Money should be respected as a tool of wealth. The economies of modern Western society are supported by mass consumerism. The national growth of the United States, measured in gross domestic product (GDP), is determined primarily (over 70%) by private consumption.³ Private debt has also been climbing over the past few decades. Even though personal debt has recently slumped slightly due to the recession, it is still 112% more than disposable income.⁴ When we forget that money is just a tool, we begin to both strive for it and dispose of it. Wealth, in regards to finances, is a balancing game.
When we respect our wealth, we are conscious of the role it plays in our lives and what good it can bring us. When we are conscious of our money, we are less likely to be wasteful of our time in pursuit of it and wasteful in how hastily we use it. By setting goals and envisioning your future wealth, you begin shifting your relationship with money and the way it can assist you in building your wealth.
Exploring the toolbox:
I assist clients in shifting money mindsets, playing with ideas and inspirations, and setting short and long-term goals for sustainable achievement. I help my clients understand the real reason for their constant pursuit of money. Many times clients will find that they can achieve the same results using either less money or an alternative to money through frugal living, homesteading, couponing and deal searching, and through the use of alternative economies such as the barter economy, freeconomy, and sharing economy. For a quick reference, the barter economy includes trading goods and services. The freeconomy includes free goods and services. The sharing economy includes second-hand goods and services as well as the sharing of one’s property or skills to help others. Clients can also research ways to make additional money to put toward their goals using various methods like the sharing economy, crowd funding, and creating streams of passive income. By utilizing these and many more alternatives, clients can have more time and money for the experiences that enrich their lives and make them and their families much more wealthy.
Often times we as imperfect beings find it much easier to give advice than to walk the walk and live what we preach. I have found that coaching yourself is a unique art form that can lead to eye-opening discoveries that could help you relate to your clients and better coach them toward a more sustainably abundant life.
Questions to Ask Yourself:
- How would you describe your relationship with money? How does it make you feel? How does it serve you and how does it not serve you?
- Tell me about a time when you felt prosperous. What was the situation? How much money did you have at the time? Did the amount make you feel prosperous? If not, what made you feel prosperous? What are some ways in which you can begin to feel abundant now?
- Do you deserve to be wealthy? Why or why not?
- What does it mean to be wealthy? How does a wealthy person look, act, and behave?
- Refer to the graph of life satisfaction. In which areas do you feel abundant? What areas need tweaking?
- If you could afford anything, what would it be? What steps can you take to make that dream a reality?
- If you could achieve any goal and knew you would succeed, what would you do? What steps could you take to get there? What would you lose if you failed? What would you gain if you succeeded? How does success look and feel?
- How can you begin to enrich your life with what you already have?
- What do you need to feel abundant?
Self-Exploration Activity:
Starting on Sunday, write down the amount spent on each thing you buy for a whole week, the method of payment, and items/services purchased. This includes bills as well. Calculate the total. When you look at the total, how does that make you feel? When you see what you have purchased, do you feel satisfied? How can you turn this around? What do you actually need to be satisfied?
Refer to the list of things you bought during the week. Ask yourself,
Is there a cheaper way to get what I want and need?
If you don’t know, be curious. Simply type into a web browser the item or service you believe you need followed by the word “alternative”. You’ll be surprised what you find. Compare prices and ask yourself,
Out of all my options, what best serves me: my time, my money, and brings me the most personal satisfaction? What could you do with that extra reserve of time and money to maximize your feelings of wealth?
I went into this business with the intention of spreading a message of hope and abundance. By sharing these tips and tricks I hope to assist my ICA peers and fellow coaches around the world with similar zeal. I will show you ways to assist clients who are dealing with money issues and personal wealth perceptions.
What is Money?
Exercise:
If your client feels like he or she needs more money, ask questions to dig a bit deeper and discover the goal behind the money. Once the real goal is in focus, you can then play games and ask questions, allowing the client to challenge his or her preconceived notions regarding the role of money and how much is actually needed to reach their goal. Encourage your client to explore new possibilities and ways he or she can arrive at their goal using less money or more income. With the research your client has collected, ask what alternatives are most appealing and why. Be curious about what would best benefit your client in reaching his or her goals. Once your client is clear about what he or she wants, support your client in identifying structures necessary for long-term sustainable growth toward that goal. You can use questions listed in the self application section to formulate your own powerful questions to get to the core of the issue and help your clients navigate through the storm. You can also use some of the questions from the self application section to help with clients who are not feeling wealthy.
What is Wealth?
Exercise:
If you have a client who is struggling to feel abundant, direct them in describing how they are feeling, what it feels like to be abundant, and by imagining both in two separate frames, allow them to distinguish similarities and differences between how they feel and how abundance feels. Show them my wholistic wealth graph, make your own, or simply ask questions to determine the areas in which they feel less than wealthy. Get to the core of the problem and encourage insight into ways they can bring more abundance into their life. Do they need to spend more time with family or friends? Do they need more time to themselves? Are they being pulled in too many directions? Do they know how to say “no”? Etc. Once they are clear on what they want, get them to shift to feeling abundant now. Allow them the space to envision the life they want and how good that feels. Once they are in that space, they can tap into those creative juices to create inspired structures that will lead them to their abundance.
- How did you feel when you were reading the self application questions? What did you discover about yourself and what you want?
- What steps would you take to shift your client’s perspective from money to overall wealth?
- How would you deal with a client who is lacking both money and wealth?
- How would you deal with a client who is lacking in money but feels abundant in other areas?
- In what areas are you lacking wealth in your life? What can you do to change that?
- Were the references to alternatives in wealth building and forms of exchange (such as the alternative economies, frugal living, and passive income) thought provoking? What did they bring to mind? How did reading these concepts change your perspective of money?
- How could you use this power tool to assist your clients?
References:
¹ Brainy Quote: Henry David Thoreau, “Wealth is the ability to fully experience life.”
² Brainy Quote: Henry Ward Beecher “Riches are not an end of life, but an instrument of life.”
³ Policy Mic: US GDP is 70 Percent Personal Consumption: Inside the Numbers ⁴ Peter G. Peterson Foundation: Household Debt: 1955-2011