chapter 2~"money blocks"

CHAPTER 2~"MONEY BLOCKS"

"If building wealth with a step-by-step plan is do-able by even a single mom, why isn’t everyone rich? 
 
Because there are obstacles to wealth, both internal and external.  Even if you start with the same resources as someone else, there are forces within you and outside you that will attempt to slow, or even stop you.  These obstacles may come up before you start your journey, or they may show up as you are working the wealth steps. 
 
Be aware…BEWARE….and know this is normal.
 
Your blocks will come up.  But hopefully you can recognize them, so that they will not define you.
 
 
Typical Money Blocks
 
“When you blame others, you give up your power to change.”
                                                              ― Robert Anthony
 
The Money Fog
Many people struggle to save, get rid of debt, and invest because of not having a tracking system for money.  They don’t know how much they make and how much they spend.  Even though they make good income, there never seems to be enough.  They live in the “money fog”, with a vague sense of fear and anxiety.  And if income is affected during the pandemic, the fog is even more distressing and painful.
 
The impact of the money fog is a high level of stress!  Relationships are strained, and they work non-stop chasing their own tail.  “I owe, I owe, so off to work I go!”  They make more money, only to have it disappear.  The debt always seems to grow back, savings is minimal, and you lose investment opportunities due to not having cash.
 
All because of the money fog.  
They say, “you don’t know what you don’t know”.  So ignorance itself can be a block.  The money fog keeps us from knowing how much of a financial mess we are actually in.  Clarity, and having a tracking system for your money, is actually the answer."
 
 
 
The Belief that Money is Evil
Many people believe that money is evil, tainted, or somehow beneath them.  This attitude leads them to call out executives and company owners who abuse their wealth as examples of how money corrupts.  
 
The oft-quoted phrase, “Money is the root of all evil” is actually a misquote.  The true biblical phrase is “The LOVE of money is the root of all evil”, meaning that if one prioritizes money over all else, they lose their goodness.  However, I would argue that refusing to deal with money at all can be irresponsible and evil.  Unless one is part of a religious order or disabled in some way, not dealing with money at all creates an unhealthy dependence on others.
 
It is impossible to build wealth if you hate the wealthy.  If you find yourself sabotaging your own results, perhaps this block is affecting you.  The answer is in shifting your mindset to one of giving, which has its very own chapter in this book!   Giving erases guilt, by helping us feel more deserving of more wealth, which enables us to give bigger.  And the more of us who incorporate giving into our habits, the more we create a culture of generosity which benefits everyone.
 
Making more money makes us more of who we already are.  If we are a stingy person, and we build wealth, we will continue to be stingy.   And if we are naturally generous, wealth enables us to give even bigger. 
 
The same goes for poverty.  There are ill-intentioned poor people, and there are generous, good poor people.  Given good character as a basis, would you rather have wealth or be poor?  Your choice.  Money itself is neutral.
 
Denial
Some of us are in denial about how broke they actually are.  We may own a home or have some assets, but have an equal amount of debt, which leaves us with a zero net worth!  Or we may lead our life like a party, never thinking about the future.  “I’ll get my act together someday” we say, until they turn 40, 50, 60 or 70 without any assets or plan for retirement.
 
Denial is common.  Most Americans do not like to talk about their money problems. Nor are we taught about how to manage money and build wealth in school.  In addition, for small business owners, denial is often true ignorance.  How many of us got the manual on “How to Run a Profitable Business”?  We don’t know what we don’t know.  Admitting our real money problems also makes us look bad, which leads us to the next money block:  Keeping Up with the Joneses."

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