The Money Ick

It has been said "paybacks are a b$tch" and I have to say, that they are. Money has an insane amount of energy attached to it. Think about how many hands each coin and dollar bill have passed through before they got to you. The hand that passes the money to you may not be clean, and I don't mean physically. The way the other has handled the money is important because attached to it may be expectation, disregard, anger, hurt, mistrust...if it has been given with anything less than joy, the ick is attached to the cash and it may be that the person who gave it comes back and wants to retrieve it.  I say give it back, if it hasn't been earned yet, wash your hands, literally, and walk away.  You don't want anyone else's ick attached to you.

You CAN NOT Make Money If

You CAN NOT make money if:  you don't know what you are doing; if you don't like what you are doing; if you don't believe in what you are doing; if you don't believe in yourself; if you don't believe in the people you are serving; if you don't know what your offering is; if you don't know what your work, time, effort, energy are worth...in short, you CAN NOT make money if you don't know your own business.  All the courses, marketing, branding and networking in the world won't save your bacon if you don't know what YOU are all about.  Get in there and do the dirty work. Ask yourself some starter questions:  What do I  want?  How do I want to get it?  Who do I want to work with, work for?  Who would be tortuous to work with?  Take the don'ts above and turn them into questions:  What am I doing?  What do I like to do?  What do I believe about myself, my clients?  What is my offering?  What are my talents, time, effort worth?  As long as these and other questions remain unanswered, you are spinning your training wheels with a swirl of dust kicked up all around you. No body can see you if you don't see yourself.

Thing

If you ran away to a desert island, initially you would want for a whole lot.  Once you have shelter, food and water, you could sit back, eat a coconut and watch the sun rise, later, you could watch the sun set.  During the day the sun and beach would call to you to play, waves and sand, interesting sea creatures...Palm trees to lie under and gaze at the crystal blue sky and fluffy white clouds.  This isn't a vacation, it's your life, ahhhhhhh, how sweet it is, right?  Money isn't an issue, you have all you need, wanting more is unnecessary.  Thing, the money monster Thing wants you to want, wants you to crave more, lies to you telling you you don't have enough.  Thing drives the bus, demanding that you go where it wants you to go.  If Thing has attached itself to you, shake it off, it is a hungry beast that devours with ravenous never to be satisfied appetites.

Money and Character

I met a new friend for coffee recently. She invited me and as I always do when meeting someone for the first time, I wondered how she would respond at the till when after making our order the question was asked "is this separate or together?"  I always hope to hear the words "together". There is something wonderfully magical about sharing, and the offer to pay or be paid for gives the feeling that much more is being shared.  Generosity speaks volumes about character.  Taking is easy but I believe giving is just as easy, if not more so. Go on and take a little piece of my heart are lyrics to a song, and in the giving, the sharing, the paying and being paid for, we exchange pieces of us.  Money and attitudes about it, whether detached or attached, generous or stingy, can set the tone for new and budding relationships. In business, the willingness of the client to pay in the beginning gives a sneak peek glimpse of what is to come further on down the road when relationship is more firmly cemented.  Asking the question "how do you want to handle this, cash cheque or charge?" shouldn't be a scary question, it should be expected by the client and the answer ready for the giving, along with the payment.

Tag

You need not struggle and scrape, claw and fight. You need only know what you are meant to do, what you must live and breathe for. A calling, a knowing, your work awaits you. People need your touch, your word, your strength. What is the offering, the only you can do it part of your work?  Yesterday I was coached and in the session, again I asked for help with silence. The coach went silent, in the still of the silence, there I was.  I didn't have to do or say a thing, I still existed and breathe and in the still, relationship was powerfully maintained.  The Money Monster wants you, and me, to scratch and claw and work till we bleed, keep us occupied and chasing it in a never ending game of tag where YOU & I are always it.  No Money Monster, no, I prefer to be still, and know that I am.  This one is for you Saad Hamidi~thanks for the gift in silence.

Filthy Lucre

Let's get to the money, but first, let me pretend I'm interested in you. Have you ever had this experience?  Pretence is an evil that exists in the world of business and cutting through to intention is key to having a thriving practice.  Checking my intentions is necessary, especially when I am struggling with a client. When money is a factor it is paramount to ask myself  am I working for money or am I working for the client?  If money comes to mind, it is my first hint that something is a miss.  Money holds meaning, is valuable, is a representation of worth.  The yes and the no to money is about what it is used for in an exchange.  The feelings money evoke are great gauges, information centres for what is important and matters most, especially in business. I have felt overpaid with the perfect clients, and so underpaid by others that the pain of working with them wasn't worth the fee at all.  Energetically, relationship with honesty and clean intentions feels pretty good in a money for service exchange, without these, money becomes a dirty word and ugly thing...filthy lucre.

More

The money monster would have you believe that "this is as good as it gets, be grateful cuz ya know, most people have a lot less than you do so what is your problem?"  Oh money monster, you are such a liar, so diminutive.  Settling for "enough" is a compromise, being happy with what you have is a completely different story. If you feel lack, like something is missing, like there is more but you haven't tapped in, then there IS.  More what is the question?  What do you want, how do you want to get it and what is standing in the way?  This is it kid, all you got, one shot at the big time.  Hey, I may be wrong, you might believe in reincarnation and have a crazy amount of  patience and a willingness to have the more later, in the next life? Or maybe, just maybe, you are like me, and you believe that this is your one shot to live into your dreams, the things that enliven you and make your heart beat faster and in rhythm with the greater I AM.  If you are, like me that is, fight, do what it is you are called to do, and money will always follow~it can't help itself, it will be drawn to you magnetically.

Social Contagion

Social Contagion~I love this term!  It means socially, we are CONTAGIOUS!  So the scenario looks like this:  you want to make money in your chosen profession, you aren't quite sure how, you decide to hang with people who are successful in their field and it shows because they are making the kind of money you want to make.  You start learning the how part and as easy as monkey see, monkey do, you start to get the hang of this profession and the pay off, the reward, is the paycheque.  Thats social contagion, a rubbing off of someone else's excellency and by association, you too become excellent. Tell me who you spend your time with and I will tell you who you are...we all know this is true.  You can try until the cows come home to pull someone up but if they don't want to take the trip, they will eventually pull you down.  You get to choose.  Look around you, what and who do you see and more importantly, do you want to catch what they have?

Money Monster Slayer Kills Urgency

There's more where that came from. During lunch with a friend yesterday I had an ahhhhhh moment, as in, ahhhhhh, I don't have to hurry.  We had planned a birthday lunch and an afternoon of shopping and between bites I realized I could take my time eating. I verbalized the thought and urgency disappeared, time seemed to expand and there was more of it. In writing this, I see how urgency has played a role in money thoughts, and I recall that my thought "there's more where that came from" is something I said many years ago, in fact, it was 15 years ago.  In the knowing there is more, more food, more time, more money, there is also the knowing that I can have it all without feeling like I must grab what I can. The lie is in the urgency, Truth is in the abundant more. The grabby money monster of urgency has been slain, hahhaha, I win again.

Not A Match

Working with the right clients means you get to be your full on self, no holds barred, all the time. When I look at my work and reflect on who my ideal clients are I know that they want what it is I have to offer.  It's like ketchup loving potatoes, they are delicious together. Using the food metaphor, the not so perfect client for me feels like walking on eggshells, or eating scrambled eggs and crunch, there's a bit of shell...yuck, not so pleasant.  Learning the difference and figuring out how and with whom I want to work positively impacts income, because clarity is an offering in relationship and being all in is an investment.  If I don't completely believe in the client, and they are not so sure about me, it's not a match.

Confidence

Confidence...a friend of mine tossed this word my way and in this game of catch, I hold this word up in my hand, checking it for meaning, essence, how it relates to money. One if the most attractive human qualities is confidence, it is captivating.  No one teaches it, in fact in Canadian culture, to display confidence is almost arrogant!  When I look at meaning, I see it is self appreciation, a liking of who I am in private and than who I show up as in public. When I look at essence, it is a knowing that I am progressing, learning, growing, valuing myself but more importantly, ESSENTIALLY, I am valuing others.  Lack of confidence makes others feel uncomfortable, awkward, it is an emotional contagion and bad for business. When I look to see how confidence relates to money, I see a direct correlation.  Through learning, growing, I know that I have an offering and the value added to the other is something worth paying for.

Who Is Your Boss

Who is your boss?  Working for a client is totally different from working for money, and the client knows the difference.  Each time we get service, we also get a message from the service provider.  This is how tips are supposed to work, good service, good tip...but there is so much more just below the almost immeasurable surface.  If joy is a factor in the exchange, it is easy to part with money at the end of the short term relationship. If somehow someway there is a feeling of being "shortchanged" in the experience before the bill arrives, there also comes the feeling of not wanting to pay, resentment for having to because that's what you agreed to went you ordered food.  Earning money is a big deal, for both parties. The question of who is your boss is one about internal mechanisms, a decision of how to serve based on integrity, not income.

What Do You Want Money For?

What do you want money for?  I love this question, because if you consider the answers, enumeration of multiple reasons comes into play. I need the money for..., I would like the money for..., I WANT the money for... There is tone in all of these statements. Need sounds like responsibility, like sounds like dreams, want sounds like the truth, the real purpose kinda feeling behind the desire to have money. Sure enough, I need money, but this is base, necessity, a must-have-to-live, and oh so very boring.  I would like to have money to feel free from needing money, there seems to be a longing in this statement, a doubtful will I have kinda of feeling.  I WANT the money feels strong, compelling and purposeful. What do you WANT money for?  I WANT money so I can GIVE money away; I WANT money so that I can live my life purpose; I WANT money so that my needs are met without too much thought or effort. What do YOU want money for?

Choosing Your Money Feeling

Holding money tightly in the clenched fist, controlled and counted...this makes me feel uptight and breathless in its rigidity.  Holding money loosely, letting it slip through my fingers, this makes me feel weak, melty, like a snowman in June.  Holding money with palms open, cupped together as a catch basin, feels like an invitation to abundance, fill me up.  Holding money with arm held high towards the Heavens feels like peace doves, an offering, a trusting that what I willingly surrender, returns tenfold.  Fear, Disregard, Trust, Faith...choices, which one do you choose?

10 000 Hours To Mastery

Making money is cool, feeling like you haven't earned it, not so cool. Mastery is a 10 000 hour investment of time, that's a lot of messed up minutes and hours in practice mode. The novice not only lacks skill, they also lack confidence. With increased skill, confidence in ability grows.  When money is attached to the equation, with increased skill, increased confidence, one would assume there would be a commensurate increase in pay, unless, of course, the service provider doesn't feel like they earned the more money part.  One if the hurdles is the heart in this equation.  There is an idea floating around out there in pretend entrepreneur land that if you have a gift, an offering that will serve others, should you really get paid?  Yeah, you should!  When this floaty thought is held, pinned down and asked to explain itself, it can't!  What usually surfaces in the questioning is money stories from the past, either distant or painfully recent, regardless of the time line, there is a block when it comes to the exchange of service for its real cash value.  The invitation is to keep working on mastery and in the mean time, hang with people who make the kind of money you want to make, somehow, it rubs off, and you, My Dear, will slay another one of your money monsters.

What Are You Selling?

What are you selling?  I don't care who you are, if you make money, you are selling something.  We all work for money, and this is where there may be a misconception.  Position sometimes implies a lack of need for money, the higher the position, think CEO, the more lofty and less nitty gritty money appears to be.  Looking up, way up, over the stacks of money that CEO guy or gal is sitting on is a worker bee, busy busy, not counting their money, but working away like any drone in the hive.  The CEO thinks about money just like everyone else because he too, has to work for it.  Sometimes we trick ourselves, or at least I have, into believing I work for the joy of it, the pleasure of serving, the purposefulness of using my talents to help others...yes, yes and yes, this is true, but when it comes to work there is naturally and energetically attached a belief that there will be a monetary return for my efforts, otherwise, it is charity work. Getting clear about value, that is the beginning, the starting point to saying a fee, sticking to it and collecting.

Money Story

Wake up, the door is sliding open at the next stop to opportunity ville.  I like entrepreneurs, they have the grit, the intestinal fortitude to carve out a life, even if it is just in the imaginary phase still, that feels like Heavenly freedom to them.  The dream always starts with money...the potential to make it big, make you own hours, make your life into what you want it to be. Ohhhhh, the planning, it's so pretty, shiny, stardusty. In the planning, and the learning of a craft, anything and everything is possible. Once school is out, the cold hard facts are that more needs to be done, on the inside. Everyone has a money story. Some people seem to magically magnetically attract money, others seem to repel it.  It's like a theme lived out generationally. Bring in the laser sharp pointer view and take a good hard look, what pattern are you living?  Is it yours, borrowed from your parents, cultural, societal?  Who is in there, inside of you looking out at money?  Look away if you are scared, but the monster won't go away until you shine light on him and make him explain himself. Only then can you question, then decide, what your new money story will be. 

Money Monster Slayer on How Much?

Money, it's the taboo topic that has people looking down, away, or off into the distance.  I got 9 books on the subject of money out of the library last week, intent on cracking the code, figuring out the why of the blocks I keep seeing between the work people perform and the collection of money for that hard work.  It's like asking for money is rude, or something to that effect. If I buy a sweater, I go to the cashier and no questions asked, I hand over cash and in return I get a bag with my purchase inside.  This is a black and white exchange, I give and than I get something.  In fact, as a customer, I am super clear that paying is NOT optional!  It is the service provider that has trouble with the exchange, the customer, client, prospect asks "how much", and that's when things get squirrelly~when we humans walk around without price tags attached for our services, it leaves a big question mark over our heads. The question of how much somehow feels like a threat or a bargaining chip for the prospect and when the service provider is unsure of their fee, they seem too, unsure of their professional abilities to provide service.  Eeeck, this is messy, because in this scenario, it is the service provider that has an issue, NOT the prospect.  How much is a question that needs to be answered well before standing in front of a buyer, how much time is worth given the services offered is the grand question that needs all hands on deck to answer. Don't look away, stare your money monster in the eye and make sure he knows you mean business when you establish your fees.  Confidently go where you haven't dared to go before and stake a claim on your money, you will be richer for the experience.