ASK THE COACH
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Wealth Consciousness Precedes Becoming Wealthy
By Dr. Ray Angelini
The Saratogian
May 30, 2002
Dear Dr. Ray,
You seem to take a spiritual approach to you work with clients. As a financial planner, I am struggling to implement a more spiritual approach with my clients. What would you recommend?
— J.K. in Saratoga
Dear J.K.,
As with any issue, awareness is always the first step. Helping your clients become more aware about their beliefs about money will open up for them new and more life-enhancing attitudes toward their finances. Helping your clients clarify what they want from money will help draw them out of the rat race and into creating a life that is more suited to satisfying their deepest needs.
The biggest obstacle that I encounter with my clients who have significant money issues is that they have what I refer to as a "scarcity mentality." They often have a persuasive fear that there is "not enough" in many areas of their life. A lack of money is often an evidence of fear.
We are never truly free until we rid ourselves of fear. Worry, especially financial worry, keeps us from feeling free and joyful. In his book Don't Worry, Make Money, Richard Carlson says. "A life without worry is a life of abundance, a life well lived."
Carlson advocates developing what he refers to as "wealth consciousness." This consciousness involves a complete absence of money worries and a growing awareness that there is an abundance of money to go around.
What we think about expands, thus, if we devote too much of our energy to worrying about money, it is almost impossible to create abundance in our lives.
Our fears actually block our ability to create the abundance we long for in our lives. When we free ourselves of financial worries, money can and will begin to flow to us in every direction.
One of the most important points that I emphasize with my clients is that first they have to change their minds about how they view money. I constantly stress that wealth consciousness precludes becoming wealthy.
You don't suddenly become wealthy and then develop wealth consciousness. It's definitely the other way around. We become "wealthy" by first developing a wealth consciousness, which involves eliminating worry and trusting in the abundance of your own inner resources to manifest themselves in the external world. So strive to develop wealth consciousness in your clients, for once you do, true and lasting abundance will be their legacy!
