to be willing to give up the story of who you think you are in relation to money. All of us walk around with a story, literally twenty-four seven, except during the times we are asleep! Our story is our perception of how things are, of how much money we have, how things should be, our beliefs about making money, and our past results / achievements that have to do with money. The problem with our stories (yours or mine) is that it is all invented. Our stories are all made up over time, by ourselves and by others. It is all made up and added unto as time passes. None of it is real in the current moment. None of it is even relevant in the current moment, unless you let your story affect and define who you are.
Let me first give you a few examples of positive, empowering stories that can create massive
results in a person’s live. Donald Trump, the billionaire real estate developer, has built a larger-than life personality for himself as a hard-nosed dealmaker. That’s his story. He walks around with the
persona of a shrewd dealmaker who constantly intimidates others into agreement, and legend has it
that he routinely calls up the Forbes editor demanding that the magazine revise his published net
worth upwards! Whether you hate him or like him, you have to agree that Donald Trump is extremely
media savvy in controlling his public image.
Now it does not matter whether Donald Trump is really a good negotiator. But he walks around
acting like one and constantly reinforces the story of him being a good negotiator. He genuinely
believes in it, personifies it, and his results reflect this belief. Therefore, it is really a chicken-andegg
issue at play here: The more one believes in his own story, the more he creates his reality in a
way that is consistent with the story.
You don’t have to be a media personality like Donald Trump to have your own story. I have a
friend who goes to the gym consistently every single day, watches his diet carefully, and is obsessed
over how his body looks. He is living out the “I am fit and healthy” story. Because he walks around
telling this story and believing in it, reality perpetuates itself and he is indeed fit and healthy! He goes
to the gym regularly even on days when he does not feel like it, because going to the gym is consistent with this “fit and healthy” story he is telling himself. Whenever he is in conversation with friends, he would be passionate about sharing muscle-building tips and techniques, once again consistent with the story that he is “fit and healthy”.
The point here is not whether these stories are true or not. There are no untrue stories. There
are only resourceful or unresourceful stories. In other words, the stories that we tell either serve us
or sabotage our well-being over the long term. When it comes to money stories, it has been my
observation that most people do not tell resourceful money stories about themselves. Pause for a
moment and ask yourself what your current money story is. I am willing to wager that it will be a
reflection of the current financial results you are getting. Your current money story will most likely
revolve around your monthly income, how much money you have in the bank, how much debt you
have, and how much you foresee yourself earning in the near future. This is your current money story
or identity, and because you identify so strongly with it… your strong association with it perpetuates
current reality.
Perhaps you’re in the happy camp and your current financial situation is good. In that case
you’ll be telling yourself a happy and resourceful money story, like what the hidden rich are doing.
The hidden rich feel a deep sense of ease and flow when it comes to money. They know that money
flows to them like clockwork from various sources every single moment. They know that they are not
exchanging physical time and effort for money. They know that even if they stop working, their
passive investments will bring them money. They rest in the assurance that they’ll always have the
resources needed to make money when they need it. Therefore, this is the story that plays out in their
heads all day long… and their outer actions reflect this inner story. There is a sense of inner poise
and confidence about them as they go about their daily affairs and deal with others. Have you ever
spoken to someone and even though they said little through their words, their demeanor left a deep
impression on you? Have you ever spoken to someone and knew that you could depend on the person?
Well, it is certainly not by accident that you are picking up these cues about a person. For an
individual to resonate at a high level, he or she would need to achieve the corresponding inner state.
What if you’re in the other camp and your current financial situation is not as good as you
would like it to be? If I asked you the same questions above, about how your money situation is…
your first impulse would be to tell me all the not-so-desirable aspects about the money that are in
your life now. In fact, most people whom I speak to can’t stop talking about their money problems,
because these problems seem so pressing and in-their-face to them! “Look, I must talk and think about these problems in order to solve them!”, they say.
Now I’m going to advocate something counter-intuitive. This is going to be difficult to do in the
beginning, but if you want things to change… you first have to change your inner state and start
focusing on a new reality. As I have explained in my other books, our observation of reality causes
reality to be perpetuated and fixed in the current state. As Abraham-Hicks puts it so succinctly, reality
is energy, which is changing every single moment. But because you are so focused on the “current”
reality and the problems that are at hand, the energy is shifting into the same thing over and over
again… such that it seems as if nothing is happening! What a brilliant observation that is. Instead of
thinking about a situation as unchanging, know that everything is energy, constantly shifting into and
out of form. Everything is in a state of perpetual vibration and motion. However, because of our
unwillingness to entertain an alternative reality, the energy constantly shifts into the same form over
and over again. That in itself is a powerful thought to ponder over, and has been supported by the
latest findings in quantum Physics.
Going by the principle I have just illustrated above, there are a few things that would be
beneficial to do. First, you would want to stop talking about your financial situation and “problems”
to anyone. Stop bringing it up voluntarily! There are people who are going to ask you about it,
probably friends and family who are “concerned” and want to help. But please understand that talking about current reality only perpetuates it, and feeds more energy into it. So it is to your ultimate benefit that you stop talking about it. If friends or family bring up the issue, always say “It’s being taken care off!” or “It’s good!” and then change the subject. If you have friends who constantly show an interest to dwell on negative matters, perhaps it is time to change friends for it is impossible to talk about negative things all the time and attract the positive into your life!
The step above is frequently advocated by every spiritual teacher and self-help book. But I am
going to suggest a few additional tweaks, and the first is this: Do not even talk about your
“problems” to yourself. What does this mean? It means, quite simply, to stop walking around with
the “story” that you have these financial issues. Stop seeing yourself as a person who has these money issues. It is easier done than said. This is not a difficult exercise, and if you manage to do it, you will bring you results even faster than you can imagine. Let me elaborate. For example, if you are currently faced with a huge debt that worries or scares you, stop walking around with the identity of a person who is “in debt”. Stop associating the debt with yourself. Instead, forget about it and give up that part of yourself!
Now some self-help teachers advocate the use of affirmations to reinforce a positive selfimage,
but that is NOT what we are talking about here. In this case, they would recommend repeating
a positive affirmation over and over again that replaces your “old” story. For example, they would
encourage you to say: “I am now debt-free and have a positive cash flow!” while going about your
daily activities. This parroting approach rarely works because no matter how well you phrase the
affirmation, you are still focusing on an unwanted part of your story. Your insistence that things be
different through the recitation of affirmations is a forceful attempt that merely reinforces the fact that
things are still the way they are! If debt isn’t a problem for you, there would be no need to even repeat any affirmations or use any techniques!
There is an old Chinese fable about an individual who came into possession of three hundred
taels of silver, a considerable amount of money in those days. He thought long and hard about where
to hide his newfound wealth, and finally decided that the best way would be to dig a hole in the
ground and bury it under a tree, where no one would notice. However, he was so worried that his
money would be uncovered by someone else that upon burying his money deep into the ground, he
immediately hammered a wooden sign on top of the spot and wrote: “Therein does not lie three
hundred taels of silver!” This amusing story is analogous to the modern day situation where we go
into affirmations overdrive to try to conceal the fact that our problems lie underneath! The
affirmations point exactly to the problems we are trying so hard to eradicate, and the more we repeat
them, the more we remind ourselves of the existence of those money issues.
Therefore, the approach I have always advocated and have found to be very effectiveness is to
simply take a light touch. This does not mean denying that the problem exists, but simply to immerse
yourself in an inner state where the issue does not even exist! You are not trying to override reality by
replacing your current issue with some “positive” version of reality. Don’t do that! It seldom works.
Instead, take your “negative” issue and turn it into something null or void. Transmute it into what
Quantum Physicists call the zero-point field, and what the Buddha calls the “void”. Jesus calls this
the feeling of “peace beyond all understanding”. It is the nothingness, the emptiness, and yet the
wholeness of everything.
Now at first as you read my words, this will seem quite abstract and difficult to do. However,
it is really quite simple and all I am asking you to engage in is an inner mental exercise. There are no
outward actions to take, which means that you can do it right here and now as you read this chapter.
The way I do it is to first think of the subject of “money” and watch the thoughts that spontaneously
come up for me. In my early days when I did this exercise, the mere thought of “money” brought up
many related feelings. Immediately, I thought about my income, how I was making money, my bank
account balance, my fears, my worries… You may have the same associated thoughts too as you think about money. Slowly, those thoughts drifted to resentment, as I was secretly resentful over the fact that I was not making as much money as I wanted. Then it turned to a sense of shame, as I realized that I was not making as much money as “successful” people. And so on and on.
It will probably be the same for you. As you think about the concept of “money”, all these
related thoughts will flood your mind. Along with those thoughts come associated feelings and
emotions. The point here is not to judge those thoughts as good or bad, but simply to sit there and
observe them. If you are currently telling an unresourceful story about money, this exercise will make
you feel uncomfortable. But it is just a feeling. Sit through it — because what you are experiencing is
exactly the story you have been telling about money! This will give you a spot-on indication of your
current and future manifested results. There is no way to tell a story that feels bad and expect good
results, as Abraham-Hicks always teaches.
Now that you recognize the story you tell about money, my advice to you is not to instantly
replace the story with a positive one. Doing so would be like the old Chinese fable which I told you
earlier. Instead, a more effective way is to go into the void, the emptiness… and stay there.
Disassociate your beingness with all these money issues. Slowly, what you’ll begin to see is that you
are not your finances or money issues. These issues do not define you. They have never been a part of
you to begin with.
So first you start with your identity as Richard, or George or Francis. You may see yourself as
someone who has $X in the bank, and makes $X a month. Notice all the spontaneous money
associations that literally identify you and crop up for you when to think about money. The key here isjust to separate your pure self, your pure being from all these unnecessary money associations
(stories) that are not real in the first place. Instead of walking around thinking of yourself as Francis,
who makes $X a month but would like to make $Y, and has $Z in the bank… walk around thinking
(and seeing) yourself as Francis, period! Disentangle yourself from all the money issues that you have so intimately associated with. The longer you can walk around and go about your daily affairs in this state, the more effective these teachings will be for you.
Do this consistently over the next few days, weeks and months. Anytime you feel a money related
thought coming up for you, observe it and then immediately go to the void and empty space
within. Consciously separate yourself (your own beingness) from the fake money identity which you
have just created, and remain there in the void. At the start, you may have to close your eyes in order
to do so, but you’ll soon find that it becomes easier and easier for you to recognize these money related thoughts as just “stories” you keep repeating in your head. All of these are not reality, but
simply representations of current reality. They are not the true essence of the unlimited being that you
are.
How do you know this exercise is working for you? First, you will feel lighter about money. I
can assure you that if you keep at this exercise and make it a daily part of your routine, in a few weeks down the road, the mere mention of “money” will not automatically bring up these strong feelings within you. That would be the first sign that you have succeeded in giving up your story. In fact, the thought of the word “money” for me now brings up nothing. I don’t even recall the amount of money I have in my bank accounts! I actually have to login to my online banking accounts to be reminded of it.
I just know that there is more than enough to meet all my needs and wants. This is the inner state
which you should strive towards, because what I have done here is to stop defining myself once and
for all based on the amount of money I have in the bank. Know that the amount of hard, cold cash you have does not even represent you in any way, so why are you spending so much time getting hung up over it? Previously, I would have walked around thinking, acting and behaving like an $X person.
That very mindset, no matter what $X is, was actually restricting my future possibilities and future
results! Therefore, I have learnt that the moment I stopped seeing myself as an $X person, my outer
financial results exploded because I was no longer placing a cap on what I could or could not
receive!
The second sure indication that this is working would be observing that outer circumstances
now match up to your new inner state. Ever since I adopted this mindset and gave up all my money
stories, including not keeping track of how much I have in the bank, I have often been surprised when
I did take a look at my bank accounts that unexpected sums of money are there, often from various
sources! It is an absolutely magical feeling that you will experience too. This does not result from
temporarily forgetting that something would be there and then being reminded of it. Rather, truly
unexpected sums of money were flowing to me. Sometimes it would be a client wanting to thank me
for a job well done, and he would deposit a bonus check into my account without even letting me
know in advance! At other times, it would be payment from various sources. I love this new mindset
about money because it is much more resourceful for me, and it is highly effective because it does not
involve changing your spending habits. Many of the authors or teachers I have read advocate that you
adopt new spending habits to reflect your new reality about money. For example, they would
encourage you to buy something nice or expensive for yourself. While this could work in terms of
cultivating those rich and deserving feelings, it often ignores the fact that buying something one cannot exactly afford can cause a person to feel even more negative as opposed to positive feelings!
This goes against the whole point of the exercise in the first place, which is to make one feel good.
The simple change I have illustrated above, that of giving up your money story, going into the
void each time you have any money thoughts and deliberately forgetting the amount of money you have in your bank accounts (or even how much you make) is so effective precisely because it involves profound inner shifts and nothing else. There is nothing else you have to do on the outside.
Some Common Questions & Practical Suggestions
When I share the above exercise, I invariably end up with some practical questions and
objections. Most of them are similar to this: I need to keep track of my finances so I know where I’m
spending my money. I need to ensure that there is enough money in my bank account to pay my bills!
These are all valid concerns, since you obviously do not want to end up with a deficit in your
bank accounts and hence incur overdraft charges. Therefore at the beginning, you may still have to
monitor your bank accounts occasionally to ensure that there are sufficient funds inside, especially if
you are just starting out. However, one immediate and very valuable change you can make would be
to reduce the frequency which you take a look at your bank balance. Stop reminding yourself of it,
whether the balance is at a level you desire or otherwise!
With the advent of online banking, it is now possible to keep tabs on our bank balances
throughout the day! I know the feeling, when you are worried about whether there is enough money
and hence keep looking at your bank balance for unexpected deductions, or to see whether the money
you need has arrived. The first thing one has to realize is that the continued observation of current
reality will only perpetuate current reality. As such, I would recommend that you cut down the
frequency by which you observe your bank balance. Why would you need to take a look at it so many
times throughout the day? If the money is there, it will be there no matter how many times you look at the balance. If a deduction has to be made, it will be made no matter how tightly you keep track of the balance. These things are often beyond our control. I may not feel like to pay a bill, but I still have to pay it or face the consequences. Therefore, give up the need to constantly keep an eye over your bank balance. The more you do it, the more you are reinforcing the story of “I am an $X person”, which makes it even harder to change your current financial situation.
The way I do it is to only look at my bank accounts once a month, when I need to pay my bills.
I have arranged and organized my bills by due dates such that I only sit down to pay them once a
month, and still be on time for all of them. The date I have chosen for myself is near the end of the
month, as the due date is usually the first week of the upcoming month. I used to pay my bills as I
received them (because I was worried about missing a payment, or being in “debt” even if it was only
for a short period of time), but I now realize that it is an unnecessary practice because this means I
would have to login to my account between 5 to 10 times a month. Each time I paid a bill in the past, I would have to see my bank balance “decrease” 5 to 10 times a month! Now I just pay all my bills at
the same time, once a month. I don’t even go in to check on the balance in between.
Ever since I adopted this new practice, I’ve had pleasant surprises every single month I logged
in. My bank balance would be constantly increasing from the various income sources as I intended,
and there has always been enough to pay my bills in full. So no, giving up the need to track my bank
balance and giving up my stories about money has not led to reckless spending or the detriment of my finances, as many would believe. In fact, the opposite is true. Because you are now adopting a light and carefree attitude about money, more money flows into your experience as a result! Make this change in your life today and I am confident that the same positive results will flow for you as well.
As you journey through this book, know that some of the most profound shifts will take place
within you. When you truly make the necessary shifts inside of yourself, your outer reality will match
up to your new inner state. This is the gist of all my books and teachings, one that is based on
fundamental Universal principles. The techniques and steps outlined are all designed to help you get
there faster.
The sooner you are able to let go of your old money identity and step into a completely new
money identity, the faster things will change for you. However, since most of us carry so much excess
baggage over the whole issue of money, I recommend stepping into a space of null and void instead,
and let the Universe fill up the rest of the details. Therefore, once you have given up the old money
identity and immersed yourself in a deliberate void, there is no need to start filling it up with positive
thinking or affirmations. I have found that letting go of the negative thoughts and feelings is enough.
Giving up your money story and stepping into the void, the emptiness of it all, will allow new
possibilities to emerge for you. When I share the technique in the previous chapter, some readers may
be worried that giving up their existing money identities and “going into the void” means they’re
going to attract nothing… since there is nothing in the void! I can assure you that this is certainly not
the case. You are not signifying your desire to attract “nothing” when you step into emptiness.
Instead, what you are doing is creating a vacuum for your greater good to rush in. You are clearing away years of negative conditioning, unwanted magnetic thoughts and feelings, dis-empowering beliefs… all of which hold your desired financial well-being away from you. When you step into a completely new money identity, one of no identity… you free yourself from the expectations of yourself, and from everyone else.
