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Archive for the ‘Money and Spirituality’ Category

It’s 3am and you can’t sleep.  You’re thinking about how you’re gonna shuffle the money around to keep gas in the car, food in the fridge and a roof over your head.

It’s not the first time you’ve had a night like this.  And you’re tired.  Of living.  Like this.

Dark_Stars

First let me say that I’ve had more money induced worries than your average person.  While I am VERY grateful for my steady business now, you could say that I spent several years in training to write this post. That said, here’s How to Say Goodbye to the 3am Money Worries:

1) Understand what the worry wants. In our modern culture, money is equated with both safety and comfort.  So, when you’re not easily paying your bills, the emotions can be intense.

Because it’s uncomfortable to feel emotions like worry and fear, the tendency is to try and push these feelings away.  This doesn’t work.  In fact, it’s setting yourself up for the next 3am worry attack.

Instead of seeing it as something bad or wrong, acknowledge that the worry has a purpose. It’s your nervous system saying, “Something needs to change.”  When you accept this need for change, your nervous system can start to relax.

2) Work on your Tailenders. I invite you to complete this sentance: “I want to change my money situation, but ___.”

In EFT lingo, everything after the word but is  called your tailender.   Your tailenders keep you stuck in the same belief systems and behaviors that have created your current money situation.

3) Polish your entreprenurial skills. Whether you own your own business or work for someone else, your income will grow faster when you recognize that there are always opportunities around you.  Entrepreneurs are people who say YES to the most exciting and aligned opportunities.

It’s time to say goodbye to spending your nights worrying.  Instead, refocus your energy on learning what you need to create high paying work that you enjoy.  I did it.  My clients are doing it.  You can do it too!

A funny thing happened while writing this post.  I was going to write about a completely different topic – with lots of people searching for it on Google.  It was going to be BIG!

Cow Dung Sculpture by Kripamoya Das

Cow Dung Sculpture by Kripamoya Das

Then, I hit one of those walls.  You know, the 3 foot thick cement ones with 5″ inch spikes ready to impale any living being silly enough to come close.  My vibration was about as pleasant as a fresh cow patty. Pretty stinky ..

The first step back into the Vortex

When the Law of Attraction doesn’t seem to be working, what’s really going on is that we’re not in what  Abraham-Hicks calls the “Vortex” (athletes call it “the Zone”).  That’s why my writing progress melted faster than ice cream in the July desert – I got knocked out of the Vortex.

The first step back into the Vortex is counter-intuitive. It’s to admit that we’re stuck without using  some kind of a Middle Ages torture device on ourselves.

If you’re familiar with EFT, here’s a few setup phrases that can help:

1) Even though I’m not in the Vortex and I wish I were, I’m willing to be kinder and more gentle with myself.

2) Even though I’m feeling ____ about getting knocked out of the Vortex, I choose to be more compassionate with myself anyway.

3) Even though I feel ___ about being stuck AGAIN, I accept myself a little more anyway.

Whether you use EFT or not, you want to get the point where you can say, “I’m stuck” with a certain amount of acceptance. Paradoxically, once you can admit you’re stuck, things can start to flow a bit more.

You can’t bypass the negative feelings

One of the myths about the Law of Attraction is that we’re only supposed to think happy thoughts and feel pleasant feelings. This belief is a manifestation buster.

When we’re stuck, there are always negative emotions involved. The definition of the Vortex is when we’re living our lives in a state of optimism, hope, and joy.  It’s impossible to be in this state and completely stuck at the same time.

In a recent post called, Breaking Up in the Vortex, Master LOA Coach Jeanette Maw talks about her emotional journey during the ending of a relationship.  She describes the need to feel the despair, blame, anger and disappointment about the breakup.  After several days of this, she says:

And get this: after being willing to fully feel all the not-so-nice stuff, I got beautiful access to the higher vibrations!  (It always surprises me how well that turns out!)

I had the same experience with my writing today.  Instead of struggling on, I acknowledged that I was stuck and went out to the river behind the house.  Five minutes into the walk, I noticed strong feelings of frustration in my body.  I sat by the river and gave myself some time to feel them.  Within 5 minutes they were gone and I started noticing how many of the thousands of recently planted trees were leafing out. I had shifted to a vibration of appreciation.

I came back to blogging with this much higher vibration and things flowed much easier.  In total, I was away from the computer for about 15 minutes.

I’m curious about your experience with this.  What has worked for you when you’ve gotten knocked out of the Vortex?


To be honest, it’s hard for me to write an objective review of this book.  Why?  Because in the spring of 2009, I visited the corporate offices of Zappos and was WOW’ed by Tony Hsieh and the other masters of happiness there.  When it comes to happiness, I’ve seen how Tony Hsieh delivers.

delivering happiness2

Tony Hsieh on right talking about Delivering Happiness

In Delivering Happiness: A Path to Profits, Passion and Purpose, Tony Hsieh shares his quest for conscious success with authenticity and insight.  From his unsuccessful stint as a child worm farmer to the days of “torture” at Link Exchange to the financial uncertainty of the early Zappos days, Tony doesn’t pretend that profits and purpose came via a magic wand.

Instead, Tony shows us – in detail – how he journeyed from the land of the disheartening corporation to the promised land of purpose and profits. And along the way, he helps us remember that it’s OK to have fun and be a little weird.  For instance, in a section of his life where he is trying to figure out what makes him happy, Tony says:

Pickles make me happy.  I’m still unclear why.  I think it’s just because they are obviously delicious and I enjoy saying “pickles”.

Transparency reigns in  Delivering Happiness.  One examples is when Tony shares exactly where the money to grow Zappos came from as well as the times when they weren’t sure if it would come at all.  Another example is the company’s internal newsletter called Ask Anything.  In it, employees are given the opportunity to ask whatever is on their minds – from “Where do you see us in 3 years?” to “How much does Zappos spend on shipping in any given month?” to “Do vegetarians eat animal crackers?”

This book is an honest and compeling look at the journey to conscious success. I highly recommend it to anyone who cares about making a profit while living their purpose.

At some point in their journey, most of my clients decide to start their own business.  Many of best business thinkers of our time, such as well known blogger Seth Godin, are very outspoken about entrepreneurship as the best path to success and satisfaction.

So you have decided that for you, Right Livelihood means offering the world your heart based services.  You know that in order for you to serve the world, the world has to know you exist. Your task is to help people to find out about your work in a spiritually aligned way.  What’s the best way to do this?

fun dining

Get Familiar With the Menu

What’s the first thing that they do once you have settled in at a good restaurant?   After you have a glass of wine or sparkling water in your hand, your server goes through the menu with you.  They give you a sense of each dish available and what it’s key flavors are.

Too many new entrepreneurs approach their online marketing decisions like fast food.  Your spiritual business is SACRED – it’s way too important for this grab it and go approach!

So before you jump onto the latest online marketing craze, I want to invite you take a deep breath and join me for a relaxed look at the 7 Most Powerful Marketing Strategies for Spiritual People:

1) A Dynamic Website

You may have heard the term “Web 2.0″.  What is it?  The key word is INTERACTIVE.  Instead of just an online version of a brochure (my name is Paul, these are my services, here’s how to contact me, etc), a dynamic website is always growing and changing. You add information about upcoming events, have questionnaires, and give people who visit your site a chance to comment on what’s there.

The Inner Skills: On an energetic level, a successful dynamic website is created through an attitude of ongoing service, clarity about your purpose and a willingness to authentically present yourself.

The Outer Skills: Success means adding new content over time and basic website management skills.

Spiritual Example: The Wisdom 2.0 Summit site.

2) Social Media Marketing

Unless you’ve been living in a cave for the past 5 years, you’ve heard about the recent boom in social media sites.  For instance, Facebook just passed Google in number of regular visitors in the US.  In social media marketing, you connect with people on sites like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn and combine genuine relationship building with authentic marketing.

The Inner Skills: For social media success, you need a mindset of authentic interest in others, deep listening and clarity about your business.

The Outer Skills: Strong writing, time management, and community organizing skills will go a long way towards social media marketing success.

Spiritual Example: Deepak Chopra on Facebook.

3) Blogging/Vlogging

Blogging is simply an online journal about a topic that you are interested.  It can be in written or video form (known as vlogging).  With this strategy, you share the latest in your topic area as well as helpful thoughts in the field.  You also have the option of having your readers add their thoughts in the form of comments.

The Inner Skills: Good writing (or video) skills plus passion for and clarity about your topic are the foundations of success.

The Outer Skills: You need to know your topic area and know the technology of creating and maintaining a blog.  You also want to have the relationships that allow you to stay current with what’s happening in your field.

Spiritual Example: Law of Attraction Coach Jeanette Maw’s blog.

4) Video Marketing

Video is becoming increasingly important on the web.  Youtube is best known video sharing site, but many others exist.  In video marketing you use the medium of video to share your passion and your knowledge about your topic.

The Inner Skills: Video requires a high level of comfortable with being “out there”.

The Outer Skills: Producing and editing video, presentation skills, lighting.

Spiritual Example: EFT and LOA Coach Brad Yates’ Youtube Channel.

5) Viral Marketing

Viral marketing is a fancy way to say people telling their friends about your business.  It usually involves sharing something of high value for free with the intention of inspiring people to share with friends and colleagues.

The Inner Skills: Solid belief in what you offer and the skill to share it a way that stands out from the crowd.

The Outer Skills: You need to produce good content and package it in a professional way.

Here’s a link to 47 Examples of Viral Marketing success.

6) Email marketing

Email marketing is one of the first forms of online marketing.  Though it’s influence is declining, it still can be a powerful marketing strategy.  As the spiritual business owner, you inspire people to share their email with you by offering a free ebook and/or a great newsletter.  Then, you send regular emails with tips, updates and information about your area of expertise as well as relevant information about your services.

The Inner Skills: Authenticity and ability to transmit your passion in words.

The Outer Skills: Strong copywriting skills and technology skills such as autoresponders and email management programs.

Spiritual Example: Attraction Diva Jen Blackert has built an email list of 10,000’s.

7) Organic Search Engine Optimization

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) involves the appropriate and deliberate use of deliberate keywords in a natural way in the text of your website.  You do this so that search engines like Google and Yahoo will list your site towards the top of the list when someone does a search for keywords related to your business.

The Inner Skills: Clarity.  Clarity.  More Clarity!

The Outer Skills: Keyword research skills and strong language skills.

Example: One company’s results with SEO.

I hope this post has given you a sense of what main marketing options are available to you.  No one is going to be an expert in them all – I usually recommend to new clients to look for 2-3 to start with.  Then, we come up with a custom plan to combine them in synergistic ways.  That’s a topic for another blog post.  In the meantime, I’d love to hear your thoughts and questions in the form of a comment below.

One of my business goals for 2010 is to deepen my local network. Poet and corporate consultant David Whyte is fond of saying, “Sometimes the truth depends on a walk around the lake.” Having a trusted a colleague to stroll around the lake with can be just the thing to take things to the next level. Besides, hugs over Skype aren’t the same.

Last night, I put this intention into action by going to a new networking event.  I walked into a noisy crowd of over 70 people with only a few familiar faces.  As a relative introvert, this was a bit overwhelming.  Recognizing that overwhelm wasn’t going to lead to the results I was hoping for, I took a few moments to get centered.

Fishes and Loaves

As soon as I did, I noticed a friend I hadn’t seen and made my way over to her table.  When she saw me she said, “Oh my goodness!  We were just talking about you and EFT!“  Turns out, she was sitting with a colleague who has a consulting business.  This consultant had recently began experimenting with using EFT in her business and was thrilled to meet me. We spent much of the night having a high energy conversation about EFT and applying energy psychology in business settings.

Synchronicity is VERY Attractive

Back in the 1930’s, Carl Jung created the term “synchronicity” for events like what happened last night.  He observed, “when coincidences pile up in this way, one cannot help being impressed by them.“  Imagine being the woman I met last night and having someone who has experience with something that is a leading edge in your business manifest before your eyes.  How likely is it that you would forget that?

As I have increasingly cleared my own limiting beliefs, these type of ‘coincidences’ have been happening more and more often. And, my experience is that Jung is absolutely right – each time it happens, people are deeply moved.

How to Attract More Everyday Miracles

Now I don’t know anyone who can walk on water or conjure up a 7 course meal at the wave of her fingertips.  At the same time, I do see that conscious business owners often share this experience of marvelous surprises happening increasingly more often.  Are these accidents or is there anything we can do to increase how often they happen?

Let me be clear that I don’t think we can MAKE things like this happen.   What I think we can create are the conditions in our lives for synchronicity to happen more often.  Here are 3 strategies for infusing your success plan with more everyday magic:

  1. Clear the beliefs about having to MAKE your success goals happen. In most business thought, there is an underlying belief that for you to succeed, you have to MAKE it happen.  Think of the term, “Self-made millionaire”.  When we buy into these understandings of success, we are setting ourselves up for stress and struggle.  My favorite way to clear these kinds of beliefs is with EFT, Money Matrix and other energy psychology tools.
  2. Appreciate the synchronicity that has already happened in your life. Every one of us has had some experiences of synchronicity in our lives.  Prime your everyday miracle pump by bringing these experiences to mind with as much sensory details as you can.  Re-member literally means “to re-embody”.  Writing or drawing these experiences are a great way to do this. Also, be on the lookout for any little magical events that happen each day and appreciate the heck out of them.  Don’t limit yourself to the area of success and money – notice it in all areas of your life.
  3. Invite More Magic Into Your Life. My favorite way to do this is with Law of Attraction tools like the Focus Wheel.  For instance, after last night’s experience, I did a Focus Wheel this morning on the theme of “There’s more and more everyday magic in my business.”  We can deliberately attract more of what we want in our life.

For thousands of years, spiritual people have observed that it is possible for us to increase our ability to be in what athletes call “The Zone”.  When we are in this state, both the number and the magnitude of the synchronicities in our lives go up.  Infusing your success plan with more of this energy is both fun and effective.

As I write this post from my favorite cafe, there’s snow coming down and the weather guy tells us were in for two more days of it. It has me thinking about my current lifestyle.  I’m one of those lucky folks that can work from anywhere. I almost never HAVE to go out.

It hasn’t always been this way.  8 years ago,  I was the director of a small, innovative non-profit.  While we were doing great work, the organization was barely making it financially and I was only earning about $30,000 per year.   Given my experience and my responsibilities as a new dad, this was source of great frustration.

tied up2

Is staying stuck costing you?

Part of me was ready for a change.  I remember buying a book called, The Therapist as Life Coach. With my experience, I knew I had what it took to be a great coach.  However, I couldn’t wrap my brain around how to attract clients.  I started looking into coaching for this.  I realized it was going to take thousands of dollars plus time to learn what I needed to know.

Staying the Same Costs $100,000’s

At this point, I did what many people do – I said, “I don’t have the money or the time for this.“  I tried to put my dreams on the shelf and go on living the same small life.

When we really have a dream, it isn’t easy to sweep it under the rug.  My abandoned intentions of helping more people and making an authentic 6 figure income festered.  The energy came out in the form of frustration towards my then wife.  I turned into one very unhappy camper.

My ex soon got tired of living with this negative guy.  She kicked me out and started divorce proceedings.  Over a short period of time, I lost EVERYTHING. I found myself alone in an efficiency apartment in a new city.

From my new perspecitve, I realized that my limiting beliefs around money had been operating my entire adult life – more than 20 years.  I could see that if I had made a relatively small investment of money and time, I would likely have made a HUGE financial return in addition to the spiritual, physical and emotional ones.

In fact, multiplied over the period of my adult life, I could see that my decision to stay the same was the most expensive decision I had ever made.

What are the TRUE Costs?

Fortunately, the mess I describe above has had some incredible benefits.  For instance, I was introduced to energy psychology tools like EFT – I don’t know how I would have survived the divorce without it.  And, I finally sought out several coaches that helped me learn the mindset and marketing skills that I use in the work I do now.

In my work with clients today, I often hear about their thoughts and fears upon adding up the costs of what learning new skills are going to cost.  In truth, I want you to do this figuring. I don’t want you to blindly commit to a process that is a major investment of time and money.

At the same time, I also want to you to honestly ask yourself the question, “What will it cost me if I stay the same?“  Too many people add up the costs of change carefully while completely ignoring the fact that staying on the same track will also impact your life financially and otherwise.

How do the costs of change compare to the costs of staying on the same track you are on?  Five years from now where will you be if you stay on exactly the road you are on right now? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the form of a comment below.

Lately, I’ve been seeing the issue of impatience pop up in a number of sessions.  As in, “Why is it taking SO LONG for things to change?!?“  When a theme repeats like this, I know it’s time to write about it.  If you’ve ever felt like your success plan was taking too darn long, I encourage you to keep reading.

How Listening to A Park Bench Made One Man Wealthy

One of my favorite stories about the energy dynamics of change comes from the spiritual teacher Eckhart Tolle.  Today, many people know him as Oprah’s friend and best selling author.  Many people don’t know that before he became famous, Eckhart Tolle was stuck and confused.  He didn’t have a stable home or job.

park benchEckhart knew he wanted a different life, but he didn’t know how.  One day sitting on a park bench, Eckhart had a realization that changed his life and brought incredible success.  He realized that he was spending a great deal of energy fighting the circumstances of his life. Though he didn’t want to be confused and jobless, he was.

Eckhart understood that the only way things were going to really change is if he could “surrender” and “walk through the doorway of NOW”.  That insight lead to a feeling of profound well-being so strong that people started to approach him for guidance.  His career as a spiritual teacher was born.

What’s Your Park Bench?

You don’t have to have to be almost homeless to have this stuck energy operating in your life.  For me, it was being in position of going through a divorce and being “just over broke” doing work I didn’t like.

In fact, there is a basic energy equation when we are feeling frustrated.  It is:

I’m frustrated that I’m here (in a place I don’t want to be) when I want to be there (in a place I want to be more).

Wanting change and success is a good thing.  At the same time, it’s difficult for success to flow smoothly with this kind of tension in your system.

Easing Into Success with EFT

Energy intelligent people will recognize that being in this state of tension and having your focus on what’s not working is going to attract more tension into your life.  Let’s take a look at how to shift into a place of being more ready for change with EFT (if you want to learn EFT basics, click here).

Frustration Sequence – The Problem

Karate Chop: Even though it feels like things are taking too long to change and I’m feeling impatient, I’m willing to be a little kinder and gentler with myself anyway.

Eyebrow: I don’t know why things in my life aren’t changing faster.
Side of eye: I’m feeling impatient with the pace of change in my life.
Under the eye: I’ve been working on change for some time now.
Under the nose: Why aren’t I further along?
Chin: It’s taking SO long.
Collarbone: I feel lots of pressure to change things NOW.
Under the arm: I don’t like how long this is taking.

Take a deep breath and give a moment for this tapping sequence to settle.

Frustration Sequence – The Solution

Karate Chop: Even though in the past it feels like things weren’t changing fast enough, I’m choosing to find a more relaxed relationship with change now.

Eyebrow: In the past, I was focusing on what wasn’t going well in terms of change.
Side of the eye: No wonder I was feeling so frustrated.
Under the eye: What would happen if I could find a way to release that pressure?
Under the nose: What if I COULD relax about the pace of change in my life?
Chin: I wonder if I could actually change faster if I didn’t feel so much pressure?
Collarbone: I give myself permission to experiment with releasing this pressure.
Under the arm: I’m excited to work towards my success goals in more relaxed way.

Take a deep breath and give a moment for this tapping sequence to settle.

Summing it up

One of the great paradoxes about life changes is that they tend to happen the fastest when we are in a state that athletes call “The Zone”.  Pushing gets in the way of this.  Instead, use your favorite clearing tool to release the frustration and struggle patterns.

Next, allow yourself to experiment.   What would it be like to allow yourself to work from the Zone more?  How are you already doing this?  I’d love to hear your thoughts in the form of a comment below.

As I write this post, there’s snow on the ground and the sky is grey with possibility.  In the Northern Hemisphere, we’ve just passed the longest night of the year.  Little by little, the light is returning.

The new year is on many people’s minds.  While I don’t have any magical devices to show me exactly what the coming year will bring (sorry to disappoint you), I do believe that 2010 is going to be an awesome year for many readers of this blog.  Right about now, you’re probably asking, “What the HECK is he talking about?!?”

2010pic3  Reasons Spiritual Success Seekers Will Love 2010

1) It’s almost impossible to succeed without a clear sense of purpose. In the past, making money and things like purpose were hard to put into the same paragraph.  One of the things that has changed over the past year is that most people are spending money very differently.  They are asking more questions and exploring more deeply before they buy.

For spiritual people, this is GREAT news.  We know about intentions and purpose and the energy that lives underneath the surface of things.  While yesterday’s leaders with the old “pound them with advertising until they buy” mindset should be scared, our ability to have deeper conversations about what is truly valuable is an essential strength in today’s economy.

2) Spiritual people understand the power of NOW.

Nothing ever happened in the past; it happened in the Now. Nothing will ever happen in the future; it will happen in the Now.

Eckhart Tolle

These days, many people are trying to figure out how to get back to a point they were at in the past.  Similarly, many people – some with very important titles – are trying to figure out how to rush into a “new future” as fast as possible.   As a spiritual person, you know that both these efforts are wasting tremendous amounts of energy.

Right here in this moment – right now – there are TREMENDOUS opportunities. However, the person whose mind is clouded by fear, regret or a desire to rush into the future is going to be unable to take advantage of them.  As a spiritual person, you are more equipped to see the current opportunities.  You also are more able to take mindful actions that will birth these opportunities into the world.

Keep in mind that, because this moment is like no other, your opportunities may look very different than those that were present for your parents or even those in your life a few years ago.

3) We’ve practiced the art of mindful community for generations. About 8 years ago, I heard a prominent Buddhist teacher talk about the important of what the Buddhists call Sangha – the community one practices in.  It was one of those talks where you could feel the power of his words vibrating off the walls.

In sum, what this teacher said is that we humans are deeply relational critters.  Nothing impacts us more than the thoughts and feelings of those we are surrounded by.  So, one of the surest paths to ongoing spiritual growth is to surround yourself with others who are on a good path.

Unless you’re a recent transplant to planet Earth from some other corner of the universe – in that case, let me say WELCOME – you know that we are in the midst of a networking revolution.   For instance, there are currently over 50 million registered users of LinkedIn.  A FREE social networking site dedicated to the business user with 50 million subscribers – our grandparents had nothing like this.  Online and off, there never been more options for spiritual success seekers to tap into the power of mindful communities.  And no one is in a better position to make skillful use of the power of the Success Sangha than the readers of this blog.

What is 2010 going to be like for YOU?

Your success is very important to me.  In fact, it’s the reason I’m here on this beautiful planet.  I’d very much like to hear what you see ahead of you in 2010.  Please share your thoughts and questions in the form of a comment below.  And, thanks to all of you who make this community such a vibrant place to be part of.

I have a confession to make.  I have been resisting creating an EFT product even though I get asked for one frequently.   After hearing myself yesterday explain to Till Schilling, the creator of Tappy Bear, why I’m best working with people and need to interact to shine (Resistance.  Blah, blah, blah.), I decided it was time to do some inner work.

There is an old folk saying that “curiousity killed the cat”.  It’s wrong.  Curiousity doesn’t kill cats – it melts resistance. So, I asked myself, “What is up with the fighting?”  I tapped on the feelings.  It turns out that EFT founder Gary Craig was right.  The results I got  made my jaw drop.

irreverance

EFT can be fun!

Turns out, I had a belief system that went like this:  “Products are B-O-R-I-N-G.  I don’t want to be boring.  So I can’t create a product.”

As I released my “I don’t want to be boring” issue, new thoughts started flowing.  EFT is a very funny looking yet very effective thing we use to clear up some of the stickiest issues in our lives.  Lots of material for playing with the paradox there.   What if I wrote an EFT manual that was fun and effective? I instantly noticed one of the best indicators of high vibrational states of being – a smile.

Then a new limiting belief popped up (goodbye smile).  Would anyone actually want to buy my irreverent EFT manual? I’ll spare you the details of the self-worth issues behind that question.  I’ll give you the 140 character, Twitter version.  I tapped some more.  Darn EFT stuff worked again.

I remembered this really cool thing called a blog where I could get feedback from cool people like you.  I am thinking of writing a manual called From Chaotic to Clarity: How to Use EFT and Humor Attraction to Clear Overwhelm.  It would start out something like this:

What you hold in your hands is the world’s first highly irreverent and effective EFT for Overwhelm manual.  And, the truth is, this manual almost never got written.

From there, I would go on to share how I combine EFT and humor to help clients shift from feelings of overwhelm into states of being much clearer and more able to create the lives they want.   I would love to hear your thoughts in the form of a comment below.  Thanks in advance!

One of my main goals for creating this site is to advocate for authenticity – I want you to believe in your bones that it is possible to be a fun, authentic and spiritual human and make plenty of money.  What does this have to do with sugar water?  Let me explain ..

This morning I met with Sejual Shah, a wonderful EFT practitioner – her site is www.healthyinmind.com – for our weekly Mastermind session.  It was my turn and I brought up fear I was feeling about a project I’ll be announcing soon.  This project is going to mean MUCH more visibility for me and my business.

Sugar Water, Money and Spirituality

Sugar Water, Money and Spirituality

I couldn’t quite put my finger on this fear.  Sejual helped me clarify and clear what was going on.

When I was a kid, we lived a few miles from the headquarters from one of the largest soft drink companies in the world.  Also as a child, my father worked in a company whose major source of income was tobacco products. Many of my friends parents worked in environments like this.

Even then, I felt strongly that making tons of money selling soda (yep, that’s the sugar water)  and other products that damaged peoples health was out of integrity.  Looking back from today’s vantage point, I realize that early in life I took a spiritual vow to value integrity over money.

While I have done LOTS of work on allowing money and my spiritual beliefs to live well together, this new venture I’m embarking on brought up this theme at a new level.  While most of me is excited and aligned with increased success, I realized that there was a part of me feeling afraid I might “step out of integrity as I step into the limelight.”

Four things I learned about the dynamics of increasing success from this experience:

  1. At the threshold of each new level of success, we are likely to experience new issues. This is normal – when we come to the edge of our known world, it’s our nervous system’s job to send out a signal.  It’s a sign saying, “You are leaving the known, are you sure you want to do this?”
  2. Spiritual people often take vows that impact our relationship with money. My mostly unconscious vow had been to value integrity more than I value money.  Thanks to today’s session, I now believe that I can continue to find more and more ways to make money with the power of my integrity.
  3. Without clearing, #1 and #2 often sabotage our success. My own life story prior to energy psychology is a tale of good intentions sabotaged by the above.  Most of my clients have similar stories.
  4. Support is essential. Tiger Woods had a coach before he became a golf sensation and having great support is significant part of why he became the golfer he is.   Successful people almost always have a combination of mentors, coaches, mastermind groups, prosperity buddies, etc.  I would like to invite you to explore the level of success support you have in your life.

No matter where you are in your success journey, understanding these 4 dynamics will increase your ability to manifest success.  I’d love to hear your thoughts about how you have seen these and other dynamics work in your life.  Please comment below and thank you in advance for sharing.