Let Money be what it is.
What is money?
Well, as per its definition, it is a medium of exchange in the form of either notes or coins.
But is it really?
Is that all money is? "A medium of exchange." An instrument that represents exactly what it states on its face: " I promise to pay….."
If these statements were true, we wouldn't feel that slight second of happiness every time we find some money in our previously worn jeans. Or on the contrary, feel angry every time we lost some money because we were too lax to keep it somewhere safe.
Carl Richards has an interesting way to represent money.
He states "Money = Feelings" and that's true. because it is more than a medium of exchange. Money instills a lot of different emotions.
Spending money, receiving money, wasting money, and investing money all these actions spark emotions among us. What that emotion is has a lot to do with what one's relationship with money has been.
It would depend on a variety of factors, from your childhood upbringing to how your family defines money itself. Did you use to get allowances when you were a kid? Did you have to do chores when you were a kid for pocket money? Did your parents deny you expensive things because they had less money? Or did your parents buy you things when you asked for them? All those events and circumstances shaped your relationship with money. That relationship is going to be complicated, and that's okay. But you can't allow this relationship with money to dictate your life.
I say life because, in my experience as a financial professional, I have met countless people who define money as security.
This is the most common myth that people really believe when asked what money means to them. When it comes to money, the first thing it does is make them feel secure. And to be honest, for a very long time or even now, I have felt that having money made me feel secure too. But if money is really my security, why don't I feel secure when I'm traveling alone on the dark road? or why don't I feel secure about having the best-retired life?
The truth is, money is just money. We give money the importance it wants based on how our relationship with it has been. To feel secure, one has to take actions that make them feel secure. It's a feeling; in the end, it has nothing to do with money. At best, money will provide you with the best hospitality and treatment available if you were to be injured or hurt, but money will not truly secure you. Your actions to face that fear, whatever they may be, will make you feel secure.
The good news is that I know people who feel secure with very little money. And that makes me ineluctably certain that security is a feeling and not a number.
I am on a mission to change the way people think about their money and Investments.
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