Be honest with me. What do you think about money?
Just give me the first word or phrase that comes to mind.
What comes up for you?
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If you thought “oh it flows SO easily to me!” Then, this is probably not the post for you.
If you thought, “evasive,” “hard to get,” “frustrating,” then read on my fellow money misanthrope.
For our November Forecast, the cards are asking us to get clear on a vision of what we want for the future and to not be afraid to talk about, spend, or receive money in pursuit of this. We can do this through clearly articulating our vision for the future, and be willing to discuss money as a part of executing or receiving this vision or accomplishment. Money isn’t something to be afraid of, but is a resource to use and replenish to accomplish your overarching mission or goal.
In this post we’re going to explore the money taboo, and dive into my 3 part formula on how you can make and use money to reach your goals.
Decks: Rana George Lenormand and The Fountain Tarot
Here’s a Techy Breakdown for you card readers
Lenormand: Fish + Stork + Birds
Tarot: The Star
Fish + Stork = Money moving in a positive direction
Stork + Birds = Positive movement made through discussion, articulating plans/movement
The Star = Holding vision, hope
A Tantalizing Taboo
Money gets a bad rap. In fact, I call it a money gremlin because it seems to latch onto us and becomes this big, bad burden we all carry. It is tough to talk about in daily life because we were all brought up with that infamous phrase, never discuss religion, politics, or money in conversation. And why is this?
When we’re talking about money, we’re getting real. It transcends the small talk to real talk barrier and can leave us feeling vulnerable. Afterall, we are essentially revealing what society deems as our worth and this can create divides in our social groups. If we find out someone makes less than us, we may think, wow, they don’t work as hard as me. Or even worse…why can’t I measure up? There can be some shame associated as we may think…gosh if I just worked harder, I could be rich too. What is wrong with me? Nothing is wrong with you because…
Hard work doesn’t make you money
Yup…I said it.
Especially in America, this is the big American lie. We are taught, just work work work and good things will come to you. This is just simply not true.
Don’t get me wrong, hard work can be an ingredient to creating wealth, but I argue it is not even the main factor. So, this begs the question, what is the main factor?
Your mind. You create money with your mind, your energy.
Okay hippie woo woo, you may be thinking. What in the world are you talking about?
I’m talking about strategy.
When we get strategic about what we want, we get strategic about how we get there. As a business owner, or as an employee, we execute a strategy of the boss to fulfill a need in some way.
Although, strategy is what creates wealth…we are under the spell that Hard Work + Time = Wealth. That just simply isn’t true. If it was, most of us would be millionaires. But we’re just not. Why? Because Strategy is missing from our mental math. If strategy is not considered then we make money through time…but you see, you only have so much time so you’ll be limited on how much money you can make from this equation.
True wealth comes from detangling money from time.
And it all starts with, what you’re willing to envision and what you’re willing to see.
The Equation
If hardwork + time does not equal money…what does?
You need a vision, a dream, a hope of where you want to go. If you don’t have a vision, then you can’t strategize how to execute your plan. If you don’t strategize, you don’t create wealth.
I want to offer this humble equation instead:
Vision + Resources + Strategy = Accomplishment/Wealth
You may think…where the heck is money in this equation. Well, money is included in the resources and wealth. So, you need to envision what you want to achieve, then pull the resources together you think you will need to enact this vision. Resources can be money, time, dedication, tools, social networks, and more. Money is needed to enact your vision and you need to make more money than you spent. The Accomplishment is / with Wealth because our intended outcome is not always money. Sometimes, we want personal growth, or to create something beautiful just to create it. However, if you do wish to have more money (who doesn’t) then just use Wealth here.
But here’s the thing, you NEED to have a strong vision to make any of this work. You need to envision where you want to go and what you want to do. What impact do you want to make and how do you want to FEEL? Let’s get you working on your vision right here and now.
Vision: Play with Playdough
Read this then close your eyes. Envision what you want. What does your life look like a year from now? What new things are there? Are you picturing yourself in a new job? Perhaps in a new car? Maybe your dog actually stays when you tell her to…(maybe that’s just a personal problem of mine!)
I would encourage you to pay attention to what you are DOING in this vision. I know we don’t typically fantasize about work…well go for it if that’s what you’re into…but really, it’s about you and how you want to spend your time. What is it that you want to do and accomplish. Don’t stress too much if this doesn’t come right away. Just try it - play with it. Think of it like play dough. No pressure. If you come up with a vision that is not happy, just mush it back up into a ball and try again. You get to picture whatever the heck you want.
For instance, let’s say you pictured yourself a year from now sitting in a studio making jewelry with dozens of necklaces, bracelets, and order forms next to you. Perhaps you see how many new emails you have with requests for your art. Maybe, you’ve made jewelry on the side here and there, but you don’t have a business doing this now, it’s just for friends and family. There is a temptation here to brush this image off but don’t! Hold it, cradle it in your mind, gently. There’s your vision!
ACTION: Now, close your eyes and try it! Then come back to me once you’re finished.
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What came up for you? If you have a journal, I would recommend jotting your vision down.
It’s time to take inventory of your dream. What resources do you need to pull together to make this happen?
Resources: It’s like packing your wagon for the Oregon Trail except without dysentery
Do you remember that old school computer game? I just so happened to go to school in the Oregon Trail School district so there were MANY days when our teacher didn’t have a lesson plan and we were left to sit at the computer and load up our pixelated wagon and die of dysentery.
If you haven’t played this game…you were missing out but also, you had to pack your wagon full of stuff you think you would need along the way. You had your destination in mind, and loaded up your wagon with everything you would need to make it from A to B.
Well, this is a lot like that…except no dysentery (hopefully).
We need to dissect your vision and decide what you need to accomplish that.
So in our jewelry making example, we need a space to do this work. It may not be a studio at first. We need time to create our projects, we need creativity for inspiration for our jewelry, and we need MONEY to purchase supplies.
So say we have those things, and we create a beautiful necklace. How are we going to keep making more necklaces? Well, we need to replenish our resources. We still need time so we will find more time in our schedule to create, we still need creativity so we may do some self care so the creativity can flow easily to us, and we need more money to purchase more supplies and to buy some of our time back. We may use that money for a babysitter, or for takeout, or for a house cleaner so we can actually have the time and energy to do what we love. Money is a resource we use to create our visions. It’s not the end all be all. It’s a way, to get from A to B and to continue to accomplish what lives in our heart.
ACTION: Take inventory of your vision. Write down every possible thing you can think of, tangible or invisible, that you will need. Don’t worry about HOW you’ll get those things yet, just take inventory.
Strategy: Back that thing up and look at your route
It’s okay if you don’t know EXACTLY how your going to get from A to B (A being where you are and B living the vision you imagine). But think, what is the BEST way for me to get to B? What is needed is often not always what is fun. So, to go back to our jewelry making example, perhaps you LIKE to hand bead little embellishments on your necklaces…but people aren’t buying these as much and they prefer the necklace with out the embellishment. Well, the most strategic thing is to not make these embellished necklaces as much. Instead, we may see which jewelry is more popular and make more of that, with your twist and point of view of course.
In the back of your head, it’s always important to have our vision there. It will crystallize and harden as time goes on. Then have this mantra in your head before you’re about to do ANYTHING related to your vision:
Will this move my vision closer to reality?
If the answer is no, then rethink it. Ask yourself:
What action can I take now to move my vision closer to reality?
Take that answer and run with it.
ACTION: What is a step you can take TODAY to move your vision closer to reality?
Okay…I have my vision but this money gremlin keeps popping up in my mind
PS. I put this cute little gremlin guy here because when you think about your money anxieties, I hope you envision him ;-)
If you’re still feeling skittish when it comes to money, I want to pose a question to you:
Why shouldn’t you make money for something you love or something that helps people?
Isn’t that the MOST valuable thing you could possibly give? What is the VALUE of what you have to give? This is the true question. If you have something of value to share with the world, then you have an abundant potential to make money.
Money comes from providing value.
We are taught as young kids that good people, holy people, the Mother Theresa or the Dalai Lama live a meager rather than an opulent life. However, both of these people fly first class! I recently took a business class and our mindset coach, Erin Foley, mentioned this and it blew my mind. I thought…how could they…but then I thought, of course they do! They have money given to them left and right, why?! Because they provide immense value to people. This doesn’t make them bad or good. It makes them human.
Okay, how’s that gremlin now? Is he shrinking into his shadow? If he isn’t yet, speak louder. Tell a supportive friend, your partner, your parent, whoever supports you unconditionally. Tell them your vision. Eventually, your hopeful voice will out sing the naysaying voice. But, when the Gremlin comes back, just pat him on the head and say, “it’s cool. You can be here but turn down the volume.” He might even smile at ya.
You got your vision. Now, the only question is…are you ready to embark on your richest journey yet?
Divinely,
Emily