Money Memes, Myths, and Misunderstandings

The brain is an extremely powerful apparatus. It is capable of bringing things into existence. Every great invention that has ever come to fruition has come about as a result of the human brain. Mankind has for centuries turned thought into reality. The brain perceives what could be and then transmutes that thought into a tangible reality.

Since the brain is so powerful and can turn its thoughts into reality, it should come as no surprise that the way  we perceive things heavily influences our reality. And unfortunately, there are a lot of societal forces which are largely negative, which influence our views on money.

These views come in the form of memes, myths, and basic misunderstandings. And sometimes all of these "m"'s overlap. A meme is defined as an element of culture that is passed from one individual to another by nongenetic means, especially imitation. A myth, as you well know, is a lie that is commonly believed. And a misunderstanding is well, a misunderstanding.

A lot of times, these memes, myths, and misunderstandings come to shape our views about money and thereby leave us impoverished, both literally and figuratively. I'll go through a few to show you what I mean.

"MONEY DOESN'T GROW ON TREES."

Well the picture above proves that wrong. 'Nuff said. :-) Now of course money doesn't grow on trees.
But the saying is meant to tell people that money is scarce and that having it or receiving it is difficult. All of the self help gurus that I've read have always preached that what one focuses on expands in his reality. (Here we return to the concept that the brain is a powerful machine.) And what does the meme/misunderstanding that money is scarce generate? You guessed it - money scarcity. Some skeptics might say that the saying is intended to let people know that they have to "work hard" for money, but what is that really saying? That money doesn't come easily. Guess what though? Money does come easily though, if you have enough of it.

Think about a billionaire. The interest that she earns on that billion dollars every year is more than a whole lot of people can ever dream about having in their lives. And these billionaires believe that money comes easily and for them it does. I know there are some still who might say that this doesn't work if you only have a little bit of money and I hear you. But as humans, we have to aspire and if you are feeling negative about a situation, it will likely remain negative - just like how if a person begins thinking angry thoughts, his body will produce the same hormones as if he actually was angry. By now, I hope you get the picture. Perception creates reality, so choose your 'perceptions' carefully.

"MONEY IS THE ROOT OF ALL EVIL."

Now this statement also falls into the meme and misunderstanding category, but it's mostly a misunderstanding, thankfully. Even though America is the great melting pot and was founded on principles of freedom of religion, its predominant religion is Christianity. And in the Bible, in 1Timothy Chapter 6 verse 10,   it says "For the love of money is the root of all evil."

Here Jesus is talking about how people can make money an idol and God doesn't like idols. But it's not that money itself is evil. It's just a tool and it can be used in a positive fashion to build up God's kingdom. Think about that the next time someone spews such silliness.

As I alluded to earlier, our thoughts control our actions and if you think that money is evil, you will subconsciously find a way to rid yourself of it. I mean, who wants something evil in their lives. A lot of times, people will say that they want to be wealthy, but have an underlying belief such as money is evil, that is incongruent  with their stated desire. If you want anything in life, you can have it. You just have to be congruent about it.

"THE ECONOMY IS TOO TOUGH RIGHT NOW FOR ME TO GET AHEAD."

That statement in quotes above is a complete and utter myth!

In 2006, I read something that didn't come back to me until about a month ago. The article I was reading said that "more millionaires were created during the Great Depression than at any other time in American history."  That statement is so powerful that I think it bears repeating. "More millionaires were created during the Great Depression than at any other time in American history."

Today's economic environment is harsh and I personally do think we're in a depression and not a recession. But that doesn't mean you can't succeed financially. When I began to think on the high number of millionaires created during the Great Depression, I think about how these millionaires must have seen tremendous opportunity and this inspires me. A few weeks back, I was looking for a job and was not making any headway whatsoever, no matter how many resumes I sent out. And then I realized that I could make money off of my blog, and that I should start my own financial coaching site. Fortunately, I'm currently in the process of filing the LLC papers and building a website and client base. I use myself as an example not to brag, especially since I'm just getting started. But I use myself to show that every crisis presents an opportunity.
In this economic climate, people need financial coaching more than ever, and I've never really liked working for anyone else. So why not start my own financial caching business? Voila!

The moral of the story is that it is possible to live your ideal life. However, you must be clear on what you want and you must rid yourself of any limit beliefs regarding money. Your limiting beliefs will most certainly keep your wallet thin and make you miserable. Feel free to share any limiting beliefs that you've found within yourself that you're getting rid of.