Your Money or Your Life

As I travel around from country to country, working with and talking to my various personal development clients, I am struck by the number of people who are doing what they’re doing for the money. In asking them what they would do with their life if money were no object, few tell me that they would keep doing what they are currently doing. My anecdotal evidence seems to be backed up by the extent to which the vast majority of normal people don’t like their work. Various European surveys indicate that approximately two thirds of people fall into this category whilst a recent US survey suggested that as much as 80% of people simply do not like doing what they’re doing “for a living”.

The key question for you is, if money were no object, how would you change your life? And what would it take for you to believe that money is no object? These are big questions that seem to exercise a lot of people’s minds. An Irish Times survey in Ireland last year concluded that “financial freedom” ranked right at the top of the goals when it came to young to middle-aged male workers. In addition, there is also plenty of evidence to suggest that many people never have enough money – and those that have a lot always want more! At this point it must be said that, if you are constantly striving for more then you are effectively living in a state of constant of dissatisfaction. This is very much in line with what all the various different surveys, coming at the subject of money or ‘financial freedom’ from a variety of different angles, conclude.

Of course, this yearning for financial security or financial freedom is unattainable. This craving is nothing more than a state of mind for the vast majority of people in the developed world. Those that already are earning a reasonable income already have enough money. But, as a result of this craving, they are, quite literally, not living but merely going through the motions of living. Unfortunately, the evidence that I have gathered over the last fourteen years, together with that of major surveys and research, suggests that people would only start living life to the full if money were no object. What is even more sobering is that, in asking the question of my clients in a different manner – ‘how would you spend the next three months if you’d only three months to live?’ – it appears that people will only consider putting the quality of their life first when they know that time is running out.

But the reality is that time is in fact running out. This moment is unique – it will never be repeated. The opportunity to be happy today will simply never come again. And this yearning is being perpetuated by an overbearing focus on money emanating from those who, if they were true to their calling, should know better. In my view, and undue emphasis is placed on money and financial freedom by the self-help and personal development industry. All you have to do is look at the websites, books and articles that suggest that you can become a millionaire by following some pat formula or that you can treble your income effortlessly. First of all, this is clearly nonsense, there is no such thing as a magic bullet, nor does money flow by simply believing it will flow. You have got to take the appropriate action to create your happiness and success.

That said, the reality of it is – and, again, I have the evidence from both my own work and research to prove it – that, with the right state of mind, money is no more than a hygiene factor that will, indeed, simply look after itself if you’re prepared to put the quality of your life first. This means that you must abandon all thought of money, you must abandon all related worry. You must wholeheartedly do what you’re supposed to be doing now with no ulterior motive involved, with no clawing dissatisfaction regarding what you perceive as your current lack. You must abandon all useless thought regarding about so-called financial freedom. After all, the world works on the basis of how you invest your energy. Invest it in perceived lack or the dissatisfaction that is borne out of a constant striving for that elusive goal of so-called financial freedom and what do you think you will get in return.

The direct consequence of being focused on the job in hand, for the sake of doing the job in hand to the very best of your ability is that you will be rewarded accordingly. If I receive comments in reply to this article to the effect that life isn’t that fair, this perception is, in itself a useless and self-defeating thought whose energy is creating ongoing lack. On the other hand, if you are prepared to dive headlong into the business of living life to the full, if you are prepared to forget about money as an all consuming driving force, then you will find that not only will you live more, but you will have all the money that you need to do it.