It is not the man who has too little, but the man who craves more that is poor.
Seneca
c. 4 B.C. – 65 A.D.
If your childhood was anything like mine, you were constantly reminded about the scarcity of money. I grew up hearing things like, “money doesn’t grow on trees.” I also heard the Ben Franklin admonition, “A penny saved is a penny earned.”
But those weren’t the only words that shaped our money beliefs. Some folks in our town were referred to as “filthy rich,” like their money was somehow dirty. And I constantly heard that “money can’t buy happiness.” I suspect that was some attempt to make us feel better about the lack of money.
Some folks would misquote the Bible verse, “Money is the root of all evil.” (The correct verse is, “The love of money is the root of all evil.”) And of course, the preacher would quote the Bible verse, “It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than a rich man to enter into heaven.” Everyone knew it was impossible for a camel to get through an eye of a needle, so if you had any idea you wanted to get into heaven, getting rich was out of the question.
I would certainly agree that money can’t buy happiness. But poverty certainly doesn’t guarantee happiness either. My point is that, in growing up, we were all exposed to some beliefs about money that shaped our attitude towards it. Many of these beliefs were not true, but a belief doesn’t need to be true to affect our lives. These ideas are such an integral part of our lives that we probably don’t even consciously think about them. But they’re operating in the background, coloring our judgment.
Money is neither good nor bad. Money is simply a medium of exchange.
So how does your attitude about money hold you back? What bearing do these beliefs have on your everyday life?
Some people grew up believing there was some virtue in being poor. Others believed that achieving financial success meant you had to sacrifice your principles. If either of these reflects your belief about money, you will probably struggle financially. You can’t act long term in ways contrary to your core beliefs.
So what is a healthy belief about money? That money is a reflection of the value you are contributing to the world. The more value you contribute to the world, the more money you will accumulate. The more money you accumulate, the more value you can contribute.
If you’re seeking money as a reward, an end goal, or a validation for your own inner worth, then no matter how much money you have, you will always be short.
If you always find yourself short of money, ask how you can contribute more to the world. Ask how you can increase the value of what you do or the number of people you help.
Our self-worth isn’t tied to money but to the way we feel about ourselves. The best way to increase your self-worth is to make more and bigger contributions towards making the world a better place to live.
Success is not so much what we have as it is what we are.
Jim Rohn
1930 –
Copyright © 2009 John Chancellor