in the flow of wealth in and out of their lives?
It's because they're blocked from their natural wisdom by feelings of fear, scarcity, jealousy, anger, unworthiness, and sadness. They don't have the power of love, joy, enthusiasm, or faith strongly influencing their spending, saving, or investing habits.
If they did, they would be creative and discerning about where their money and resources flowed.
We manage the flow of abundance wisely when we're in a state of positivity, like a gardener who carefully positions the sprinkler or aims a garden hose in the direction of the flowers instead of toward the sidewalk. We find creative ways in which to increase our wealth when we're feeling enthusiastic, calm, or happy. But when we're experiencing negative emotions, we build a brick wall between ourselves and our wisdom. Caught up in our strong emotions, we can't think straight, draw upon our knowledge, and make good judgments. We forget that we have the power to turn on the faucet of abundance and to influence its flow.
Many of us weren't taught by our parents or schoolteachers how to manage money. Maybe you learned how to balance a checkbook from the account manager at the bank the very first time you opened a checking account and never quite got the hang of it until a friend showed you what you were doing wrong. Maybe when you got your first job, a wise older sibling told you to take some money, even just a small amount, out of each paycheck and put it in a pretax account matched by your employer. Perhaps no one ever taught you how credit cards or interest work, or you can't figure out why you keep overdrawing your checking account.
Or, maybe you were never "book smart" and are intimidated by such terms as prime rate, variable interest, bonds, and the like. If you give in to your discomfort and fears about managing money, you'll block yourself from learning how to manage it.
Today, you may not have the knowledge you need to handle your money well, or you may need to learn to manage it even better; most people do. We live in the information age, and there's plenty of advice and guidance available to us. Bookstores stock many volumes on money management. People make careers out of lecturing, coaching, and advising others on how to use their resources wisely, investing in ways that build financial security. Daily newspapers often have entire sections about money and finance that are chock-full of clever tips and advice.
I personally find a lot of money-management advice unexciting and even confusing, but I've made a point of hiring a financial planner who can explain finances to me in a way I can understand, and he's so enthusiastic about the prospect of helping me grow my wealth that he gets me to feel excited about it, too. Find a person, a book or books, a magazine, or a Website that gets you feeling positive about mastering the art of managing wealth-they're out there!
I believe that sometimes even the most conscientious and responsible people who have studied money management make mistakes, spending lavishly and then experiencing buyer's remorse or investing too quickly without checking the fine print or asking enough questions. These types of mistakes happen because people aren't allowing themselves to notice their negative emotions, explore them, and learn what lessons these feelings hold for them.
If you're uneasy about an investment, purchase, or loan, pay attention to that feeling. Sit with it, and don't let yourself feel rushed. Create a sense of calm. Then ask yourself, What is it about this purchase, investment, or loan that doesn't feel right? Don't be afraid of the answer, which may be one of the following:
• I feel pressured to invest in order to please my financial advisor, who is very enthusiastic about this opportunity. I'm feeling fearful, not confident.
• I feel resentful buying this item I don't really want, but I'm afraid my spouse will be angry with me if I question this purchase or say no.
• I feel scared because I don't really understand this investment, and I don't have faith in my ability to learn more about it so that I can make an informed decision.
You have much wisdom, and that nervous feeling in your gut, the tension in your neck, and the second thoughts that keep popping up at odd moments are all messages from your wise self, saying, Look again, but more closely this time.
When you let go of your fear of experiencing difficult emotions, you break down the brick wall between you and your natural wisdom about acquiring and maintaining wealth. Then you can let go of unproductive thoughts such as: I'm no good at this
"money" stuff, and I don't trust myself investing, and I can't be trusted with too much cash-I'll just spend it all. You can reclaim your power to create positive emotions about abundance and open the faucet of plenty so that riches flow into your life.
One effective technique for uncovering any hidden thoughts or beliefs that are causing you to cut off the flow of abundance is to keep a daily Assets and Liabilities Journal. Open the journal and on the left side of the page, note all the positive emotions and thoughts you're experiencing regarding money, prosperity, wealth, and abundance. Also jot down any actions you take that are in alignment with your desire to live according to the 21 Distinctions: to provide value and to embrace that which the Universe sends your way. Feelings, beliefs, and actions that are in harmony with abundance have tremendous value and draw in even more wealth and riches, so count them as "assets."
On the right side of the page, note your liabilitiesthat is, any negative emotions or thoughts you experienced that day regarding money and prosperity, as well as any actions you took that were out of sync with your desire to live according to the 21 Distinctions. Mention which feelings were connected to those thoughts and actions, because emotions are very powerful and can actually change your vibration so that you either attract abundance or repel it.
Looking at what you've written on the right side of the journal page, consciously choose to let go of any feelings of self-judgment you might be experiencing, as they'll only lead to more negative feelings-not to positivity, creativity, and openness to learning. On the other hand, honestly assessing your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that contribute to feelings of lack and a vibration of scarcity will help you change how you think, feel, and behave. After all, if you don't realize you've fallen into a bad habit, how can you change it?
Try starting an Assets and Liabilities Journal and see what you can learn from it. Letting go of any tendency to judge yourself, honestly record what you did, felt, and thought today about abundance, simply noticing these things. Then ask yourself whether your liabilities are stronger and more numerous than your assets-or do you simply need to be more aware each day of your negative feelings, beliefs, and actions so that you can quickly replace them with more positive ones?
Your own page might read something like this:
Again, I won't tell you a right or wrong way to manage your money. In this example, someone else might not have felt guilty overtipping the waitress. The idea is to observe which emotion you were feeling and operating from when you spent the money. If overtipping the waitress made you feel terrific because you were able to share your wealth with someone who also made you feel special and valued, your expenditure at lunch would belong on the left side of your page with your assets. By recognizing when and why you're creating negative feelings and thoughts about abundance, you can begin to change them and act in accordance with the 21 Distinctions of Wealth.
I am experiencing great abundance, and I revel in my riches. I take ownership of my wealth. I am the wise steward of my finances, the gardener who cares for all my riches. I enjoy learning about wealth, cultivating it, growing it, and sharing it. I value all that I have, and I nurture and tend my garden. I love to exchange ideas about increasing prosperity. I love to learn more about how to
maintain my very healthy financial situation and expand my riches further. I have tremendous respect for all my resources.
I have a treasure chest full of resources available to me at all times. I immerse my hands in its riches, eager to touch, feel, and experience my wealth as I imagine how to exchange it, grow it, and give it back to the everproviding Universe. I am deeply grateful
for all the incredible affluence I have.