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Dealing with Current Events in a Healthy Way
There are those who say that it’s better to ignore the news. I disagree with this. Ignoring political and economic trends makes it difficult to strategize for the future.
For me, watching the news is a spiritual discipline because I learn how to detach from what I’m seeing. I can imagine that I’m climbing up a mountain and watching the drama from a much higher point of view – to be in the world but not of it.
From that elevated point of view, it’s easier to remove “good” or “bad” from what I’m seeing. Whatever is happening is just what’s happening, and how I deal with it on a physical, emotional, or spiritual level is my choice.
Years ago, I had a big AHA. I realized, it ALL depends on how you look at it. I can see current events as filled with pain and tragedy, or I can see a rapidly changing world where people have the opportunity to learn that when anger, fear, and selfishness are replaced with love, acceptance, and a social consciousness, everyone benefits. Continue reading
A Shift in Focus
I often ask myself how I can best offer value to the subscribers of my newsletter and visitors to ProsperityPlace.com, especially in these changing times. Until now, most of the information I have shared has been an extension of the material found in my book, Build Your Money Muscles.
Because so many people are concerned about maintaining a healthy cash flow, the time has come for me to be more proactive about sharing what I know regarding building multiple income streams and doing business online. I’m especially interested in helping people who consider themselves technologically challenged.
There is a lot of information available about how to build and maintain a website and how to sell product and services online. However, I find that a lot of the material makes unrealistic claims about what is really possible in this crowded marketplace. At the same time, information is often geared towards people who are computer savvy and have the time to do the work themselves. Continue reading
Prosperity Tip: What Are You Feeling?
Anyone who follows the news these days can get the feeling that the whole world is falling apart. And maybe it is!
With protests, corruption, drug-gang violence, severe state and national budget cuts, rising gas and food prices, an unstable job market, so-called leaders acting like children, and seemingly endless extreme weather events forefront in the news, it’s no wonder that people are feeling anxious, overwhelmed, depressed, powerless, and concerned about the future.
Many people are either out of work or only a paycheck away from financial disaster. Even those with what used to feel financially secure are beginning to worry about the future of their investments.
Here’s what’s happening:
It’s not the whole world that is falling apart, but rather systems that have outlived their usefulness. As the old systems decay and new begin to form, the foundations of society are in turmoil We are in that place between the old and new that doesn’t have clear form or definition.
The Egyptian Crisis and Your Finances
There is no doubt that many factors such as income inequity between rich and poor, high unemployment, rising food prices, and suppression by autocratic governments are contributing to the growing unrest in the Middle East that is likely to spread from country to country.
Because the unrest may be far away from where you live, you may not think that it’s going to affect you, but it will. All countries are now connected, especially economically, and what happens in Egypt, Tunisia, Yemen, and other countries will eventually affect the economies of seemingly stable countries.
I watched a program about the Middle East crisis on CNBC Sunday night and they talked a lot about the effect of the crisis on various currencies. What was really interesting, was the fact that at the time of the 2007 revolt in Myanmar, the value of their currency tanked and savvy investors put money into the country. With the return of some stability, these investors have now realized profits of about 400%. In other words revolutions are profitable.
How Hidden Anger Hurts You Financially
Linda R. is on a conscious spiritual path and views anger as a “negative” emotion. When anger does bubble up, she’ll meditate until it passes or she uses one of the energy psychology techniques, such as Be Set Free Fast to alter her emotional state.
Most people who know her think Linda is nice and would never guess that she’s holding on to a lot of anger. Even Linda doesn’t recognize this habitual feeling.
However, by examining her finances, it’s clear that Linda is expressing her anger through self-directed passive aggressive behavior. Here’s why:
Every few months, Linda finds herself in a difficult financial position, so she does a lot of affirmations while praying that she’ll have enough money to pay her rent. She shares a story of her troubles with her landlord, hoping for his understanding and willingness to wait for the rent.
Eventually, she earns just enough through her coaching practice or borrows money from her parents, and pays the rent. This pattern has been going on for years.
Linda’s tardy rent paying is a subtle way of controlling both her landlord’s and parent’s emotions, a classic sign of passive aggressive behavior. In the end, her pattern frustrates her landlord and parents while causing her to feel guilt and shame.
Because she suffers as a result of her passive aggressive behavior, it can be classified as self-directed.
The Anger-Money Connection
Because our life stories are fueled by our emotions , the path to prosperity requires recognizing the emotions that may be interfering with our progress, expressing them, and replacing them with new emotional habits.
In the past, I’ve examined at depth shame and aloneness, and for the last year, I’ve really been looking at anger and its effect on finances. Now, I’m ready to share what I’ve learned.
Anger is a complex emotion that finds many different avenues of expression. The obvious expression of anger is what we usually think of as rage. But the form of anger that is most often expressed through finances is passive aggressive behavior, which is often difficult to recognize and release.
However, I can assure you that underearning, debting, compulsive shopping, late bill paying, financial vagueness, and other behaviors frequently have anger as a motivating force. Continue reading
Getting Ready for a Prosperous New Year
In the next week or so, you’re going to hear a lot about New Year’s resolutions, and I’m not going to suggest that you make any. What I am going to suggest is that you think about what you would realistically like to accomplish financially in the next year and what first steps you might take in order to reach that goal.
People often set unrealistic goals, which is why they procrastinate and avoid taking action. It’s important that the goals you set be congruent with who you are at this moment in time.
Also important is in awareness of your own emotional relationship with money. If you are fearful about your financial future, ashamed of your current financial situation, or feeling powerless to change your situation, those feelings can interfere with your ability to alter your financial position.
So any action plan has to include both what you were going to do to shift your internal and external environments as they relate to your finances.
Here are some suggestions: Continue reading
Are You Ready for the Upturn?
There is no doubt about the fact that the global economy is going through a major upheaval and restructuring and no one really knows what the long-term outcome will be. The signs point to a slow recovery during the restructuring, and for business owners, this is a good time to prepare for an upturn.
Those of you who have been in the job market, especially older workers, need to consider how opportunities are changing, and in some cases disappearing. The question for you is whether you are going to stay in the job market or create a business opportunity by yourself or with others whose skills complement yours.
There are a number of emerging business models that reduce some of the risk of starting a new venture or reconfiguring the one you have now. For example, pop-up stores are literally popping up in many locations both online and off. (Google pop-up stores for more information.) Continue reading
Prosperity Tip: Protecting Your Most Valuable Asset
When I heard the news that Elizabeth Edwards is losing her cancer battle, I thought to myself that it doesn’t matter how much wealth or fame you enjoy in your life, what really matters is your health. Without good health, there is no prosperity or the possibility of living up to your true potential.
Although healthcare professionals can offer you advice and guidance, the ultimate responsibility for your health lies with you. Taking responsibility for your health requires commitment, determination and discipline, but knowing what to do is not rocket science.
The basics are simple: Continue reading
Prosperity Tip: Age Matters
Most information products give general advice and do not take into account the age of the reader. I’ll admit that much of my material rarely mentions this important factor.
I’ve had the privilege of working with people and a wide range of age groups, from twentysomethings to so-called senior citizens like myself. And there really is a difference.
There’s no doubt that younger people accept change and are willing to alter their behaviors more readily than those who have lived longer. At the same time, the younger generation is less risk averse and more willing to take chances in life and in business. Because success in business often depends upon a person’s willingness to take risks, it makes sense that much innovation is instigated by the young.
Older people have the advantage of experience and often take longer to make decisions as they more carefully evaluate the potential downside of a project, investment, or partnership of any kind. Years of experience provide many learning opportunities for avoiding unpleasant consequences of unwise decisions. Continue reading
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