How Much is Too Much Money?
Sharon Stone, Casino 1995
Remember Sharon Stone’s character Ginger in the 1995 movie Casino?
What a lost soul she was. Always looking for love and security but never having enough, and always screwing up whatever she did have.
More on this later. First, I have an update on my new learnings….
I’m always looking to expand my wealth consciousness and learn new perspectives on life. So, last weekend I went to see Eckhart Tolle live in Sydney. He’s such a deep human and I loved every minute of it!
Tolle talked about his private clients of fame, success and fortune (no names mentioned of course) and how many of them have one thing in common… a never-ending quest to experience ‘more’.
“Once you have achieved your goals and reached the pinnacle of your desires what else is there?” It’s empty. The worst part is, you feel incredibly alone.
Each of Tolle’s unicorn clients have already achieved so much in life. Much more than the average person will ever even be able to even imagine, yet every time they reach their goal, many of them are right back at their starting place - needing more.
So, they reach for another goal, and another, and another. And they keep on finding themselves right back in the same place - needing more.
Tolle went on to explain that this is why famous, wealthy people get married so many times. They are constantly ‘looking, looking, looking’ for something more so that they can feel good. When they come across love (even the fleeting kind), they pounce on it in an attempt to extract feelings of elation, bliss and joy.
We all know how that ends.
One American client found it elating to eat out at his favourite restaurant in Paris. Whenever he needed a boost, he flew his private jet to Paris for dinner!
That only worked for so long.
Then the magic wore off and it wasn’t so fun.
Tolle’s unicorn clients are constantly seeking that magical feeling of success. As they experience more and more success they become less and less fulfilled.
The same kind of feeling comes about as everyday people earn more and more money. Studies confirm that for every dollar earned over the average annual income (say $90,000), the earner receives diminishing utility from it. This leads to the mind-numbing cycle of ‘keeping up with the Joneses’ or earning more just to spend more on things that bring you less and less joy to impress more and more people you don’t know.
The antidote according to Tolle is awareness of the present. Being present. Content. Actually noticing your surroundings and seeing joy in the present.
Here are my tips on building wealth with awareness of the present:
Set your goals and know that anything is possible - There’s nothing wrong with success, especially success of the unicorn kind! Write down your financial goals, be specific, review them regularly, and take action every day.
At the same time, be thankful for what you already have - There may always be someone who has more than you, but there will also always be someone who has less than you. That someone who has less would give their right arm to be where you are now. Know that you already have abundance and treat this as confirmation that you are always looked after. Start and end your day with three unique things you are grateful for.
Know your WHY - Why do you desire to achieve these goals? Who will benefit from your achievement? When we look to include others in our success, we will never feel alone.
Celebrate your wins! - Gratitude, gratitude, gratitude. Acknowledge how far you’ve come since your starting position.
Back to Ginger…
Believe it or not, subconsciously, many people see wealth as a bad thing and you could be one of them.
If your brain has come across situations where:
Having lots of money didn’t work out for other people - like the rich and famous, Ginger, or a wealthy relative who lost everything;
Wealthy people were considered greedy; or
You saw yourself as separate to ‘wealthy people’;
In these situations, your brain will file wealth away as a dangerous outcome and do everything in its power to keep you safe from that outcome in the future. In other words, it will block you from achieving massive wealth.
This is what happened to Ginger.
If you’re not where you want to be financially, take a look at your underlying beliefs about wealth. What comes up for you when you think about becoming a wealthy unicorn? What’s the worst that could happen if you actually achieved your massive financial goal?
If you want to unblock your ability to make more money in life these are the kinds of issues that need to be addressed! Believe it or not, no matter how irrational these beliefs are, they’re affecting you right now unless you take the time to clear them.
This is part of the work I do as a financial mentor for women. If you’d like to work with me, go to www.loveluckwealth.com/work-with-julia.
🧡 Julia