8 Beliefs You Should Have About Money

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“Very few people can afford to be poor.”
— George Bernard Shaw

I talk about the Law of Attraction and what it takes to really become the magnet that activates this Law. Many of us have been unconsciously magnetizing what we don’t want to come to us. I think this is particularly apparent when it comes to money—or the lack of money. So let’s tackle it:

Why aren’t you wealthy?

Obviously, wealth and prosperity apply to all areas of your life: relationships, the work you do, your health. But for now, I’d like to focus on money.

A few years back, I taught a training course on prosperity. In putting the course together, I interviewed several people who epitomized prosperity to me. Not all of them had millions in the bank, but they all had healthy and comfortable relationships with money. They had eight tenets they agreed on. One of them was “Prosperity comes from belief.”

Yet our cultural belief pattern around money is probably more negative and limiting than most any other area of life.

Money is as basic to our well-being as health or relationships. As Zig Ziglar says, “Money isn't the most important thing in life, but it's reasonably close to oxygen on the ‘gotta have it’ scale.” Yet our culture has a real love/hate relationship when it comes to money.

Think about health: If I were to walk into a training room of strangers and announce “I’m dedicated to having as much health as possible,” I’m guessing I’d get instant respect, maybe even a standing ovation. But if I walked into that same room and announced, “I’m dedicated to having as much money as possible!” what kind of judgments do you think people would make? “Wow, that guy’s a greedy so-and-so.” “Yikes, and I thought he was spiritual. Obviously not!”

Just like we have unconsciously bought into cultural ideas about beauty, fairness, and success, many of us have bought into the cultural myths and archetypes around money. Take a look at these statements and see which seem “true” to you:

1. It takes money to make money.
2. The rich get richer and the poor get poorer.
3. Money is the root of all evil.
4. I can’t live a balanced life if I want to make a lot of money.
5. My financial success depends on the job market and the economy.
6. To make money, you must take big risks.
7. Money is the measure of my success and/or worth.
8. Life is hard.
9. Most wealthy people are like Ebenezer Scrooge, selfish penny-pinchers.
10. It’s a dog-eat-dog world out there; survival of the fittest.
11. In climbing the ladder of success, you have to step on others on the way up.
12. You have to be in certain professions to make a lot of money.
13. Only a few actors (musicians, artists, writers, yada yada) ever make it to the top.
14. (For bonus points, take a look at the lyrics to Dolly Parton’s "9 to 5" and see if those ring true to you!)

Now let’s look at some of the beliefs I uncovered in my research of prosperous people a few years back. As I said, not all of the people I interviewed were uber-wealthy. But they all had what they wanted in terms of money—and the ability to create more whenever they desired more. Here’s what they told me they knew to be true about money:

1. The universe is abundant.
2. The universe wants me to prosper.
3. All prosperity begins with belief.
4. Money is an abstraction.
5. Money is energy—and will appear as you really feel about it.
6. Money has no intelligence of its own.
7. Money will respond to the instructions I give it.
8. Money demands attention.

Notice that they didn’t mention anything about the economy, certain professions, or that money was a reflection of their self-worth. They didn’t talk about the need to beat out the next guy or that their relationships and families had to be sacrificed to become wealthy. They didn’t focus on getting certain degrees or how to climb the corporate ladder. And they certainly didn’t think that money had a power and mind of its own!

Which of those eight beliefs of prosperous people ring true to you? I don’t mean just intellectually. How many of those beliefs are wired into your system as absolutely, positively, no-doubt-about-it true?

Unfortunately, we can’t just memorize the list above to shift our beliefs—and therefore, our actions, habits, and perceptions—around money. To change underlying limiting beliefs takes some work and focus.

In my NLP (neuro-linguistic programming) trainings, we teach the four requisites of lasting change:

1. Get rid of negative emotions and beliefs; insert new positive beliefs.
2. Create a compelling future (goal setting).
3. Take action.
4. Remain focused on your desired outcome and reframe any obstacles to keep your unconscious moving forward.

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These four steps must be taken in that specific sequence. It does no good to try to take massive action if your conscious or unconscious beliefs are fighting you tooth and nail. That’s an uphill battle you’re bound to lose. So it’s important to release negative emotions and beliefs first.

And you can’t simply set goals and visualize them without taking any action toward those goals. Inaction tells your unconscious mind that you aren’t really serious about whatever you said you wanted, so it turns its attention and energy elsewhere and stops looking for opportunities or presenting new ideas to help you reach your goals.

But if you get serious about it and take a step-by-step approach, you can change your beliefs and your relationship with money. Life isn’t all about money. But as Henry David Thoreau pointed out:
“Wealth is the ability to fully experience life.”

To your total empowerment!

Mahalo,

Dr. Matt

Be sure to check out my blog at www.DrMatt.com.