“It is one of the most beautiful compensations of this life that no man can sincerely try to help another without helping himself.”
— Ralph Waldo Emerson
An Inspiring View of Money:
•Money is symbol of appreciation, a gesture of goodwill
•Taking care of your prosperity is paying attention to the energy reserves that you need to get work done, to fulfill your life purpose or calling
•Money flows to those who give more in use value than they give in cash value. Money flows based on the exchange of energy. If we give more value to others the natural flow is to attract more energy to us, in the form of money, vitality or some other form of energy.
Exercise - Money is Energy
Before you set out on your journey, it will be important that you clearly grasp what has drawn you to the adventure. What do you want your money to do for you? To bring this into focus we invite you to copy the sentence below into your Inspired Wealth Journal and fill in the blank as fully and specifically as you can. This will help you put aside your old ways for the new and exciting pathways of the Inspired Wealth Quest.
Since I see money as a form of energy (the ability to get work done), I want my money to_______________ for me.”
Some of our clients’ responses:
•I want my money to make my life easier - less work and stress for me.
•I want my money to protect those I love from the pain of financial hardship.
•I want my money to allow me to experience travel with the confidence that I can afford it.
•I want my money to enable me to say yes freely to projects that excite me.
•I want my money to facilitate a richer experience of life.
•I want my money to allow me to take more risks with greater safety in the direction of my dreams.
•I want my money to expand the human capital of each member of my family so we can all discover our potential.
Reflect on your own answer: do you want your money to help you move toward something or away from something? Are you creating or escaping? Is what you want your money to do for you sustainable, does it honor your whole being: body, mind and soul? Does it increase your capacity to add value to others?
Aileen:
When I work with clients on a financial plan, I help them create a “Money Filter.” This is a sentence, which clarifies what they want their money to do for them. For example, Samantha and Rick’s money filter was: “We want our money to enable us to have meaningful life experiences with confidence.” This statement became the filter through which their decisions about money passed. It was particularly eye opening for them to measure their spending in this way. Was what they were spending their family’s resources on bringing them more meaningful experiences and greater confidence? In many cases it was not. The money filter helped them focus on their intentions for money and was simple enough for them to do without much effort. They began testing all of their energy output through this filter and recognized that many of their activities were robbing them of the time and resources to pursue more meaningful experiences in life. More than that, the experiences that they were having were often undermined by the insecurity they felt by their weakening financial situation. This new awareness lead the couple to understand how important a strong financial foundation was to their ability to “have meaningful life experiences with confidence.” The result was that saving money became easier for Samantha and Rick, because they realized that feeling confident was more important to them than having “more.”
The Climber’s Voice:
“One day I realized I wanted to climb a mountain. This desire grew quietly, initially in the form of a faint whisper from a deep place within my soul. It sort of came out of the blue, but once I heard it, I knew it was a need to learn more about who I was and what I was made of: my heart, my character, my commitment. The decision to climb was pivotal in my life. I can only explain the feeling as a deep desire to feel fully alive. Intuitively, I knew that whatever it cost me in time, energy and money to listen to this voice, it was going to be far less than what I stood to gain. I knew that if I could do this one thing - I could do anything, and that this experience would increase my capacity to add value to everything I did after that.”
Now that you understand that money is energy, the remaining principles will teach you financial leadership from within: they will guide you in using money intentionally to create the life you desire.
Principle #2 The Truth Will Set You Free
✓In All Learning Knowing Where to Begin is Essential
✓Internal Integrity is an Opportunity
✓Learn the Truth About Your Money
To achieve your goals and dreams you will need to take a close look at your starting place. Without a truthful understanding of your financial foundation, you could set out with vital pieces missing and undermine the success of the entire journey. This is an opportunity to find truth and authenticity with respect to your money and your being, and it’s an essential part of equipping yourself appropriately for the road ahead.
The Truth Will Set You Free
While it sounds like an old cliché, this well-known principle is rich with wisdom. Embracing truth is an opportunity to explore all areas of your life. Taking an 16 Inspired Wealth: Financial Leadership for the 21st Century in-depth look at your present existing financial circumstances helps you identify potential roadblocks and reduce the risks that are predicable and avoidable. You will benefit by clarifying where your personal and financial foundation can be strengthened to increase the likelihood of achieving your goals. Once you gather the data and clarify the truth about your circumstances you will be free to act with greater confidence.
When we ignore what we know is true, the cost is often more than we can afford.
Remember Enron?
Here is a famous example of what not facing the truth about money can lead to. At Enron it became obvious that their business model did not produce the earnings results that were expected. But because top executives didn’t want to face the truth about their company’s earnings they continued working with a broken model. They hid the truth and the deception compounded. Had the leaders recognized the truth early enough and understood how disaster multiplies from not telling the truth, they could have made the changes and the shifts required. This is where leadership was needed, and was sorely lacking. What did hiding the truth cost the executives at Enron?
The Truth about Your Assets and Liabilities
Let’s begin by taking a closer look at your current situation. Below is an exercise that will help you shed some light on the state of your financial foundation and on your whole being. We call this the Inspired Balance Sheet. It’s a tool that expands on an integral part of financial planning: the balance sheet, also known as the net worth statement. In helping you create sustainable wealth, our approach is to include your whole life because we want you to succeed in all aspects of your life, so there are categories here you won’t find anywhere else. The nonfinancial assets and liabilities are the other energies in your life and the values that give your life meaning.
The following is an example with sample nonfinancial assets and liabilities filled in - yours may be different. Please list your own nonfinancial assets and liabilities in your journal using this format. Then begin monitoring your whole Inspired Balance Sheet.