Why Having More Money is Never The Solution
Before we talk about money, I have to tell you about rookie mistake I made.
Last month, I bought my two return flights from Singapore to
Toronto, one on expedia.ca and the other on expedia.com.
I assumed the sites had the same cancellation policy as
expedia.com. Turns out, the two sites look exactly the same but .ca
was missing these 4 crucial words: 24-hour free cancellation.
I call customer service, feeling like the biggest lumphead, pissed
off that that I can't cancel my .ca flight online and determined to
fight for my consumer rights.
By the time I get an operator, I'm completely possessed by my
hyperventilating alter ego that I can't even utter a proper
sentence. There's no way I'm can guilt-trip them for a deal now.
(I'm positive the customer service rep was caught between pitying
me and cracking up at this girl bawling over a flight).
#notmyprettiestmoment.
I was dying to get off the phone, so I let them charge me $200 to
cancel my flight. In hindsight, it wasn't much money, and
definitely not worth the buckets of tears and snot but that's how
wrapped up I got about money.
Have you ever struggled over how to spend your money most "wisely"?
No matter how much you have, it never seems to be enough?
We rarely talk about the moolah - unless its to say that we don't
have enough of it - and yet it's not how much you have, but how you
think about it that matters.
Contrary to extremely popular belief, you don't need to worry about
money.
You should be smart about your finances, but mulling over your
supposed lack of money is going to keep you from doing what you
were meant to do on this planet.
Stop accepting other people's old, worn-out, hand-me-down money
stories.
What's a money story? An unexamined belief around money that makes
you feel trapped. Like: I need to stay in my sucky job to make
money or else my life will utterly fall apart, I'll have no
friends, eat PB&J forever and my dog will die.
If your attitudes around money make you feel small and paralyzed,
then we need to rewrite them. We learn these stories from our
parents, friends, and economics 101 class, but the truth is, you
don't have to accept them as yours. Much like there is a law of
gravity, there is a law of how money flows in the world.
Law #1: There is more than enough money to go around.
When I was in biz school, I used to get invitations all the time
for business plans competitions. I never considered entering any
until I got hooked on the idea of social enterprises (businesses
for social good). Then it was obvious.
There's over $55 trillion worth of money in this world and plenty
of philanthropic billionaires. If I have an idea that's going to
do good, why shouldn't some of that flow to my work in the form of
investors, paying customers and donations?
Law #2: Money is currency and currency is just trinkets in exchange
for a service.
Find a way to be of service to people and you will never need to
worry about money. This could mean stepping up at work or reaching
out and volunteering in your community.
I don't care whether you believe the universe will compensate you
for doing good (which it will) or if volunteering simply puts you
in contact with more people (who will think of you first when paid
positions open up).
You have something you can serve the world with, and when you start
contributing with your talents and gifts you'll be compensated.
Now it's your turn, what money belief is holding you back?
To get your creative muscles doing push-ups, what are three other
ways that you could make a living today if you really need to?
(Come up with lots of alternatives. This will help you let go your
old money story.)
If you liked this article, share The Passion Playbook love with
friends and fam. Life always better with love. {wink}
With Passion & Passports,
Anita
XOXO
