How Much Is Enough?
(or put another way, 'What Do You Want?)
In the previous article we discussed your essential richness and the role of money in that cause.
This article extends a little from that and asks a question - how much is enough for you to be (or feel) rich?
In that we all want to be rich in mind, body and soul, this series proposes that being rich in body results in being rich in mind and soul.
This is very much the thinking of the ‘New Thought’ philosophers, as exemplified by Wallace Wattles in ‘The Science Of Getting Rich’
The New Thought movement believes that a human is a thinking centre and there is but 1 formless stuff in the Universe called the Thinking Stuff.
This stuff permeates and infiltrates the universe, and produces forms imagined by the thought. Man - who is a thinking being - can produce a thing simply by thinking.
Now if that seems a bit Woo-Woo to you then that’s understandable - however there is some truth in it.
As we mentioned in the last article, man is a creative being, and does indeed create things.
However they do not just appear as if by magic, but as a result of actions taken to bring them into existence.
The Thinker by Auguste Rodin (1904)
Whether it is a sculptor bringing a statue to life, a writer a novel, or a composer writing a symphony, something new (at least in the human sphere) only comes into existence as a result of someone’s thoughts.
The same applies to the things we need. In terms of what we actually need, we may think of such things as food, rent, clothes, transportation, utilities, education, holidays, recreation, insurance and savings.
We are largely trained to get these things by getting a job - whereby we work for someone else and receive money in return.
If we want more control over our income, we might set up investments such as stocks or real estate. By diversifying the income sources, we protect ourselves if one of them is lost.
This may be basic financial advice (note I am NOT an advisor!) but if we wish to be ‘rich’ (financially or spiritually) certain needs must be met.
Ultimately, as we create what we think about, we should also be able to create a ‘richness’ in both life in general, as well as in the monetary sense.
The Process Of Wealth Begins Where You Are Planted - So Start Now
So if you want to be rich (in the financial sense), you first need to look at your current finances. Are you in debt? What are your incomings and outgoings? What would you need to do to be financially independent?
Then examine the following: ‘how often do you pay yourself?’
If you work for someone else then often there is very little, if any, left once you pay the bills.
If you want to be rich in the spiritual and emotional sense, material wealth is still a vital contributor.
Material wealth gives you a higher quality of life so that you can be less focused on the material side and can concentrate on the spiritual side.
If you consider all those who are materially rich, ask them if they are spiritually so. Many, if not most, will say that they are.
Pay Yourself First
Someone who is materially rich will always tell you that they always pay themselves first.
In general these people work for themselves and can thus do it. If you work for someone else you cannot do this because you do not control the purse strings.
So whilst the real answer is to work for yourself, if you work for someone else you are not stuck there.
You can make changes that will still pay yourself first, but to do that, you will need to work with an accredited financial advisor.
You will need to find ways to make money that, for the short term when you are working for someone else, do not require your time.
Once you have enough money to replace your 'work-for-someone-else' income, the fun really starts!
Conclusion
Many of the world’s religions pooh-pooh the idea that material wealth leads to spiritual wealth.
For the reasons above we disagree. By getting your finances in order and setting up a simple savings and investment program, anyone can become rich - both materially and spiritually.
All it requires is thought, commitment and action.
In the next article we'll take a look at forming an image of yourself as being 'Essentially Rich'
Check out the previous article in this series here: Looking At Money