Money Tips From A Life Coach
Divorced with no children, Melinda hadn't much to show for
twenty years as a bookkeeper, apart from $30,000 in savings and a mediocre
retirement plan.
Yes, she and her husband Rick had lived reasonably well during their fifteen years
of marriage. She had nice clothes and a decent car, but they spent more than they
earned and had procrastinated about buying a house because they never managed to
get a deposit together.
In a way she was grateful. They didn't have any real 'spoils' to divide when they
went their separate ways. Now at forty-one, she was looking retirement in the face
and the future looked bleak.
Learning about money
Melinda talked to Tom, the IT manager at work. He was her own
age yet ran a successful consultancy business and was rumored to be worth a
few dollars. Tom put her onto his broker, who suggested a mutual fund and
recommended some books to read. Impatient to "catch up", she lost half of her
savings trading penny stocks over the Internet. When she lost her job eight
months later due to a company restructuring, Melinda decided to start her own
bookkeeping business.
For three years she struggled to get enough clients to make ends meet. In between
she lived on credit cards – she refused to touch what was left of her savings – and
paid them off as soon as she got a new contract. Melinda did an excellent job for
her few clients and spent a lot of time promoting her business. She read books and
attended seminars, did daily affirmations and tried to think positively, but the
money simply wasn't coming. She came to the conclusion that something in her
attitude was holding her back.
So she took the next step – she found a life coach.
Melinda decided she needed someone outside her life who could help her push through
this barrier. She phoned a life coach she'd met at a seminar and organized a barter
deal – bookkeeping services in exchange for bi-monthly coaching.
Initially it was a frustrating experience. Melinda's coach, Janet, shared a number
of ideas with the money gurus whose books Melinda read, so she felt she was
covering old ground. But she soon recognized that the real benefit was in having
someone to answer to, someone who wouldn't let her get away with excuses and who
held her to her agreements. Because they lived in different cities, Melinda and
Janet didn't meet in person. They talked on the phone for one hour every two
weeks.
For months Melinda didn't feel she was making progress. The phone calls felt more
like whining sessions than anything else. Then she landed a new client who needed
to reorganize his company's finances. She felt confident enough to invest a portion
of her savings in a couple of long-term vehicles. Now, six months later, those
investments were paying off. And her client base began to grow.
Tips from Melinda's life coach
Here are some of the techniques Melinda used to get her money life on track. Some
of them may apply to you.
-
If you have a problem with negative or self-defeating
thoughts…
Wear a loose rubber band on one wrist. When you catch yourself entertaining
one of these thoughts, snap the rubber band lightly to interrupt the
pattern. This will train you to
(a) notice when you think negatively
(b) interrupt yourself
(c) cut down on the number of times you do this throughout the
day
- If you focus too much on what's not going right in your
life…
Start a Daily Highlights journal. At the end of each day, write down three
positive things that happened during the day. Melinda e-mailed her highlights
to her coach once a week but this is optional. You can keep this up for a month
or so, or make it a regular habit. The point is to learn to focus on the
positives. They do exist, even if you have to dig a little to find
them.
- If you have a problem with
self-acceptance…
Look into your mirror each morning or night and say the
following affirmation:
"I love and accept myself completely as I am!"
Melinda chose EFT techniques for this exercise with the aim
of speeding up the process. This consists of tapping on six key
acupressure points while repeating the affirmation. For more information,
visit our page on EFT.
You can also used Harv Eker's declarations, which are sprinkled throughout his
book, "Secrets of the Millionaire Mind".
Some additional techniques to test
There are a couple of ongoing practices that enhance the
effectiveness of the life coaching techniques.
- Set Up A Personal Bookkeeping System
If you don't already do this, begin keeping track of your
financial situation on your computer. The idea behind this is to treat
your finances in a professional manner, even if you only have a small
amount of money to deal with. It shows a respect for money and
demonstrates that you can handle it, regardless of the quantity. In
essence, you are acting like a wealthy person.
You don't need special software for this – any spreadsheet program will do. Set
up spreadsheets for your bank accounts, credit cards and investments, and
update them once a month or so. Consider this training for when you have
millions to keep track of. This is a great example of Acting As
If.
- Continue Researching Your Financial
Vehicles
You might wish to invest in a business, real estate or the
stock market. Obviously it's more effective to tackle these one at a
time. But once you have one in place, you can begin preparing for the
next vehicle.
One of our teachers used to say:
"Luck happens when preparation meets
opportunity."
Melinda believes that the large number of hours she invested
in researching business strategies and investment markets demonstrates to
the Universe that she's serious about achieving financial freedom. Her
knowledge also allows her to recognize good opportunities when they
present themselves.
- Continue to Invest
As Melinda worked on her business she also kept an eye out for investment
opportunities. She understood Robert Allen's concept of multiple streams of
income and also Robert Kiyosaki's emphasis on passive rather than active
income.
- Watch Your Gains
If you haven't already, set up a spreadsheet that tracks your investments and,
operating on the premise that you get more of what you focus on, check it
regularly. You need this feedback whether your investments are positive or
negative. Gains will contribute to your positive frame of mind and losses will
alert you that you need to rethink your strategy.
You don't need to actually be investing to do this. You can set up spreadsheets
for your savings or any form of positive cash flow.
- Find a Support Group
A networking group like a Cashflow Club can definitely make your wealth
creation journey more enjoyable. Apart from the emotional support of
like-minded people, you may get useful ideas and information from those who are
researching areas you don't have time for or haven't yet discovered.
Find a group of people with similar goals who will support your own journey.
The group doesn't necessarily need to play the Cashflow games. For more on
groups, visit the Cashflow Gamepage.
And of course the basics of wealth creation still apply:
- If you're in debt, get out of it as soon as
possible.
- Create a budget to keep control of your
finances.
- Accumulate some seed money as quickly as
possible.
- Focus on your financial education.
- Choose a money vehicle.
- Use the wealth mindset techniques to
prevent yourself from sabotaging your success.
While we recognize that not all life coaches are created equal, we highly
recommend taking the risk and finding one who is willing to work with you, at least
for a couple of months.
It might just be the kick-start you need to move yourself closer to your goals.
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