A Mindset Shift on Money That Will Transform Your Income
(This is a revised update of an earlier post)
Is your view of money secretly the main thing holding you back from achieving your dreams?
Mine was for sure, until I had a mindset shift. The shift was actually a gradual awakening rather than a particular event.
In this article I will share with you that shift, and why it’s made all of the difference. If you have this mindset shift on money, it may just transform your life.
Money is Bad?
I’ll start with a story about the genesis of my initial view on money.
I was in college, but I honestly don’t remember the exact moment. I do, however, remember the exact sequence of thoughts that led me to my view on money in my younger years. I think this is a normal thought process for us at this age. Regardless if you go to college, or to the military, or simply start working. This is the age at which you start figuring out your thoughts on career, life, and what it all means. I was an engineering student and wrestling with figuring out “what I want to be when I grow up”.
I remember pretty vividly arriving at the following thought sequence (Full disclosure here: I am a Christian and my worldview and moral compass are firmly shaped by that position):
- There is a finite amount of money in the world
- The only way to get MORE for YOURSELF is to TAKE it from SOMEBODY ELSE
- I don’t have the right to TAKE anything from ANYBODY else, especially money
- More money is BAD
So…money is bad…that’s where I started out.
More Money is Good?
But here’s the thing, over the 25 years of my life since then, I’ve seen many people who have had the financial resources to:
- Make a difference as a significant donor and/or investor
- Live life as they choose in a moral way
- NOT be destroyed by it
So…more money can be good? Hmmm…
The Mindset Shift On Money
Since my initial thoughts were formed those many years ago, I’ve been trying to coalesce the two seemingly incongruous concepts. BUT I think I’ve figured it out, and I see that my initial view was so simplistic, and not accurate.
The shift in my mindset was this: MONEY is simply a physical, tradable RESOURCE that is a representation of VALUE.
And guess what: VALUE is INFINITE!
Why is VALUE INFINITE?
Because there is literally no end to the amount of value that can be provided.
Some Things that Have Value
- Physical things like natural resources and man-made products. I guess that you could argue that there is a finite limit to physical items (maybe, but I’m not convinced…at least not a practical limit), and therefore, the value is finite as well.
But…
- How about knowledge and the teaching of that knowledge? What is the value of that? It is INFINITE! There is literally an infinite amount of knowledge to be gained as well as the teaching of that knowledge.
- What about creative endeavors like stories, poetry, music, painting, etc? Also INFINITE, with infinite collective value.
- How about software? Also INFINITE. There is literally no end to the amount of software that can be developed.
- What about your health? To you, the value of your health is INFINITE!
The Empowering Part of the Mindset Shift
When you provide real value, you will likely receive some sort of compensation in exchange. One form of that compensation is money. There are other forms, of course, but money is certainly a popular one. If someone has received value, and is providing compensation, they are providing it FREELY. They are GIVING it.
They are GIVING, and you are RECEIVING.
Change your mindset from TAKE or GET MONEY to providing VALUE and RECEIVING commensurate COMPENSATION.
This approach opens the world to you.
Money is just one of the resources you need in your quest to achieve your goals. Depending upon your goals, you may need more or less money. Just like you may need more wood and nails to build a deck. Your goal isn’t more wood, your goal is the deck. Same with money. Set your sites on the vision, and view money as just one of the required resources.
Here’s an outstanding side effect of this mindset: It fosters the GIVING and RECEIVING cycle in the world!
Most people who view money and other resources as something they have RECEIVED, are the very ones who are happy to be GIVERS in exchange for value! We’re constantly trying to “break the cycles” in today’s world, but here is one that we should be actively trying to foster and encourage. And it’s a natural side effect of this mindset.
Conclusion
The mindset shift on money that will transform your life is that money is just a resource that is compensation for value. And there is INFINITE value in the universe. Infinite value that you can provide…and when you provide value, compensation follows.
This mindset shift on money pushes you to have the abundance mindset. An abundance mindset is what will ultimately empower you and transform your life and income.
It’s ok to be compensated for providing value. And is ok to be well compensated.
So go on a mission to provide value, and freely receive compensation.
