If you want to have more money for anything you like, it is a good idea to discover your beliefs about money.
Money is a big part of every success in life. Money is an enabler – the more money you have, the more successful you can be. For example, my son is very successful as a musician, no doubt due to his special talent, but without the money we spend to support his musical journey, he could have never reached this level of success.
For the technical aspects of handling money, you can find anything from budgeting software to free tax calculators that will help you make the most of your money. But before you can manage your money wisely, you have to get it first. Searching for your own 100 beliefs about money is a good start in pointing yourself in the right direction for getting that money (or if you expect more of yourself, towards financial freedom).
The rules of wealth are as simple as this:
Your bank account is a clear reflection of what you think about money
This activity has two stages:
- Listing your current beliefs about money
- Change some of your beliefs about money to match those of wealthy people
It is important you are honest with yourself and write down even beliefs that might embarrass you, because you need to know where you are in order to change.
Your subconscious holds many beliefs about every aspect of your life, including money, and you rely on them to navigate through life.
Unfortunately, most people form their beliefs about money well before they earn any money, so they carry many outdated and ineffective beliefs about money into their adulthood. This is yet another perfect example of the power of the “self fulfilling prophecy”.
In life, you don’t get what you want. You get what you expect
How to find your beliefs about money
To help you find out what you think about money, use the following starters and complete the sentences as quickly as you can. The first thing that comes to your mind is your subconscious association, so write that down without trying to find a nicer one.
- Rich people are…
- Making money is…
- Money is…
- If I had lots of money, I would…
- Poor people can…
- Money and…. do not go hand in hand.
- Rich people have more…
- Poor people look…
- Money doesn’t…
- I don’t have enough money because…
- If you want money, you have to…
- Wealthy people can…
- Poor people can’t…
- One problem of poor people is…
Rich people can’t…- Being a millionaire is…
- Financially, I’d settle for …
- Financial freedom is…
- Good use of money is to…
- The problem with rich people is…
- If you want to be rich, you have to give up…
- Rich people are missing…
- Poor people are poor because…
- Rich people are rich because…
What are your current beliefs about money?
To help you complete your list, add one or two beliefs you have about the following topics (the more the better). Again, this list is yours and yours only. No one is going to look at it (unless you share it) and being honest with yourself is essential.
Remember, all the life areas examined here are enough to get you started. In my coaching sessions, changing a person’s mindset from not having enough money to being rich is sometimes as simple as changing 3-4 beliefs about money, but first we need to discover them.
- What do you think about money and luck?
- What do you think about being born rich?
- What do you think about morals and money?
- What do you think about caring and being wealthy?
- What do you think about the difference between being rich and being wealthy?
- What do you think about selfishness and money?
- What do you think about friendship and money?
- What do you think about family and money?
- What do you think about raising kids and money?
- What do you think about teaching kids money matters?
- What do you think about work and money?
- What do you think about lottery and richness?
- What do you think about how rich people think?
What do you think about how poor people think?- What do you think would be “enough money”?
- What do you think about what we need money for?
- What do you think about bank charges?
- What do you think about debt?
- What do you think about food and money?
- What do you think about loans?
- What do you think about investments?
- What do you think about saving?
- What do you think about business?
- What do you think about spending and money?
- What do you think about law and money?
- What do you think about tax and money?
- What do you think about honesty and money?
- What do you think about worries and money?
- What do you think about health and money?
Poor thoughts vs. wealthy thoughts
When your list is completed, rate it.
Sit down in a quiet place with your list. Imagine you received a huge work contract that guarantees you one million dollars every year. Feel the fun of the thought and then go over each of your statements. Having one million dollars every year, what will you think of each statement?
Is it a statement of poor people or is it a statement of wealthy people?
If it is a statement of poor people, deduct one point. If it is a statement of rich people, add one point. When you add up all the points, you have your wealth mindset score.
Now that you fully understand the correlation between beliefs about money and having money, move yourself to the next phase and make another list, “100 things I want to believe about money because I want to be wealthy”.
When your second list is finished, print it nicely and put it where you can see it clearly. Then, make it a habit to read at least one of your new beliefs every day, say it out loud, share it with others and keep it in your mind until it becomes part of who you are.
Join me next week for “100 feelings I want to feel”.
To Infinity and beyond!
Ronit
This post is part of the series Make a List:
- Make a list: List Making
- Make a list: About Myself
- Make a list: Friends and Friendships
- Make a list: My Lifetime
- Make a list: Things I am Happy about
- Make a list: Childhood Memories
- Make a list: Ways to say “I love you!”
- Make a list: What I like about me
- Make a list: Things to ask for my birthday
- Make a list: Improve My Life
- Make a list: Things to tell my parents
- Make a list: Beliefs about Money
- Make a list: Feelings I Want to Feel
- Make a list: If I Could Live Forever
- Make a list: Beliefs about Kids
- Make a list: Beliefs about Kids cont.
- Make a list: Events that have shaped my life
- Make a list: Ways to be kind
- Make a list: Be More Productive
- Make a list: Mistakes (and what I can learn from them)
- Make a list: Expectations
- Make a list: Beliefs about Traveling
- Make a list: Rules I Follow
- Make a list: Good Parenting Qualities
- Make a list: Excuses
- Make a list: Quotes to live by
- Make a list: How to use my time better
- Make a list: If I were Santa Claus
- Make a list: If I had one year to live
- Make a list: Things that Make Me Happy
- Make a list: Movies I loved
- Make a List: My Fears
- Make a List: Find your Happy-ism
- Make a List: Inspiring People
- Make a List: Books that have changed my life
- Make a list: Inspiring Movies
- Make a List: Things to be Grateful for
- Make a List: Ronit’s Gratitude List
- Make a list: Life Lessons Learned
- Make a List: Self-Kindness
- Make a List: 100 Ways to Be Kind to Myself
- Make a List: 100 Things I Want People to Think of Me
- Make a List: Judgment of Right from Wrong
- Make a List: 100 Reasons to Be Wealthy
I’m reading a couple of books right now and reviewing them. One of them is “The power of your subconsious mind” which touches on what you’re talking about here.
I fully believe in everything you’re saying. For the longest time my immediate response to something was “We can’t afford that”. Over the past few months I’ve changed that to “How can we afford it”. What a nice change.
I’ve also noticed a huge change in how much I worry about money now (I don’t). I have never bought into the belief that “money is the root of all evil” but I did buy into “You have to work hard and long hours” to make money. I found that this is also very untrue.
Hi Chris,
I had a chance to read “The Power of the subconscious mind” in 1994 and it changed my life, much like you describe.
It was a gift from my sister and she gave it us with a dedication saying:
” Dear Ronit and Gal,
I hope you will master the filters in your mind that will allow you to accept only the good and happy tings in life and throw away the rest to space. I know this book will help you fulfill it and enjoy only the good”
love
Aura”
After reading the book, it was obvious that the focus in life is the driving force. if we focus on “Poor me, I can’t have it” we won’t have it. If we focus on “How can I have it?” the brain shifts to an activation mode and search for the answer.
9 years ago, my parents came from overseas to visit me. My dad, who loves reading, found the book in my library and read it. As he went back home, he bought the book and read it to my mom ( she can’t read very well). Before the book, they would calculate every trip to see my sisters that took an hour drive and did it every month. After the book, they visited my sisters about once a week. Now, when my sisters have new babies, they drive about three times a week to visit them and never complains ( after all, they are not young, my dad is 77 and mom is about 72).
When a friend of ours had a plane crash accident, and the doctors said he will be on a wheel chair for the rest of his life, we gave him the book to read told him his mind powerful beyond measure and all he needs to do is use his powers. I told him, This book changed the way I think about life in such a way that if I want to do something and someone tells me I have 5 % success chance, I say ” I will be on the 5%”.
This morning, my daughter talked about her philosophy uni assignment and we mentioned the book again.
Thanks Chris for sharing
Happy day
Ronit
Will definitely visit this site again :)
Waiting for you
Ronit
Hi Erik,
It is a great exercise, We did it ourselves and it is amazing that we still have some beliefs that needs revising.
I agree with you that managing money without managing the values and beliefs about money, means nothing at all.
If kids grow up with the right values, they will be able to conquer the world.
Thanks
Ronit
The Motivational Speaker
This a great exercise! It is definitely in line with our focus at Financial Literacy for Kids which is to promote core values and concepts before learning how to manage money.