Money.

Just the word can evoke a multitude of emotional responses in people.

But what is money?
What is its use or purpose?
What is your attitude toward money and having an abundance of it?
Do you see yourself as being abundant and wealthy or forever just "getting by"?

Money is represented by paper notes, coins, cheques or figures on your bank statement or pay check. But what is it really? Of itself, the paper notes that we call money have no value, it's what the notes represent that has value. Money is just a convenient method for an exchange of value between people. Yet how many negative sayings can you think of with regard to money? "Money is the root of all evil" or "filthy rich".

Money in itself is neither good nor bad, it is what it is used for that is important. It can be used for negative purposes and it can also be used to do inordinate amounts of good. It all hangs on the intention of the person who has the money and what they intend to use it for.

Before money came along, people used to barter or exchange their goods or services. Over time, conch shells or salt were given as items of value in return for labour, which could then be exchanged for goods or services. As trade developed, precious metals were used to make coins and so the first formal monetary system came into being.

Gold, being cumbersome and heavy to carry around in any quantity, lead to it being lodged with "bankers" who would issue a promisory note or certificate. These notes could then be exchanged for products and so on and so on. The pound got its name, because until a few hundred years ago, it could be exchanged for a pound weight in silver.

In the late 19th century, an international system was set up called the "gold standard" which allowed for a universal and stable unit of value. By the 1940s the gold standard had been abandoned and replaced by articles of faith - the marketplace's faith in the government that printed the money to back it, with or without gold reserves. The monetary system only survives today because we all believe in it. Paper notes do not in themselves have any value, it is purely what they represent that has a value.

The whole concept of money is changing. People are rarely paid in cash any more. We get "virtual money" paid into our bank accounts and we buy goods and service with "virtual money" in the form of credit or debit cards. We then pay our credit card bills on line with the virtual money that our employer paid us and so the system is sustained by our collective belief in it.

So what is the point of money? Money is a way for each individual to give something of value to another, that may be their time, knowledge or expertise and recieve a reward which they can use to purchase something of value from someone else. That's it! Think of it as a means of measuring what you are both giving and receiving. As long as we all keep on giving and receiving there will always be enough money for everyone.

One of the keys to managing your money is to make sure that you always receive (wages or salary) at least as much as you are giving to someone else (buying goods or services). If you get into deficit, ie spend more than you earn, that's when problems start and can escalate out of control.

What is your attitude toward money?

Your attitude toward money is all important. If you want to create wealth and abundance in your life, then you must have a healthy attitude toward money and see it for what it is - a method of exchanging value.

If your subconscious mind has been conditioned to believe that there is not enough money for you, or that you must be/do something bad to have money, then you will never have an abundance of money.

In his book "I can make you rich" Paul McKenna suggests the following exercise for eliciting your unconscious beliefs about money:

1. Complete these 12 sentences about money, wealth and riches to uncover the key elements of your your current unconscious programming.

1. People with money are ...........
2. Money makes people ..........
3. I'd have more money if ...........
4. My parents always thought money would ...........
5. Money causes ...........
6. I'm afraid that if I had more money I would ...........
7. Money is ...........
8. In order to have more money I would need to ...........
9. I think money ...........
10. If I were really rich, I would ...........
11. My biggest fear about money is ...........
12. Money is ...........

2. Circle any of your unconscious beliefs about money that might be holding you back, even if they seem unquestionably true to you.

3. Repeat this exercise daily for at least the next week. You may find some of the deeper programs take a bit longer to come up to the surface.

It's an interesting exercise isn't it? Even though you might consciously think you want to have lots of money, if your subconscious mind attaches negative feelings to having money, then it will make sure that you don't have lots of it.

When I was a child, both my parents worked and we were the first in our street to have a car, a TV, a washing machine, yet I can remember endless arguments about money and being told that money didn't grow on trees if I wanted something. Here's what I put, when I first did this exercise.

1. People with money are lucky.
2. Money makes people selfish.
3. I'd have more money if I were more clever.
4. My parents always thought money would run out.
5. Money causes rows and arguments.
6. I'm afraid that if I had more money I would be less spiritual.
7. Money is a way of exchanging energy/value.
8. In order to have more money I would need to work harder.
9. I think money is hard to get.
10. If I were really rich, I would retire and travel.
11. My biggest fear about money is not having enough.
12. Money is seen as dirty.

I've put into red, all the beliefs that could have been holding me back from creating the wealth that my conscious mind knows I desire. Underline, or circle all your own negative statements about money.

Breaking the unconscious programming

In this exercise we're going to take time to think about your attitude toward money and having an abundance of money.

if your subconscious mind is attaching massive amounts of pain to having money, then it will do all it can to sabotage your attempts to get or keep money. So, we're going to uncover those hidden beliefs and transform them so that you have a positive association with having lots of money. Go get a pad and pen and set aside the next 30 minutes to transform your attitude toward money.

Our attitude and beliefs about money are usually developed in childhood. Can you think of any phrases or sayings that you heard on a regular basis when you were a child? Write them down now.

Here's a few that I heard:

Money doesn't grow on trees.
Money is the root of all evil.
They're filthy/stinking rich.
Do you think I'm made of money?
There won't be enough.
If I've got it, someone else has to go without.
The rich get richer and the poor get poorer.
If you look after the pennies, the pounds will look after themselves.
Waste not, want not.
I wonder what they did to get that money.
It's too expensive.
Wealthy people are greedy.

Did you hear sayings like these? Can you add more of your own?

Inherent in all these sayings is a view that money is in short supply, that people who have money are in some way bad or had to do something bad to get it. When we are children we are like sponges and your subconscious mind will have absorbed all the messages in these sayings and created a belief that money, and people who have money have the potential to cause you or someone else pain.

Your subconscious mind and the beliefs held in it drive your behaviour. So, if you attach pain to having money then your subconscious will do what it can to protect you from experiencing pain.

Go back to your pad of paper and write at the top of a fresh page "Money".

Now write down every word or phrase that comes into your head to do with money. Do it quickly and don't give yourself time to think about it too much.

Here's an example list:

stinks
freedom
power
flexibility
attracts more money
never have enough
on the edge of abundance
don't deserve it
depressing
unworthy
not as good as other people
jealousy
liberating
challenging
hard work
safety
security
peace of mind
holidays
easy come, easy go

Do you see the mix of positive and negative thoughts and feelings about money? What about your own list? Underline all the negative words/phrases. As you do this, you might already begin to get a sense of where these associations came from, what you heard as a child.

Take a moment to think about and write down all the negative consequences you are experiencing right now because you don't have financial abundance. What are the effects of not having enough money on your home life, family, social life, your friendships, your self esteem, job etc.etc.

Here's what I wrote:

I can't visit my friend in New Zealand or relatives in Australia
I'm always having to watch my money
I can't get away on an exotic holiday for Christmas
I have to keep working
I can't reduce my hours or have a long weekend
I don't go out for meals very often
I feel like my life is on hold
I can't improve my house
I can't buy a new car
I can't drop everything and do mad impulsive things

Make a list of everything that you are missing out on because you don't have enough money, I want you to begin to really associate massive amounts of pain to continuing as you are.

Think about what your life will be like in 2 years, 5 years and 10 years time if you don't make some changes now.

What will it cost you? What are all the things you'll miss out on? How will it affect your relationships? Your career? Your homelife? Your self-esteem?

Take time now to imagine it in technicolour detail, what will you be doing, seeing, hearing and feeling? Do you have a measure of discomfort when you think about your life in 10 years time?

Is that what you really want?

When you've associated massive amounts of pain/discomfort to not having enough money, you can go back to your list of sayings that you heard as a child. Which ones did you hear the most? Which ones made the most impression on you as a child? Pick the top 3 or 4 and we're going to re-write them as positive beliefs.

Here's mine as an example:

Money doesn't grow on trees, it grows out of my ideas and passion for what I do.
We're not made of money, we're made of energy which has the power to expand and attract everything I want into my life.
We can't afford it now, but I can find a way to be able afford it tomorrow.
The love of money is the root of all evil, so I'll simply use money to bring joy into my life.

Are you getting the idea? Re-frame each negative belief into something positive and life enhancing. Write up your new beliefs big and bold and pin them up where you'll see them every day. Say them out loud, with feelings of joy and pleasure so that your subsconscious mind is trained to associate massive amounts of pleasure to having shedloads of money.

Go back to your pad of paper and for the last part of this exercise I want you to write down all that you will experience in your life when money is no longer a problem for you.

Here's some ideas from my list:

freedom
be more creative and positive
work because I want to, not because I have to
retire in 5 years
travel
choose my working hours and days
give more to others, my time and energy to support their growth
be happier, free from stress
better relationships
eat only organic food
more flexibility to be spontaneous

When you've completed your list, sit back and imagine in glorious technicolour the life you could be leading if you have financial freedom. Imagine all you will see, do and hear and the good feelings that go with your new experiences.

Does this vision motivate you to attract more money into your life? If you're not quite there yet, make your vision of the future bigger and better until you feel really excited about it.

Remember that money is just a means to you experiencing what you would like to have. As you attract money into your life, use it to enrich and enhance your life, so it will keep going round and round and everyone can experience abundance.

Here are some golden rules to attract more money into your life:

1. Money is nothing more than a measure of the value you give to others. The more value you give, the more you receive on an ongoing basis.
2. In order to become wealthy you need to have an attitude of gratitude for what you have now. You can be grateful for your home, your health, your job, your knowledge and skills. Practise being grateful for them every day.
3. Decide that what you want is a must for you. Beware of being trapped in the comfort zone, where things aren't too bad. Don't settle for a life of mediocrity. Focus on what you want consistently and you'll have it.
4. Condition your mind for wealth. Repeat your positive beliefs every day with feeling. Create some new ones such as "I can be, do or have anything I desire. Infinite abundance is mine to create, enjoy and share".
5. Get a role model or mentor. Find out what other people do to create financial abundance. Do you need more skills to help you get a new job or promotion? Expand your skills and give more value to others.
6. Give to others. Give of your time, energy, a percentage of your income. Giving teaches your subconscious mind that there is more than enough to go round and that you will always get back more than you gave. It may be in a roundabout way, but that doesn't matter. Just get comfortable with giving.
7. Use money to create experiences that give immmence pleasure to you and those around you. Set aside some "play money" and that will give you an incentive to make more, so you can play more.
8. Every day for the next week, write down 3 ideas for creating more money. Don't censor your ideas, let the process stimulate and stretch your imagination. This helps establish a pattern of looking for financial opportunity. At the end of the week, you'll have 21 ideas and who knows, tucked away in there could be a great idea to bring you more wealth.

Anthony Robbins is one of the top success coaches in the world, having coached star sports players, heads of states and Fortune 500 executives. In his Get The Edge program, he identified 12 specific reasons he has come to observe to be the leading causes for most people's lack of wealth.
Here they are:

1.        They never decide and really define, very specifically, what wealth means for them. The keyword here is specifically. Can you imagine how hard it would be to build a car or a plane without making a blueprint or sketch drawings of it first? You have to know what your target is before you go chasing after it.

2.        They make wealth a moving target instead of a fixed one (this is related to point one above). Once you have your target, fix it. Don't change it until you reach it. You must accomplish each step, celebrate, and then set course for a new step, a new target.

3.        They define it in a way that seems unreachable. You only achieve what you believe. No more, no less. So you must make it believable for you. Set goals that will make you move forward and stretch, but not too high that even you yourself don't believe you can. Take the biggest step you believe you can, achieve it, then take the next biggest you believe you can. This will build positive reinforcement
in your self-confidence as well.

4.        They never start. Ok, this is obvious. If you keep thinking about it forever, it will forever remain in the thought level. You have to act! Start somewhere, anywhere! Only after you start do you begin to get some feedback which will help you plot your course better. The aircraft has to first take off before it starts to adjust course for its destination. You must start, somewhere, anywhere, doesn't matter, just start! Act!

5.        They never make it a must. Let me explain what it means to make it a must. It means marshalling all your intent, your will, your direction, into one singular flow that is directed towards your goal. All obstacles are viewed as challenges to be overcome. You will meet obstacles, and so expect it, but also expect to move forward anyways. Use your obstacles to develop strength and skills, don't run away. Find out how to go past them. Find out! There is always a way, always. And if your emotions are acting against your desire, embrace them, learn what they are, know yourself, but keep moving forward. Make it a must, and it will happen. Guaranteed. You don't know in how
many steps it will take, but you know it will happen.

6.        They don't have a realistic plan. If you want to do something, find out how it is done from someone who has done it before. Make a realistic plan. Copy from those who have succeeded before you. But don't throw away your intuition. Your intuition is extremely powerful once you learn how to listen to it with practice.

7.        If they have a realistic plan, they never follow through on the plan. Well, if you don't follow the plan, who will?

8.        They give responsibility to others ("experts") instead of to themselves. This way, they never really learn how to do it, and if there are failures they never learn why the failures happened and so they are bound to repeat them. It is a good idea to get advice, but do it yourself. At least understand it yourself even if you will delegate the actual doing.

9.        They give up when they face challenges. Going through the challenges is what has made people rich, not giving up. Look, there are always challenges. So get used to that. You will only get where you wish to get to if you are willing to face the challenges along the path. All challenges are opportunities dressed in work clothes, remember that. After the challenge is over, you will discover the amazing fruit it held for you.

10.        They fail to conduct their lives as a business; they never ensure that they make a profit year by year. You need to have budgets and cash flow statements for your personal finances and your businesses. so use the resources on this site. If you don't keep records and track, you wont know when you are making or losing money until it is embarrassingly too late.

11.        They allow other people's ideas to affect their decisions unreasonably. There will always be people who don't believe in your way, or who are pessimistic, who try to pull you down, or whatever. And they will sometimes be your closest friends and family. You cannot change that - they have a right to be who they are. It is OK. Allow them their thoughts, don't judge them for that, but don't feel obligated to accept their thoughts of follow their way. Don't allow other people, now or from the past, unreasonably affect your decisions. Allow them their way, and you live your way.

12.        They don't get quality coaching. This is extremely important! Coaching is simply getting mentored by someone who has succeeded wildly in the area of your interest. Get coaching! Our education system hardly equips us for real life, so don't assume that because you went to college you are properly equipped. Hardly. You need to keep learning. The most successful people attend seminars, read books, join mastermind groups and clubs, find mentors, network, and even hire expensive personal coaches to make sure they succeed.

How many of these reasons can you identify with? Well, now that you see the reasons, you now can look at yourself and make sure that you don't follow ways that are known to not lead to wealth. Follow what works and it will work. And don't forget to enjoy yourself along the way.

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