THE SOLUTION TO A SIMPLE, MEANINGFUL, WELL-DESIGNED LIFE /
THE F Ê T E / LIF E PROJECT NO.
42
GIVE MORE TO MAKE MORE Welcome to the Fête/Life Project – a collection of helpful, useful and practical articles that can be applied to life at any time, but especially now. Sourced from the many magazines we have released, our message has never been more relevant or needed by our community today… let’s embrace the simple life and treasure what is truly important – human connection, community, self care and pure acts of kindness. SUPPORT WHEN YOU NEED IT MOST /
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STORY / LAURA CARROCCI
GIVE MORE TO MAKE MORE Money is a reality of life – it is part of the system in which we all consume, produce and measure value. Like it or not, it is a reality of our human life. Everyone has money issues. Not enough. Too much. Fear of losing it all. Fear of never making ends meet. Others expecting you to support them. Guilt. Shame. Worry. Yes, some money problems are perhaps
That thing that we think is out there,
better to have than others, but everyone
is right here. If it isn’t right here, inside
has money problems. All of us have to
us, available to us right now, then it is
manage our finances and exist in a world
nowhere my friends.
where money is exchanged for value. If we want to pay the mortgage, the school fees, the wages or the grocery bill we have to manage our finances and be intentional about how we earn, spend, have and save our money. Where all of us run into trouble is in believing, consciously or unconsciously, that more money is the key to happiness. This belief is what keeps us grasping for more, clinging to the idea that out there, in the not to distant future, once we have more of it, life will be all rainbows and unicorns and flat abs and breezy summer days. We all fall prey to this thinking and it is this thinking that keeps us from actually experiencing our life. Money does make some areas of our life easier and it does solve a lot of problems. But it is not the cure to all suffering.
0 1 . W H A T C O M E S T O M I N D W H E N Y O U HEAR THE WORD ‘MONEY’? HOW DO YOU FEEL WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT IT? DO YOU FEEL ABUNDANT, SCARCE, SHAME, DESIRE, FEAR?
Understanding this and living this is the biggest challenge of all. But it is the key to a meaningful life. Knowing this, how we choose to think about money is very important and for many of us we need to practice a new way of thinking about money because our current beliefs are not serving us. How you think and feel about money affects how much you make, how much you have and how much you give. Most people want to live a life of abundance. They want to feel secure and confident in their financial future and be able to give more value to the world. What this looks like for each individual differs, but the desired feelings are the same. The challenge is that most of us focus on money. On the need to make more of it, rather than the giving part of the equation. We think we need to make more in order
All of us have beliefs about money. Many of these beliefs are unconscious. Shaped in our childhood and by past experiences. For many of the people I work with, their stories are based in fear, shame, scarcity and irresponsibility. These beliefs are important to understand because they impact on how we feel and act when it comes to finances.
In life we are all wandering around
to give more. We have it the wrong way
Some of the limiting beliefs many of us
thinking that the next stop, that next
around.
have when it comes to money include:
mountain top, is where we will find peace, where we will find that thing we are looking for. For many of us that thing, we think, is dollars in the bank or things that money can buy, a new car, a beautiful house, a luxury holiday. But we all know, deep down, this is a lie we tell ourselves, that we are fed every day from all the messages we receive. Buy the green juice, get the body, have the car, build the perfect house and then, then you will be happy. We know it is just an illusion. There is no amount of money, no material possession
If we want to change our current
MONEY IS HARD.
experience of money it is important to
I HAVE TO WORK MORE, TO MAKE MORE.
understand where our beliefs about money
I DON’T HAVE ENOUGH.
come from, get clear on what we want to create for our future and then decide afresh how we want to think and feel about money going forward. YOUR CURRENT BELIEFS
In order to change anything we must first update our thinking because what got us to where we are won't get us to where we want to go.
I AM NOT GOOD WITH MONEY. I SPEND MORE THAN I MAKE. MAKING MORE MONEY COMES AT A S A C R I F I C E TO MY FA M I LY T I M E. I DON’T HAVE ENOUGH TIME TO MAKE MORE MONEY. I NEED TO SPEND LESS TO REDUCE MY DEBT.
Beliefs about how you earn it, spend it, have it, invest it and save it are the precursor to how you behave today, tomorrow and next week in your financial life.
or experience that will secure us a life of
Problems arise when these beliefs are not
meaning, joy and peace.
aligned with what you want to create in your finances.
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WHAT IS THE FUTURE YOU WANT TO CREATE?
Many of us determine the value of what
01. W H AT D O YO U WA N T TO C R E AT E I N YO U R F U T U R E F I N A N C I A L LY ?
we give, the quality of our work, based on what we will receive for it. We do a half-baked job because we are not getting paid as much as we want. We don’t put in effort at home because we think we are not being acknowledged and rewarded for it. We don’t put the effort in, because we want more first. When you think about it. The idea that, ‘I will do better, I will give more, when you give me more’ is backward, because we don’t create more of anything by delivering less, ever.
02. HOW DO YOU WANT TO FEEL ABOUT MONEY?
The effort or contribution always comes before the reward. You achieve your ideal body weight by eating and moving your body like someone who is at their ideal weight. You run a marathon by training and living like someone who runs marathons. You become a brilliant public speaker by speaking in public. You get more when you give more. And often there is a delay in the getting more bit. Our ability and potential to earn money is
0 3 . W H A T I S I T A B O U T Y O U R M O N E Y G O A L S T H A T I S I M P O R T A N T T O Y O U ? W H A T W I L L THAT FUTURE GIVE YOU?
not based on time or effort. It is not based on how busy we are, on how long we work or on how many kids we have. It is based on how much value we are willing to give and on how much value we are willing to receive. We receive money for the value we put out into the world. The more value we create, the more we are capable of making.
A L I G N TO DAY WI T H T H AT F U T U R E V I S I O N
How you live today needs to be aligned with the future you desire. For most people that future desire involves having more abundance, more security, more money. The challenge that I see so often arising is that the desire for more is at odds with an existing way of living that is rooted in expectations of what we ‘ought’ to receive. Where we are not willing to give more value without immediate reward. ‘I will work harder when they pay me too’ is a common attitude. Do you have this type of attitude? Are you willing to give more value than you receive? This is very important to consider.
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0 1 . C O N S I D E R H O W M U C H V A L U E Y O U P U T I N T O Y O U R J O B , Y O U R B U S I N E S S , YO U R FA M I LY A N D H O U S E H O L D ?
INTERNAL MONEY VIEW
Our external view determines our internal reality. Do you view life from a place of abundance or scarcity? Are you easily jealous of others success? Do you hold back ideas and 0 2 . C O N S I D E R T H E Q U A L I T Y O F S E R V I C E Y O U G I V E , T H E Q U A L I T Y O F Y O U R P R O D U C T ?
dreams for fear someone else will take them away from you? Do you believe that to get ahead someone else has to fail? This kind of mindset will keep you small. It will stop you from growing into your potential. There is more than enough opportunity and money for everyone in the world. The idea that the more money one person has, the less others have, is a false belief. It is not money that is limited, rather our willingness to give.
0 3 . W H E R E M A Y Y O U B E M I S S I N G T H E O P P O R T U N I T Y T O C R E A T E M O R E V A L U E I N ORDER TO RECEIVE MORE?
Abundance, optimism, joy for others, openness, collaboration and a belief in our individual and collective potential to create value in this world is what opens you up to creating wealth in your life. It makes you open to receiving. Are you open to receiving? TAKE RESPONSIBILIT Y
No one else determines your wealth, you are wholly responsible. 04. WHAT IS THE QUALIT Y OF YOUR SERVICE? YOUR PRODUCT? YOUR WORK?
You are responsible for how much money you make. Your employer, your clients, customers, the government, your kids, parents, education, childhood, none of them are responsible for the value you create and receive in this life. You are. If you create and give something of value and you value what you give, you will
0 5 . A R E Y O U O P E N T O R E C E I V E V A L U E I N R E T U R N F O R W H A T Y O U P U T O U T I N T O THE WORLD?
create wealth in your life. Do you create and give value? Do you value what you do?
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SEARCHING FOR HAPPINESS IN SPENDING
Money is something we can use to entertain ourselves, to feel better in the moment, to fill in the space in our days. We sit on the couch and surf the net for, ‘something nice’. We wander the shops looking for ‘something new’. We all spend money to survive. To pay for shelter, food and our health. We also spend money to entertain ourselves. To fill in the space. To make us feel good. This isn’t a bad thing. I like something new as much as the next person. But when this type of spending is causing you financial strain then it is a problem.
THE RECIPE TO MAKING MORE
Focus your thinking in a way that serves you. Direct your emotions toward abundance and opportunity. Create value and value what you give.
0 1 . W H E R E D O Y O U S P E N D M O N E Y A S A W A Y T O F E E L B E T T E R ?
Be intentional in your actions. In how you earn, spend and save. Be open to receiving. See the opportunities in front of you. Create from your future. Be smart and don’t go unconscious. AND REMEMBER… IT'S NOT BETTER ‘OVER THERE'
What do you believe money will give you? Stop and really think about this and be honest with yourself. Most of us believe it will give us something it never can.
0 2 . D O Y O U G O S H O P P I N G T O E N T E R T A I N Y O U R S E L F , T O R E W A R D Y O U R S E L F , TO AV O I D F E E L I N G LO N E LY ?
The truth is, having money doesn’t give you anything. The effect it has is in what you choose to do with it. Money in the bank is just money in the bank. How we use money determines how we feel about it. Do you spend your money on things that make you feel good, or bad? Do you spend money on things that are good for you, that contribute to your growth? Or do you spend money on things that have no return on investment? We think that once we have more money we will be problem free. This is a fiction.
0 3 . D O Y O U B U Y N E W C L O T H I N G T O P L E A S E O T H E R S O R T O F E E L A C C E P T E D ?
I want you to be able to give more and make more and have a life of abundance. But please remember it’s not perfect ‘over there'. What you seek is available to you right here, right now.
L AURACARROCCI.COM/JOIN L AURA CARROCCI, LIFE COACH, STRATEGIST AND CREATOR OF Y O U R L I F E D E S I G N E D M O N T H LY COACHING PROGRAM
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