Author: Steven Aitchison
The owner of this blog. Proud father, doting husband, blogger, hire me as freelance writer, and addiction worker
The pursuit of making more money has an energy to it. If you are focused and have clear goals in mind and you concentrate on them every day and take action you can and will create more abundance in your life.
Is money the root of all evil?
We have been programmed to believe that the pursuit of money is bad and it’s not good for the soul. This is without doubt one of the biggest lies we have been told as children, that and Santa Claus (I was gutted when I was told that Santa was a lie and I was 23 imagine how children feel!)
You’ve more than likely heard these sayings in your life:
- ‘Money doesn’t grow on trees you know’
- ‘We can’t afford it’
- ‘Money can’t buy you happiness’
- ‘The rich get richer and the poor get poorer’
- ‘To make more money you have to work harder’
- ‘Money is the root of all evil’
Until you rid yourself of the guilt of trying to better yourself financially you can’t begin to create more money into your life. We’ll speak about four steps to creating more money in your life a bit later but for now I’d like to speak about the difference between greed and making more money.
Greed and money
Thinking of some of my heroes I used to think why would they try and make more money when they obviously don’t need it. I am thinking of people like Richard Branson, James Dyson, Warren Buffet and Tony Robbins to name but a few. However when reading their biographies, watching and listening to them on interviews it is clear their goal is not to make more money but to feel alive by building on their brand and their customer loyalty, with the possible exception of Warren Buffet who is an investment genius. So their goal is not to make more money it is a by-product of their goal of achieving more in their life. They are also philanthropists and they give back a hell of a lot to the world in the form of donations, settings up schools, giving knowledge and time to the younger generation. This is not greed it’s a desire to reach their potential, which is what Abraham Maslow speaks about in his ‘hierarchy of needs’ theory.
Greed is a different animal altogether. Greed is defined in the ‘New Oxford English Dictionary’ as: ‘Intense and selfish desire for something, especially wealth, power or food.’ If your goal is to create more money into your life simply for your own selfish needs then life will be empty after a while. Giving back something to the world in the form of money, knowledge, education, and time is something everyone should strive for, I believe.
Four steps to creating more money in your life
I have learned these lessons the hard way and it has taken me over twenty years to finally be able to understand them, from the beginnings of selling sweets in the playground to where I am now. I still want to make more money and be financially able to do whatever I want but I am closer to my goal than when I first started out.
Step one – Blasting through your limiting beliefs
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:
More money in your life will mean you will buy more, when you buy more it means small and large businesses can stay in business, when they stay in business it means the banks can lend more money to them to expand therefore keeping the banks in business, when the banks are healthy financially it means they can lend more to people for loans and mortgages, when mortgages are purchased it means house builders are thriving, when house builders thrive it means more choice for house buyers and more social housing stock, when there is more social housing stock it means people getting out of poverty and bad housing conditions…………………….this could go on and on.
Look at the situation just now and what has happened to the whole economy because the banks have made poor decisions. However we as a nation are perpetuating the situation by not spending the way we used to and if we are really honest our situation has not really changed we still earn the same monthly income, the price of food is the same, the price of clothes has gone down, the price of cars has gone down so we should be spending the same to keep the economy afloat. However because a global financial crisis is great news for newspapers they print their horror stories and suddenly people have stopped spending, small businesses are going bust, house builders have stopped building and banks have stopped lending. Do you think if the ‘Global Crisis’ was never reported on TV, on the internet or in newspapers we would be in this situation right now, I definitely believe we wouldn’t. Yes this is an overly simplistic view of how the economy works but believe me when I say there are people out there making millions because the herd have listened to the media.
You were born to reach your full potential and that certainly does not mean living in poverty and scrimping and saving to get by in life. There is enough money in the world for everyone to thrive and that includes you. It’s time to open up your mind to the possibilities of making more money.
Step 2 – Creating your future
You can’t row your own boat until you know your destination. You can certainly row someone else’s boat and that is what most of us do in life. We go to school, leave and then go to university, leave and then row someone else’s boat by working for them, then we jump off the boat after 45 years service and retire when it’s almost too late to really enjoy life. That’s not a life it’s an existence.
Rowing your own boat means controlling your own life. yes it also means taking more risks and failing more but you will learn a hell of a lot about the world works and how you work and how to better yourself. To do this you have to know what you want to do with your life, you need dreams to follow, you need a vision to hold and passion to drive you.
Start small, think big and build yourself up from there. What do you want in life?
Now you know what you want you need to know how you get it.
Step 3 – Help someone create their dream
Yours dreams are undoubtedly different from mine however the key to making more money in your life is to help people realise their dreams. What I mean by this is create something or pass on knowledge which will help someone else realise their dream. Now, the dream the other person has might not be huge but if you help them and they are willing to pay for it then you have helped yourself and someone else at the same time. When one person has a dream there are some others who have the same dream.
A fantastic example of this is someone who is selling an ebook right now, you can check it out on Google, called ‘How to build your own chicken coop‘. You might think this is a crazy idea, but the owner of the ebook thought ‘If I wanted to know how to build a chicken coup, there must be others too’. And now there are hundreds of happy people who had a tiny dream to build their own chicken coop and found someone willing to impart their knowledge for a small fee. This book is doing great and making the owner a lot of money.
So you see, people have all different kinds of dreams big and small and if you can help people realise their dreams, big or small you can help yourself create more money in your life and help people around the world.
Step 4 – Once you’ve made it it’s time to share it
I am nowhere near this stage yet but it is my ultimate goal that when I have become wealthy enough to have anything I want in life I will share my successes and teach people how they can emulate my success. And I will do this freely to people who have not made it yet and charge for it to businesses who are in the latter stages of step 3. This way the knowledge is always going round and being shared and I cannot think of a better way to enrich the world than by sharing knowledge on how to better create more money in people’s lives.
{ 20 comments… read them below or add one }
I agree completely Steve. Money is a tool, neither good nor evil. BTW, nice to see you back.
Can you read Chinese?
Jackie Chia’s great blog post..Blue Man Group on Global Warming
Another great post. I think #3 alludes to Value. Provide value and you ill always be wealthy. Also its ironic you brought up eBook because we have the same thinking. Last weekend I twittered and freindfeed over 100 tweet idea’s for eBooks.
Darren Scott Monroe’s great blog post..How NOT to Flush Your Brand Down The Toilet
I agree, it’s necessary to free yourself from conditioning such as, “It’s dirty to have a lot of money.” (A typical European outlook)
With the right mindset, everything is possible…
Great post +_+
Money is not evil. They always bring goodness to everyone. But for some case they make some people become evil. But the money itself is still pure.
Bertholemeuw’s great blog post..AN ESSENTIAL MARKETING PRINCIPLE: GIVE BEFORE YOU TRY TO GET
Having enough money to meet ones needs comfortably, while not having so much as to be indulgent is the key to content in terms of materialism.
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Nice article Steve. Money is the most emotionally charged inanimate object there is. As you pointed out, limiting beliefs about money have a substantial influence on our financial reality. I really appreciate the way you approached this whole topic, thank you.
Jonathan – Advanced Life Skills’s great blog post..The 5 Dimensions of Knowledge
Very nice article Steve. I think there’s alot of credibility to what you’ve said here. Yesterday I was talking to my dad about limiting beliefs and the book Virus of the mind and ironically(he’s a virologist), he thought it was nonsense and replied “not everybody can be Bill Gates.” I think these kind of limitations are exactly what hold us back in terms of money.
Srinivas Rao’s great blog post..Filter your reality through empowering beliefs
Nice post.
The point about “…the pursuit of money and wealth is not good” being a limiting believe to break out of is very true, although it’s always important to remember that money and wealth do not necessarily equate to happiness –
- which leads well to your point around goals, because happiness is always going to be linked to your own personal motivations, and wealth is at least going to help provide you with the resources to achieve your goals and thus be happy.
I also like the point about contributing back. This is something people often struggle with – myself included – but we are social beings and helping others is one of the most rewarding things we can do. It also often leads to further success because those people will help you in return, or spread the good word, leading to further opportunities and successes.
Paul’s great blog post..Unique Bogging: 5 Top Ways To Add A Personal Touch To All Of Your Blog Posts
Yes Steve, money ain’t evil. I’m at step 3 now, joining my friends, complementing each other’s skills to create a product of great value and importance to a niche. I like what you mentioned about step 2 on creating own future.
Let’s say that I’m one of those who ain’t gonna wait till life is almost over before I start living. How bout ya?
Daniel Richard’s great blog post..Psst… Secret Of “The Kaizen Project” Is Out!
I also agree with step 2, we are the masters of our own destiny. Achieving your goals and taking pride in your achievements (as well as enjoying the financial reward that comes along with this) is nothing to be ashamed of.
Deep opinions! I totally agree with you.The human being want to get large wealth through their hard work.Money is a necessity in human’s life.
Want of money makes people more greedy. Money is to be considered as a tool to just keep on ‘life’ better in various aspects. Greedy is the root for all evils1
Money does not automatically bring happiness, but it certainly does give you options.
One of the best of those is the ability to help others.
very informative sharing.. thanks for the lovely post.
thanks for a good information about it.
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Very nice and thought provoking article. Greed is a strange beast indeed but I agree that it is perfectly healthy to want more financial security without having to embark on a selfish pursuit only for personal gain. However, I think that globalization has altered the way that such pursuits manifest themselves. If your income comes from the community immediately around you it is clearer that promoting strong and considerate relationaships with your neighbors is more profitable in the long run. But if you never come ‘face-to-face’ with those who may be worse off from your advancements then it is easier to neglect the negative implications that your gains may inflict on others.
baby gender predictor’s great blog post..Chinese Lunar Pregnancy Calendar – Fact, Fiction or Fun?
Money is a mean to an end, not an end in itself.
I completely agree with your argument Steve. In terms of money and happiness, I tend to believe it true that money can buy happiness. Of course it certainly doesn’t mean that you can always be happy without money.
Just came across your blog and really agree with this post – especially in the current climate when money and financial issues are uppermost in people’s minds. In my work I’m finding that the link between money and fears around losing the security that people perceive it gives them causes many to stay ’stuck’. Your point about needing to take more risks and failing more is key, and can give people so much greater control over their lives – rather than fears around money controlling them!
Your point about Richard Branson and others focusing on what they want to achieve not to make more money but as a by-product of their goal of achieving more in their life is also an important point. I’m sure some would think that “they would say that wouldn’t they” with all their wealth, but that would be to miss the important point that they got what they focused on and thus the money followed. Another point I often make to people when they are anxious about money is that “money is not the only currency”, and by focusing attention on other areas of their life, they soon realise how ‘rich’ they are.
I look forward to reading more of your posts …
Tamsin/nudgeme
Thanks for the insightful post. As you point out, without reprogramming the subconscious to replace your limiting beliefs, all else is futile.
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