Category: Money

Do you like your job? If not, you are less likely to become rich

6/3/2016

When was the last time you couldn’t wait to go back to work? Most of us choose to do whatever is available, instead of what we love, because we need to pay our bills first. Or do we really? In this video I am sharing an eye-opening piece of research that proves the opposite: if you do what you love, you have a much bigger chance to get rich. I also give you a quick exercise that will help you find more meaning in your work.

Now I'd love to hear from you: do you love what you do? What do you truly enjoy doing? Post your answers in the comments below!

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The Money Marathon: Follow up and Practical Tools

23/2/2016

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I have just finished running a free coaching training called The Money Marathon, where participants for one week were given a virtual sum of money to spend every day. This helped them explore, what was in the way of getting as much money as they wanted. I'm sharing below some observations and tips that will hopefully be helpful to everyone who wants more financial abundance in the lives. These tips will be especially useful for you if you don't care much about money, and think there are more important things in life.

1. Money is NEVER a problem
Spending petty cash daily is easy, and this gives us an excuse that "we have no money to follow our dreams". However, when The Money Marathon participants were suggested to spend large sums (from 50,000 pounds and above) and the money suddenly stopped being a problem, most of them still felt very uncomfortable and ended up spending on things they didn't think they need or refused to spend it at all! What often blocks us from abundance is not money, but unwillingness to take the responsibility for our own decisions, to make choices, or the fear of making a mistake.
What to do about it: to identify your blockage around, train your imagination. Imagine you needed to spend a certain sum daily (without being able to save it for the next day), and multiply it by 2 every day. When do you get blocked?

2. Silence these voices
If you lack money, you most likely subconsciously associate it with problems. For instance, if you believe that "earning money means sacrificing my health", of course you would avoid any opportunity to earn a bit of cash, or only find those that actually make their life harder, making this belief a self-fulfilling prophecy. As absurd as it may sound, such beliefs often come from our family and often act on a subconscious level and are often difficult to identify.

What to do about it: make them conscious! Do an audit of your beliefs about money and check where these beliefs come from (most likely you inherited it from your close family members). Then decide if you still want to use it in your life, and if not, reformulate it into something better.
For example, if your belief is "earning money costs health", and this has got you to the place where you aren't earning anything and as a result you are constantly stressed and got sick because of it, this isn't a very good belief, is it? So you can consciously re-formulate it into something like "Earning money allows me to take of my health".

3. Use your body wisdom
Your body is the first to know whether you have any blocks around money. It will know that faster than your brain (no wonder, as it has millions of nerve cells perceiving information!). You will feel discomfort or a liberating sensation when thinking about spending it in a particular way.

How to use it: If you need to make an important purchase (i.e. a new car, or a new house), but have no money for it, use your body to experience what it could be like to own this thing. Go to a test-drive, try on some really luxurious items in the shop or arrange a few viewings of flats (even though you don't currently have any cash in hand). Money may not fall out of nowhere, but when you use your body to experience what it's like to "own" the thing, you get more motivated to look for ways to earn/gain money. Many people who used this trick found ways to get credit/earn extra within weeks of engaging their body into the process.

4. Time IS money
Often people who struggle with earning or saving money also struggle with time management. Think about how you spend money and compare with how you spend time. What do you spend it? How do you talk to yourself when you procrastinate? Do you value your time, or are you happy to give it to anyone who asks for it at any point? Do you make "time investment" into some activities that are important to you? What are some patterns between spending money and time that you can identify?

I'd love to read how these tips make a difference - post them in the comments!

You can read the whole marathon tasks and do them here - Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, Day 4, Day 5, Day 6 and Day 7.

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The Money Marathon: Day 7 (Sunday)

21/2/2016

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It’s the last day of the marathon, and a somewhat unusual one. No spending today. Instead, I will tell you a story about Richard Branson.

When he was still in the early stages of building his business empire, Branson and his girlfriend went to take a break on British Virgin Isles. Somebody told him that when people say they wanted to buy an island, they got to stay in a local villa for free, and so Branson played as if he was going to buy islands. He and his girlfriend toured islands daily, asking whether the agency had any other islands on sale (of course Branson wasn’t going to buy anything as it was far beyond his budget, it was just a way to extend his free stay).
At some point, there was only one island left to watch, called Necker. And here something unexpected happened: Branson liked it so much that he wanted to buy it, and asked how much it was. $6M, he was told. Branson made a counteroffer: $150,000 (he didn't have even this money at hand, but this seemed reasonable to collect). His proposal was not met with a great understanding, and the agent kicked Branson out of the villa straight after.
However, the Necker island got into Branson's head. So when back to London, he found the way to get in touch directly with the owner and repeated his proposal, which was rejected again. However, a few months later, the owner got back to him and said he was ready to sell the island for $180,000 as he was in a desperate need of cash.

The moral of today's story is, never assume you can’t afford something until you tried.

So today we will challenge ourselves a bit to play “Richard Branson” and try your "Necker island" on yourself. Pick one place where they sell something that’s potentially too expensive for you (good cars, luxury underwear, real estate agency). Go there today and try it on yourself. Then describe the experience in the comments. Notice, I am not asking you to commit to buying anything, just to experience what it's like to actually live this life for an hour?
If you feel scared and resistant to do this task, explore this resistance. What exactly are you afraid of? Identify where the resistance is in your body and talk to it, as we've previously done.

Tomorrow - a final post about the whole marathon with some conclusions and recommendations.
Previous challenges here: Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, Day 4, Day 5 and Day 6.

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The Money Marathon: Day 6 (Saturday)

20/2/2016

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Well done everyone who passed the previous days! Only two days of the Marathon left, and here's your next task! Note: do not do this challenge unless you've done the previous ones, otherwise you will find it difficult.

1. Today you’ve got £200,000 (or $290,000) to spend in any way you want to (spend all or partially, save etc).

What’s changing?
How are you feeling right now?
What will you spend it on?
Breath in and listen to yourself – any blocks in the body?

2. Imagine I asked you to do something that feels very uncomfortable: i.e. go into an expensive restaurant, in a super luxurious shop, test-drive a car you would never ever be able to afford, ask for a business loan etc. It needs to be something that makes you scared and around what you have a belief “I will never be able to afford this to myself”.

What’s the feeling arising when I ask you to think about it?
What are you scared of?
How would you prepare yourself to doing this in stages?

Traditionally, post your answers in the comments!
Previous challenges here: Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, Day 4 and Day 5.

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The Money Marathon: Day 5 (Friday)

19/2/2016

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We've done great work over the last few days. Today is the time to start doing a bit of reflection. I also encourage you to read other people's comments as we often find that we have some limitations while reading what others say.

1. Look at your answers over the last 4 days. What are you noticing about your beliefs around money? Is there some part of yourself that seems to be afraid of money?
How does it do it (either by preventing you from earning or making you spend uncontrollably)?
Imagine what this part may look like and talk to it. Ask it what it’s wanting for you and from you? Why is it trying to make you get rid of money/not earn any?

2. Now (and only after you’ve talked to this part) get to your new spending: £10,000 (or $14,500) to spend today plus £50,000 to spend in any way to you want, not necessarily today.

What’s the feeling arising? Is this scary?
Do you feel like you’d like to stop following the marathon? Notice whatever is appearing, and identify where this resistance "sits" in your body.

Post your answers as comments here if you want feedback!
If you are just joining, here are Day 1, Day 2, Day 3 and Day 4 of the marathon.

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The Money Marathon Day 4 (Thursday)

18/2/2016

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You've been doing great on spending money so far. It's getting more complicated now. Two tasks today:

1. You get to spend £5,000 (or $7,250) today (and only today, all money will disappear at midnight unless spent). What will you spend it on (again, as before, be as specific as you can)?

2. Now second part – in addition to this part, you suddenly receive £25,000, which you can spend in any way you want (i.e. save, invest etc – it won’t disappear).
a) What do you do with this money?
b) What happens with your body and feelings when you read this task and when you are thinking how you'll spend it?

If you just joined the Money Marathon, here're Day 1, Day 2 and Day 3 tasks.

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The Money Marathon Day 3 (Wednesday)

17/2/2016

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Awesome work, everyone! It's day three of our marathon! If you just joined the marathon, Day 1 and Day 2 are here.
Today’s 2-part task:

1. Spending day again. It’s £5,000 to spend today (or $7,250). Oh, yes.
Condition: all this money MUST be spent today. As you are spending, answer these four questions:
a)    What’s the feeling arising when you hear that you need to spend this money today? Lightness, happiness or discomfort? Where do you feel this sensation? What is it like?

b)    Will you discuss with anyone the spending or tell anyone about the money?

c)    What will you spend it on (please, be very specific as in the Day 2 post – actually plan your spending, study the prices, imagine/describe the experiences or things you’ll buy. I.e. instead of saying “I will buy a new bag” say “I will get a dark grey Chanel bag for £2,700). I want you to experience the spending process with as many sense as you can, ok?

d)    What’s happening with your body when you imagine yourself spending this money?

2. Remember, what’s the favourite phrase/tradition in the family regarding money? For example, “we have no money for it”. Or “earning money is difficult, don’t waste it”, or maybe some story related to money comes up for you (how somebody lost/found it etc).

Share your answers in comments!

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The Money Marathon: Day 2 (Tuesday)

16/2/2016

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Well done everyone who answered yesterday's questions! Today we continue to examine the patterns of your perception and behaviour in regards to money.

Today, you get £3,000 (or $4,400) to spend under one condition: you MUST spend it before the end of the day. You cannot put it in the bank/save etc. - everything must be spent before Wednesday!

1. What will you spend it on?
When writing an answer to this question, please be as specific as possible. I.e. do not generally write "I'll get a private tuition with a piano teacher, go to the restaurant, book a massage and buy a dress", but specify, what you will eat (study the menu!), what kind of dress it will be, where the massage will happen etc, and what it should cost.

For instance:
- Private class with a piano teacher in The Royal Opera House - 200 pounds
- Buy a beautiful long purple dress made of silk in Harvey Nichols - 850 pounds
- Buy a train ticket from London to Paris for 250 pounds to go out to Jules Verne restaurant, ordering the experience 6 course menu for 230 euro.

Got it? Really do your research, study the website or go out and check the place where you'd love to go!

2. What is the sensation in the body when you are working on this task?
Do you feel excitement, warmth, or are you short of breath, frozen etc? Are all parts of your body feeling the same? Where exactly do you have sensations you can identify?

Post your answers below and check this space later as I might ask you extra questions!

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The Money Marathon: Day One (Monday)

14/2/2016

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Welcome to The Money Marathon! For 7 consecutive days, you will get one exercise per day that will help you understand how you relate to money, identify any blockages you have around getting or saving it, and learn to claim your self-worth. Post your answers to your daily tasks in the comments to this post or on our Facebook page

Here’s the task for day one. Do them one buy one as you read questions, don’t jump to question 3 until you’ve done the first two!

1. Imagine that you have found £1,500 (around $2,200). Assume it’s you who forgot it somewhere/or you can’t find the owner/or you brought it to the police and they said you can take it for yourself/or whatever makes you feel comfortable to actually have it now.What will you do with this money? What will you spend it on? What will you NOT spend it on? Will you tell your family you found this amount?

2. Now imagine your closest ones have found the same amount (your mom, dad, grandparents or whoever has been your caregiver and shaped you in your childhood). How will they spend this money? What will they NOT spend it on? (If you can’t ask them, assume what they would’ve done).

3. Now look at your answers. What are some patterns in your perception around money do you notice? What do these patterns have to do with your family history? Write your answers in the comments!

UPD I changed the comments settings to private as a few people didn't feel comfortable to share their money stories on Facebook. However, this has removed all your previous comments! Sorry about it and please post them again in this new format if you want to.

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Money talk for people who don’t like money

9/2/2016

1 Comment

For some people money isn’t just the main thing. They value freedom, connection, knowledge, creativity or an opportunity to make an impact. So when they have to ask money for their work (because we all need at some point, whether we like it or not), they feel deeply uncomfortable, embarrassing or below their self-esteem to have this talk. Whether it’s quoting their fees to a prospective client or asking for a pay rise, they struggle to claim their worth

This is especially true for highly sensitive people – about 20% of human population who have a very finely tuned nervous system and perceive the world more intensely and in more details, much louder/brighte then the rest. They are often highly empathetic and influenced by other people’s emotions. They notice details and subtleties, are conscientious, care about others’ feelings and react stronger to criticism. They also think deeper, and as a result, might also take longer to take a decision.

A key "feature" of a highly sensitive person is that they are never motivated by money – they are interested in having an impact, doing meaningful things. And they often think they aren’t qualified or ready enough, too. Because of this, they often aren’t claiming their worth and go underpaid-borderline struggling.

If you are a highly sensitive person who’s finding it difficult to express their worth in monetary terms, these two quick exercises will help you re-frame your attitude to money.

1. Asking for money is not about being selfish.
Make a list of all things you’d be able to do if you had more money. Would you go travelling, help your parents, have more energy to do amazing projects that make others happy? Would you spend less energy on worrying about tomorrow, and so will be able to be more present with people around you? I bet most of things on your list have to do with other people. At the end of the day, we only become happy when we can share something with others. Isn’t asking for money worth it in this light?
So next time you have the "money talk", think about all these great things you'd be able to accomplish and better serve others as a result - it will help you immensely overcome your discomfort.

2. Receiving money means you equally recognize your and other people’s contribution.
Think about the impact that you have on other people thanks to your work. List all that has changed in their lives thanks to you.
Do you organize festivals? How many people have experienced joy thanks to your work, that will keep them warm for years ahead? Do you write amazing books that change people’s lives? Are you a fitness coach who can help anyone get back in touch with the joy of managing their body? Or is your work saving somebody's time, so that they accomplish something truly meaningful to them?
If you are not asking enough money for the value you provide, what you are literally telling these people is: “My work really doesn’t have any value for you, and so does your experience”. People are happy to pay for what truly makes a difference in their lives – by asking for money you help them realize that you have made a difference, or are about to.

Now, next time you have the “money” talk, remember: don’t talk about yourself, talk about what you can do for them when getting paid all this money. Let me know how it goes - post your comments below!

PS Next week, 15-22 February, I am running a free online week-long Money Marathon for people who want to learn to express their self-worth. We'll be exploring your perception of money and removing the blockages around it. Join us here!

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Who is Anastasia?

Chief inspirator, start-up mentor, professional Co-Active life coach and career coach, systems worker and passionate tango dancer. Get to know me!

Do you like your job? If not, you are less likely to become rich

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The Money Marathon: Follow up and Practical Tools

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The Money Marathon: Day 7 (Sunday)

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The Money Marathon: Day 6 (Saturday)

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The Money Marathon: Day 5 (Friday)

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The Money Marathon Day 4 (Thursday)

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The Money Marathon Day 3 (Wednesday)

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The Money Marathon: Day 2 (Tuesday)

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The Money Marathon: Day One (Monday)

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Money talk for people who don’t like money

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Sign up for my newsletters: Be the first to receive similar challenges. One email per month & never sharing your contacts with anyone else!

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