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33

Don’t stop thinking only about money, money, money

Quote to avoid

“If money is your hope for independence, you will never have it. The only real security that a man can have in this world is a reserve of knowledge, experience and ability.”

Henry Ford

Here is something I read in the newspaper the other day: “It is often said that money can’t buy happiness, although there are plenty of hard-up people who find it hard to believe. Now psychologists claim to have the proof. A study has found that being rich and beautiful has little to do with overall contentment. Instead, it concluded that we are happiest when we feel in charge of our own lives; have high self-esteem; enjoy a close network of friends and family; and believe we are doing well, rather than being incompetent or ineffective. To reach their conclusions, the psychologists at the University of Missouri, Columbia interviewed 700 students in the US and Korea. The students were asked their most satisfying experiences. They were then asked to explain why these events had made them happy. Money was mentioned least as a reason. ‘Being true to yourself’; being competent at activities; having close bonds with other people; and feeling respect for yourself topped the list.”

What lessons are there in this for the serious student of fucking things up? Well, firstly, we must forget that wealth isn’t about money. Just concentrate on what you’d like to have – material things like money, cars or other ‘objects’. This is guaranteed to pull you away from feeling the way you want to feel. Especially when you get some stuff and it still doesn’t make you happy or content.

As well as forgetting that money doesn’t buy you happiness, failures also believe in scarcity. They’d agree with the sentiment that “money talks . . . but all mine ever says is goodbye”. They believe that things, including money, are like a cake – there are only so many pieces and if I give some away to you, that’s going to be less for me. Successful people believe in the exact opposite – ­ abundance. That there is too much to go around and the moreI give away, the more comes back to me. They believe money is in never-ending supply. That the world is awash with the stuff. The secret is that they don’t chase it. Have you noticed that the more you chase money, the more it runs away? No, they know profit is a consequence of being the best you can be and doing the thing you love to do. Because they are not in it for the money, unlike you, they don’t quit at the first obstacle that’s put in their way.

“Have you noticed that the more you chase money, the more it runs away?”

Action not to take

Money is an important aspect of success, especially if you believe the best way to help the poor is not to be one of them. Financial independence gives you control. You can choose what you want to do and not do. However, failures think the best way to get their hands on some of the folding stuff is through a large dollop of luck. They cross their fingers and hope. In the extremely unlikely event that their number does come up, ironically that will just be the beginning of their problems. You see, 80% of lottery winners lose all their money within five years. That’s because they didn’t believe they deserved it in the first place. You, however, if you want to keep your bank account in the red, mustn’t believe you need to be wealthy in your head before you can be wealthy in your life.

Someone once said: “When it comes to giving to others, I stop at nothing.” Successful people know the best way to reduce money’s power over you is by regularly giving some of it away. Strangely, the best time to do this is when you don’t have much of the stuff yourself. Same thing goes for paying bills. Most people moan and groan when they have to pay a tax bill. They attach a sort of negative energy to the whole activity. Successful people, meanwhile, pay with a smile on their face. They think the more I have to pay, the better I must be doing. They believe in an abundant universe where whatever goes out must come back in spades, often from the most unexpected quarters. You must not believe this if your goal is to remain poor.

So remember, don’t think about what you want to be, then do, then have. Just think about the money.

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