“If we command our wealth, we shall be rich and free. If our wealth commands us, we are poor indeed.”
― Edmund Burke”

 

Money…

Few topics bring up a charge like money.  Damned if you have it, damned if you don’t…

Those who have it either pretend not to have it or throw it around brashly and expecting special treatment. I have special admiration for the philanthropic because they have discovered the secret to true wealth…  Service. Your money is a tool and an avenue of service to do good in the world.

Those who don’t have money either spend their days obsessing, wishing they had money or cursing those who have it. I have a special admiration for the poor who are content because they have also discovered the secret to true wealth…. Contentment –  knowing  that you  have everything you need and if a need arose, God would provide for you.

And then there are the rest of us mortals in the middle, vacillating between scarcity and abundance, covetousness and contentment, stinginess and generosity, selfishness and service,  complaints and gratitude and so on.

Speaking to diligence and prudence, I began writing this post 4 months ago but kept getting stuck. I felt I had so much to learn that I decided not to publish until I had the grace to do so.

The question for me is how does one go from not caring about money at all to suddenly thinking about it all the time? And how does one cultivate the right attitude about what one  does have?

Knowing this answer is how you know you  have finally grown up.

For me, one of the consequences of leaving medicine was the fact that I became saddled with heavy student loan debt for a massively important degree that is useful for very little if you do not finish residency. Incidentally, heavy student loan debt is the #1 reason many doctors feel trapped and powerless in today’s culture of assembly-line medicine. Even though it isn’t what they signed up for, physicians and many other helping professionals have to keep working on the verge of burnout to pay off their student loans. But I digress… I will save this soap box for another day.

Even worse  for me  was having to prove I was still relevant with  the acquisition of another degree- a master of public health, thus incurring more debt.

I really blew it. By doing what I thought was right, I put myself in a disastrous predicament.  And soon it was time to dig myself and my family out.

The sense of responsibility attached to money can be overwhelming…  And even so, many do not talk about money and internalize the sense of overwhelm and anxiety they experience. I am committed to being transparent about my struggles if it will save someone else the pain of making the mistakes I made.

Even though I would work even harder than I had in medical school,  the recession meant barren job hunts. And feeling the stress of limited options,  I looked at my life and decided to answer the calling I was feeling in my life. It meant more trainings as a coach and facilitator to do  what I loved – helping people live the ideals they are called to live and thrive in their own lives. Indeed, nothing energizes me more.

With these preparations for the work, came more spending even as I pledged to be more prudent with how I spent money. Thankfully I have never been much of a shopper…  As a woman of simple needs and tastes,  retail therapy was never my thing. Though I must admit, I am a little dangerous in a bookstore.

Most of my life, I never really thought about money. I was not rich but I never really wanted for anything. It’s a testament to the culture I grew up in.  Everyone took care of the other in a “mi casa, su casa” kind of way.

However, I was always aware of the kids who had less that I did. They were poor with worn out and tattered clothes but always with a sparkle in their eye…

Interestingly, now that I think of it, when I was younger,  the rich never seemed particularly happy, just busy… And I think, I might have gotten some misunderstood cues from them… In retrospect, I realize that because of the culture I had been surrounded by, I had misunderstood many things about money. Now, I have learned  to have the right mindset about it.

The thing is, if I choose to be poor, I will find it challenging to be useful to the people I am called to serve. If I continue to exercise diligence, became more prudent with my choices and took responsibility fo the wealth I have been given, then, I can use my wealth to create a positive impact in the world. The first time I heard this idea (from Jay-Z no less), I was repulsed. But now I get it.

There is a reason why Oprah is a huge influence on me. She is a humanitarian who has done tremendous good in the world. I have a humanitarian streak. In college, even though I was broke, I sponsored a child through World vision. I have always been passionate about service and giving. And I now understand that this part of my personality is for a reason. Being altruistic is not a silly shallow pollyanish endeavor. It means taking a hard look at the facts – looking at the dire circumstances people find themselves in and choosing to do good.

Money is a useful tool for making positive change in the world.

So, we need to be diligent. We are called to work the earth. Till the soil. We must work for food. If you don’t work, you can’t eat.

So what happens when you search for work and don’t find it?

You make better choices with what you do have. You choose to keep showing up and making the best of what you have been given.

One of the biggest paradigm shifts for me has been the concept of God giving us the ability to create wealth. In the end, it is not about how much we schmooze, it is the grace we are given to work the soil we are given and to harvest fruit… But you do have to show up and work.

Budgeting is not the sexiest subject  but to really embrace abundance , we must be wiling to take stock of where we are…

But we  have commit ourselves to valuing money, choosing to be rewarded for  hard work and not continue working for free. We are of no use to the ones who depend on us  if we continue working for free.

So, Take responsibility for your money. Let today be the day you stop hating money. I am not saying you show love money, but treat your finances with the respect. And pay your tithes.

Money in the end is energy. Just like you have to work out and eat to have energy, you have to be diligent to earn money.

Just as you have to watch who you spend your energy on, just as there are energy vampires out there, people who drain you. So are there  money vampires out there – habits and people who drain your money.

Put your money to work. Give. Tithe. Help others. Take full responsibility for how you spend your money.

It means moving in with the in-laws for a while. It means public school not private school. It means a stay-cation not a vacation.

On the surface, these appear to be difficult decisions. But using the lens of my values, my ideals of family, freedom and adventure, the decisions are a joy because they bring me in alignment with my ideals which serve my long term goals for the future.

In the end, it isn’t about the money. Money is energy. It is how you choose to use the energy you have been given. I am a steward – When I die I won’t be able to take anything with me. nothing at all. What can I do? I can honor God with my relationships, the kind of energy I put out into the world and then see what happens. I know that i would not be able to do anything that is of worth if I didn’t pay attention to the energy I was expending.

And that means diligently working at optimizing my energy in terms of generating energy or income, being prudent about how I spend that energy and taking responsibility for all decisions around it rather that sleepwalking through my life.

So how about you? See you next time!

Cultivating Abundance via Diligence, Prudence and Responsibility for your wealth:

1. How are you using your energy? How are you using the money you have?

2. Are you content? Grateful? How do you feel about your current financial affairs?

3. What role does money play in your relationships?

4. Are you wasting your energy? Spending so much, eating out, using that energy to impress those who could care less?

5. Are you generous with your money? Is it a tool to help others or something to hoard?

6. Do you tithe?

7. What are your financial goals and dreams?

 

Money doesn’t have to be a drag. Thinking and talking about money as energy can be liberating. We can do hard things. Choose to make the difficult choices now so that you can have the life you want for you and the ones you love. You can do it and you are not alone! We are in this together. See you next time!

 

Yvonne Whitelaw  writes for Yvonnewhitelaw.com where she blogs about her quest to grow into her ideals in her “Live Your Ideals Project”. By sharing her Daily Haikus (#HaikuRx) and lessons along the way (usually Mondays and Thursdays), she hopes to serve and inspire a tribe of wholehearted idealists like you, to “live your ideals, thrive in your callings and change the world.”