Many years ago I had this odd mentality about money and wealth. I thought that rich people were all greedy, and that most of them had probably sold their soul to the devil in order to attain their wealth. I assumed that rich people were conniving miscreants who took advantage of others. I assumed that corporations were evil, because it seemed to me like they always used clever marketing and subliminal advertising to coerce people into buying their products. Rich people who inherited their wealth seemed lazy to me.
The other problem I had with the wealthy is that it didn’t seem fair that while some people had so much, others had so little. I definitely fell on the side of thinking that suggests the wealthy should give all their excess money back into the system to take care of the poor and infirm. Why did rich people need 8 cars, 4 houses, and servants? I was totally disgusted by greedy rich people and wanted nothing to do with them. Suffice it to say, I had some pretty negative and limiting beliefs about wealth.
Oh sure, I’d be happy to accept a lottery win. And I reasoned that I would give at least half my money to charity and then spend the rest on my family to make their lives better.
And so it was that when I first met Steve this was my way of thinking about money. Too much money and you cross the line into greed and gluttony. But there was a major flaw in my thinking, and Steve is the one who pointed it out to me.
Steve asked me what I would do if I was rich. I told him I’d stop working and go serve others as a volunteer at some charity. I wanted to end suffering, help people feel better emotionally, feed the hungry, and also rescue cats. These were my big charity goals. When Steve got a publishing deal with Take Two with a signed contract that would guarantee us a $675,000 advance I thought we were set for life. Steve suggested that since we had all this money coming to us, why not start my charity work.
So I went to my local hospital and volunteered. I was given a blue smock and told to report to the volunteer’s room promptly Monday morning. I did so with glee. It was more of a closet than a room though. There were 15 volunteers packed in like sardines in this very small room. A lady manned the phones and, when a request would come in, she would dispatch one of us to take care of the task. The other volunteers were surprised to see me there. All, and I do mean all, of the other volunteers were either older retired people or criminals doing community service. When I told them I was there because my fiance was bringing in hundreds of thousands of dollars and I just wanted to help out somewhere, they all looked at me like I was crazy.
But volunteering at the hospital wasn’t what I expected. I spent most of the day running urine samples to the lab or transporting files and paperwork from one office to another. I really wanted to sit with patients and read to them, comfort them, or just keep them company. I especially wanted to help take care of new mothers and their babies, or maybe just rock an infant or two. When I asked about doing this I was met with a derisive snort. “That’s not what we do here. You would have to be a paid staff member to do something like that.” Steve asked me how I was enjoying myself and I had to admit that I didn’t feel like I was helping anyone, at least not the way I wanted. I craved interaction.
Our deal with Take Two fell through pretty fast. Bye bye riches, hello struggle. I went back to work full time with Steve while we searched for another deal.
At some point we talked about our feelings about money and Steve discovered quickly that I thought rich people were the scum of the earth. He asked me how I expected to handle being wealthy if I believed that I would become the scum of the earth. I admitted that I had never thought about it in those terms. I told Steve it wasn’t fair for us to have so much while others were struggling. And then he said something I remember to this day, something that changed my mind about money forever.
“How can you save someone who is drowning if you can’t swim yourself? How can you rescue someone else when you’re not on safe ground? How does you being poor help a poor person? Do you think poor people want you to pat them on the back and tell them you feel sorry for them, or do you think poor people want you to give them money and/or help? If you don’t have any money, how can you give any away?” That opened my eyes pretty fast.
Next he said, “Yes, there are a lot of people and corporations in this world who are greedy, scum-sucking, bottom-feeders who take advantage and don’t give back. Isn’t it incumbent on those of us who are compassionate, kind, and caring to make as much money as we can so that we can help those who suffer? Who would you rather see with money in this world, people like us who actually care about humanity or people like them who want to squeeze others dry for their own profit and gain?”
That made a lot of sense too. I began to see becoming wealthy as an obligation. I began to imagine the difference I could make with a million dollars, a 100 million dollars, maybe even a billion; certainly more than I could make with just my time alone or a $20/month donation to some local charity.
This new belief completely eradicated my old beliefs. I now saw the rich as being in the perfect position to enact social change. I adopted the mindset that if I was capable of generating that much money then I had an obligation to do so. That opened the road to wealth for me. I stopped blocking money from coming into my life. My wealth didn’t increase overnight by any means, but it did increase. Finding a way in which I could provide the most value to others brought me into alignment and vibrational harmony with wealth. Today I earn more than 50 times as much money as I did when I graduated college.
But the key is that I’m no longer afraid to be rich. Today I’m a vibrational match for being a millionaire which is something I couldn’t have said 10 years ago.
Are you afraid of being rich? What are your beliefs about the rich? If your beliefs are negative, do you see how it would be difficult for you to become a vibrational match for wealth? You would subconsciously sabotage your efforts to keep yourself from becoming what you hate. Reframe your beliefs to find a more empowering and vibrationally-aligned way of thinking about wealth. If you can’t find such a belief, you’re dooming yourself to poverty, lack, and impotence. If you don’t mind being poor or struggling financially then you’ve got nothing to worry about. But if you want to be wealthy and you just can’t seem to get going in that direction, check your beliefs about money, wealth, and rich people. You’ll probably find something negative in there.
Do you hold any of these beliefs about wealth?
- Rich people are greedy
- Rich people are selfish
- If I had a ton of money I would just have to pay the IRS most of it
- Rich people work 80 hours a week and never spend time with their families
- Rich people step on the backs of the poor to get more money
- Too much money and I wouldn’t know what to do with it, a person only needs so much
- Why should I have so much when others have so little? How is that fair?
- People would always be asking me for loans
- Once I got used to having money I’d be afraid of losing it.
- I’d probably just blow it all on shoes.
Try some of these beliefs on for size:
- Rich people are empowered
- Rich people are in a position to give back to their community
- Rich people can provide employment for others
- Rich people get to experience all that life has to offer
- Rich people aren’t as stressed about their basic survival
- Rich people get to travel and enjoy seeing the world
- Rich people get a chance to meet people in other countries
- Rich people can help others
Or find your own beliefs. Just bring yourself into vibrational harmony with what you say you want and what you actually believe about it.
Say this phrase out loud to yourself: “Sure I want to be rich…” and if you feel the urge to add a “but” at the end of the sentence then examine the limiting belief that’s about to come out of your mouth.
“Sure I want to be rich, but who wants to put in 80 hours a week to do it?” I know I don’t put in 80 hours a week.
“Sure I want to be rich, but the IRS is just going to bleed me dry. I’m not going to give them the satisfaction.” If the IRS is taking a boat load of your money, you’ve probably got more than a boat load left.
Money is a tool. It’s not evil, and it won’t buy you love. But somewhere in between love and evil you might find empowerment, security, and a way to help others. If that’s what you want.
