Spending Money- An Expense Or Investment In Your Future?
Published on 21 Feb 2010 at 11:09 am.
2 Comments.
Filed under Attraction, Business Development, Career Tips, Feature Articles, Personal Development Strategies, Special Events, Spirituality & Inspiration.
A few days ago I attended a local conference hosted by my financial advisor, I’ll call Laura (who is also a friend & colleague) for people in the pharmaceutical industry who were unemployed, fearing a potential job loss, or looking for other possible employment with other companies. Of course anyone could attend who was looking for options and strategies about their career or business future.
Laura’s vision was to provide opportunities for people in different phases of transition to have access to experts and resources to help them move forward in their work and personal challenges. She contacted me to be of the breakout presenters because she knows I am an expert in helping people navigate through change and land on their feet.
Over 300 people registered for the four-hour event that covered a variety of topics including social networking, retirement, job search strategies, financial advice, motivation and positive thinking tips. My topic was “Saying YES To Who You Are Meant To Be In 2010” and I was curious as to how many spiritually- open people might be attracted to register for my (3) breakout sessions as I spoke on transforming fear and having the courage to follow your passions and soul guidance to change your life.
I had a ball speaking to three packed audiences who were so receptive to the material I presented. At the end of one of the breakout sessions a woman came up to me and said she had just had a consultation with a coach who said many of the things I had just shared. She was considering hiring a coach and she said, “Why do I have to spend pay to someone for help? Why can’t I do it myself?” I could hear some of the anger and resentment in her voice as she asked me those questions.
My answer to her was, “Of course you can do anything by yourself. If you have been trying and are not where you want to be, why would you begrudge yourself the opportunity to receive help even if it meant paying for it? Don’t you receive payment for the skills, talents, and gifts you bring to your job or business?”
And then I asked her how trying to go it alone was working for her. It wasn’t.
Look at any successfull and prosperous person and you will see they have a community of people around them including friends, colleagues, and teams of people who help them in areas of their business and personal life. Do you think they do it alone?
Of course not!
Over the years I have consistently invested time, energy, and money in growing myself and my business by listening in on teleconferences, reading lots of books and eBooks, attending seminars, taking trainings, working with healers, and having personal mentors and coaches.
What I think she was really resenting was spending the money on herself to get help and uncomfortable about the amount of money she might have to spend in order to get the help she needed. Perhaps she felt getting outside support was a sign of weakness and vulnerability. Maybe she was struggling with justifying the investment to hire a coach.
The use of money can be viewed as an expense or an investment. When you think of money as an expense, does it have a positive or negative connotation? We use the words spending money on things that are necessities to our life rent, mortgage, food, clothes…but what about the other choices we make that involve money?
Think about the word “spend”.
In my American Heritage Dictionary, it says, “To use up or put out. To pay out (money). To deprive of force or strength; wear out. To throw away; squander.”
For the word spent it says, “Consumed; used up. Passed; come to an end. Depleted of energy, force, or strength; exhausted.”
Here are two definitions for expense, “Something given up for the sake of something else; sacrifice. Something paid out to attain a goal or accomplish a purpose.” Does one carry more weight in your mind positively or negatively?
When you pay money for things, do you feel resentment or gratitude?
Do you bless each check you write or credit card payment you make for the value you received?
Are you grateful for the abundance you have to circulate out in the world for all the good you have?
Do you regularly invest in growing yourself as a person as well as your business?
Do you gift things to yourself that bring you pleasure and joy?
Do you tithe regularly to people and organizations who lift your heart and nourish your soul?
Are you a great giver as well as a receiver?
I encourage people to shift from thinking about spending money to investing it in themselves and their future. And yes, there will times when the dollar amount of the investment will be a stretch. And there will also be times when trying to get a bargain deal rather than invest in something with a higher ticket is the better value, rather than the cost, in the long run.
Sometimes the return on investment isn’t monetary. The return might be inner peace, more joy, increased self-confidence, a new friend, deeper connection with God, heightened intuition, creativity, and love. What would you pay to have more of those things in your life?
The greatest stumbling block you will encounter when making important decisions is how you view your life circumstances. We use circumstances to get us off the hook instead of fully committing to giving it everything we’ve got. More dreams are shattered and goals lost because of the fears, reasons, and excuses we assign to our life circumstances than any other single factor.
How often have you heard yourself saying, “I would like to do or have this but I can’t because …” Whatever follows “because” is the circumstance – I can’t afford to, I don’t have time, it’s too expensive….. Circumstances may cause you to pause or create a detour in life. When you empower your circumstances to override your inner wisdom and soul’s guidance to make important decisions, you may very well be causing more stress and struggle in your future than you realize.
Napoleon said, “Circumstances, I make them.”
Words have tremendous power in the way we think about things. Money fears and concerns about the future loom high with many people. And making good decisions with how you use your money is important in the choices you make when recognizing when getting help is a smart decision as an investment in your future.
Your attitude is a critical key to transform fear!
- Your attitude affects your decisions
- Your decisions direct your actions
- Your actions cause your results
What you perceive and believe affects what you think and feel which affects the decisions you make, the actions you take, and the outcomes you create, desired and undesired.
Years ago I read an article Bob Proctor wrote on Decisions and people’s objections about having no money, he said, “When the decision is made, they will figure out a way to get the amount needed. They always do. Many misguided individuals try something once or twice and if they do not hit the bulls-eye, they feel they are a failure. Failing does not make anyone a failure, but quitting most certainly does and quitting is a decision. By following that form of reasoning, you would have to say when you make a decision to quit you make a decision to fail.”
I’m not saying to be frivolous and impulsive in making money choices. What I am saying is paying attention to those times when you really know that saying YES to something is the right step for you to take; when the desire is so strong that it is palpable. Denying those desires can be painful and stressful. I recall many sleepless nights when I have been resisting my SELF. I do believe, “Where there is a will, there is a way” and we must be willing to do whatever it takes to claim the life we have come to experience.
I advise people to say no to decisions made from fear and desperation that often lead to regrets and are not aligned with our life path. I have found that when I make choices that involve money that feel Divinely inspired things work out well and often, delightfully surprising.
How to tell the difference?
Fear and desperation create tension and constriction in the body. Shallow breathing, confusion, and rampant internal negative self-talk are other signals that you are hearing the voice of your ego and personality.
When you are hearing the whispers of your soul, your heart, and God, you feel expanded, peaceful, often excited. You might also feel gratitude, wonder, and curiosity.
Fear kicks in when we re-engage with our mind and disconnect from our heart. When we mis-trust and ignore what we know in our gut and listen to the ramblings of our fears, we empower our circumstances to dictate our reality.
Continuing to grow yourself, resolve the past, and transform subconscious beliefs are critical keys to open the floodgates to receiving greater abundance in your life.
When we heal, clear, and release mental and emotional pain, we can better hear the whispers of our heart to guide us in right and perfect action to fulfill our life path and soul destiny. It takes faith, trust, and courage to go the distance especially when facing the seemingly impossible.
Want help?
Aligning With Destiny begins in four days and there is still time to register for my groundbreaking transformational program with Anita Pathik Law! If you are open and ready for a 13-week adventure that could change the trajectory of your life circumstances to be more aligned with your life path and soul destiny, make the decision to join us! Listen to you wise SELF and say YES!
rani on 22 Feb 2010 at 7:56 pm: 1
Thanks for sharing! Great ideas how to change and/or process my attitude and behavior around money.
lorraine on 26 Feb 2010 at 12:50 pm: 2
Excellent Rani
Little attitude changes can produce amazing results