You do, that’s who. And so do I.

Money is so fundamental a tool in our modern society that we literally cannot live without it. We would die of thirst or hunger, or exposure, if we didn’t have at least the minimum amount of money required to trade for the meeting of our basic needs. We need money just to survive…and who wants to just survive?

Knowing this, an objective observer would assume that as a species we would teach our children basic money-making and -management skills. Since money is our form of currency, used worldwide, we as humans must all have basic skills in obtaining, growing and using it wisely … right?

Things could not be further from the truth, as you and I know. The subject of money is, instead, entangled hopelessly within a web of wide-ranging emotions, beliefs, taboos, rituals, denials and accusations. We’ve made a mess out of something that is entirely inert and should have nothing attached to it except for the values we give it.

Can we change this as a society? Perhaps - perhaps not. What we CAN do is to help ourselves individually, and in doing so set examples for our friends, colleagues and children.

We can begin by trying to extricate ourselves from the complex topic of money; to separate ourselves mentally from it and begin to observe our habits, patterns and beliefs with objectivity. We, as observers, can see that although our beliefs don’t affect money itself, they affect how we act around money, thus affecting whether we attract it or send it away; whether we thrive financially or suffer.

We all have our own unique set of beliefs and practices when it comes to money, based upon our upbringing, the myriad influences of a lifetime and any opinions - skewed or not - we have formed on our own. In separating ourselves to ask what is valid, what is working and, most importantly, what makes sense for us today, we can take the first step to a brighter, more abundant financial future. Here is some food for thought to help you begin.

• Ask yourself, ‘What do I believe about money?’ You may want to start a list, and you’ll notice that this list will get longer as you go about your daily life and realize how many beliefs and thoughts pop up - you may just surprise yourself. Armed with this knowledge, you can then begin to ask yourself;
• ‘Is that true?’ With each belief, for instance that rich people are corrupt, see if you cannot find one - or many - ways in which you have personally witnessed it NOT being true. If you’d like to follow the brilliant and simple work of Byron Katie, another question to ask would be ‘Who would I be without that thought?’
• When you catch yourself hearing a message or belief about money in your head, ask: ‘Whose voice said that?’ This small step can be very revealing, as we discover that what we thought was our own voice is actually - often - that of our mother or father, or another influential person in our early lives.
• Importantly, when we discover beliefs we have about money, it is crucial to decide if this belief serves us NOW. Given where you want to go in your life, does this belief help take you there, or does it lead you astray, blind you to possibilities or perhaps limit you from believing you can even get there?…If the thought doesn’t serve you, discard it, and if possible, replace it with something that does. Repeat your new belief - even if it seems somewhat foreign to you - as often as needed until it feels like a part of you. Using the example above, you could replace the thought ‘rich people are corrupt’ with ‘Magnificent wealth is possible for all of us, and I am going to do wonderful things with my abundance,’ or ‘Millions of people are doing wonderful things with money, and I can, too.’
• Now that you have begun exploring -and hopefully purging - your limiting beliefs around money, you can begin to learn new ones. Be open to learning from any source which presents itself; a well-off potential mentor you know but had never thought of in that way; your local library; cd and tape sets from successful people; personal development websites and blogs…the list is limited only by your own ingenuity.
• Now for the very personal work of defining your own financial future. An abbreviated outline of this task goes something like this: Ask yourself the key question: What do I want my future to look like? … This, of course, is a big question. If you have never really sat down to define your ideal future, this may initiate a work in progress. That’s OK. It is the beginning of your new life - the way YOU design it. Do not allow what you think is possible to limit you, because you cannot really know what is possible in the larger picture. Simply state what you WANT. As you work to define your ideal future, and to listen to your own voice, hunches about what to do will come to you…you can then take inspired action such as starting a new business, taking some courses or other tasks which just seem ‘right’.

These few ideas may seem overly simple, but they are NOT easy. Self-discovery is one of the most difficult, and yet most rewarding, pursuits available to us as human beings. Few of us explore our true potential, and even just in the field of finances, there is much you can do to learn, grow and prosper. Enjoy!