The concept of money has an interesting effect on people.
The power they attribute to it would make one think that the picture of a dead president on piece of paper could create happiness and financial security.
Of course we know that’s a silly assumption. But the fact is, people still live their entire lives as though it were true.
You see them:
- standing in a long line to purchase a lottery ticket
- or sitting for hours in front of a slot machine waiting for the big win
- or poring over the latest stock market reports to see if they made a gain or suffered loss
- or spending countless hours striving to further a career with no thought of personal health or personal relationships
- or funneling their savings into an investment they know nothing about in the belief that that will create security for them in their so-called golden years
In each of these scenarios – and in countless others all across the country – people are chasing wildly, almost thoughtlessly, after currency. It has become a prime focal point of their existence. At the end of that road in life, most come up disappointed, discouraged, and disillusioned. Why? Because money simply does not have that kind of power.
Money in and of itself has no intrinsic value. It is merely a tool with which to measure value. If you have something of value and I want to purchase that item from you, in our society, I give you money for it. (In America that would be dollars.) In centuries past I might have given you gold doubloons, a pretty shell, a belt of beaded wampum, or even salt. Money is a medium of exchange. To think of money in this way may require a paradigm shift from what you have heard all your life.
What if the focus was on utilizing your assets and resources to move you toward your goals and objectives? Building on that as the foundation, money can then have a greater impact on the things in life that are truly fulfilling.
The funny thing is that the people who are not attached to money are often the ones who have it present in their lives.
Are you focused on accumulating money or adding value? My experience is that only the latter can produce long-term financial success and a fulfilled and balanced life. Never let it be said that you allowed the picture of a dead president on a piece of paper to run your life.
Beau, this is such a powerful message! I love the distinction between accumulating money or adding value. Thanks!
Beau, most of us have not had good money education… thank you for putting the focus on increasing our value, using our assets to move us further toward achieving our purpose. I appreciate you and your teaching very much!
Love it, Beau, especially the idea that people who aren’t attached to money are usually the ones who have it present in their lives. When we desperately chase dollars, we’re actually creating resistance energy, causing it to run from us. Once detached, we can effectively manifest and attract it into our lives. Good stuff, my friend!
What a brilliant way to put the pursuit of money into perspective!
Denny, I’ve found that money is a direct measure of a value. The focus on accumulation, which is what we are taught everyday usually is the root of unhealthy relationships with money.
Susan and Victoria, it’s a huge shift to move away from the acccumulation model to the utilization model with our relationship to money. Focusing on accumulation takes away the real reason you want the money in the first place.
Sean, it’s amazing how when we fight to get out of debt we actually keep it in our lives. And, when we are not attached to the money but the objective it serves how it can show up in our lives.
You are right on target with this post Beau. Whenever I stop worrying about money and return my focus to being of service and giving value to others, money seems to come pouring in.
Carol, You are another shining example of money being a measure of value!
Interesting what we will chase in the pursuit of happiness. I definitely agree with you that it seems that people not focused on money have it more available to them. I think that is because the people who often focus on money are thinking about what they don’t have, rather than the abundance that shows up in their life already. As I have heard before ‘what you focus on expands’ so when you focus on what you don’t have you get more of the same. Great reminder, thanks!
So well put! We make a huge mistake when we think money IS value. In fact, when we really start to grapple with the whole true concept of value – adding it, what it is to us, etc., it takes us so much further than any conversation or inquiry about money. I’ve seen this particularly clearly when engaged in barter – when there’s a conversation about direct exchange of service or product for service or product, THEN it’s much clearer that we’re talking about value.
Thanks so much for pointing us in the direction of thinking more deeply about adding value, and about what really is of value, that we would want to invest our lives in the pursuit of. Certainly it wouldn’t be pictures of dead presidents!