ANDREW YOUNG

  American Politician, Diplomat, Pastor, and Activist

  Chapter

  17

  Develop a Positive Money Mind-set*

  I’ve been rich, and I’ve been poor. Rich is better.

  SOPHIE TUCKER

  Singer, Comedian, Actor, and Radio Personality

  Many people have a complicated relationship with money. Some people struggle their entire lives to earn just a little bit more. Others have lots of money, but still feel desperate about not having enough. You are probably aware that to have the success you want, you need to master the money game. This includes the practical external ways of generating more income, as well as ways of keeping spending in check. But it also includes handling the internal issues—the sometimes unconscious beliefs, thoughts, and feelings you may have about money that keep you stuck where you are.

  IDENTIFY YOUR LIMITING BELIEFS ABOUT MONEY

  When we are young and learning about the world, we also learn our beliefs about money from those closest to us. When you were growing up, did you hear phrases like these?

  Money doesn’t grow on trees.

  There’s not enough money to go around.

  It’s selfish to want a lot of money.

  You have to have money to make money.

  The rich get richer, and the poor get poorer.

  You have to work too hard to get money.

  Money is the root of all evil.

  People with money are evil, selfish, and unethical.

  Rich people are greedy and dishonest.

  You can’t buy happiness.

  The more money you have, the more problems you have.

  If you’re rich, you can’t be spiritual.

  Some people take on even more negative beliefs about money as they grow up, and they never stop to challenge whether these beliefs are true. Do any of the following sound familiar to you?

  Wealth brings pain and misery.

  It’s not okay to make more money than my father/my mother, my brother, my sister.

  Becoming rich would violate some unspoken family code.

  If I become wealthy, people will resent me.

  THREE STEPS TO TURN AROUND YOUR LIMITING BELIEFS ABOUT MONEY

  If you want to be more successful, you need to take charge of how you think about money and wealth. You can change any negative childhood programming by using a simple yet powerful three-step technique for replacing your limiting beliefs with more positive and empowering ones. You can do this exercise on your own, but it’s even more powerful—and more fun—to do it with a partner or in a small group of people.

  1. Write down your limiting belief.

  For our example, we will use this one: Money is the root of all evil.

  2. Challenge, make fun of, and argue with that limiting belief.

  You do this by brainstorming a list of new beliefs that challenge the old ones. The more outrageous and fun you make them, the more powerful the resulting shift in your mind-set will be.

  Here are several examples:

  Money is the root of all philanthropy.

  Money is the root of all great vacations!

  Money may be the root of evil for someone who is evil, but I am a loving, generous, compassionate, and kind person who will always use money to create good in the world.

  You’ll find it helpful to write out your new money beliefs on 3" × 5" index cards and add them to your affirmations to be read aloud with enthusiasm and passion every day. Making this part of your daily routine will go a long way toward helping you create what you want in the area of money and wealth.

  3. Create a positive “turnaround statement.”

  Once you’ve taken the power out of the limiting belief with the step above, it’s time to create a new statement that is the opposite of the original belief. You want this “turnaround statement” to send shivers of delight through your body when you say it. Once you have written it, walk around the room for a few moments repeating the new statement aloud. As you speak it, increase your energy and passion so that you feel it emotionally. Repeat this new belief several times a day for a minimum of 30 days, and it will be yours forever.

  Here’s an example of a turnaround statement:

  When it comes to me, money is the root of love, joy, and good works.

  Remember, these new ideas about your financial success will never form just by themselves! You have to keep repeating, thinking, and affirming these new thoughts to build your new beliefs about money and prosperity. Take time each day and focus on thoughts of abundance and prosperity, and images of financial success. As you continue to focus on these new thoughts and images, they will begin to crowd out and replace the old limiting beliefs and images. But here’s the most important point: If you want to achieve your financial goals, you need to practice saying positive money affirmations (and visualizing the results you want) every single day.

  Here are more positive money affirmations I have used with great success in my life:

  I now have more money than I need to do everything I want to do.

  All of my investments are profitable.

  Money comes to me in many unforeseen and unexpected ways.

  God is my infinite supply, and large sums of money come to me quickly and easily for the highest good of all concerned.

  Every day, my income increases whether I am working, playing, or sleeping.

  People love to pay me money for what I most love to do.

  I am making positive choices about what to do with my money.

  You can plant any idea into your subconscious mind by the repetition of thoughts infused with positive expectancy—and the intensely felt emotion associated with already having achieved what you want.

  There is a science of getting rich, and it is an exact science, like algebra or arithmetic. There are certain laws that govern the process of acquiring riches, and once these laws are learned and obeyed by anyone, that person will get rich with mathematical certainty.

  WALLACE D. WATTLES

  Author of The Science of Getting Rich

  DISCOVERING MORE ABOUT YOU

  Identify Your Limiting Beliefs About Money

  In the spaces below, list all of the limiting beliefs you have about money that you can think of. Use more space if you need it.

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  Circle or check mark () the ones above that have the most power over you, or that you tend to continue to believe.

  Three Steps to Turning Around Your Limiting Beliefs About Money

  Review the list of items you circled in the exercise above. Select the one that is your number one limiting belief about money and write it here.

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  Now, challenge, make fun of, and argue with that limiting belief. Write your responses below.

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  Create a positive turnaround statement and write it below.

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  DECIDE WHAT BEING WEALTHY MEANS TO YOU

  Do you know how much wealth you want? Some people I know want to retire as millionaires, whereas others want to retire with $30 million or even $100 million. There is no right or wrong financial goal to have. But you do have to decide what you want.

  When creating wealth in your life, remember that there is the life you want to live now and the life you want to live in the future. The life you are currently living is a result of the thoughts you have thought, the choices you made, and the actions you’ve taken in the past.

  The life you live in the future will be the result of today’s thoughts, choices, and actions. You need to determine and decide precisely how much money you’ll need to live the lifestyle of your dreams. If you don’t know, research how much it would cost you to do and buy everything you want throughout the next year. This could include rent or mortgage, food, clothes, medical care, automobiles, utilities, education, vacations, recreation, insurance, savings, investments, philanthropy, and anything else you want.

  In the exercises that follow, you’ll have the opportunity to create new beliefs about money and to refresh your vision for the wealth you desire.

  DISCOVERING MORE ABOUT YOU:

  What Does Being Wealthy Mean to You?

  Think back to what you dreamed about and decided in Chapter 3: Decide What You Want: Envision Your Ideal Life. Take a moment to look at your financial goals now. Using that information, or by creating new goals, complete the following sentences.

  I will have a net worth of $ by the year .

  I will earn at least $ by December 31 st next year.

  I will save and invest $ or % every month.

  A new financial habit I will develop starting now is:

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  I will be debt free by / / .

  To become debt free, I will:

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  MAKE-IT-A-HABIT WORKSHEET

  Your Money

  This week, keep track of what you earn and what you spend each day. Make a note in your calendar to do this each day.

  Make an appointment with yourself each month to record both your total income and your overall spending. Write this recurring event into your calendar for the end of each month.

  Make an appointment with yourself for each quarter to determine your net worth. (If you are not sure how to do this, do a Google search for “How to determine personal net worth.”) Write this recurring event into your calendar for the end of each quarter.

  Each month, select one book to read, one Web site to follow, or one video to watch to become more financially literate.

  Some recommended books, blogs, and podcasts to start with are:

  40 Unbreakable Laws of Money by Wayne Wakefield

  The Richest Man in Babylon by George S. Clason

  The Wealthy Barber by David Chilton

  The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey

  The Automatic Millionaire by David Bach

  The Millionaire Next Door by Thomas J. Stanley and William D. Danko

  The Billion Dollar Secret by Rafael Badziag

  Secrets of the Millionaire Mind by T. Harv Eker

  Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert T. Kiyosaki

  Your Money or Your Life by Vicki Robin

  Money for the Rest of Us (podcast) with David Stein

  Stacking Benjamins (podcast) with Joe Saul-Sehy

  FinancialSamurai.com (blog) with Sam Dogen

  Add to Your Life Success Journal

  Turn to Your Life Success Journal and complete the exercise for this chapter.

  Your Life Success Journal

  Answer the questions below to help you capture the most important insights you learned from all 17 chapters of this Workbook. Later, at any time, you can review what you have written here, and remind yourself of your progress.

  CHAPTER 1: TAKE 100% RESPONSIBILITY FOR YOUR LIFE

  Write down what you most want to remember in each of the four areas covered in this chapter.

  Blaming:

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  Complaining:

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  Making Excuses:

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  E + R = O:

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  CHAPTER 2: BE CLEAR WHY YOU’RE HERE: DETERMINE YOUR LIFE PURPOSE

  “Discovering More About You” Guided Meditation

  After listening to the guided meditation, write a brief description or draw a picture of the gift you received during the meditation.

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  Life Purpose Statement

  Write your life purpose statement here.

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  Chapter Conclusion

  1. What was most valuable for you about this chapter?

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  2. What will it mean to you now that you have determined your life purpose?

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  CHAPTER 3: DECIDE WHAT YOU WANT: ENVISION YOUR IDEAL LIFE

  Keep Your Vision Alive

  Select the most important item from each of the seven areas of “wants” you wrote in Chapter 3. Write each one below.

  Finances

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  Work, Career, or Business

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  Relationships

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  Health and Fitness

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  Free Time, Fun, and Recreation

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  Personal and Spiritual Growth

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  Possessions

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  Making a Difference and Being of Service

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  CHAPTER 4: USE THE POWER OF GOALSETTING TO ACHIEVE YOUR VISION

  Write down the three goals you wrote earlier to help you reach your vision.

  Area of Your Vision Goal (How Much, by When)

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  Want to keep going? Write five remaining goals (one in each area) that you’ll need to work on in order to make progress in all eight areas of your vision. As a reminder, the eight areas are:

  Your Finances

  Your Work, Career, or Business

  Your Relationships

  Your Health and Fitness

  Your Free Time, Fun, and Recreation

  Your Personal and Spiritual Growth

  Your Possessions

  Making a Difference and Being of Service

  Area of Your Vision Goal (How Much, by When)

  4.