The devil

I have been thinking about the greatest money monster of all time...the devil. He is a hard driving monster and when he is at his very charismatic and pressure inducing worst self, he has me, you, working hard. Forget about the purpose, the reason for your work or as many are saying these days, the big WHY for what you do and he, the monster I am calling the devil, will have us chasing money out of need, greed, self aggrandizement, the thrill, fill in your own fixation reasons here. Work work, money money, these are the thought whips he uses to drive us to doing for the sake of things. Hard work pays off and it is a socially accepted belief that the pay off is cash. As I write I feel the never ending cycle, the push for hard work, hand held out for the payoff, the trap of continually being driven. This is to deny the true need we all have to live into our own uniqueness, my own, your own abilities to serve others FOR THE SAKE of their betterment. Payment for services rendered is an even exchange, commensurate with what you gave and what the other(s) got. Hard work must become Heart Work and than payment becomes a reward, rather than a cash in hand triumphant win. The devil is the driving voice that never shuts up, the Heart leads and when I/you follow, need disappears. 

Net worth

Net worth. When I think of this as a statement I see a monster looming large, the net worth money monster asks "what is your net worth?". If you answer this question with a dollar value, he has won your soul, claimed the prize of you. The subconscious is like a happy puppy, panting after whatever it is you and I have planted there. It says "what do I think, what do I think, pant pant, ok, I am only (ONLY) worth $_______.00" and there you have it, the underling message that predominates and pervaids without you giving the whole issue much conscious thought. Money IS on the mind for most of us and equating the self with how much of it you have/I have, is a dangerous high stakes game. I know net worth is a financial term and yet, this term has become an entity, a personality by which we judge ourselves and others. It is a monster reducing worth to dollars and can make us feel penny small. NO, say NO to this monster, no is your first line of defence. This monster is deadly and whiley and has encouraged many to take their own lives as their "worth" fell measured by bank account numbers. Never be alone with this monster, talk to someone that knows the Truth about who you are and how much you are really worth. Liars are murderers, this money monster is the most deadly of them all. 

Mixed Intentions

Here is a go for the jugular set of complimentary questions: "And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul?" This comes from Mark 8:36-37, in the Bible. It speaks of that uneasy feeling of dissonance that is caused by mixed intentions. Long ago I was a sales representative for a large RESP company and while I believe in the product and purchased the savings plan for my son and continue to pay for the plan, I had a hard time selling it because I couldn't help seeing dollar signs over children's heads, I had an inability to separate out the massive benefits of the planned education funds from my need to make money from the commissions I would earn when signing a family up. Coaching might have helped and yet, I know now that my heart wasn't in this work and when money is the focus, there is a feeling of soul selling, a quick fix of cash and then the need to move on to next quick fix. Needless to say, I didn't last long in this position. The money monster mixed intentions would have me, you, work against moral fibre, go for the cash and forget the humans involved, like an addict with a fix, one is never enough and next is always waiting to be found and used up. I am still in sales, we all are, as proponents of what we believe in, know to be true and good, not just for me, not just for you, for others. Did you sell your soul today for mere cash? Is it causing a slow and steady bleed? Money monsters like guts and blood, are yours spilling out? Money is our friend, an ally in life, how we make it is the tricky part. Slay one of your monsters today and unmix your intentions, who are YOU as you go about your business?

Sold

Want to make money? What do you HAVE to do to make money? Ever hear the expression "sometimes you have to sell your soul to make money"...who said that? What book of advice has this as a tag line? Check it out, is there any part of you that believes this? No? Great, you can stop reading right now and go enjoy yourself, I am happy for you! If, on the other hand, there is inside of you a little voice saying I kinda feel like I sold out, that I am owned, trapped, that without my paycheque and this job, I got nothin~might as well stick a sold sign on my forehead and drudge along, then perhaps this message is for you. The money monster sold wants you to sell yourself short, to believe that as long as money is coming in, it doesn't matter how you feel about yourself, how you may be forsaking yourself for money. Making money is necessary, it is vital to life and it is a measure of hard work, gives satisfaction and a sense of accomplishment. HAVE to implies a lack of choice, an inescapable must be done this way feeling that feels like selling out. There is lots and lots of money in the world, it will always be so, how you make it is your choice. If it feels like you are selling your soul for a paycheque, chances are, you are doing just that. Look into your heart, yes...look in there...that's where your answer is~let no monster in, once they take up residence, they are like cockroaches, resistant to eviction...they must die to be removed. Slay your own sold monster today.

Misuse

Time or it's misuse is the money monster I drag out of hiding, kicking and screaming. How have I USED my time, this is the question that has been niggling at me. Self employment has it's pleasures and pitfalls and one of the pitfalls is the readily available choice of misappropriation of the invaluable asset of time.  There are lots of reasons to work, paying bills is one of them.  There are also lots of reasons to not work, kicking back and taking it easy is one of them. Believing that your work, my work, is so important that it is worthy of investing time is an important spring board to action. I have toyed with a schedule and using this word toyed makes my work seem like play, with recesses and long lunches and play dates mixed inbetween work sessions for good measure so that I can continue to call myself an entrepreneur...until this morning, when it came to me.  My time is sold, I did not buy it, it has been given to me by an unseen hand, an unappreciated and unmerited gift. How I spend it is so luxuriously up to me, making this gift spectacular beyond words. I am at choice and I am choosing to work, which means when I am between sessions with clients (this too, having clients, is a magnificent gift) I will take my gift of time and spend it learning, writing, reading and being thankful to the unseen hand that gives. 

non-essential

Non-essential is the money monster that's going under the sharp blade today. There is a niggling snippy little monster out there that says if I can't eat it, drink it, wear it or live under it, I don't need it. This monster wants us to buy the lie of survival, pant pant, fear of famine and just getting by in life. I am beginning to eliminate the word JUST from my vocabulary as it appears to speak to beyond reach possibilities that can be longed for and salivated over without any chance of grabbing hold of as in "if I just had a new job, a new partner, more money, a better body, I would finally be happy, content, realized, blah blah blah". This goes hand in hand with the non-essential money monster, who wants you and I to survive without thriving. My work is ESSENTIAL, not for the money I make and the stuff it affords me, it is essential because through my work people fall in love with themselves, their lives, their own dreams and from there, THEY ARE who they are purposefully meant to be. Non-essential must be slaughtered here and now, told to get outta here, my work is important because the clients I serve are important and precious. I wash the blood from my blade, satisfied as I hear the screeching death cry of yet another monster put down, my heel on its neck until it closes it's eyes and disappears from my sight.

80/20 Rules

The 80/20 rule is an across the board observation a clever man made when he viewed the world and peoples interaction with it all around him.  I was at the gym and I realized I am a part of a rather rare and wonderful group of 20%ers, we are the people who work out while 80% of the population does not.  I am a part of the elite group of folks who are considered fit, and since I have earned this rather lovely label, I am perfectly comfortable in claiming it as my own.  This is because my fitness is no accident, it is a choice and I choose it regularly which means I get to say thank you when someone tells me I look good. I work as a personal trainer and within the group of trainers that I have observed, they too fall into the 80/20 categories of fitness, just like the rest of the population, with only 20% of them being able to claim fitness as the reward for their hard work and time in for their own wellness, and it shows, for as many trainers that are fit, there are many more that are fat.  This brings me to the money monster lucky~this monster is a slacker and tries to convince people that the 20% who have it made got lucky somehow, that they have something you and I don't have, that health, wellness, money, fitness is for the few and the few have more resources to acquire what they have and it can never be yours, can never be mine. Check it out, in your office, at home, at the gym, it's the 20%ers that say they are going to get a job done and they work and work until it happens, luck doesn't exist and is like fools gold.  Work is real, it's hard, it's worth it.

Mastery

Sweet mastery, that's 10 000 hours of practice, of refinement, and according to the book I am currently reading, this skill evolution is most effectively developed solo, that is when one is alone. When I think about this, it resounds as a gong of truth.  While I truly enjoy the company of others and collaborative work, it is when I am alone that I connect with what is purcolating just below the surface waiting to be discovered in my pysche. The money monster distraction wants me looking here, there, everywhere outside of myself for inspiration and spot light like, he would have me tracking perennially outside of myself for genius. I am a mix of gregarious and soul searching hermit crab~I give energy and I retreat to restore it. I am brilliantly me following times of reflection, reading and writing and this is when business and connection come my way, following my lovely shelly retreats. This money monster distraction lives everywhere and like the gingerbread house in the woods in the rather terrifying fairy tale Hansel & Gretel, the promise of a delicious candy coated world that can be snacked on without any nutritional value is a lure, a lie of shiny shiny that promises much and delivers very little in return. Distraction is a bewitching money monster, keeping cookie eaters from practicing their craft and becoming masterful.  Go within, focus, find your genius and develop THAT, than you will be irristably sought after as the one with the answers and solutions and you too, can teach others to go within, focus, find your genius...

Success Is Not a Popularity Contest

Success is not a popularity contest. I heard this really amazing question:  how do you know that what you are doing is right for you?  The answer was~have someone hold your head under water until you can't take it anymore and your need to breathe overtakes you and you must surface for air. Your work should be like that, as important as your need to breathe. There is something vital about work, it is life giving when I, when you, work from a sense of purpose, a need to fulfill some kind of intensely driven internal urge to satisfy a need that only I, and you, can meet in this world, that's when we know we are on to something bigger than just working for money.  Lately I have been anxious about success and it's markers, as in how will I know I am successful? The money monster success has been feeding me lines about popularity, the number of people that show interest in me and my work and he has had me hopping from Facebook likes, to blogger, onto email amd then LinkedIn, searching for signs of success until I heard another voice that said "hey, hey you, since when did success become a popularity contest? Do your work, the work you love, the work you are good at and success will be yours". Here, the money monster success has become an ally, a friend that measures with a different yard stick. Success is services rendered well, measured by happy clients who return and I get to wake up every morning and breathe the air of being on purpose.

Hiding and comfortable

Do you play hide and seek with your career and consequently, the income it potentially can provide?  Self employment is a fun game to play, isn't it?  I mean really, calling oneself an entrepreneur sounds so very austere and self possessed and yet, behind the veil can reside any number of money monsters,   and one of them is called hiding. If you get to eat every day, sleep in a warm bed with a pretty nice roof over head and a shower with fresh clean clothes to slip into in the morning, why work or perhaps, why work harder if you can keep the things you have with about as much effort as you have always made?  Why, why oh why is the question.  Survival is cool and from the description above, if all survival items are in place, the hiding money monster would have you and I believe that that is good enough, wipe your hands together and brush the dust off and relaaaaaaaax.  Now another monster appears, comfortable, who suggests that you have arrived, all you need to do is what is comfortable, the same old same old for well, ever, or at least until you die!  So, if you have enough money to eat, sleep, shower, get dressed, do a little business, than perhaps you have arrived and that's all she wrote but then WHY screams, why is survival enough, what else is there?  What if my career is about far more then money and comfort?  What big adventure am I hiding from?  Oh, there I go, my hiding monster has now been challenged and to slay him and his lazy friend comfortable, I must figure out the more, the why...I am not the money I make, I am here with a master plan in place and I slay the hiding and comfortable money monsters as I go forth, looking for the answer to my why.

More is Never Enough

There are many money monsters prowling the earth, hunting humans. They slither sneakily into pockets, withdrawing cash and slithering away without detection from the noble and trusting humans. Sometimes the snakes take human form and this is a disconcerting experience for other humans who appear devoid of suspicion and who find it nearly impossible to attribute evil action to someone who in shape and form, resembles a beautiful human. Action screams louder than any words that are spoken of what lies in the heart of another when deception is their automatic mode of operation and lies their verbal cover for what has been done firstly in the darkness of the heart, followed by action done under the cover of night. Evil does not understand good and good cannot comprehend evil and this does not bode well for the innocent of heart. No one wants to call another evil and yet, what would we call taking and taking without ever considering the other and their condition? Perhaps action can be separated from the actor and yet, there would be no action without a mover, someone to commit to the doing part that follows the thinking part. Can a person be evil in the moment they are committing to an evil act? I think yes.  Beware of snakes, they are vicious money monsters and their hunger is insatiable, more is never enough.

Trap of Stuff

Stuff.  I got me a lot of stuff. Stuff takes up space, before that it cost me money to acquire and accumulate it all. I consider myself somewhat of a minimalist because I am not fond of clutter or extraneous take up space items and yet, I have to laugh at calling myself this when I look in my closet and drawers at all of the clothes I have.  I like to look good and so, I am perfectly content with some of my money being invested, see my grin as I write this, in fabulous look at me clothes.  What I am discovering is that the big house that I live in is a holder of so much stuff that my money is really just going toward the payment and maintenance of a huge storage unit!  The pride of ownership is turning into a mouse trap~or perhaps the rat race of life is buy as big as you can almost afford and work until all you do is work in order to pay for what you thought you wanted.  The money monster trap would like you and I to believe that the house and the stuff in it is the stuff of life and I must slowly shake my head and say no, money monster, no it isn't so.  When I drive through my neighbourhood I see row upon row of pretty houses, with pretty people, living pretty lives~I'd like to think most of them have chosen exactly what they have.  Maybe they have and perhaps not, what I do know is stuff doesn't make me happy and no lying money monster can trap me and convince me otherwise.

Monopoly

Monopoly.  Which monopoly piece are you?  How about the properties, which property have you been relegated to?  In the game Monopoly, the roll of the dice determines where you get to move on the board and in agreeing to play the game, you agree to the games rules and in the end, the clear indicator of winning the game is the person who has the greatest number of properties, houses and money.  Yesssss! I invite you to look at the first couple of questions more closely.  What if someone else has played you like a game piece and relegated you to life on a board of their creation and you have gone round and round their board and sometimes landed in jail without a get out free card because you had no clue that you were on a loop, on a loop, on a loop?  The money monster monopoly does just that, he monopolizes time, energy, money on things that keep you in jail, on a loop, choiceless and trapped with the offerings of the board creator...don't ask for permission to do something differently, listen to your own creative voice and choose.  If you feel stuck, ask who's life is it anyway and when you decide it's yours, what will you do to get out of the loop?

I AM

There is a pervasive money monster that whispers you are not enough, it's (whatever it may be) is not enough.  This monster has it's victim by the heart, squeezing and twisting and convinced that when reality is checked by comparing oneself to others, the message is clear, I AM NOT ENOUGH. Speaking these words are painful utterances, they belie years of feeling inadequate no matter what the circumstances, no matter what the evidence of success and no matter what truths others might speak to the victim of this vicious monster. In a world gone mad with accomplishments and accolades for the ultra successful (read wealthy here), this monster of you are not enough holds particular sway, at least until it, the monster that is, is exposed mid whisper~herein lies the opportunity for the maligned victim of this customary assault to say I AM...you fill in your own statement, declaring what YOU ARE, rather than what the monster wants you to believe.  I heard a great line today that goes something like "I don't deal with untruths"...make of this what you will, I for one, kinda like it.

Courage kills gutless

The money monster gutless wants to keep you tongue tied and speechless, never ever telling anyone what great work you do...asking for a sale, which means telling prospective clients what work you do, that is something this money monster wants you to feel is foolish, too bold, too aggressive, and when you DONT speak, he reminds you just how gutless you really are. Here's the thing:  what if you your work has such magnificent impact on others that by not speaking, you are practically stealing from them?  What if it is your unique and wonderful offering that that one person you just spoke to needs in order to live their life more fully, and they slipped away because you let gutless talk you out of doing what you were meant to do?  People are suffering and dying slow deaths of unspoken and yet very tangible misgivings, unhappiness, anxiety...don't let gutless turn you into someone who let's opportunity pass you by, get out Courage, speak your offering and maybe you will play a really integral part in helping someone out of their misery.  

More Where That Came From...

There's more where that came from, have you ever heard this expression?  The money monster dried up hates this expression!   Think about this:  money comes, money goes, and it always feels like there isn't enough, for MOST people, are you like most people?  If money comes and goes, it would appear that there is real flow, wouldn't it?  Wanting to hold on to it, keep it when it hits your hot little hands, that is when flow gets interrupted.  Keep it for WHAT?  Here is the thing, if you have a job, food, shelter and money is "tight", check your grip, what are you holding on to so tightly that it makes your knuckles white?  Does this change your paycheck dollar amount?  Will you eat less today or perhaps lose your home? What will happen if you loosen your grip?  What would happen if you let go?  Let's say the money actually does dry up, then what?  If this particular money monster harasses you, challenge him, tell him that you would make it in life, you will survive, no matter what is thrown your way. More, there is always more where that came from...

Twin money monsters, accommodating and compromise

Sometimes we need a yes, a nod to go ahead and this puts one in the position of getting this green light from another, someone who has the power to say yea or nay. Depending on the want, a person might compromise their values, schedule, stated priorities to ACCOMODATE this yes. This is dangerous ground and while the money monster compromise would have you and I believe that this is what we must do to get our needs met, there is a part in this scenario that is damaging.  It's like the yes person has the loaf of bread and whatever crumbs he/she throws your way/my way, is good enough and we should be grateful. Blahhhhhhh, gross, disgusting and NO money monster compromise~a trail of bread crumbs that must be followed and pecked at on a path of someone else's creation is NOT my path. Here's a tip:  if it feels like you are compromising what is important to you to satisfy a need by accepting someone else's conditions, then chances are that's what is going on. Recalibrating and doing a quick what's really important to me self check in PLUS acknowledging that you are talented and the boss of your own destiny will help you kick compromise and it's devious twin money monster accommodating to the curb. This is dedicated to my FAITH sistah, you know who you are H.B.

Who do you work for?

What and who are you working for?  Oh the trap of self absorption, the what I will get out of this deal, dilemma. Working for money is kinda of a strange concept when you think about it?  It's the boss that never looks you in the eye and says good job, well done, let's do this again tomorrow!  There are two people that come to mind that are amazing competent hard working employees and their biggest heart ache is the cruelty with which their employers treat human beings for the sake of making more money~the lack of appreciation for their hard work is painful for them and they have both come to realize that a pat on the back with an atta girl/boy, will never come. They both get pay checks and yet somehow, they are clearly NOT working for money. I read once that one of the main reasons for quiting a place of employment was that the values of the company did not align with the values of the employee, regardless of the rate of pay.  Working for someone appears to be the gem in the equation along with a sense of satisfaction that your work is well done AND appreciated, acknowledged. I work for clients...what and who do you work for?

Love People Not money

Love is, higher than a mountain, love is, thicker than water~these lyrics come from a Bee Gees song and they are playing in my head on the heels of two amazing coaching sessions. I love my work and it loves me.  This kills the money monster that wants my love to go to it, loving it, money, instead of the people I work with and for.  Things do not inspire love, they are not worthy of love because they are not capable of feeling it, receiving it, returning it.  This love money money monster is a wicked liar and would have you and I travel the path of longing and chasing after what isn't real and has no value in and of itself~money only has worth, value, when given in exchange for something else.  Did I get paid for coaching, yes I did.  Am I glad for the payments, yes I am.  I worked and in return I was rewarded, that's what money represents to me.  Love people, not money, and money will find you.

The Money Monster "you"

Here's the order of business. You have a service to offer; you must have clients to be of service and in return, they pay you.  Let's say you create an opportunity to invite a potential client to try your services and they agree to a sample. This can be the beginning of a mutually beneficial arrangement because for what ever reason, this person has agreed to meet with you and try out whatever service you are offering. You met, they get it, they like the service and something has ignited in them and they want more...YOUR TURN, you must at this point ask for the business. Let's assume YOU assume they will say yes, this calls for an assumptive close and it sounds and looks something like this "so we will be working together", nod nod.  There is absolutely no reason for you to think otherwise if all has gone well with the potential client. People like confidence and if they have given an initial yes to a sample, they may just be looking for the answer your service and only YOUR service can provide.  Don't let fear of a no stand in the way of the jubilation of a yes, for your client.  It's not about you and don't let the money monster "you" get in the way.  

Fighting For Value

My husband is a real estate agent and today during an initial meeting with a client, the client asked if he would consider reducing his commission. He stated "no, I won't, in fact I'm not charging you enough, that's how much I value my services.  See how I'm fighting for myself right now, image how I'll fight for you and your money with potential buyers". Isn't this what we all want, someone who will fight for us, have our best interests at heart when we hire them to do work for us?  This is my commitment, my staying power to deliver what a client wants and asks for, and hopefully more. The money monster devalue tries to convince us that our worth is measured in dollars and cents and while money is a useful tool for giving and getting, it has nothing to do with value, contribution, commitment and deliverance.  Fighting for yourself models strength and in the case of my husband, it is an offer to clients to trust in his abilities and commitment to fight for them too.  Money has energy, in the hands of the holder...think on that one money monster devalue, as you whither and slither your way back into the dirt where you belong.

Appreciation kills comparison

comparison is a curse, this money monster wants you to do it all the time, have you feel better or worse, depending on who or what you are comparing yourself or accumulated material items to.  The energetic feeling attached to comparison is dark and heavy, like a black cloak of envy placed on the one being compared. Admiration is a different story, it is appreciative of what someone else has accomplished and the accompanying energetic feeling is sparky and lively, like a technicolor cape placed on the back of the one admired. comparison says "they aren't better than you, why do THEY have what THEY have, YOU should have that to".  Appreciation says "they have earned what they have, I like it and wonder what I too can do to accomplish what they have accomplished".  While comparison tares down, strips away, Appreciation builds up the other as a model to emulate.  Let's get something straight here~while imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, there still has to be a driving force unique and wonderful inside of each individual, to make whatever they have or have accomplished, their own.  Let's kill comparison with Appreciation for others, comparison has no place in the hearts and minds of the healthy and whole.

Results vs reasons

I heard a cool comparison the other day, you can have Reasons or you can have Results. This is about getting the job done, getting what you said in your head that you wanted, you know, the one big thing you are afraid to say out loud for fear of failure or being held accountable?  Let me explain:  oh, the reason I am not successful is no ones buying right now, everyone is slow, it's a bad time of the year.  Compare this to:  the result of my networking is I have figured out who the tire kickers are and who is serious about my product/services, now I know who to target, who I want to work with.  The money monster reasons wants to keep you excused, this also means checked out from the truth. If success is part of the plan, results are your best friend. I know the difference and so do you, let's not pretend!  Now go out there and get you some results!  One more money monster slayed.

should I?

There is a money monster lurking called should I and he really wants to keep you and I living in the grey of don't choose. Should I or shouldn't I call that prospect?  This is a nice gathering, do I tell people what I do? Should I or shouldn't I charge that fee?  Should I do that now, or can it wait until tomorrow?  If you are a service provider, you are IN SALES!  So here is the thing:  if no one is hiring you, it may be because they don't know what you have to offer; if you aren't getting paid enough, you haven't asked for enough AND, if you want to make it as an entrepreneur, you HAVE to call prospective clients, reach out to your contacts and ASK for the business~if you don't someone else will and I don't know about you but I would be inclined to kicking myself in the butt if that happens.  Should I, yes you should, now go out there and get you some clients, ask for the sale, tell them your fee and start working for yourself, no one else will do it quite as well as you can.

Roaaaaaarrrrr

Roarrrrrrr, this is the sound of those of us that want to call our own shots, take over, run our own lives.  I like the expression "get out of your own way" because when it comes down to the nitty gritty of getting things done, making money, staking a claim for entrepreneurship, it would appear that it's the money monster small that takes over the mind and body that keeps us invisible to our own greatness and as long as this monster has our ear, he, it, keeps US in our own way.  What are you giving and what are you getting?  If the sentiment after service and subsequent payment is that the giving is greater than the getting, than there is a complimentary sentiment of feeling devalued...now whose responsible for THAT?  Entrepreneurs are a breed unto themselves, the successful ones know what their services are worth and the newbies quickly find out and learn from the models of business elegance and finesse, from the already established and learned in their profession.  Feeling small, insecure, go on a seek and find mission, emulate the greats and slay the monster that wants to keep you invisible, the one that doesn't want you to know how great you really are...ROAAAAAAR

Wet blanket & FIRE

I'm trailing a blaze...wait, look, a blazing fire, let me trail through it, let me create a path for you.  These are my friends words, instead of using the phrase trail blazer, she coined her own, trailing a blaze. We laughed at this as this was a far better metaphor in our conversation than the original version. Whether the fire is being followed or being created, there is fire. The money monster wet blanket wants to put the fire out, damper my belief that I can light up the path, have others follow.  He tries to convince me "you are kidding yourself, who would LISTEN to you, let alone follow you...you are NOT that interesting". Damn it yes I AM stupid money monster.  Here's the thing:  sometimes I'm bold, and I am a trail blazer and I welcome others not to follow me, but to come along with me on the adventure;  sometimes I trail the blaze, I follow the flame that has been miraculously lit, the one that summons me to follow.  I'm ok either way, I'm not ok with water or wet blanket trying to smother me to smouldering.  Here's what I'll do to you wet blanket...I'll hang you out to dry and than when my fire burns low, I'll chuck you on there to jack the flames back up again.  Take that money monster, burn.  I love you HELENA BUGLER!

Nervousness

Named must your fear be before banish it you can. — YODA, from Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back.  Yoda had a point and I will add to his wisdom that naming your fears is the first courageous step toward concurring them. Deciding they aren't the boss of me is really the point and in tandem,  what will I do to be the master of my own destiny, what steps am I willing to take to be fearless?   Thinking, feeling, sorting, understanding, they are all great, whippy, what are you going to DO about all that touchy feely thought stuff?  What is it costing you financially, emotionally, and physically to postpone action?  When I was in high school, I had a really amazing realization.  When speaking to a boy I thought was cute, I wondered what he thought of me, did he like me too, was I cute to him?  Nervousness would rule the day when in company of the appealing opposite sex until I realized this:  chances are, he was thinking what I was thinking, he was wondering what I thought of him too!  Fast forward many adult years and nervousness still rules, for most people.  Concern for what others think, how they will be perceived, whether or not they will mess up by speaking or doing or giving their opinion or more importantly, asking for the sale. Yikes, this is epidemic in proportion. It's a waiting game and no ones making bold moves and those that do, they win because they have figured out that nothing will break in fact they have everything to gain by asking for what it is they want.  What do you want to ask for?  Stop thinking about it, ask, the other person can always say no OR, they may just surprise you with a YES.  Banish it I did, once naming it I had, nervousness be gone. 

Chameleon

The money monster chameleon wants us to hide, take cover, go unnoticed to protect us from...what?  For a preditor perhaps a chameleon is a deliscious snack or meal, who's snack will you or I be if we stay true to ourselves, stay in own skin, let others see our true colours? It's safe being unseen, it means no one expects much from the hider, and the hidden, they get to survive another day and hey, who am I to judge? If survival is the goal, then hiding seems to be a reasonable plan...blending in so no one notices what you are or aren't doing, that's great when anonymity is the desired outcome. Conform and live another day, that's what the monster wants us to believe.  He wants us to think that we are average, mediocre, nothing special, that by not getting eaten, we should be thankful at the end of the day.  I really hate being compared to a lizard, I don't have a "reptilian brain", good God I am sick to death of fitting in, aren't you?  Oh money monster, you are green with envy, you have inability, because you cannot create in me conformity, and I slay you.

Clarity

Clarity is an ultimate goal and that's why determining what I want is more important than any other step along the way in shaping and forming my business.  What I want is highly motivated make no excuses take no prisoners clients.  To get this type of client, I have to have these qualities and I'm cashing in on the idea that like attracts like. While I don't want to jump into a box and be defined by square lines and flat surfaces, I do have to be clear about what I do, what my offering is, how I attract and maintain a client base.  I have learned I am a helper, in more bold terms, I help others see their own power, the influence they naturally have and I encourage them to utilize their power and influence for the betterment of THEIR clients, their family members or co-workers.  I am an attractor,    this means that my business comes energetically, in other words through referral or relationship...websites do not appeal to me, nor does marketing~call me and we can talk, that's my way and I like it.  The money monster haze would like to see fussy lines around who I think I am.  He would like to keep me farsighted, not see clearly what and who I am, what I want and am naturally inclined toward. Clarity gets me, and you, closer to the clients and work we are meant for.  Get clear today, clients are waiting for you.

Unlimited

I heard somewhere that a fish will grow to the commensurate size of the tank they swim in.  I looked this up and discovered that if a fish stops growing, it is because growth has been "stunted" do its living conditions. The myth is perpetuated when a fish is moved to a bigger tank and has a growth spurt~the explanation for the growth is that the fish may very well be taking advantage of the better living conditions and this positively impacts their health and subsequent growth.  Where am I going with this, you ask?  I ask you:  Is your financial growth stunted?  What is the size of your tank and in what conditions are you living?  Fish have the ability to continually grow and this brings me to you, to me, to growth. We are not unlike fish, we have the same expansive abilities. There is no limit unless of course, it is self imposed?  The money monster limited wants us to believe that we can only have so much, go so far, or better put, grow so far. I have seen big fat overgrown gorgeous looking goldfish in rather minuscule looking tanks;  I have heard of them jumping out of their tanks too, perhaps they wanted to be free to grow bigger than their puny environment?  Unlimited, that's what I say to the money monster limited, no tank can hold me or you, let's jump out together!

No hesitation

There is the law of sowing and reaping, the important part of this equation is what are you sowing?  Being an entrepreneur means I must, of necessity, plant seeds in the hearts minds and dare I say souls, of my potential clients.  What are these seeds and how do I go about planting?  The money monster hesitation wants me to experience trepidation, wants me to stutter start, to hesitate, and we all know the saying, he who hesitates is lost. The kick ass truth is if I want my business to grow and thrive, I have to plant seeds all over the place, everywhere I go, not with hope, with confidence, that this will generate interest in my work, my offering and ultimately, with generate income. I know what I'm good at, why would I want to keep it a secret?  What would keep me from my work, when I have a job to do, to do well?  Being a shameless self promoter of my services doesn't make me cocky, it means I'm confident.  I have done the work and earned the right to earn the fees I charge. It's that good, that simple and I will not hesitate for any monster that tries to hold me back.

Working for wealth

There may very well be a formula for success, some would call it hard work, whatever that means. I recall reading about millionaires, the quiet ones who remained modest in lifestyle, who earned their money doing one thing really well and stayed with that one thing because they were good at it and "it" was something other people benefitted from.  Their wealth was accumulated over a span of years and consistency was an undeniable element, a factor in the success formula.  If I back up one sentence, I see the part where I wrote other people benefitted from it, meaning the goods or serves. If I back up further in the sentence, I see the part where it says they were good at whatever it is they were doing.  If the rewards, in this case wealth, was the horse and the service or product was the cart, this formula would not work.  What can I do for you, that is the question, as opposed to how can I make money from you...this distinction is clear and clients know intention before words are ever spoken.  The monster success would have us work for wealth, I work for clients, take that money monster.

Dollar signs

Keep your eyes on the prize, what does this mean to you?  My first thought is money, winning, getting to the end with a wad of paper when the game is won and done.  I don't know about you but that is NOT how I want to conduct my business. The prize for me is the client getting exactly or better than what they expected or dreamed of having.  The prize is repeat business and referrals~these are my measures of success.  The prize is me doing such a good job that my reputation precedes me and lives are richer from having been served well.  This is about the client, not the money they hand over.  Clients are not a means to an end, they are the life blood of work.  As Zig Ziggler used to say, wealth is a measure of how hard you have worked.  I will add, wealth is a measure of how hard you have worked to deliver the unexpected, the extra, the more.  The monster dollar signs would have us look in the wrong direction, at things instead of people, it is with delight that I slay this self serving monster.

Loving Me, Loving You

Bold rather than arrogant, confident rather than cocky, the differences between the attitudes or attributes are huge, and a wise young friend of mine pointed to how each sets a tone, with bold and confident instilling trust while arrogance and cockiness instill the opposite in relationship. I think bold is oh so very attractive given the fact that insecurity is like a rampid disease, inferiority claiming the lives of many, stealing their dreams and relegating people to the sidelines rather than the spotlight in their own existence.  What the heck, how does this happen?  What steals away the fire of knowing how fabulous we are designed to be, what cold water is poured freely on the fire that is, leaving smouldering coals and a I can't put my finger on the memory of what greatness looks and feels like ghost of something that could be?  Bold, confident, this means claiming who I am, who you are. This isn't a threat to others, because it calls them forth too, domino effect welcome.  Loving me means I model you loving you, and so on and so on, and so on...

Me Too

Keep trying and you will get there, this seems reasonable.  Given that mastery takes 10 000 hours, the investment would appear to be worth while when the returns come in.  Yeah, I nod to this, acknowledge its validity, IF, not giving up is in the game plan.  No guts, no glory, nothing can be more true when it comes to slaying the monster of not me...not me wants you and I to believe that good things, health, wealth happiness belong magically to the other guy or girl.  Such a lie.  Watch the people who are successful, they are relentless in pursuit of excellence.  The cream of the crop, the top 20%, the producers, they are the ones to keep an eye on.  I don't mean pay them and expect it to rub off, I mean do what they do, follow the formula, integrate it and stop reinventing the wheel.  Beginners think they need to learn more before they master their craft, I say get in there and get dirty, make messy mistakes and take risks, boldly go where you have never gone before and then clean yourself up for the next round of learning until you get THERE, on the side of the line where the masters move and shape the world. They aren't  standing still waiting for people to catch them, they don't care about that, they have work to do, and so do we.  Not me is silly,  Me Too is more like it!

Keep your mouth shut

I am not at the mercy of the world. The world, as someone so aptly stated, is my oyster.  What does this mean?  For me, it means that within every hard and closed mouth oyster, there is a pearl of truth, a shiny shiny gift of delight, a secret something that I wasn't expecting.  Asking and getting, they go together...that is the secret that sales people have been screaming for years!  It only seems like a secret because many are too afraid to ask and believe falsely that if they wait, somehow magically the "universe" will discover exactly what they need and want and it will suddenly appear, rabbit in a hat style.  Asking gets you and me one step closer to getting, this is ancient advice, I'm just telling it on the mountain so all who listen can hear...you are not at the mercy of the random kindnesses the world periodically throws your way, YOU are powerful and have a mouth and can speak the request(s), not to the universe for goodness sake, to the human beings you want to enroll as paying clients.  The money monster keep your mouth shut just got slayed...now go get those clients and change the world. 

Free got slayed

Services rendered without payment are not valued.  This quote I memorized and while I do believe there are exceptions to this truth, I am thinking and feeling that it's pretty accurate. Skin in the game, as has been said, appears to be a great motivator for advancement and change.  Currently, I mean right now, free doesn't cut it for me.  Here's the deal~when starting out in a new profession there is some teeth cutting, some getting acquainted with the work and how to be on the job. When in the service industry, the must is to practice on and with people, people that know you may very well be horrible at first while you learn your trade but they are generous enough to let you practice your line of work with them. This is a gift, to you and to them, because they want something you have and you need the experience. All is good and fair.  There is a point though, a line of demarcation, where the exchange must feel beneifcial on both sides in order for it to work. It isn't always about money, it is about value. If I value a client enough to give of my time gratis, I have an expectation and at the very least a hope, that they will do their part, their own work. My deposit into their wellness is the start of a savings account for life, they must add to their own account to make it healthy and grow.  Now for paying clients...they are the motivated, they make the investment first, generating their own change, growth, transformation from the inside until it shows up on the outside.  Inside out, inside out, change happens with a thought, a feeling, then an action step. Change is painful and powerful~parting with hard earned money is a good indication that there is a willingness to pay for the pain of forward movement. The money monster free services just got slayed.

Keep it

Yesterday I cleaned out my closet. Sure, it's not the first time and it won't be the last, with the cleaning out though, this time was different. As I looked at each item I thought, will I wear this again?  That was the point of hesitation because a little voice inside me said "you spent money on that, it's a waste to not keep, you have to get your money's worth".  I grit my teeth and a new question came to counter this money monster of stale and old keep it it's waste not to.  The question is "would I buy this item again, right now if I were looking at it in the store, price tag still attached?"  This moved me quickly through the clothes and within a short period of time, two garbage bags were filled. The really neat thing about this is the juxtaposition of the past and the present. What attracted me than no longer does, and keeping what I won't use is like keeping my garbage, just in case I find a use for it, cluttering up my space, keeping my choices unclear because every time I say no to a sweater as in "no, I won't wear that, I don't feel good in it" and I keep it, it's like I have said yes to it hanging around and making me feel indecisive each time I see it and consider it as a possibility, despite my disliking the thing. How does this relate to money?  Well, what's the clutter is the question?  What have you spent money on, continue to spend money on, just in case, that no longer serves you and in fact, needs to be cleared out so you can make choice rather than feel bogged down?The money monster keep it just got slayed...out with the old, in with the new, I win again!

Slave driver

The money monster slave driver is such a liar. He would have me believe that I have to be run ragged, be available and accommodating at the best and worst of times for work.  While at the gym the other day I heard a man say to another "you gotta work when you can" and I thought, now how did he know that is the thought I'm trying to extinguish?  As I write, I realize hey, this thought was planted in my pysche, it isn't organic, it didn't just sprout like an ugly prickly weed all by itself , it's societal!  Now don't get me wrong, I love my work, and am grateful for it, it's the crazy weird hours that need some attentive taming. Entrepreneurs are a unique and wonderful breed of independent dependant workers.  While we independently rely on ourselves for revenue generation, we also depend on attracting, serving and maintaining relationships with clients for our income.  No clients, no work, that's the catch. Slave driver, he wants me to feel fear, fear of loss, fear of lack, fear of not doing enough and all the while he laughs as I jump on his hampster wheel and spin my way to crazy mental and emotional exhaustion.  As I write, I know I am not alone, that there are many small cages around the world with human hamsters running so fast that they don't realize the scenery somehow always stays the same.  Do I want to work, oh yeah I do. Do I want to make money, absolutely.  Do I want it to be the reason I wake up in the morning, well kind of, but I don't want it to be the only reason, the driving force, the wheel I endlessly spin round and round.  Slave driver monster, you are not the boss of me, I have a life ya know, and it doesn't include YOUR hamster wheel.  Today I worked, got paid, and I will patiently wait for what I know will come again, more work and more pay because I'm good at what I do, not because I have to keep trying to be good.  I stand tall and still, victorious with my sword deep into yet another slayed money monster.

Flow

I be in the flow, that's said with a cool, I'm cool, gangsta accent.  Salmon swim up stream to spawn and some of them make it, yes yes, double meaning intended, and some of them don't.  I think the swim up stream is a statement about tenacity and strength and unwavering dedication and dam it (yes, misspelled on purpose), come hell or high water, rapids and rocks, the grand daddy's of salmon get on up the stream and they get to spawn, propagating the next generation of feisty swimmers.  The swimming to get somewhere is the fight for life and this is what we all must do to establish ourselves as worthy of the waters that await at the top of the hill.  It is a right of passage, a fight for the finish and the struggle is fierce and frantic until somehow, we realize we aren't fighting anymore, the water is sparkling in the sunlight of calm and we too, we salmon people, can float and swim and go with the the watery flow. No more fighting, leaping over tall edgy rocks, just the fabulous flow.  Take that struggle money monster, ha, I'm in the clear and you are out of sight!

Fee for Professional Coaching

So, I got a warning today from a collegue...she said that I must increase my coaching fees immediately upon confirmation of certification. I have an oral exam and than a brief wait to find out if I pass.  In the warning, she made it clear that once I join the ranks of the certified, there are standards, price guidelines, ethical expectations and practices, bottom line, there is PROFESSIONALISM.  She told me she is going to "come after me" and make sure I do as she suggests. I liked it, because truth be told, she is right. Bigger than little old me or you or that guy or girl over there is the Gold Star, the aspiring to greatness in service amd then the delivery.  One is a concept, the other is the living it out loud.  As the saying goes, talk is cheap, put your money where your mouth is. My after I passed the exam cuz I'm really good at this coaching stuff fee is $300 a month.  I am coach for hire~thanks Susan Morel, challenge accepted AND will be lived out loud. Which money monster am I slaying?  Fear of the asking, that's him, what would you call it?

Money monster debt

The money monster debt equals death.  Get some debt today and suffer all the live long day.  This is a tricky money monster, gnawing endlessly on the brain, making crunching sounds while drool drips from its massive masticating jaws.  With the childish voice of I want it I want it now, pestering and petulant it likes to get its own way and temperance is destroyed along with the pleasure of delayed gratification.  Self control is a pain to be resisted at all counts with this money monster, because he does not want you and I to gain mastery of ourselves, this would leave him in a tiny space, too cramped to claw out of with little brain food to gnaw on.  Observe:  other than the weather, money seems to be the number one topic everywhere you turn. Hedged in with stuff that has not been paid for, humans clammer to make ends meet, debt providing a never ending reminder of obligation, deminishing choice out of desperation.  It's a slow, low grade constant throb, just behind the eyes, or a steady gentle squeeze of the heart, and the voice says you owe me, I want you to pay, and with your health you do pay...giving yourself over to a living dying.

Two Extremes

I was approached recently, with a money making scheme...my talent was the offering, and someone else wanted to cash in.  Weird.  You don't work, you don't eat, or more specifically, you don't deserve to eat. I experienced two extremes this week, one of humble giving without desire for recognition or financial reward and the other of riding on the backs of those who have blood sweat and tears earned their food and keep. I earn my money, I earn my reputation and this is the challenge, earning, delivering, having standards, living up to and into top drawer professionalism. This slays the money monster laziness.  Laziness repels, it is ugly and slovenly...work, commit to it, serve, love serving, the money WILL come.

Indomitable

I believe in the indomitable nature of the human spirit.  The root of this word is dominate. I write with extreme energy, with an overpowering feeling of something having to be said. We fight, as infants, then as children, then as adults, to be free from dominance.  The money monster dominance has a sure glint in his wicked eye, each and every time we humans submit to his overlordship, his steel fisted grip on our souls, with his quick and dirty comments that status quo works, don't be a fool and change what isn't broken. To eat the same meal for breakfast, lunch, dinner, day in day out becomes tasteless and his steady slop onto our spirits is gruel to the soul. I will not be dominated and nor will you be, when we recognize the indomitable nature of our spirits. Status quo is for the yet to be initiated, and they too will be set free if they see in us, fearless courage in the face of a shrinking monster. Money monster dominance doesn't write my paycheck, I do, each time I decide it is my life and I refuse to be held back or down by status quo.  My spirit stands, hands on hips, calling the shots...

Qualified to Be Certified

I have an oral exam to pass, then I am certified as a Co-Active CTI trained coach. During my completion call this week, my program leader called my pod mates and I her colleagues, a bonafide verbal acknowledgement of accomplishment from one professional to another. Coaching is not for the faint of heart, it is a gruelling process of self discovery and hard work. I await my exam and the stamp of approval, the CERTIFIED word that I can put behind my name for clients interested in hiring a professional coach. The thing is, I'm already a professional, qualified coach, I have done my painstaking heart breaking risk taking work and I have earned the title. The money monster would have me, and my new to the profession colleagues believe that we are unworthy, that we have yet to earn the title, that somewhere out there, someone else will guide us, teach us about our niche and marketing and how to make our first $100 000 in year one.  I say bullshit money monster, I don't buy your line of reasoning...I will not believe your lies.  I know what I've got, what I have worked intensely for for years on end.  It is not just the year of coach learning, it is the countless soul searching years of wisdom that I have accumulated PLUS the professional training that has brought me to this place of knowing just how good I am at what I do.  The not enough money monster is not worthy of my time, searching the internet for answers I already have. I am enough, I have enough, I am COACH!

Slaying greed and thanklessness

I am confronted, affronted, with greed, thanklessness.  These money monsters are rampant, frothing at the mouth, ready to devour the human that loves money more than sister, brother, father, mother, friend...what of money if it provides food, more things, and severs the soul from relationship with others?  We hunger again, things needed anew, but the damage this love of money can do is immeasurable and damning.  Greed is desperation, a clamouring for a self protective cocoon, self love blinding the greedy to the other. Thanklessness encourages greed, tells greed that more is never enough and what we have will not provide...I see the snivelling liars, whispering their selfish twisted untruths, making the humans that listen and believe, ugly and twisted too.  The remedy, give and yea shall receive...these are hard to slay monsters, doable though, with generousity and gratitude, they too shall fall.