We tend to have mixed opinions about money. Our backgrounds, family histories and religious beliefs tend to dramatically shape our perceptions about money. In many cases, we have been influenced more than we might realized. Money is a necessity. There is no way of getting around it. We associate money with freedom. Many of us believe that having money or at least access to it, gives us the means to buy the things that we need as well as what we want. We feel a sense of security and accomplishment once we have earned a lot of it. We hold millionaires and billionaires in high esteem. Marriages have ended because of the lack of it. People will lie, cheat, steal ,beg and even kill for it. What is money anyway? Literally? Think about for a moment.

It’s paper .That’s all. It has been  “assigned” value . Technically, the paper itself is not valuable rather it is a representation of value. Money is directly associated with wealth.The more money you have, the  wealthier you appear to be. Many of you might be asking, “What does any of this have to do with being authentic? Well, let’s think about it for a moment. Many of us have at least one if not several jobs that we work at in order to earn a paycheck in order to pay our bills and take care of our families. We play the lotto because we associate a million dollars with freedom from the “rat race”. Is it really the million dollars that we are after or is it the freedom that we perceive that amount represents for us. Trust me, I’m leading up to something.

We are energy. Everything is energy. Money is energy. We either attract it or repel it. We are part of an abundant universe with limitless resources . We gave value to that paper. In actuality , we can give value to anything that we choose. If you are serious about living an authentic life, money can be a useful resource. Part of the reason why so many of us settle for “status quo” is because we are fearful about losing financial resources i.e. getting ostracized for not “fitting in” in or , simply put , getting fired. We might be scared of “stepping out”  of the “comfort zone” of  full time employment in order to create a brand that exemplifies our unique gifts and talents. Imagine creating a business model that enables you to provide value to peoples lives in exchange for them to provide you with value in the form of money. Potentially, you will always get paid more for the value that you bring to the marketplace than you ever will working for a salary or hourly wage. Corporate america doesn’t exist to make you wealthy. In most cases, you are going to have to climb your own corporate ladder as a founder /CEO of your OWN company. It is important to learn how money works so that we can make it work for us  in order to assist us in establishing a lifestyle that provides us with the freedom to do what we want. It is our birthright.

We are each a part of a universe that is abundant by nature. When I write about abundance, I am referring to unlimited abundance. You are “one” with this universe because it originated from a “source”, therefore, so did you. As I wrote earlier, everything, at its core , is energy. Energy is unlimited, never disappears and can’t be destroyed. It can change form. Again, money is energy and so are you. Do you know what else is energy? Your thoughts. Your thoughts become things. Your perceptions about money determine how much of it appears in your life. Based on our “conditioning”, growing up, you might have been taught, “Money is the root of all evil”, “Money can’t buy  happiness”,  “More money, more problems” etc.. You get the idea. It is possible that you might not be consciously aware of that fact.

Currently, I am reading a book titled,” The Rules of Money” by Richard Templar. In it, he shares some interesting points about money. He wrote, ” Money is neither good nor bad,neither friend or for. It is not the evil we have come to to believe it to be. Without it life disintegrates. Money is the oil that smooths life for all of us. What we do with it is the good or bad, the right or wrong, the friend or foe.” Money is a resource. A resource is designed to be used . We don’t have to settle for status quo and thoughts of limitation. We can choose to be proactive and take steps towards realizing our ideal lifestyle. Stop allowing others outside of yourself to influence your viewpoint about money. Towards the effort of building an authentic life which is synonymous with a successful life , money can be an invaluable resource. If necessary, make both a consistent and conscientious effort to reexamine  your true perspective about it. Affirm to yourself that money is good,money is your friend and that there is enough for everyone because there really is. Perhaps you might want to consider ways that you can provide significant value to people through the marketplace in a way that you are uniquely prepared to do. Maybe you have already acquired your dream job or career. It would still benefit you to evaluate your  perception about money. Do you have an abundance mindset or a scarcity mindset? Are there certain habits that you have that sabotage your efforts and act as blockages to the steady flow of money to you. As I have written in past posts and will continue to mention now, mindset is everything. How you see yourself, how you see others, and how you view the world , in general, play significant roles in determining your financial well being. Not only the accumulation of financial wealth, but your state of physical wealth and emotional wealth are also greatly determined by thoughts concerning these matters. I will go into more detail on this matter in future posts. I associate an authentic life with a fulfilling one in which there is an overflow of  “wealth” in every area of your life. I will close with another saying by Richard Templar from “The Rules of Money”, ” Money isn’t and never will be the cure. It is the oil that smooths the wheels. It isn’t the engine.” Your mindset followed by both inspired and consistent action is the only engine that you can use to create the lifestyle that you deserve. You are designed for greater things. Until next time…