Category: Money Mastery


Growing into a Mountain

“I am here for a purpose and that purpose is to grow into a mountain, not to shrink to a grain of sand. Henceforth I will apply ALL my efforts to become the highest mountain of all and I will strain my potential until it cries for mercy.” ~ Og Mandino 1923-1996, Author

IMAG2431View from Stoos, Schwyz, Switzerland

Reecently I was asked to make a promise, a commitment, to 3 of the most important people in my life about the vision of the life I would love to create, the why that drives me and the key goal I am actioning to to make that real. The idea is to create accountability.

Over the past few years I have come on a journey which has pushed me to drop away from needing the support and opinions of other people – and in fact have just unravalled yet another thread of that and I am sure there are more – to get to a place where I am first and foremost accountable to me and my heart.

In the space after I was asked to make that promise I observed the arousal of a bevy of voices. The first argued for the safety of keeping my visions under wraps until goals are successfully achieved before announcing them with fanfare. An option that also allows for goals that falter to be swept neatly under the carpet of failed achievements, keeping life nice and orderly.

Then there was the voice that honed in on the definition of ‘important people’ now who might they be? I don’t have a partner or children, all of my family live in another country and friends well yes I do have some of those but how would I work out who the most important three would be? Obviously this is a dead end street that takes me way off track, a muddy road with spinning wheels.

And then there is the voice that cuts through that smoke screen but posits why would I bother anyone on a busy weekday morning to wax lyrically about some vague vision, a grandiose why and a goal that I have been struggling consciously to achieve for over 5 years?

There are the friends who love me, who would tolerate this and would murmur silky words of encouragement. There are the friends who would humour me but chuckle at my quirkiness and want to get a date in the diary for the next hooley, my Mother who thinks I am wonderful as long as I am happy and eating, my ever pragmatic sister-in-law who just might use the f-word and there are members of my long puzzling family whose response would range from stoic silence to enraged pronouncements of my ever growing list of failures.

My choices to go for succour and sustenance or hell fire and brimstone. In that space the voice of caution and safety in the house carpeted over the underlay of dead dreams is winning out. My head space is choca block with playing out potential, possible and certain scenarios while my vision, my goal and my action plan go on the back burner. Yes I have been down both roads before and neither appeal so rather than stand stuck at this crossroads my choice is a middle way.  I am blogging my deepest internal machinations; my fear of rejection, the incontrovertible evidence of my past that demonstrates my incapability, my lack of will, backbone, consistency, energy, my ever sparky heart that clings to the fantasy because I know from experience that my thoughts and feelings are not a true reflection of reality.  I fervently believe that the most important person to be accountable to is ME and I know that I am fessing up to that more and more but I also choose to be seen out in the world so despite the voices I hereby share with you the vision for my life, my big why and what I am focusing on to make that happen.

My vision is to be fully alive IN life; to create a beautiful home base with space in nature, to actualise an intimate relationship with a partner and my family. To work on projects that serve me and others to be fully alive IN life, to do what brings me joy; travelling, writing, sharing my experiences, peeling away the layers of the onion of life for myself and with others. To create a solid tangible sense of who I am in the world, product perhaps like my apps, or books or both! To take responsibility for whatever I create and to engage my will to take wise action to keep me on track to my TRUE end results. To continually step into the void to find out more about the REAL me, to know that journey is never ending, it is all about fine tuning.

My why is to play full out; to wring out every bit of my talent and essence without worrying about what the crowd has to say, without concern about being logical or rational, without fearing the consequences.

The goal I commit to is to increase my wealth by claiming and activating my talents. It calls me to own what gives me joy and to trust that joy is all I need.

This post was inspired by Ann Wilson, The Wealth Chef’s 30 Day Money Makeover Challenge which I love because of the internal dialogue that it brings up and this is where I am getting my learnings and my insights.

Travelling Abroad: Money Smarts

Overseas_wallet2Over the past two years travel has become a more integral part of my life and slowly but surely I am getting smarter about it.  There is a top ten tips blog bubbling about in my consciousness but in the meantime while that percolates and comes to fruition I am inspired to share this informative blog from the very sensible Martin Lewis – A Peek Inside My Overseas Wallet.

To receive unbiased money savings tips from Martin sign up to his Money Savings Expert newsletter – he is my go-to money man.

Photograph: Courtesy of www.moneysavingexpert.com

How To Truly Value Yourself

IMAG0992A is for Anne

I blogged about my personal adventure with The Money Shaman free eCourse some weeks ago.  I started this year knowing that my relationship with money was not serving me.  For over 20 years I worked as project manager and consultant in leading edge technology; for big corporates and small software houses.  I served up solutions designed by management consultants and dabbled in start up investment and mentoring.  I freelanced; chose my contracts, my hours and in many cases worked from home.  I earned great money. I could take time out to travel the world, to do a Masters degree and generally indulge myself.

But there was a niggle; I was always dancing to someone else’s tune.  All the work I did was about increasing productivity and efficiency, it was called transformational; businesses were changed, staff surplus to requirements or not able to cope with the new technology were made redundant, work became more automated, less personal.  My excitement about the creativity at the leading edge of the technology revolution was tarnished by the perversion of it to serve pursuits of money and power.

The transformation I am truly interested in is that of the human spirit through the courage of the human heart.  Since I chose that journey I have stepped away from the structures that have defined my value and have struggled to grasp it on my own.  Even though I am doing what I love I have seen my bank balance plummet.

Wealth does not equal money but neither do I believe that it excludes money.  I create financial magic in my day to day life and regularly experience living abundantly but I do have debt, a mortgage and projects I want to invest in.  Money is a reality in the world I live in, resisting it turns it into the elephant in the living room.  I read blogs and articles to expand my possibilities so the title and a cursory read of Davide’s latest blog How To Truly Value Yourself struck a chord.  What I hadnt accounted for was the impact of sharing this article, receiving unexpected feedback and then being compelled to revisit it and question what truly resonated for me.

It is easy to put my focus on the failings of any article e.g. spelling mistakes, projections on to others, assumptions I dont agree with and Davide’s is no different or I can dive into it, immersing myself and choosing to come out the other side with pearls of wisdom to add to my treasure chest.

So here we go http://www.themoneyshaman.com/index.php/money-shaman-blog

I love Davide’s idea that when we undervalue our gifts and talents we will get an ass kicking from the Universe; not because of any sadistic desire to have little old me ass-kicked by King Kong (the 3D version of which is incidentally an Universal Studios production) but because of the feedback loop; that the value I put on myself is reflected back to me.   To conclude that my current financial situation is a direct reflection of how I value myself serves me to look at what I am responsible for rather than railing against external circumstances or buying into believing that I am inherently wrong or valueless.

So when Davide talks about working with tyre-kickers or time wasters, I see that too as a direct reflection of how I value myself.  So when one of my followers pointed out – ‘to label anyone a ‘tyre-kicker’ and a ‘waste of time’, is to deny our common humanity and results in cutting both myself and the other person short’ I had to own that projecting these definitions onto others becomes a strategy to avoid the pain of my choice to put my energy into an activity or relationship that is not fully aligned with my heart.  Ouch.

Poignant as that realisation is there is more.  I cannot engage experientially with the rest of Davide’s blog precisely because I am not currently working with anyone who doesnt value what I offer.  Painfully that is not because I have it all sorted but because the number of paid client hours I do is a tiny percentage of the time available to me.  Much of what I do is tilling the garden of what I want to create; the invisible iceberg – you cant see the books I am writing, or apps and online product I am bubbling into being, you wont see my nascent workshops being advertised – yet – or the itinerary of my next adventure but it is all here with me in my studio of curiosity and creativity.  But, there is also time spent in distraction, dreaming and avoidance of visibly standing in my own authority.

What is obvious is that I would LOVE more hours working with clients who get what I bring to the table, to harvest what I sow; not just to test the next level of Davide’s blog but to powerfully wield the premise that the value I put on myself is the value I will receive; to master heart centred calibration, to channel my essence to where it serves and pour my life force into bringing and creating value.

The Money Shaman: Day 7

Money – the elephant in the living room. What good is finding your mojo or following your heart if the money stuff is not sorted out?! At the beginning of 2013 I made a choice to master money. I wasnt sure where that choice would take me but by planting that seed in my subconscious mind I became aware of the underlying assumptions about money that were perpetuating my poverty mind set. Now I dont have the answers but I have started to go exploring. I have found a free 7 day online course http://www.themoneyshaman.com/ from Davide De Angelis, The Money Shaman and want to share the daily challenges that I am receiving.

I am not suggesting or recommending this course but I want to invite you to see what blocks and questions are coming up for you and then what learnings, lessons and guidance might come your way.
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DAY SEVEN: The Money Shaman FREE, money challenge ecourse
Although this blog is a day by day report on my experiences of the course it took me almost a week to get to look at the final download of the ecourse. An interesting observation in itself. So close to getting the final piece of the money puzzle I had to acknowledge the fears in my unconscious mind; that this was my last chance to understand money, if I didnt get it this time there would be no hope for me, or perhaps this is an elaborate marketing ruse to get me to spend money to learn more or worse still there is no answer – no solution to my cack-handed ability to handle and manage money. On the other hand there was the consideration that I would get the answer and then I would have to get off my tush, pull up my socks get into action. Time to take a deep breathe!

The big message today is that I cant solve my financial problems by focusing on money. At first glance this looks like a paradox, a contradiction but as I have shared before I am learning to say ‘what if’ when I come across statements that I dont understand and noticing that willingness to be open exposes me to the gold. So if I cant solve my financial problems by focusing on the money what can I do? The advise is to apply creativity to the solution. Now, as the material points out, the fear and stress of financial issues are not conducive states for creative thinking. As a coach I have tools that allow me shift the power in situations of acute stress from that stress to a place of creativity but not everyone has easy access to these tools so I think the advise that is on offer here is far more powerful than it may at first seem. The invitation is to connect with others to see others as your resevoir of creativity and practical acumen. A discerning factor here is around who you ask; not everyone is best placed to serve you. Consider someone who you respect who has negotiated difficult circumstances or apparently created something out of nothing. Personally I believe it is invaluable to take a few minutes to centre yourself and invite your heart to inform you who could be an advisor. You may be surprised who comes to mind. Secondly I invite you to consider your state; to acknowledge your fears about being vulnerable or the panic of desparation; you are a powerful magnificient being who does not need to be fixed. You are inviting creative ideas and solutions you are not asking to be saved. Choose to receive all the ideas that come your way however ridiculous or mundane you may find them. Something fantastical may occur to you immediately but if it doesnt be aware of what goes on for you, acknowledging the thoughts and feelings that are coming up, allow them to settle and then take some time to check in with your heart to see what gold has risen to the surface.

There is a simplicity in the advise in this last message but my experience is that the foundation of the past six days allows me to receive the paradox of the message that I cannot create my money problems by focusing my attention there – that where I put my focus will create my reality. And from there I get to ask the question where would I love to put my focus? It is no surprise that there is an invitation at this point to sign up to a 7 week course. Sure we could consider that as a strategic marketing ploy but the truth is that this past 7 days is purely foundational. The ability to be able to switch the focus from the need to survive financially to what we love to create is not a one stop job, it requires commitment to mastery. This is the focus of my own coaching practise for myself and my clients so I know I can use my own tool box with the foundational principles of this eCourse to deepen my relationship with the energy of money and for that I am grateful to Davide, The Money Shaman. It doesnt ring true for me to sign up to the Money Innovation course but it may do for you. Regardless if you are reading this and you have a charge around money I invite you to follow the golden threads of learning that come your way; there is no right way, no one size fits all solution, we are each very unique beings with individual journies in this world.

The Money Shaman: Day 6

Money – the elephant in the living room. What good is finding your mojo or following your heart if the money stuff is not sorted out?! At the beginning of 2013 I made a choice to master money. I wasnt sure where that choice would take me but by planting that seed in my subconscious mind I became aware of the underlying assumptions about money that were perpetuating my poverty mind set. Now I dont have the answers but I have started to go exploring. I have found a free 7 day online course http://www.themoneyshaman.com/ from Davide De Angelis, The Money Shaman and want to share the daily challenges that I am receiving.

I am not suggesting or recommending this course but I want to invite you to see what blocks and questions are coming up for you and then what learnings, lessons and guidance might come your way.
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DAY SIX: The second last day of The Money Shaman FREE, money challenge ecourse.

I have been experiencing some nice expansiveness around abundance and money. A big realisation so far is that what I may love to have in my life may have a price tag but that doesnt mean I have to pay for it. In my mind I conflate the price of something and the thing itself. I suspect that ‘Money Intelligence’ which is the topic for today is about realising the nuances of underlying assumptions like this one which means that because I dont have money then I cannot possibly think about spending it. Just seeing that written down makes me think what tosh is that! If I dont think about I would love because I believe the only way for it to come to me is through money that I think what is obvious is that I will never get it! It wont be in my consciousness, I wont have truly engaged in the truth of it for me.

This reminds me of a recent Facebook post from a friend of a sports car he spotted with a base price tag of plus £80K. He protested that he is not a materialistic kind of guy and I could feel his discomfort coveting something so expensive. I reflected back to him that his heart’s love of precision engineering and aesthetic made it heart stoppingly beautiful. Seeing the truth of that he can be more connected with something that he loves. And in that space he doesnt have to own it to receive the abundance of it.

The invitation today is to stop searching for the one thing that will bring money and abundance to you. The BIG BANG, the one and only realisation. What I get from my musings is that by slowly and surely seeing and feeling abundance in the moment, by gently peeling away the layers of our assumptions about money as I am doing we shift the power from seeing the world in a small limiting way to a big expansive way and we arriving at a multi-dimensional relationship with abundance and money is just one element of it.

I invite you, if you choose, to download David’s ecourse not so much to read what he writes but to see what you think about what he writes. Notice what that little voice in your head says and notice when your thoughts are expansive and when they limit and contract. When they limit and contract ask yourself what that is about and see what floats into your consciousness. Interesting stuff I guarantee when you choose to engage.

The Money Shaman: Day 5

Money – the elephant in the living room. What good is finding your mojo or following your heart if the money stuff is not sorted out?! At the beginning of 2013 I made a choice to master money. I wasnt sure where that choice would take me but by planting that seed in my subconscious mind I became aware of the underlying assumptions about money that were perpetuating my poverty mind set. Now I dont have the answers but I have started to go exploring. I have found a free 7 day online course http://www.themoneyshaman.com/ from Davide De Angelis, The Money Shaman and want to share the daily challenges that I am receiving.

I am not suggesting or recommending this course but I want to invite you to see what blocks and questions are coming up for you and then what learnings, lessons and guidance might come your way.
money-dynamics-pack2
DAY FIVE: The Money Shaman FREE, money challenge ecourse.

So there I was going deeper, feeling what abundance is and playing with possibility all off the back of the challenge for day four and somehow I lost track of the time. Truth be told I was juggling some logistics so didnt have the time to sit, read and absorb day five but I was also just a little bowled over by being treated to lunch unexpectedly by a friend and winning in a competition I didnt even realise I had entered. The prize a £250 ticket to a weekend workshop I had been planning to attend. Neither of these things have made me financially rich but they have certainly enriched my life. A very nice way to step into the lesson for day five which invites me first to check in with myself and see how working in a more connected way is opening things up for me. Well I can say check to that! I am curious to know if others have that experience – or just myself and Davide ‘The Money Shaman’ De Angelis?

And now I am invited to move towards the part of me that knows what to do and see that treating money as a partner in my journey through life is in line with this inner wisdom. Well I am immediately triggered to be told there is a part of me that knows what to do. I am not sure about that at all but I will hang with the tension and move to the next consideration – that of a partnership with money. Partnerships require investment, investment of time and energy so it is no surprise that the challenge is to make the committment to invest; However it is not about investing in money, it is an invitation to invest in pleasure; being fully present to life and directing my attention to feeling and experiencing pleasure. I become aware that I consider pleasure of any kind a luxury and a light goes on as I see my assumption that luxury and money are inextricably linked. Um a little lie has been revealed. The beauty of that revelaton is I am drawn to the pleasure of a long soak in the bath, my supper of home made burgers and roast veg, watering the garden in the evening gloaming and curling up on the sofa in the wonderful home I am caretaking this week to watch a movie that I have been meaning to watch for ages with a glass of wine. I dont have to spend a penny to receive any of that!

So here is to investing in life – again and again and again!

The Money Shaman: Day 4

Money – the elephant in the living room. What good is finding your mojo or following your heart if the money stuff is not sorted out?! At the beginning of 2013 I made a choice to master money. I wasnt sure where that choice would take me but by planting that seed in my subconscious mind I became aware of the underlying assumptions about money that were perpetuating my poverty mind set. Now I dont have the answers but I have started to go exploring. I have found a free 7 day online course http://www.themoneyshaman.com/ from Davide De Angelis, The Money Shaman and want to share the daily challenges that I am receiving.

I am not suggesting or recommending this course but I want to invite you to see what blocks and questions are coming up for you and then what learnings, lessons and guidance might come your way.
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DAY FOUR: The Money Shaman FREE, money challenge ecourse.

No matter how hard we work to fix or improve our ability to make or hold on to money if we dont understand the engrained thoughts that informing our subconscious mind our results will be short lived. From a very young age we make up beliefs about ourselves and our relationship with the world and those around us. These beliefs will have the power until we shed light on them. And we all know what happens to demons when they are brought into the iight!

Todays invitation is to go deeper – to go beyond the surface and see what assumptions are sabotaging you. My suggestion is to get a sheet of paper, draw a line down the middle. Title on side LIES and the other TRUTHS. On the side of lies write all the statements you believe about money and your relationship to it – e.g. money comes through hard work, money is complicated, it is easier to be poor than to be rich, I am not good with money – what ever you can think of. See how these statements make you feel – for the most part I think you will feel constricted, depressed, fearful. The next step is to play a game – look at each lie and in the TRUTHS column write what you would like the truth to be e.g. I am a money magnet, I love having money, I love living abundantly. Now you may not think they are true but imagine if they were – how would you feel – light, happy, expansive?

The Money Shaman tells us that when we can truly feel what this abundance is – the lightness and possibility of it as it moves through us it will healing. Having played with this I know what he means and I for one am having a the experience of a very abundant day today in a beautiful sunny London even though my purse is light.

So my invitation is to go deeper and to play with possibility!

The Money Shaman: Day 3

Money – the elephant in the living room. What good is finding your mojo or following your heart if the money stuff is not sorted out?! At the beginning of 2013 I made a choice to master money. I wasnt sure where that choice would take me but by planting that seed in my subconscious mind I became aware of the underlying assumptions about money that were perpetuating my poverty mind set. Now I dont have the answers but I have started to go exploring. I have found a free 7 day online course http://www.themoneyshaman.com/ from Davide De Angelis, The Money Shaman and want to share the daily challenges that I am receiving.

I am not suggesting or recommending this course but I want to invite you to see what blocks and questions are coming up for you and then what learnings, lessons and guidance might come your way.
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DAY THREE: The Money Shaman FREE, money challenge ecourse.

There are good days and bad days; days when money is flush and days when it is scarce. Todays challeng is to see every moment as a choice to embrace life, to move towards love. Love and money is an interesting combination. When I am short of money or dealing with a money issue love isnt the first thing that comes to mind but I am willing to take on this challenge and today is a perfect day for it. I have been successfully practising not spending or at least consciously spending since the beginning of the year. I now have many days when I dont spend. Those days make me feel great but like Pavlovs dog I now associate spending with pain. Today I had two opportunities to check in with this challenge.

Firstly I get a call to meet someone I have been avoiding. A long term friend who for various reasons I have got out of sync with. You know how it is. It would have been so easy to say no I havent got money to go to lunch but instead I said yes. What I discovered was a very courageous friend who was willing to own how badly she had handled things the past few mths. This opened up a space of honest discussion about what our friendship is about, the choice to see the past as over and to have a relationship that is about supporting each other to be true to ourselves. Now that is richness.

The second opportunity was a gift for my Mum on a special birthday. I knew what I wanted to buy but I didnt think I could spare the money as I am ekking out my income. The truth is I do have the money TODAY. If I spend it may mean that I dont have the money next week and that is what scares me and creates pain. Now that I have that gift I know how much she will enjoy it and that is pleasure indeed.

What I discovered was that making a choice in the light of love didnt necessarily reduce the pain but it felt like the higher choice; the pain is irrelevant. The joy of creating more love leaves me far more buoyant & expansive. And I am willing to see where that leads to. What about you – how can you implement this challenge?

The Money Shaman: Day 2

Money – the elephant in the living room. What good is finding your mojo or following your heart if the money stuff is not sorted out?! At the beginning of 2013 I made a choice to master money. I wasnt sure where that choice would take me but by planting that seed in my subconscious mind I became aware of the underlying assumptions about money that were perpetuating my poverty mind set. Now I dont have the answers but I have started to go exploring. I have found a free 7 day online course http://www.themoneyshaman.com/ from Davide De Angelis, The Money Shaman and want to share the daily challenges that I am receiving.

I am not suggesting or recommending this course but I want to invite you to see what blocks and questions are coming up for you and then what learnings, lessons and guidance might come your way.
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DAY TWO: The Money Shaman FREE, money challenge ecourse.

Today I am told if I am having problems with money it’s almost a given that I will be experiencing high levels of anxiety and in this space my brain’s natural response mechanism to danger is constantly being triggered. This may make sense if I am being chased by a wild animal but does it make sense when my credit card bill is having the same effect as being chased by a tiger? In my case having ducked my obligations for the time being it is more a case of lying in the ditch breathing through a straw and waiting for the tiger to pass. In the best case it is a bit of a long wait with a bit of foot rot, in the worst case I am eaten by piranahs. In neither case am I creating much of any consequence. So on to the challenge.

The invitation today is to become more flexible – to see my situation as not being fixed. The end result to become an expert at changing rules and moving the goal posts. Now my first thought is one of brain freeze as I become aware of just how fixed I think my money and in fact most of the situations in my life are fixed. I know my focus creates reality so as I play that one out there is no hope of change. When my focus are that things are fixed then they will stay fixed! My second thought is HOW do I become more flexible? I dont know! Yikes. A good job that I know about choosing. Choosing is a very powerful action – just think about choosing tea over coffee; you choose what you want, you take action and viola a cuppa cha. So what I have decided to do is to CHOOSE in all my dealings with money today to see the rules and goal posts and choose to play with them. What if there were different rules and goal posts. It may not sound like much but it is a start. I invite you to do the same – practise CHOOSING.

The Money Shaman: Day 1

Money – the elephant in the living room. What good is finding your mojo or following your heart if the money stuff is not sorted out?! At the beginning of 2013 I made a choice to master money. I wasnt sure where that choice would take me but by planting that seed in my subconscious mind I became aware of the underlying assumptions about money that were perpetuating my poverty mind set. Now I dont have the answers but I have started to go exploring. I have found a free 7 day online course http://www.themoneyshaman.com/ from Davide De Angelis, The Money Shaman and want to share the daily challenges that I am receiving.

I am not suggesting or recommending this course but I want to invite you to see what blocks and questions are coming up for you and then what learnings, lessons and guidance might come your way.
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DAY ONE: The Money Shaman FREE, money challenge ecourse.

The challenge I received was over the next 7 days to see what it is that comes easily to me, what is my second nature. My first thoughts are dreaming, reading, sleeping, thinking, writing, nattering on Facebook………..
Now what is interesting is that acknowledging these things that come easily to me doesnt make me feel better but rather makes me feel worse! How do I make money out of any of these talents – and how could they be talents anyway?! What I am really receiving in this challenge is that if we find it hard to see value in what is second nature to us then we avoid the pain of acknowledging what it is that puts us at ease and in the process avoid the possibility of engaging in who we truly are. I can feel my resistance to do this challenge for one more minute not to mind one more day. But I have been learning that there is gold on the other side of pain.

I invite you too to see what is your second nature and to acknowledge the thoughts and feelings that come up in that space.