With economic hardship on the increase and a growing lack of financial resources, it can be easy to slip into temptation. What kind of temptation?

There’s a temptation to try and make money as quickly and easily as possible. This is a mentality that can leave you vulnerable to all kinds of schemes. The lure of quick money can be hard to resist, especially when bills are piling up and the pressure is on.

The latest, greatest, fastest…

To compound the problem there is a seemingly endless army of marketers ready to sell you their newest release of the latest and greatest make money fast program. They can be so convincing! You know the story: How I went from food stamps to a Ferrari in 90 days and here are my clickbank screenshots to prove it. Give me a break.

If buying these programs worked even one tenth of the time then everyone I know online would be an internet millionaire. Chances are pretty good that you are the proud owner of a few of these programs, right? Trust me, you are not alone!

Then there’s the social media detour

Don’t get me wrong, social media has a place in every business, but from what I’ve experienced the time invested rarely represents a high ROI (return on investment). How are you doing on your twitter or facebook based million dollar empire?

My point is not that you can’t gain client contacts from social media because you most certainly can. But let’s be honest, social media makes it far too easy to diddle away hours of your valuable time when you could be doing something that produces more sustainable results.

Chasing the gold ring leads to irrational behavior

If we allow ourselves to focus on chasing money by following the crowd, we become easy prey for every get rich quick idea that comes along. This kind of pursuit is often accompanied by the tendency to throw reason out the window.

Millions have experienced an unplanned loss of income in the last few years and are desperately seeking a solution. The problem is, the more desperate we become for money, the more likely we are to make irrational choices that just compound the problem. When the fear takes over, rational thinking gives way to impulse.

What can we do if we find ourselves in this situation?

Ask yourself the kind of questions you would ask a friend if you were trying to help them to avoid making a foolish mistake.  This will help reintroduce reason into the equation. Here are three examples:

1. Do I know anyone else who has succeeded using this approach?
2. Have I done any research to determine if this is a scam?
3. How much would I have to invest and can I really afford to do that?

I’m reminded of the question: How come we never see the headline, psychic wins lottery? Asking the right questions is a way to bring us back to reality while allowing us to use our resources in a more creative way.

Yes, these are uncertain times, and sadly there are unscrupulous people who will try to leverage the situation.  They will see your fear as an opportunity to take advantage of you.

Strengthen yourself on the inside

You become most vulnerable to these kinds of situations when you are looking for a solution outside of yourself. True success and stability come from within. Having a successful mindset is the best defense against the fear of financial uncertainty.

Your mindset doesn’t change the fact that you still need an income, but it does change your approach to that challenge.  If financial uncertainty and fear are starting to get the best of you, it’s time to turn things around right now. Once you get control of the fear, turn your attention away from the quick fix. Instead, concentrate on sound business models that have stood the test of time and have the potential to become a sustainable source of income.

Look for real solutions and avoid the latest financial fad

I recently watched some free video training from a man who has created more millionaires and multimillionaires than anyone in the history of the world. These videos really helped me see why so many people go broke while working hard to create an online business. The man’s name is Dan Kennedy and this is the first time he has ever offered free training. His normal coaching fees start at $18,000 per day.

As you might have guessed, these videos are leading to a big product launch called GameChanger, but these free videos have information that I have never seen anyone offer even in a paid product. I am NOT encouraging you to buy anything, just go watch the videos. I apologize for the opt-in (I opted-in and it was so worth it), but I promise you, they will change the way you view making money, especially in these times of financial uncertainty.

Has the economy been putting pressure on you?
Have you invested in programs that haven’t paid off?
What’s your take on the videos?

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Are you happy with your life the way it is?  Overall, can you say you’re truly happy?  If not, do you know why? Could it possibly be because you haven’t made the choice to be happy?

When we think of being successful, we imagine that happiness is an inevitable side effect.  We may envision ourselves with the perfect job, the perfect mate, the perfect children, the perfect level of income, the perfect home, the perfect car, etc.  And we believe that all of that stuff will make us happy.

Realistic expectations

However, that view is skewed.  Material objects and other people cannot make us happy – only we can make ourselves happy.  And it all begins with a choice to be happy.

Maybe you have a hard time believing that, especially if you are experiencing challenges or lack in your life right now.  But think about this:  why do rich people still experience unhappiness?  Why do successful people still experience unhappiness?  Because money and success do not automatically create happiness!

Neither do power, status, romance, or material objects.  We simply believe they do because we are looking outside of ourselves for the solution to our problems.

Let go of the money = happiness link

Intellectually, we may know that money can’t buy happiness, but some part of us still believes that we’d feel better if we were rich.  Yet when we really look at wealthy people, we must wonder if they are any happier than the average person.

Do wealthy people laugh more, experience more joy, or have greater fulfillment in their lives?  Perhaps some do – but how much of it is a direct result of their wealth?

Wealth has it’s own challenges

Believe it or not, some people seem to grow less satisfied the wealthier they become!  Perhaps they were under the misconception that money would solve all their problems and now they are finding out it doesn’t work that way.

Having a large amount of money can create a whole new set of challenges.  I’m sure you’ve heard the horror stories about people who win the lottery or come into a large fortune through an inheritance or other means.  Many of them experience a few years of heartache and struggle, and end up flat broke again.  Money didn’t solve their problems – it only made them worse!

Choose happiness

Another reason why wealth can make us miserable is that it distracts us from what is truly important for a happy and fulfilling life.  We find ourselves focusing more and more on material objects and end up feeling disconnected from our inner selves.

If you are feeling unhappy in your life right now and you’re thinking that money will solve your problems, it’s time for a reality check.

Don’t get me wrong. I like money as much as the next guy and having a material abundance can certainly make our lives easier. But money is not the key to happiness and lack of it is not a legitimate reason to feel unhappy. Being happy is a choice you can make right now and it doesn’t cost you a dime. You are the key to your own happiness and no amount of money will change that.

Have you noticed how fast materialistic based happiness fades?
Has the pursuit of wealth ever resulted in lasting happiness?
The lines are open!

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My book TRUE SELF is the fastest inexpensive way (coaching is the fastest) to make positive life changes very quickly. Do you want to discover your core passions, dismantle your hidden, limiting beliefs, and realize your most desired goals? TRUE SELF will guide you smoothly through the process.

Let’s have a little fun and put the stretch on our imaginations. Try to visualize a world without money or even the concept of money. Imagine if there were no more money, no word for it, and no physical or emotional reference to it. The whole idea of money simply doesn’t exist.

Why are we thinking like this? Because so many people spend the majority of their life in the pursuit of this bizarre, manmade invention. For the most part money is a necessary yet insidious detour away from everything that really matters.

Like a bottomless pothole on the road of life, there’s money smack dab in the middle of almost everything meaningful you want to do. You can’t ignore it and it’s almost impossible to get anything done without it, so you are forced to deal with it.

Money calls the shots

In the name of money and career we may invest years of our life on specialized education and training. Why? So we can spend another 30-40 years earning a living.  What’s at the end of the rainbow?  The hope of being able to retire with enough money to enjoy whatever time and health we have left.

It becomes especially challenging to maintain a balanced view of money when we are confronted by economic hardship. Lack of legal tender can threaten our sense of security and even corrupt our sense of self-worth. No inanimate object is more emotionally charged. That’s a tremendous amount of leverage for an artificial commodity, don’t you think?

Can we really imagine no more money?

It’s difficult to wrap our minds around the concept of no more money because it is outside the realm of our experience. How would society be structured if there were no such thing as money? What would we focus on and how would we make value comparisons?

We don’t really know because it’s never been tried on a large scale. One thing is for sure; most people’s lives would probably be a lot more realistic.  Maybe we should just abolish the stuff and start focusing on things of real value.

What’s your take on money?
Were you able to imagine no more money?
The lines are open!

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Think about the fact that the currency we exchange is nothing more than printed paper. It doesn’t really have any value at all except the value that’s been assigned to it. Why would we want to measure our personal worth against printed paper that has no value? And yet, this is the fallacy that millions of people have bought into.

Look at the effect money has on the way we view ourselves. To some degree, our sense of self-worth and security tends to rise and fall with our income. Regardless of how we reason on it intellectually, the truth is, we always feel better when finances are not an issue.

Let’s adjust the picture a little

Imagine if the whole value exchange system had been built on something like strips of red ribbon. “Oh, I’ve got more red ribbon than you so that means that I am a more valuable person.”  The whole concept is so absurd, it’s laughable.  And yet, in reality, a strip of ribbon is probably worth more than a dollar bill.

A long time ago, currency was intended to represent a commodity like gold or silver, but is that still the case?  No! There is no commodity to back it up – they just print up currency and put it into circulation.  The whole economic picture is just an illusion. But it’s a picture that we are all involved in, so what can we do?

Obviously, we need some financial security in our lives. Sadly, the way we’ve been programmed to attract money is probably not the best way to satisfy that need.  Let’s go over several false notions about the almighty dollar and its place in our lives, and consider some alternative approaches.

How we are conditioned to think about money

From early childhood we are told that money makes the world go around. As a little kid we might have looked at our parents and said, “Can I have a dollar?” Then we would reply, “I need it to get one of these.” So right away, we learn to recognize that everything we want in life has a price tag on it.

As we get older we start to link our worth with our hourly wage. As a result, our sense of personal value gets all wrapped up in what we are able to earn per hour. Notice how this conditioning process unfolded. Initially, money had value because it represented what we could buy with it.  But then, it took on a personality of its own.

Money is emotionally supercharged

We all need money so we can pay the rent and put food on the table. The need is real and without adequate finances things can get very uncomfortable. Is it any wonder that it is almost impossible to avoid forming an emotional attachment with that worthless printed paper?

What happens to those emotions when the economy is floundering and personal assets start evaporating? Our sense of security can easily turn into panic and leave us wondering how in the world we are going to cope. That’s a lot of leverage for paper with no intrinsic value.

How can we avoid the emotional rollercoaster?

Independent of the economy or our personal financial status, a balanced perspective can go a long way toward neutralizing the emotional influence of money.  Maintaining the right mindset will not only help us to get through tough financial times, it will also help us prosper in the future.

Let’s try looking at this whole monetary issue from a more empowering point of view.  We can do this by ignoring the negative press and addressing our personal relationship with money.

7 ways to look at money differently

1. Don’t entrust your finances to others. Have faith in your own ideas and take control of your financial future. Investments are often not as secure as acting on your own productive ideas. If you come up with a sound business idea, create a business plan and act on it promptly. Don’t allow limiting beliefs about your abilities to create income stifle your creativity.

2. Dare to operate from abundance instead of scarcity. Giving is a powerful way to attract what you need, and generosity opens the flow of abundance. I’m not saying you should give away your last dollar. But a mindset based on hoarding is a sure way to create scarcity. Remember, there are many ways to give outside the realm of finances. Could you give of your time or experience to help others?

3. Don’t put off enjoying your life and your resources. Planning for your retirement is not as powerful as living in the present with an awareness of your future. Putting enjoyment off until a future time is like pushing away your current prosperity. When you delay enjoying your life until your circumstances improve, you actually do yourself a grave disservice by linking your happiness to your finances.

4. Don’t expect money to solve all your problems. Money is not the path to happiness or fulfillment. It will not make your life feel more meaningful, or improve your relationships. Always remember that money only solves financial problems!

5. Let go of limiting financial beliefs. A belief such as, “money is the root of all evil” will only block your prosperity. There is no shame in a modest lifestyle, but there is also nothing noble about lacking money or anything else. Being respectful of, but emotionally detached from money will help you make better decisions in every area of life.

6. Don’t be afraid to chart your own path. Scarcity is a function of the mind and so is abundance. Human creativity can solve any financial problem and find ways to profit along the way. If you can block out the negative feedback and learn to think and act differently than the struggling masses, you may be astonished at what you can accomplish.

7. Spend some money on things that make you feel good. Practical spending is valuable and prudent, but you also deserve to enjoy some of the fruits of your labor. When you buy something that helps you feel good, you encourage a positive emotional response to money. When you feel better about yourself, you naturally tend to be more productive.

Never allow yourself to be a slave to finances

An obsessive view of money can foster unhealthy responses like greed and dishonesty. This can be true whether a person has a lot or a little. When money has that kind of power in a person’s life, they become its slave.

When we view money as just a tool, and don’t allow ourselves to get emotionally attached to it, we are in control. Remember, it’s just printed paper with no intrinsic value whatsoever. You, on the other hand, are extremely valuable. The more you actively share your unique value with the world, the greater your sense of self-worth will become.

Do you view income as emotionally influential?
Does your sense of self-worth fluctuate with your finances?
The lines are open!

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Do you feel guilty when you’re not doing something productive? In this age of time management we can easily adopt the idea that if we are not being productive then we are wasting time. So we try to get super organized in an effort to be more productive.

We could claim our attempts to cram as much as possible into each day is based on the fact that life is short and we want to accomplish all we can. I’m sorry, but that argument just doesn’t hold water. Why? For one thing, it’s our natural tendency to seek out ways to enjoy ourselves, not to push ourselves to the limit.

How do you define time?

How we view the whole concept of time has a powerful influence on our priorities. If we buy into the “Time is money” approach introduced by Benjamin Franklin, then productivity becomes our first priority.

We all recognize that Ben Franklin was a smart guy, but when he said time is money I don’t think he was suggesting that we build our lives around that concept. By the way, he also said that “Credit is money” and we can all see the result of building an economy around that precept.

Putting a price on time

When we accept the idea that time is money we are essentially assigning a monetary value to time. How does that affect our perspective of life? It causes us (and others) to base our worth on how productive we are and how much we earn. This is a devastating point of view for several reasons. Let’s consider a few:

Fallacy #1. If I earn $50 per hour and you earn $500, then I must be worth 90% less than you are. If I accept this premise, then I will probably develop some limiting beliefs about my worth as a person. If you agree with this value scale, then you will begin to think of yourself as superior. Both of these points of view are damaging.

Fallacy #2. A highly paid professional who earns a fortune pumping deadly toxins into the environment will be viewed as more valuable than a dedicated teacher who incites his students to reach for their dreams while maintaining personal integrity. This “time is money” perspective would also place the loving, nurturing mother who gave up her career to take care of her family, on the bottom of the value scale.

Fallacy #3. The working person willingly sacrifices family time for a chance to raise his income because, in doing so, he thinks he will increase his worth as a husband and father. When he comes home too late to see his children in the evening he will sincerely explain, “I’m doing it for you.”

If time is not money then what is it?

In a sense, Ben Franklin had it right when he associated time with currency; he just chose the wrong one. You see, the value of money is tiny compared to the value of time, even though making a living does require that we spend some of our valuable time in that pursuit.

When we spend our valuable time we should view it as something that far exceeds the worth of money. Yes, it takes a certain amount of money to care for our material needs and wants, but that is just one, small aspect of life. And this brings us to the real point of this article.

Time is the currency of life

Some will argue that time is a concept created by man and that it really doesn’t exist. All I can say to that is – what happens to your life when you run out of time? See my point? We only have so much of this valuable commodity and when it’s gone all the money in the world can’t buy you more.

Here’s where a proper view of productivity can help. If our level of productivity allows us to care for our material needs while only spending half as much time doing so, then from a practical standpoint, we have actually gained a lot of time for other pursuits. In fact, isn’t that what’s behind the intellectual draw toward increased productivity? In a nut shell, more money in less time means more time doing what we want.

Keep your balance and avoid the traps

The real challenge here is to use increased productivity in a balanced way so we reap the benefits and avoid the pitfalls. Creating greater earning potential so we can spend more time doing other things will likely require a period of focus and dedication. Once our efforts begin to pay off we need to avoid the following traps.

* Getting obsessed with earning more, more, and still more.
* Allowing super productivity to become an obsession.
* Forgetting why we chose this course to begin with.
* Slipping into the time is money mindset.
* Enslaving ourselves by continually increasing our spending.
* Thinking that more income changes our worth as a person.
* Endlessly trading the currency of life for mere money.

A synergistic approach

In life, there is either synergy, or there is conflict. The secret to avoiding conflict is to harmonize life’s many aspects so that they exist in a balanced and synergistic relationship with one another. What is required to maintain that sense harmonious balance?

We need to keep the big picture in view and not allow ourselves to become hypnotized by the seductive lure of money. Our precious time is the real commodity of life. Recognizing its immense value will help us to spend it wisely.

How do you see the issue of time and money?
If your productivity saves you time, how will you spend it?
The lines are open!

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If I were to ask you, “how do you feel about success?” What would be your response? Most people would say: I feel great about it, I want more of it, I deserve it, I am working towards it. Why are those feelings so common?

Because most of the people on this planet feel that being successful is a good thing. When they think of succeeding they think of material benefits, they think of happiness, and they think of accomplishment. Certainly, being successful can include all of these things and more.

Now here’s a personal question, what is success?

You see, personal success comes in many different forms and your concept of being successful might not be the same as mine. If you want to be successful in your life, then the very first thing you should do is to take the time to decide exactly what that means to you. Never mind what it means to anyone else, what does it mean to you?

To some people the epitome of being successful is earning a lot of money. In fact society seems to base the whole concept of being successful primarily by how much money a person earns. But society’s definition has more to do with flash than it does with substance. Many so-called successful people are very unhappy in their personal life. So, we need to ask…

Is that what you think of as being successful?

Having a personal definition of what being successful means to you, and then setting goals accordingly, is the only way to make your achievements truly meaningful. Striving to succeed according to somebody else’s standard or definition may win you the admiration of others, but will it bring you a sense of personal accomplishment?

If you want to succeed on a level that makes you feel truly satisfied, then I encourage you to take some time right now to write down your personal definition of success. Be specific for each area of your life. Think about what being financially and emotionally successful would feel like. What kind of relationships would represent successful  relationships to you? Once you’ve achieved some success in these areas, how will you spend your time, your money, and your energy? Who would you spend them with?

Get clear on what succeeding means to you!

If the concept of being personally successful sounds good to you, take the first step today. Discover your personal definition of success and write it down . I promise that you will feel more successful immediately.

Here’s the main point to take away from this article: Success is a multifaceted, personal concept. By defining what that concept represents to you personally, and by taking the time to write it down, you will automatically move your life in that direction.

What areas of life do you want to succeed in?
What role do money, friends, and happiness play in being successful?
How about integrity, honesty, values, love, and compassion?
The lines are open!

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Today I want to share three wonderful articles with you on subjects that directly affect the quality of your life. We are going to talk about money, productivity, and personal outlook.

In this challenging economic environment money is the focus of many conversations. Let’s begin by recognizing that money is probably the most emotionally charged inanimate substance there is. It has it’s own distinct energy.

For some, mixed feelings about money create internal conflict and confusion. This is a breeding ground for limiting beliefs that can interfere with the flow of abundance into our lives. But here’s the thing…

We all need money to function.

My friend and colleague Steve Aitchison wrote a very insightful article covering many of the different aspects of money, and the emotions that surround it. The article is titled: “The Energy of Money and How To Make More of It.” Here’s an excerpt…

“As I said in the beginning of this post we have been programmed to believe the pursuit of money and wealth is not good.  Get rid of this thought as quickly as you can for it will hinder you from making progress in your life’s goal to create more money in your life.  Money is the pathway to freedom for yourself and for others in your life.  You will have the ability to help more people by being wealthy than you will be by being poor.  Think of this for a moment.” [read the article]

About productivity.

Productivity is another area that lends itself to confusion. Is shear will power the secrete to increased productivity, or is there a more natural approach?

Personal development blogger Steve Olson helps us to appreciate the futility of trying to create by force in his article: “The Secret to Getting Things Done: Acceptance, Love, and Patience.” There is some valuable insight in this article that we can all benefit from. Here’s a taste…

We live in a culture where we are taught from our earliest days that problems are solved by the application of force. Popular culture action heroes and athletes delude us into thinking we can create a better world via physical strength, will power, and force. [read the article]

Your personal view of circumstances.

Are you in control of your life, or are you just a victim of circumstance? This is a question that cuts to the heart of the perception we have of our own reality. This week my good friend Stephen Mills dove right into the deep end of this subject. His article: “Stop Being the Victim” is both powerful and straight to the point. Here’s a quote…

When you play the victim and expect others to come to your rescue, you are shutting yourself off from that tremendous power you have to make a difference.  You are creating a self-limiting environment for yourself.  You are failing to be 100% responsible. [read the article]

Well, that’s it for this Friday with Friends.
Before you go, let me ask:

Did you find these articles useful?
Which ones did you like the best?
The lines are open!

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Related Articles:
Friday with Friends – May 15
Friday with Friends – May 29

I recently wrote an article called What is the Good Life Anyway? Many years ago I heard a parable that I wanted to included in the article, but I couldn’t remember the details clearly enough. A short time later I learned that it had been turned into a video.

This is a 3-minute animated movie by New York Times bestselling author Mark Albion. “The Good Life” takes you to a chance meeting between an MBA and a fisherman on a small island. As the MBA tries to teach the fisherman about business, the fisherman teaches him about life. Enjoy!

I found the lesson here to be an excellent reality check with regard to success and the ambitious pursuit of success. We do well to keep the big picture in mind when setting goals and mapping out a plan for the future.

A good place to start is to ask ourselves WHY would I do this and HOW does it support my real goals? Obviously, the fisherman had thought thing through and avoided years of unnecessary and relatively meaningless pursuits. What a great lesson for us all.