Over the past five years of being a coach, I’ve had a number of insights into how I think and talk about money that have made it easier for me to create what I love (money) while doing what I love (coaching).
Recently I began listing them out for my apprentices and this list quickly turned into ten separate articles.
I am sharing them here in case you too love money and want to make more of it. If so, I hope that thinking and talking about money in these ways will help you like they have helped me.
—
I’ve noticed I always seem to have ‘enough’ money to get by. At times it’s a struggle, but in the end, the mortgage or rent gets paid, the flights get booked and the groceries get bought. Life goes on fairly uninterrupted with no major catastrophes.
The funny thing is, this happens to be true no matter the standard of living I’ve committed to. Whether my expenses have been $100/month, $5,000/month, $10,000/month or more – there’s always been enough.
The other thing I’ve noticed is that if I have a bunch of money sitting around and nothing to do with it, I tend to stop creating more of it. When I don’t need money to keep what I have created and committed to doing, I don’t have any reason to make more of it.
‘If spending money drives me to make more of it – then maybe when I have a desire to make more money, I should just spend more money?’
I know this seems like a dangerous and irresponsible idea – maybe it is – but it seems to work for me.
Committing to monthly payments that are a financial stretch for me, has me motivated to make more money.
There are two things to watch out for with this approach:
1. Don’t become a hamster on a wheel. I don’t want to perpetually spend more money to make more money just for the hell of it. For me, it has to start with a desire to create something in the world that more money could be used for.
2. Don’t use this approach if I’m in scarcity and feeing ‘needy’. There is a balance point between not needing anything (which has me unmotivated) and being too ‘needy’ (which has me unable to serve people). This approach is for when I’m outside of scarcity and wanting to drive some new growth.
I know I said “I love money”, but I suppose what I really love is what I can do with it. Money itself doesn’t motivate me. Needing it for what I want does though and spending it is how I create the need.
Dancing at the edge of the scarcity trap keeps me feeling alive.
QUESTIONS TO ASK YOURSELF
- What am I waiting to buy until I’ve made more money?
- What living expenses am I waiting to commit to until I’ve made more money?
- How much closer can I get to the edge of the scarcity trap without falling in?
[pexcirclecta pex_attr_small_title=”JOIN MY EMAIL NEWSLETTER!” pex_attr_title=”Get Insights & Stories I Only Share by Email” pex_attr_button_text=”SIGN UP” pex_attr_button_link=”https://jpmorganjr.com/email/” pex_attr_button_link_open=”same”][/pexcirclecta]
