Lesson one in the game of wealth generation is that Abundance is a feeling, not a thing. Stuff and things will never equal abundance in our body, mind and heart. Stuff and things will only create a desire for more stuff and things.
Don’t get me wrong, money can be a wonderful thing. It can buy us experiences that bring us closer to our human potential. It can change the lives of those we care about or those in need. It can even provide a bit of temporary comfort in an otherwise uncomfortable world. But the pursuit of money itself is a backwards approach because money is the last phase of wealth development.
If we want to be fulfilled in our lives and experience the true energy of abundance, then there needs to be a shift in consciousness and perspective that takes place. We must be willing to let go of everything we may have thought was ‘right’ based on what others have told us or what Donald Trump says.
This is what I did a decade ago and since rearranging my life to focus on what actually matters and what really makes me feel abundant, on purpose and striving towards the potential of who I can be in my life, everything has gotten better, sweeter and more fulfilling (even the really challenging stuff).
Below are 7 foundational “Tricks” or perspectives I have embraced to cultivate abundance in my life… Time is our Greatest Asset. It always has been and always will be. With time, we can learn anything, practice anything and strive towards excellence in all the areas that matter most to us. But so many are stuck in a pattern of trading their precious, valuable time for tiny sums of money that keep them in a cycle of struggle and unhappiness. People who live this way feel like there’s no other option, but there’s always other options. We just have to be willing to look outside of our bubble, dream our asses off, choose a new life for ourselves, leap with Faith, change our ways, work our asses off and create it.
Ultimately, it starts with learning to cherish our time by using it wisely. Even protecting it if we must. Let us enjoy our daily moments with experiences that fill us up, make our lives rich and support us to grow in the direction we aspire to go.
Learning to manage our time is a skill set that must be learned and practiced. If we want to live an overall fulfilling life, then we can’t give our power away by letting others run our schedule. We absolutely must find ways to take back our time ~ BUT ~ taking back our time is not enough. We must also prioritize our lives so that with our extra time we do things that matter to us, rather than waste it by doing petty shit that has no meaning or benefits.
Our Passions must be Pursued (passionately) because without a passion we are left empty and aimless. It’s okay to have many passions, it’s okay if our passion doesn’t make us money, it’s fine and dandy if our passion becomes a healthy obsession. Our passions can be pathways to Self discovery, personal growth and even Mastery. The deeper we go into a passion, the more we have to learn, discover and refine.
If we must get a job or have a business, then it is encouraged that we find work that aligns with our passions and pursuits for self discovery, because if it’s “just a job to pay the bills,” we will lose interest quickly and find ways to escape our reality (drugs, alcohol, other unhealthy addictions).
I sacrificed a great deal in my first five years as an entrepreneur and had to live very simply due to the limited funds I had available. Every extra penny I made, I reinvested into my business. But as a great mentor once told me, “We must be willing to sacrifice everything if we truly want what we say we want.” I took that risk and made tons of sacrifices over the years and every single one of them was worth it and has paid off.
Our passions keep us engaged in life and participating in the human experience in a positive way. If you’re not sure what to be passionate about, LIFE is a great place to start. To embrace life as a passionate human, we maintain our sense of innocence, curiosity, joy and the ability to see all things as new and adventurous. This takes training and mental discipline.
Relish in our Relationships because it is the people in our lives; family, friends, enemies (if we have them), teachers, strangers and heroes that make us who we are. Everything we believe, express, create and love has a piece of everyone who has ever touched our lives. We are nothing without the people who surround us. Remember this, thank them (even the enemies if you have them) because each of them is a special ingredient that makes up the wholeness of who each of us is.
“I am not sure that I exist, actually. I am all the writers that I have read, all the people that I have met, all the women that I have loved; all the cities I have visited.” – Jorge Luis Borges
Making Home a Sanctuary is essential because the environment of where we live reflects our inner environment. Keep it zen, clutter free and only with the essentials of stuff that is needed to support our highest potential in the areas we want to grow. I lived in a closet for a while, but I made that a damn beautiful closet! The less stuff we need, the more free we are and more rich we feel.
There is no shame in wanting ‘stuff’ or experiences, but see if those desires can be less on actual physical things and more on qualities of the lifestyle desired, experiences wished to be had and an ideal state of being that we’re aiming to embody. The trick is to align all desires with the ultimate desire which is to love, grow, be our best selves and contribute to the world around us in meaningful ways. Everything else can be a distraction.
Desires can also become a trap, causing us to miss the present moment magic because we are striving for something outside of ourselves. So even with our unfulfilled desires, let us not feel empty or less than whole. Contentment, gratitude for what we already have and the conscious decision to make the most of the resources we have available will ground us into those deep feelings of abundance and carry us through to our next levels of growth.
Choosing Enjoyment over Increased Income because our happiness and health is the true wealth we all desire. Things and stuff do not create happiness, they can actually do the opposite. People can work insane hours at a thing they hate to acquire a ‘thing’ they thought they wanted, only to discover that the thing actually brought more emptiness to their lives.
This is because the person was not pursuing the things that matters most in life. Enjoying what we do (everyday – in work and in our spare time) is far more important than the amount of money we make.
If we feel stressed, unhappy and anxious about the job we’re doing 30-60 hours per week, then we are carving harsh neural pathways in our mind and patterns in our lives that are dominated by fear, stress and anxiety. This is hard to unwind if it goes on for a long time.
Changing our ways by aligning our mindset and lifestyle with our own definition of wealth is the only solution to fix our problem. This may take re-prioritising our lives from foundation up (time management, health choices, passions, work, relationships, personal growth, outlook on life, beliefs, home, and so much more…)
Valuing Experiences over Stuff will take us from feeling empty, which causes us to feel like we need more, More, MORE every time we make a purchase to feeling connected, alive, more present and as though our life truly matters.
It is the stories that come from our life experience that matter most. How often do we hear people recounting the stuff they purchased and the countless hours they worked to accumulate that stuff when on their deathbed? Instead, it is our stories that we recount, it is those moments where we felt most alive that we want to share with the people we love. Instead of filling our Home Temple with meaningless shit, let us fill our hearts and minds with meaningful memories.
Abundance is a feeling, not a thing.
Creative Expression is the Key to feeling alive, activated and on the path to never-ending growth. Being creative comes in 7-billion+ ways. We all must find our own unique way of expressing who we are, what we’re passionate about, what we stand for and how we choose to live our lives. There is no right or wrong way to express ourselves, even though society, religion and pop culture will tell us differently… To not express ourselves is to suppress the very creative energy that gives us life.
Let your freak fly, let yourself be seen by the self conscious judgers, let yourself explore who you are through how you create and express, let yourself be yourself in front of everyone in the world. Who F%&^ing cares… Now lets have some fun!
We are not meant to fit into a mould. In fact, there is no mould for the human being. We get to choose and if we can drop our fears of what others will think, we’ll know a sense of freedom that most do not. This takes courage and a little bit of crazy … but the result is a sense of liberation, freedom and richness that can only be found when we choose to be 100% ourselves.
This is a freedom that I experience in my life, through my work and I tell you – if you’re standing on the edge, the leap is not as scary as you think. And it is the most rewarding free fall one will ever take.
I am grateful for my life. I am grateful for each new moment I breathe the sacred breath of life in. I am grateful for the daily opportunities to create, make meaning in my own life and express my gifts and passions into this world. I see myself not as insignificant, but as though every thought I think, action I take and choice I make matters to the whole Universe. Thank you!
