If you have a relationship with nothing else in the physical world, you will have a relationship with money. Go through the day and notice how almost every moment of every day is intimately connected with either the getting or spending of money.

In her book “The Energy of Money Dr. Maria Nemeth shares “Money can be a source of great joy and creativity or it can bring frustration and misery depending on our relationship with it. And we bring all these doubts and fears, hopes and expectations with us every time we deal with money – not just when we visit a financial planner or a loan officer, but in every area of our lives.”

What is your relationship with money like? What do you think stands between you and making more?

• Do you feel stuck in everyday routines, having a hard time breaking free and coming up with creative solutions?
• Did you take a risk, leave your job but it hasn’t been smooth sailing since? Sometimes things are up yet most times acquiring business is an ongoing struggle?
• Do you start so many money-making projects with great enthusiasm but lack the necessary follow-through to make things happen?
• Are you afraid to take risks (start your own business, invest, go back to school etc…)?
• Do you feel as if you’re not qualified for a better job?
• Are you unemployed presently and feel discouraged because few companies are actually hiring these days?
• Are you too scared to even think about your future?
• Do you spend as you earn with a sense that you work hard so you deserve to buy whatever you choose even if it means sometimes putting it on your credit card or not having money to pay bills etc?
• Do you feel that you’re too busy to take care of your money the way you should?
• Are you impulsive or have an addictive personality?
• Are you a procrastinator?
• Do you think that because you’ve made stupid choices in the past that you’re now paying for them?
• Do you need money to (start a business / go to school…) but can’t get a loan?
• Do you think that you’ve waited too long and now it’s too late for you to make/save enough and so you’ll NEVER retire?

Regardless of your present situation – the more you sense the hopelessness about it, the more hopeless it will feel. You’ve already started to feel angry, resentful, and powerless over your circumstances.  You’ve probably resigned yourself to making the best of your situation and being grateful for what you DO have. This isn’t wrong thinking per se but are you really giving up in disguise? Settling for a life you know in your heart could be better?

Whatever you’ve identified as standing between you and making more money is what you believe to be true.  If you want to take charge of your money situation you need to first take 100% responsibility for your life and your results. Until you take responsibility, until you reclaim your power, there is nothing that you will be able to change. If you place blame on external circumstances, you’ll remain powerless. Don’t cling to excuses to justify why things are the way they are.

Don’t go searching outside for reasons you’re not succeeding. Be brave and bold and willing to look at and accurately assess your current behaviors. You will never find the success you’re seeking until you stop looking outside yourself and start looking inside.

Let’s get real. Do you hate your job? What parts of it do you hate? Do you hate the work itself? Are you bored or not challenged enough? Do you hate your boss? Is the environment dysfunctional or unprofessional? Do you feel respected or valued? What about the flip side? What do you like about your job? What perks do you enjoy? What privileges do you get? What can you change? Is it possible to shift your focus to something you enjoy better? Have you met with your boss or talked to anyone about your unhappiness or your concerns? Have you ever tried ASKING for what you need?

And now for the hardest question you’ll ever have to contemplate: What role do YOU play in your own circumstances?  This is difficult but to get at the entire truth you must examine your own personal responsibility for the situation you are experiencing. How have you contributed to your own unhappiness in your job? What are you pretending not to notice? How do you creatively sabotage your own success?

People with money struggles have a tendency towards denial. They simply resist accepting what is really going on. Failing to acknowledge the reality of their situation only contributes to making things worse. Author and entrepreneur Rich Schefren says “Denial is dangerous. Sometimes denial takes the form of ‘failing to see.’ Other times we actually SEE it but resist it because we don’t LIKE what we see.”

Give yourself a gift – a wake-up call by answering the questions honestly and writing your answers down in a place that you can reflect and really examine your truth. Examine those behaviors that aren’t taking you where you wish to go. Why hang on to beliefs that keep you imprisoned and unhappy. Remember: What you deny or ignore you delay. What you accept and face you conquer!

How do you go from insight to action? From ideas to results? And how do you do it reliably without getting exhausted? Find out how I support entrepreneurs in mastering &  managing the Brand Called YOU