Think about sex. (No, this isn’t an obscene post. Try to stay with me and keep your mind out of the gutter. wink ) Sex is a universal phenomenon and part of being human. Not to overstate the obvious, but… If it didn’t work for procreation, all life would be doing something else to procreate.
Okay, now think about money, the economy, and what is happening in your life. How many times have you heard the same old tired “rules”?
I am sure you can name a few—pay your self first, make that 13th mortgage payment every year, buy some kind of insurance (disability, life etc) … I am sure you have even heard the same asset allocation rules. As you get older, invest less and less in stocks more and more in “safe” bonds—just to name one asset allocation rule.
Now I want you to think about this: If the rules worked, why are things so messed up? In case your answer is “people didn’t follow the rules” then try again. This is one reason folks are so angry. They did follow the rules and it hasn’t worked.
Who made up the rules?
Who benefits from the rules?
These are two simple questions. Yet when I ask them of my clients, they don’t know. If you have the feeling there is a game being played, and there are rules but you don’t know them all and you don’t know who all the players are, then pay attention. Your intuition is talking to you.
No, this isn’t about being paranoid. A good relationship with money is about asking good questions. Your money relationship is about asking relevant questions—relevant to you, that is. It is not about following someone else’s rules. Especially if the rules are coming from the source that is selling you “the rules”.
Okay, back to sex. Besides procreation, there are many reasons that folks have sex. If you are clear on your reasons (say intimacy in the relationship, or to get the endomorphenes going) you get to have better sex. (I just saved you years of sex therapy. You’re welcome.)
Get clear on the “rules” about money:
Who benefits from the rules?
What kind of player you are in the game?
Which rule, if any, is helpful to you?
Then, you have a better relationship with your money. The “more” money (as in sustainable more money) always comes after the internal relationship is built. Just like good sex always comes from a solid relationship with your self.
