I'll buy you a diamond ring my friend
If it makes you feel alright
I'll get you anything my friend
If it makes you feel alright
'Cause I don't care too much for money
Money can't buy me love
- John Lennon and Paul McCartney
The above song by the Beatles illustrates a dilemma that most people encounter in life.
What is money and why do so many people either love it or hate it? Is it really essential for a full life?
In this article we are going to look at the reasons that money is not only essential for a good 'material' life, but also because it leads to spiritual prosperity as well.
Part 1
1. What is Money?
We all use money every day, but what is it really?
Sure, there are paper-like (plastic) ‘notes’ and coins, which we ‘tender’ (present) to someone in exchange for something that we want.
And nowadays we even have ‘credit cards’ and even ‘cryptocurrencies’.
Before the days of money, we used bartering or trading - for example, 1 bale of hay for 2 pounds of carrots.
That became cumbersome so ‘money’ was invented.
So money is, at its most basic meaning, a tool of exchange, and the thing that is exchanged is something that we ‘value’.
If we look at ‘values’, these are things that are important to us in the quest for happiness.
For instance, having enough money is a value, but it may be low in one person’s hierarchy of values and high in another’s.
In that money is a tool, it fits into our hierarchy of values but at different levels for each individual.
2. Why Is Money Important?
If we extrapolate from the definition above, then having money means having value.
Given that value and importance are allied concepts, you could conclude that money is important and that having money means having importance.
Money represents the value that we have and that we exchange for other valuable things.
That said, the value of an individual person cannot be calculated in monetary terms.
Indeed, confusion could arise when we refer to someone’s ‘net worth’ - it is that it is only their monetary worth - how much money they have in the bank or in assets - that we are referring to.
Of course many valuable things cannot be measured in money. In this sense, the Beatles song above rings true.
But that doesn’t mean to say we should not look at money and its importance in creating a rich and abundant life.
3. How Does Money Serve?
Money serves us in that it is a tool for the transfer of value (and hence wealth).
Therefore it should be treated as a servant. It should not be the other way around - you should neither serve money nor be a slave to it.
Many people who have done so have ended up with miserable lives.
Another myth that circulates around money is that it is acquired (or lost) by ‘luck or fortune’.
Well, if you relied upon winning the lottery that might be true. However most people ‘earn’ their money either directly or indirectly.
A third myth about money is that it is acquired through malfeasance or trickery.
Whilst this may be true in some circumstances, it is not the norm, and those who obtain it this way never hold on to it for long.
4. Why Money Must Circulate
Given that if money is a form of value, then that value does nothing on its own, unless it moves from person to person.
Even if you stick money in a savings account, it doesn’t just sit there. The bank takes it and lends it to someone else, who in turn uses the value.
And after a period of time, the bank then returns you the money with the extra value that was generated from the use of that money by someone else.
Thus money acts as a a tool to increase value only when it is circulated.
5. How to become conscious of prosperity
If you were to ask someone who you regard as wealthy, whether they are comfortable with money, they would probably say yes.
In contrast, if you asked someone you regard as poor whether they are comfortable with money, they most likely will say no.
This is the principle difference between ‘rich’ and ‘poor’ people.
Now what if you don’t have money but want to be rich? The answer is to think of yourself as being rich. Get emotionally involved in the idea that you are rich.
Think of the things that rich people are, what they do, and what they have. In your mind put yourself in their position - visualise yourself driving that Mercedes, or better, being driven by a chauffeur!
Visualise the house or whatever it is that you want in the mind. Think of yourself already in possession of that which you want and note your feelings.
You can set up a vision board and attach pictures of the things you want on it. Look at the board as often as you can and become emotionally involved with the ideas.
‘Now that’s silly’ I hear you say! Well lots of rich people will disagree with you!
Ask any of them how they became wealthy and they will say that they became wealthy the minute they perceived themselves to be wealthy.
It wasn't when they had the money come into their bank account or when they took possession of their house.
They followed the formula outlined in ‘The Secret’ . That is:
- Think of yourself as wealthy - visualise your life and yourself enjoying it.
Also visualise the benefits to the important others around you.
Focus on the symbols of that wealth - the car, the boat or the condominium. - Feel the feelings of being wealthy - how it feels to own that car, boat or condominium.
- Take Action. Ask yourself “what can I do...” or 'how can I..." get the car, the boat or the condo.
You mind will come to the party and supply you with ideas.
Bear in mind, to get something you must offer something in return - you must give before you get.
Take action on those ideas. - Check your progress and repeat the actions until you…
- Reap the Results. Enjoy the car, the boat or the condo!
- Rinse and Repeat - don’t just do it once - do it over and over!
There have been many detractors of 'The Secret', and for sure it has its deficiencies.
However the formula above has been used by people for time immemorial to get what they want.
Part 2
6. Do You Have A Fear of Money?
“But I’m scared of money” I hear some people say. This is probably the most stupid thing I have ever heard.
Stupid in that it is a sign of ignorance about money. It’s also a sign of being misinformed about money.
Now this may not be your fault. We grow up with ideas implanted in our mind about money.
Such as ‘money isn’t everything’ or ‘rich people got there by exploiting the poor’ or ‘there’s more to life than money’.
One of my grandparents thought exactly along those lines - and as a result they were always struggling to make ends meet.
On the other hand, my other grandparents didn’t have a fear of money and were correspondingly much better off.
7. Your Inner Power
Throughout this article I have alluded to the fact that being ‘Rich’ is as much a mental construct as it is a physical reality.
Some people may not like to specify it in monetary terms and defer to terms such as ‘richness’ or ‘abundance’.
However these are merely euphemisms.
If you look at the definition of a euphemism it says:
“the substitution of a mild, indirect, or vague expression for one thought to be offensive, harsh, or blunt.” (https://www.dictionary.com/browse/euphemism)
In other words, their opinion of being rich is not high and they wish to deflect from their disdain for richness.
They also happen to be 'poor' or 'struggling' simply because of their attitude towards money.
The key to this article is using the power of the mind to enrich yourself.
The detractors of ‘richness’ are inclined to overlook this one because ‘they know better.’
But do they? Are they rich or poor?
Most of them are poor!
Part 3
8. Will there ever be a time when we don’t use money?
If you were young in the 1960’s you will remember the sci-fi show Star Trek. Indeed, the show and its spinoffs have persisted in the popular consciousness for almost 60 years since.
It was a show that optimistically looked at the future and the potential of humanity to continuously improve itself.
I recall one episode - possibly in the ‘Next Generation’ series - where a character commented that people in the 20th century were very primitive because they used money.
In their world people had an intrinsic worth that could not be measured in money terms. Items for use had no monetary value because money had been abolished.
Is such a future really possible?
Only if we redefine what wealth is.
We need to say that things we value can be freely given to others with no expectation of return.
But I still see that wealth will exist then as it does now. As outlined above, money is a tool for the exchange of value. If we give value we expect value in return.
If the future abandons that premise, there could be both positive and negative outcomes.
The negative will be that people will expect to receive things without offering something in exchange. That will lead to laziness and the downfall of humanity.
On the other hand, the abandonment of money may only be in the ‘accounting’ side of the exchange.
I may ‘buy’ a steak at the local restaurant but I do not ‘pay for it’ in money. Instead I offer something else to ‘society’ in exchange that is not specified when I obtain the steak.
In other words, there is no direct exchange of value, but an indirect one.
In a way this is already happening with the phasing out of cash and the use of credit cards and digital wallets.
The benefits of cash are the value is clear to see at the time of the transaction. With other cards - credit or otherwise, you don’t see the results until you check your bank balance.
With cryptocurrencies, use of the ‘digital wallet’ allows the transaction to be seen at the time of the transaction so accountability is maintained.
Without the use of money - in whatever form - there is no accountability and thus no understanding of the value that is being transferred.
All we can hope for in the future is that there are systems and vehicles that maintain this accountability.
9. In conclusion
Money is a tool of exchange of value. As there is infinite value in the human sphere, there is infinite money.
Money is the servant not the master and must circulate in order for value to be created. We need to develop a consciousness of money and the wealth it represents.
We need to focus on the wealth we want and bring it into our lives through our thoughts, feelings, and importantly, actions.
In the future, money will still be with us but only its form will change as we change.
10. Share the wealth…
I hope you enjoyed this article. However you will get even more out of it when you share it with others. J
Just think how you will affect their lives with this one piece!
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