In my book Build Your Money Muscles, I identify the five main feelings that people act out through their finances. One of those is a sense of being trapped. When I wrote the book, I didn’t understand the depths of this feeling and it’s nuances. Lately, that understanding is coming into focus. Here’s what I’ve learned.

Children often are discouraged from truely expressing themselves because their parents, and others, just don’t get who they are. I can remember my mother’s reaction when, as a three-year old dressed in my favorite yellow sunsuit, I proudly presented myself as a black bear, having covered myself with mud. I learned then, and in many instances afterwards, that it isn’t always safe to let people now who I am.

Perhaps you can remember moments when you realized that speaking or acting freely could lead to punishment or stimulate negative reactions from those around you. As a result, you developed coping mechanisms that allowed you to fit it or be acceptable.

The result: being trapped in a persona that works in the world, but leaves you feeling disconnected and, perhaps empty. This is often accompanied by less-than feelings, shame, and lots of negative self-talk.

Not the best foundation for drawing in a free-flow of love and support — financial and otherwise.

Recognizing how you have hidden yourself from the world can be one of the most important steps you can take towards lasting prosperity. As an adult, you know how to differentiate between appropriate and inappropriate behaviors, like running round naked in public, so you can devise ways of expressing yourself safely.

For me, I’ve had to overcome my fear of doing sound healing work in public. I’ve done it a few times during teleclasses and now do a healing at every class of the Peace of Mind & Prosperity Program. This coming weekend, I’m going to take the big risk and do a group healing at the spiritual community that I attend. I feel as if I’m getting ready to do a firewalk.

Which of your talents are you hiding from the world? Were you discouraged from singing, painting, seeing into the future, going into business, or being playful or creative on any level?

What do you secretly wish you had the courage to try? Look what happened to Susan Boyle  when she finally stepped out to show the world who she really is.

Talk to other people about this. I’m sure you’ll discover that like you, they too have aspects of themselves that remain secret and hidden. Perhaps you can find a group of people who can offer you support in “coming out” to the world.

The Peace of Mind & Prosperity Program offers a safe and ongoing support system. People attending the twice-monthly classes are seeing real results in many areas of their lives. Read about the program at http://ProsperityPlace.com/pomp

And I hope you’ll attend the free teleclass, Finding Financial Peace of Mind in an Uncertain World, where I’ll be discussing this topic (and doing a sound/energy healing.) Click here to register.

A number of people have told me that they deal with the current world situation by not listening to the news. That’s like saying, “If I close my eyes, I won’t feel the pain of my broken leg.”

Each of us is part of the whole. We are cells in the body of the planet. The country we live in could be considered one of the organs. As cells, we are affected by the health of the entire body, and in the case of The Earth, the body is ailing — physically, emotionally, and spiritually.

Imagine, if you will, that every time someone ingests something that harms the physical body, like refined foods, cigarette smoke, or drugs, it affects the health of the entire organism.

And because emotions are the creative force behind our life stories, imagine that every fear reaction adds to the total amount of terror, and this brings into manifestation terrorist cells, such as Al Qaeda.

And finally, imagine that hate and conflict, prejudice and violation of human rights dilutes our ability to tune into the field of consciousness that unites us and allows us to thrive.

I don’t consider any of these imaginary. I believe that how we treat ourselves and each other and the feelings we generate all affect the health of every living organism on Planet Earth. And each of us holds the key to the future health of this planet.

The question is, are you ready to play the role of healer or destroyer? If the role of healer appeals to you, are you willing to consciously help improve the physical, emotional, spiritual, and financial health of the planet by improving those within yourself?

It doesn’t take much. Small actions from a lot of people can make a big difference.

 Here’s how you can help:

• Eat healthier foods. Instead of chowing down a gooey piece of cake or bowl of ice cream, eat a piece of fruit.
• When you feel yourself buying into fear — financial or otherwise — take a deep breath and examine your options to see what you can do instead of wallowing in fear.
• If you feel that something is unjust, instead of complaining, ask yourself what you can do to alter the situation. Perhaps you need to contact your local or federal legislators, or write a letter to the editor in your local paper. Complaining doesn’t change anything. Taking action does.

And if you find yourself judging yourself or others harshly, take a deep breath and imagine that the other person or you is surrounded in a lovely pink light and feelings of love.

Our future depends on our ability to live a life of love and non-injury, honoring all living things.

FREE Teleclass – February 10. Finding Financial Peace of Mind in an Uncertain World.
Find out how you can see beyond what looks like a disaster waiting to happen and find your place of emotional and financial peace.
Get more information and register at http://ProsperityPlace.com/teleclass/peace-of-mind.html

With everything that is going on in the world, it sometimes feels to me as if the world is falling apart. The news stories often contain phrases such as “the biggest,” “the worst since,” and “never seen before.”

Yet despite what is going on in the world, each of us has to continue performing our day-to-day tasks for our business ventures or jobs. Few of us can just sit back and wait for it all to pass, especially since it would seem that it’s not going to pass.

Uncertainty prevails.

There are times when I just want to surf the Net, go for a nice long walk, or even hide under the covers. On some days, I find it hard to focus on the task at hand.

I admit that I do watch a lot of news. I am fascinated by and curious about everything that’s going on. Some people I know have stopped watching the news. I wonder if that’s wise or if it just perpetrates society’s need to be in denial.

Still Upbeat!
Yet underneath it all, I feel really upbeat. I see what is happening as part of a planetary clearing, one that can help us clean out dysfunctions such as corruption and greed. All we have to do is understand that we’re in a process that will lead to new beginnings.

I’ve noticed that a number of people are now giving courses in combining spirituality and business. To me that’s a good sign. And with the passage of the new FTC rules. I do notice less “screaming” from Internet marketers.

I think it’s a good time to really reassess how you are living your life and then making the changes that can lead to greater satisfaction and, ultimately, prosperity.

It’s the perfect time to unlock the power that lies within you so that you truly can create a life that is peaceful, satisfying, and fulfilling on every level — a life filled with love and creative self-expression. That’s what lies ahead for those who don’t give in to the gloom and doom and keep moving forward, no matter what.

I hope you’ll join me on Wednesday, February 10 for a teleclass called Finding Financial Peace of Mind in an Uncertain World where I will be sharing simple techniques for moving forward. If you register, you can download the audio file after the class.
For more information, visit http://ProsperityPlace.com/teleclass/peace-of-mind.html

Each day, new data is released in the United States that deepens the gloom and doom surrounding the current “economic recovery.” In the past week we have learned:

• Job openings are at a record low — there are 50% fewer than in 2007
• More homeowners are struggling as option ARMs reset higher
• Approximately one-third of all mortgage holders have a loan balance that’s higher than the current value of their home
• Cities and states are still struggling to find ways to balance their budgets
• People are using far less credit and are saving more, which is great for them, but slows the economy which depends on consumer spending
• Although the unemployment rate is 10%, the number of people who are either unemployed, underemployed, or have given up looking reaches more than 17% of the working-age population
• Qualified people who are finding work are often accepting lower salaries than they earned before they were laid off. 

The signs of economic struggle go on and on as fear and worry spread.

Here’s something odd: Most solo-business owners I talk to are doing ok. Their size allows them to be flexible and adaptable to change, so they are altering their products and services to fit the current economic enviroment. Many are turning this into an advantage.

For example, I decided a while back to create a custom Website product that was much less expensive than anything developers have been offering. I found a way to make it work for me and even offer financing so that people can get started in a professional way with a minimum investment.

The goal was to fill a need for the tens of thousands of people who don’t have the technology background but know they need to get online to extend their reach in the marketplace. It’s a win-win and is congruent with my mission of helping people thrive financially. As a result, my business is flourishing.

The key is to understand that:

• Every problem has a solution. You just have to find it.
• For every situation, there are infinite possibilities — if you are open to them
• Sitting still and doing nothing will get you nowhere
• What existed a few years ago is not coming back
• Isolating never works. It helps to reach out and network with others in an authentic way.

Here’s an inspiring article from Reader’s Digest about Recession Success Stories.

Perhaps it’s time for you to consider starting a venture of your own so you can thrive too.

Resources:
New Entrepreneurs Package: Starting Your Own Business and Marketing Your Microbusiness.
Sotkin Web: Affordable Websites and Internet Marketing for the Technologically Challenged.

Tap into the energy of a new year and new decade to move yourself rapidly in a positive direction by making small, easily-doable changes — starting today!

If you want to alter your financial position, then you must make changes in the way you think, feel, and behave. To avoid resitance to change, rather than focus on important parts of your life, make small, seemingly-insignificant changes and you can begin to shift your position in life.

The idea is to adapt your system to change while minimizing the disorientation that comes with change. It is this disorientation that stimulates resistance or backsliding.

Here are some suggestions: Read the rest of this entry »

I wish you all the best in 2010. And to help insure that you experience a healthy financial year, here’s what I suggest:

• Without delay, set up a system for keeping careful financial records. Use software such as Quicken, Quickbooks for your business, one of the many apps available for the IPhone or ITouch, or one of the online services such as mint.com. If you deal with multiple currencies, try AceMoney
• If you already keep good records, analyse the data. Determine your best source(s) of income, your highest expenses, and how your monthly income in 2009 compared to your monthly income in 2008. Be aware of changes in your sources of income and expenses. Read the rest of this entry »

A recent article in Fortune magazine http://bit.ly/6AXo0R indicated that there are fewer deaths during a recession because people apparently “adopt smarter lifestyles in recessions, especially those people with the worst health habits.”

One reason is that as work hours are cut back or people are laid off, they have more time to spend going to the gym, preparing meals, and getting more sleep.

There’s something else happening too. People are becoming much more conscious about how they spend their money. Consumer sales are decreasing because many are deciding against excess and for frugality. Instead of thinking, “It’s only $20!” and making an unnecessary purchase, often the decision is to not spend the $20 and save it instead. That’s good for a person’s economic health. Read the rest of this entry »

This is the season when the “I-have-to-have-it-now” syndrome often appears. Symptoms include hyperactivity, overspending, excessive debting, and lots of shopping, often for unneeded items.

Seeing something you like and putting off the purchase is more difficult now when every message from the media is buy, buy, buy. After all, we are told, we help the economy by being consumers.

Yet this is the perfect time to learn how to wait, a skill that eludes most people in this culture that encourages instant gratification. Learning to wait actually increases your chances of manifesting what you want without overspending or debting. In the case of non-consumer goods or events, learning to wait can increase your general comfort level in life. Read the rest of this entry »

If you want to thrive in this economic environment and prepare for a prosperous 2010, it’s time to pay attention to your finances and create a strategy for the new year. Even if you already keep good records, you can learn to go even deeper into what you can learn from your own numbers so you can get the most value from your money.

I hope that if you suffer from any level of Financial Vagueness Syndrome, you will decide that this is the time to hunker down and get real about your finances. One thing is for certain: Money doesn’t take care of itself. Without care, it’s like a wild child that needs to be tamed.

I’ll have to admit that I avoid talking about this because I know that people would rather have a magic bullet that fixes something and makes their money fine. But without money management, you limit your own prosperity.

Here’s what I suggest: Read the rest of this entry »

What a great time of year to look back and count the blessings that have come to you. No matter what your current situation might be, I’m sure there is something you can feel grateful for today.

It’s also the perfect moment to look forward and realize that countless opportunities lie in front of you. All you have to do is believe — really believe to the core of your being — that you can move your life in a positive direction. Then open your heart to receive.

Sounds simple, which it is, but not necessary quick and easy. Here are some suggestions to help you shift  your system into a positive, receptive mode. Read the rest of this entry »