OK, for those who have seen poverty, I appreciate that I am pretty wealthy already. But here I am talking about abundance. Having enough to be debt free and to plenty left over.
Let me first of all outline some principles. Whether you believe in prayer or priming we can influence the outcome negatively. We can self sabotage. This is my struggle. I tend to be a bit of a hermit. Also I am in a bit of a quiet and low mood at the moment. Not depressed, just tired on the inside! I tried to get on the exercise bike this morning and my legs just wouldn't get into it!! Perhaps it is the diet, low energy, perhaps any number of other things.
One of my issues with money, as I have probably said before is that I am a bit of a toy junky. I remember a comedian talking about how his cat had got hold of his lottery winnings and he came home and the living room was full of cat toys!! Well, that is about the level I function on with money. Some preachers say that we shouldn't manage debt, we should be debt free and some! But for me managing debt helps me to curb my spending. If I had plenty of money in the bank there would be no limit to the things I would buy. There is a clip on the front of a Veggietales where Larry turns up with loads of stuff. Bob says to him, "Larry, how much stuff do you need?" Larry answers, "I don't know Bob, how much stuff is there?!"
I like the idea of having the money in the bank to buy whatever I want, but that makes me feel out of control. I have had money before, and I was out of control. I look back now and think of how I would spend it differently. How I would have bought things that had a more lasting effect so that I would still be benefiting. I also hate the thought of working to just scrape by. I used to have a saying, "I work to pay my bills!" How pitiful is that? However, like I say, I have an inbuilt debt limit. That helps me to keep it manageable. Maybe there is someway of raising that limit. But if you have money you can buy stuff. If you don't and you have a limit, you can only buy stuff when you are clear of your limit.
OK, what is "Priming?" I hear you ask!! Priming, it seems, although I could be wrong, but hey, go with the concept not the label. It is like when you buy a new car and suddenly you notice every other car like yours on the road that you never noticed before. Think of that as powerful. All you ever saw before was a blur of cars, they're all just cars. You maybe see the odd one that stands out now and then, but mostly it's just a collage. Then one day you choose a car, you choose it because it's there. The car that suits your needs at an age, condition and price that suits you. You drive it off of the forecourt and suddenly you become part of a club where you just keep seeing other members. Now, lets say that your "car" is business opportunity. You have the ability, we have just seen that. If you were as tuned into spotting business opportunity as you are to spotting your car then you'd be a millionaire. So what stops you? What stops me?
Let's say God wants to give me a windfall, what stops me from wanting it? Well, I have already explained, I have an inbuilt issue with money. I want it, I want it's benefits, but like some kind of self flagellating monk, I am frightened of it's temptations.
Questions then: Is it possible to become happy with money? Can I change myself to be someone who handles money well? Is having money and not spending it more painful than not having it? Those people who are self made millionaires supposedly don't take time to enjoy their money, is that what it takes? What's the point of that? Why am I bothered? Well, I suppose it is a weakness and I hate my weaknesses! I see the theories in how to get money, and am frustrated that I can't follow them through! It is a glass ceiling in my life and I want to rise higher (although it isn't so invisible as to be a glass ceiling, maybe it is a plaster ceiling!) Let's say I write a best seller, let's say that frightens the life out of me, I may become a public figure, my life not my own, money enough to buy bigger toys and be even more out of control! That would stop me writing a best seller wouldn't it? But let's say I'm not actually aware that it frightens the life out of me, I just keep plugging away but never get there.
I lack wisdom therefore I ask God! (But feel free to through in your two pennies worth. I should be safe with two pennies!) I know God must be dealing with me on this. There is other stuff He is dealing with.
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2 comments:
I have been thinking of wealth in terms of living in the house I'm in now with no mortgage and maybe having a new car each and then enough to be comfortable.
Have you even seen the film "THe Million Pound Note" with Gregory Peck? It is a really good film. He gets given an envelope and told there is money in it but he cannot open it until a certain time. He goes to a cafe and orders food but isn't sure how much he can order! He is hopeful that there will be enough money in the envelope to pay for it. Once he opens it to pay his bill and finds it's a million pound note he is suddenly transported to a hotel a tailor is brought in and all with out sepnding any money!!
Let's suppose I reframe "rich." Let's say it is living in a house in the country, a really big house, or even in a very excluse part of a city (not sure whether I am a country person or city person!) Hey what they hell, let's have both!!
I'm gonna need staff. I want to spend time with CJ. CJ! There's another issue, people tend ti fight over money, but we'll have so much it wont be an issue!
Now, someone has to drive the expensive cars and play with the expensive toys!! Might as well be me!
I can never make up my mind what type of car I want because I have different needs at different times, so, we'll have one of each to suit my different needs!
We'll have the best medical, so there will be no being kicked around by the system.
I have seen a program called "How to blow a billion!" or something like that. And it talks about the most expensive toys. I have to say, at the moment there is a limit on how much I would spend on toys, so if I have enough to cover that, then it would be the same as my limit on debt!
So, instead of thinking in terms of having enough plus a little bit and then worrying about blowing the little bit of follish toys, I need to think about having so much that it would be impossible to blow it. So much that it would be like therapy to me.
You see even when I had a monthly allowance, my spending crept up until it would take about a year to pay it back. Basically living within my means was practical. We are told no matter how much you have you will always spend more than you have. Well, the thing is surely the economy is based on the majority not quite having enough to get everything they need so they always go into debt!
It is a bit like the food at the moment. It isn't fat people's fault that they are fat. If they were born 200 years ago they wouldn't have the problem. We live in an age where we do not get much exercise and where the most readily available foods have been processed with sugars and hydrogenated fats. Some people are going to be easier targets for this stuff than others. In the same way it isn't our fault that we are in debt. We have people who lend us money and we are not paid quite enough to live in the present age. Again, some people are easier targets!
Some people live within their means and do not really enter the age we are in. Others who feel they are in the age we are in, inevitably get into debt, even if it is only credit cards and morgages!
There has to be a managable place above that. I will employ a strict accountant who will strickly control my spending. He will give me a managable buget. I will employ a cook who will only prepare really healthy foods, so that I don't have to worry about it. I will employ a fitness instructer who will keep me fit and in good shape.
I have heard of a game where you are given £5, you have to say what you will spend it on. Then you double the money and say what you will spend that on. You keep doing this but you can't buy the same thing more than once. So, for example, if you buy a house at £500,000 you can't buy another one. The trouble is I can't remember what the point of the exercise is! I was told it by someone who was a wouldbe guru! I will try to find it!
Your brain, my friend, is an amazing thing! You're like a dog on a hunt, or a child trying to get the last lick from a cake beater (chocolate). Or like some other thing that won't let go of some other thing until it gets to the end of it. Tenacious. I think that's the word.
I've heard of people who are afraid to write a best seller because they are afraid of fame. I still have a book about people being paralyzed by fear of success (I'm NOT saying you are!), I'll go see what it says, too.
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