One of the best parts of a personal development programme, or course of therapy, is the later stage of restoration and rebuilding. You've survived a challenging experience, taken time and space to recover and stabilise, and now there's a whole new range of possibilities ahead of you. On the other hand, you might also be seeing the effects of time spent battling with demons and dealing with your own personal mistakes. It can be easy to see this as a place of loss, a derelict scene or time & energy wasted. If you've been a victim it can take a while to find your new perspective. It's not simply about 'positive thinking' or 'letting go of limiting beliefs', but about seeing the truth of who you are now. You're no longer the 'ugly duckling' or 'poor little me'. Without noticing it was happening, you've become a beautiful 'swan'. You are sleek, strong and confident because of all you've gone through. You can handle things now that would've floored you in the past. Now you're ready to emerge and take the steps to build your new lifestyle. Your past was not a failure, it was your training ground, your refining fire. And now you're shining and clear.
Compound Interest
Our 'Ladies Tea' business group was discussing the concept of compound interest. If you save some money in a deposit account it earns interest. If you leave the interest in the account, your interest earns interest. This effect keeps building up, or compounding. If a teenager put away a small amount of money regularly, and left it to earn compound interest, they could retire with a million pounds. One Lady said "Why didn't we know about this when we were teenagers?" To which I replied "I did, and I saved in a Building Society account from childhood. But the reason that I and others are NOT millionaires from compound interest is because ‘life happens’. Money stops going into the account because of events like increased household expenses or time out to raise a child. Maybe the money has to be drawn out to keep things afloat after a job loss, prolonged illness or a divorce. So while it's true that most people could easily become a millionaire just by saving enough to earn compound interest, the fact is almost no one does.
Financial Freedom
I think being rich is about having more choices and more comfortable options. That's not necessarily about having a set sum of money because it's also possible to have money but be miserable, insecure, lonely or unwell. I believe it's Robert Kyosaki who says it's not so much the amount of money you have right now but what you do with it next. So if you want to live a richer life of freedom, you need to create a plan and act on it, diligently. Whether you want to get out of a dismal marriage, spend more time traveling/enjoying your home or help others to live a better life too, a sound financial position can be a great help in making it all a reality.
Spiritual Prosperity
The world's economic system is based on the principle of management of scarce resources. God's prosperity for the soul is based on wise stewardship of abundant provision. In the world system you need a budget. In God's Kingdom you create a spending plan. The world tells you to 1) Spend 2) Borrow 3) Save 4) Give and make sure you look after yourself and your own family. The Heavenly Kingdom teaches us about 1) Giving 2) Saving 3) Solvency 4) Spending and making sure there's plenty to go around for everyone. So where do you plan to be in five years time? Write out your vision. What steps will you need to take in the 12 months ahead to shift things closer to your Lifestyle Design? Do you need to keep nurturing your health, repay borrowings, check your Pension Statements, get on with that project to increase your income or be a little more generous towards others? The number one thing to do is change your thinking. As T.Harv Eker says, the biggest obstacle to generating wealth is thinking like a victim. We all complain at times, or perhaps look enviously at others, but both are signs of an attack of the POMS (Poor Old Me's). The UK in 2020 ranked as the 6th wealthiest economy in the world. Let's thank God for this peace and prosperity and then let's take responsibility for financing our freedom to choose.
I read T. Harv Eker's book in April 2016 and highly recommend his mindset changing 'files' in 'Secrets of the Millionaire Mind'. Details HERE
