What’s Your Money Story?

I get a lot of really great info from other biz builders. I’m constantly learning and expanding my knowledge and experience so I can empower my Kickass Biz Coaching clients to experience more success. But no matter what marketing strategies, sales scripts or branding techniques I’m putting into place, the story I’m telling myself about money is the greatest indication of whether or not I’ll be successful.

We all tell money stories. We’ve done it since we first learned about money. Some of our stories are passed down from our parents – “money doesn’t grow on trees”. Some of it is societal – “The Great Recession”.  And some stories are uniquely ours.

Years ago, when I started my first business I had a goal. It was to make a dollar more a month than my then-husband. (Yea, that’s what the marriage was like!) When that belief recently resurfaced I was a little surprised. We’ve been divorced over 12 years. We no longer have any connection to each other, financial or otherwise. I don’t have a clue what kind of income he is making now, nor do I care.

So when this outdated, defensive, mealy little belief showed up I was not pleased. But it did explain why my income had plateaued. Once I released that story, my income shot up. Not a little bit. A WHOLE LOT!

By keeping myself in a state of comparison I was actually repelling money in a way that no marketing strategy could counter. My unconscious brain believed that what I should make was “$1 more than my ex-husband’s 1999 salary”. I’m so glad when I hit the plateau I realized it was a clue to examine and replace outdated money stories.

Think about your biz activities as an apple tree. You go through the actions that should lead to success, fertilize, water regularly, and shoo the deer away.  But a disempowering money belief is like a family of tent caterpillars stripping your tree before it has the chance to produce any fruit. You do the work but for some reason the results never show up!

Does any of this sound familiar? If so, follow these steps to uncover and release your limiting money beliefs.

1) Draw a circle on a blank piece of paper. In the center of the paper write an income number that is twice your current income.

2) Draw a horizontal line across the page from left edge to circle, then from circle to right edge.

3) Out loud say “the good thing about making $________(fill in number in circle) is:” Above the line, next to the circle write down the first thing that pops into your head. Do not think about your answer. Do not judge your answer. Just write it down.

4) Say, “The good thing about _______________(what you just wrote) is:” Write the very first thing that jumps into your head above the first word.

5) Repeat #4 three more times.

6) Go back and repeat #3-5 until you have five strings of words, thoughts, and beliefs.

7) Repeat #3-7 under the line only replace “good” with “bad”.

8) Review your answers to uncover your beliefs.

Do your beliefs support your goals or repel them? Remember my family belief “money doesn’t grow on trees”? Totally true…unless you invest in lumber mills. Or you own a fruit or nut orchard. Or you run an eco tourist company in the rain forest. So any belief can be true or it can be false. It just depends on how you choose to look at it.

Yes, I’m telling you that you get to choose.

Looking at the beliefs you were able to uncover with the circle exercise, choose one that no longer serves you. I say no longer because it may, at one time, have been a perfectly useful belief.

Reframe the belief so it now supports your goals. So, “I need to make $1 more than my ex-husband” becomes “My income is based on my ability to serve my tribe, which I’m awesome at!”

Gather evidence to support your new belief. Notice what’s really true.

Feel the energy of the new belief. Lock it in with a visual clue or by tugging on your ear. Remind yourself often of your new belief using your clue. Watch what happens.

Happy dancing for you!