Life Lessons
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The Only (True) Antidote for Fear

It’s hard not to freak out these days. Between the rapidly spreading coronavirus and the deeply plunging markets, how’s a girl supposed to stay positive and avoid panicking?

I’ve been asking myself that question a lot.  Then I found a way to quiet my anxiety. And I’m excited to share it with you.

It’s called Selective Attention. You focus on what inspires you and stop dwelling on what scares you.

Easier said than done, right?  Which is exactly what I thought…until I remembered the Receiving Journals I handed out at my Sacred Success retreats.

Keeping a Receiving Journal serves the same purpose as tracking your spending.  But instead of increasing your awareness of money going out, a Receiving Journal forces you to face all the abundance flowing in.

As A Course in Miracles tells us: “Every day a thousand treasures come to me with every passing moment.”  The problem, however, we fail to notice those numerous treasures, especially when fear is ever-present.

To fully access the power of a Receiving Journal, you must understand this: everything that happens is a gift for the receiver, whether it feels ‘good’ or ‘bad.’  The challenge, of course, is to find the treasure in what may seem unpleasant. But even the good stuff can be challenging to receive.

For example, I started noticing how often I’d gloss over expressions of praise or appreciation, without fully taking in the words. So I started listing, in my journal, every compliment I got.

And when I had a tiff with my husband, I actually stopped to figure out the gift. I not only discovered a pattern I was repeating that had messed up other relationships, but it led to the most loving discussion. This went in my journal too.

It’s only been a few days, but I feel a big difference. I’m actually happier, more loving.  Maybe that’s what a Receiving Journal is all about. Not just expanding our ability to receive, but actually increasing our capacity to love.

After all, says the Course, love is the only antidote for fear.  “Any attempt to master fear is useless. The true resolution rests entirely on mastery through love.” 

 Are you open to receiving or do you resist? Leave me a comment below.

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Pruning vs Pushing

A little over 10 years ago, in a rush of adrenalin brought on by a surge of ambition, I suddenly shifted into high gear. I hired a team, restructured my website, created a new marketing campaign, purchased complicated new software, and created all sorts of new products. I was driven.

Until my enthusiasm dwindled and I couldn’t understand why. The answer came loud and clear when I helped my daughter, an organic farmer, prune the fruit trees.

“If you don’t prune back most of the new buds,” Anna explained, “too much of the tree’s energy goes into producing foliage instead of growing fruit. You don’t want the trees to spread themselves too thin, reducing the amount of fruit they bear.”

The metaphor was inescapable. I was that fruit tree, spreading myself too thin, letting too many budding projects sap my creativity, my energy, my focus.

Busyness, or the act of spreading oneself too thin, is an occupational hazard for high achievers. It’s basically the absence of discipline. Discipline means doing with discernment, thoughtfully pruning rather than tirelessly pushing.

I wonder if we instinctively recoil from discipline, like a kid ordered to eat veggies. It may be good for us, but damn it, we’re not going to like it and we’ll try anything to get out of it.

Instead we slip straight into our drug of choice. I call it ABTS—“Addicted to Busyness Syndrome.”  We stuff every cranny of our lives with so much activity that we’ve lost touch with what’s really essential and what’s truly irrelevant.

But ask us to lighten our load, actually say no to a task, and we start to panic. As if our world would shatter if we slowed down.

Over time, I learned to value Disciplined Action—making prudent, sometimes unpleasant choices, doing what I need to do to, even if it’s not what I want to do. It’s the only thing I’ve found that allows me to successfully do what I love without sacrificing my sanity, or my Soul.

Where are you pushing in your life when you should be pruning? Leave me a comment below.

 

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Financial Challenges are Your Friend

I’ll let you in on a little secret. Anyone can create wealth. Yes, even you, regardless of your current situation. I’ll tell you how.

First, pinpoint your biggest Financial Challenge. It could be anything from a gnawing sense you’re unhappy at work to the gut-wrenching pain of staggering debt.

Next, realize that this Financial Challenge is about far more than money. It‘s a profound opportunity for personal transformation; the call of your Soul trying to get your attention;  the starting point for creating wealth and claiming your power.

Finally, by committing to resolve your Financial Challenge, you’ll open the door between the life you now live and the amazing life that’s patiently waiting for you to take action.

There is no magic bullet for resolving a Financial Challenge. Nor would you want one. It is the process that’s empowering, a three-pronged process:

1) The Outer Work of Wealth—adhering to the Rules of Wealth: Spend less; Save More; Invest Wisely.

2) The Inner Work of Wealth—exploring your attitudes, beliefs and early decisions you made about yourself and money.

3) The Higher Work of Wealth—understanding the laws of the Universe so you can manifest your destiny and make a difference in the world.

As you begin taking small steps to resolve your Financial Challenge, one of two things will happen. Either you’ll resist, give up and fall back into the familiar. Or your life will dramatically change, not only with money, but in other areas as well.

What’s your biggest financial challenge? Are you ready to resolve it? Leave me a comment below.


Take action to bring your dreams to life. My virtual community, The Wealth Connection, is the place to find the support you need. Join Today!

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Are You an Underearner? Part 2

Underearners (UEs) can be hard to spot. Here are seven traits that all UEs share.

1.  Live in financial chaos—UEs tend to go from one financial crisis to another, struggling to make ends meet, often drowning in debt.

2.  Vagueness about money—UEs usually have no idea how much money

they have, earn or need and depend on wishful thinking instead of strategizing and negotiating.

3.  Underestimates worth—UEs give away their time, knowledge, skills for free or bargain prices because they devalue themselves.

4. Anti-money attitude—UEs are ambivalent or downright negative about money and people who have it, believing there is virtue in being poor.

5.  Self-saboteurs—Bright women remain UEs primarily by taking on too much, being scattered and unfocused or procrastinating.

6.  Co-dependent—UEs put everyone else’s needs first, which leads to anger, resentment and pain (not the qualities conducive to success).

7.  Craves comfort—UEs are unwilling to be uncomfortable and therefore unwilling to take risks.

Did you say to yourself, Yes, that’s me, as you read this? If you struggle with Underearning tell me about it in the comments below.

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Are You an Underearner? Part 1

Ever wonder if you’re underearning? 

 

All underearners share one common trait: A high tolerance for low pay.  But that description can be deceptive.

 

 “Low pay” is a relative term. You can make six figures and still be an underearner. Conversely, you can earn far less and not be.

 

My definition of an underearner—someone who makes less than she needs or desires despite her efforts to do otherwise. 

 

Underearning is not the same as VOLUNTARY SIMPLICITY—a conscious choice to live on less in order to create a simpler, saner life; or A MINDFUL LOW EARNER, someone who does work that feeds her soul and still makes enough to meet her needs.

 

Underearning is never a conscious choice. It never leads to a saner, more satisfying life. It is always a CONDITION OF DEPRIVATION, not just of money, but of time, joy, freedom, choices and self-esteem.

 

Do you see yourself in any of the descriptions above? Share in the comments below and be sure to watch for next week’s blog where I’ll share some specific traits of underearners.

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The Lesson at the Liquor Store

So, I’m standing in line at the liquor store, holding 2 bottles of a Chardonnay on sale for $3.99. (Who can refuse a bargain like that?)

An elderly woman is paying the clerk. Behind her, in front of me, a scruffy guy with a bottle of Jack Daniels fumbles with the Lottery machine.

“Maybe I’ll win,” he says to no one in particular.

I say, remembering an article I read, “Did you hear about the couple who won a $20 million lottery and gave it all away because they didn’t want it?”

The elderly woman whips her head up and says: “I’d give it away too. What would I do with $20 million?”

And the scruffy guy agrees: “So would I. Hell, I’d probably just spend it all on booze anyway.”

Refusing the temptation to ask him why, then, he was buying a lottery ticket, I declared: “Not me. I’d give some of it away, but there’s a lot I could do with that money.”

You’d think I told them I was about to shoot the Pope. There was a collective gasp, a look of shock, and for a split second, I actually felt ashamed of wanting millions.

And then I realized—People are about as rich as they want to be.  For many, wealth is more a burden than a blessing.

But the real epiphany came when I turned to the woman behind me, and asked what she’d do.

“My first thought,” she said, “was I’d have enough money to paint my house.” Then she chuckled. “It just occurred to me how small I was thinking. I mean, I could buy a bigger house with that money. Maybe I need to start thinking bigger.”

Maybe we all need to start thinking bigger!  So, in the spirit of thinking bigger, ask yourself: What would I do if I won a $20 million lottery?

Want bonus points?  Answer this: What steps can I start taking now to bring those dreams to life…even if I never win a lottery???

I’m betting you, my readers, will have a different reaction than the liquor store patrons. Am I right? Let me know in the comments below.


Take action to bring your dreams to life. My virtual community, The Wealth Connection, is the place to find the support you need. Join Today!

 

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The Empress’s New Clothes

You probably know the tale of The Emperor’s New Clothes right?

An Emperor orders a suit of clothes that are invisible to anyone who is incompetent or stupid. The emperor can’t see the clothes, but is so afraid of being judged incompetent or stupid that he pretends to be delighted with the garments and “wears” them in a parade through town. All the onlookers pretend to see them too, until a child yells out, “He hasn’t got any clothes on!” 

There’s a modern version of that tale that every woman (and man) should know.

An aging woman, dressed in rags, ambles through crowded streets, feeling invisible, like a second class citizen.

Suddenly, she hears a ruckus from where she just came. Glancing  over her shoulder, she sees a little girl, pointing to her in amazement. 

“That’s the Empress!” the little girl squeals repeatedly to her mother.

The mother starts to scold the girl until she realizes her daughter is telling the truth.  She  passed by this disheveled woman many times, but never before recognized her magnificence. A crowd gathers, whispering beneath their breath, staring at the Empress with awe and admiration.

At that moment, the woman in rags realizes she’s not a second class citizen, but a powerful woman who’s been brainwashed since birth to believe she’s inferior. Until this moment, she had been oblivious to that fact.

That’s when the Empress recognized a deeper truth.  That little girl didn’t just free the Empress, but all women from the paralyzing premise of female inferiority. 

The two versions represent the basic differences between men and women: For the most part, men walk through life, assuming they’re competent, everyone knows it and they feel entitled. Women assume they’re less than, everyone sees it, and we feel unworthy.  While men fearlessly assert their power, we fearfully project it onto others (often men).

Here’s what we can learn from this all too-true fairy tale: 

When women finally own their power and magnificence, both women and men will be liberated to be their authentic selves.  

Where do you give your power away? Leave me a comment below.


If you’ve made a decision to build your Wealth in 2020, I’m here to tell you it’s easier with support. Get the support you need to stay on the Wealth-Building path in my virtual community—The Wealth Connection. Learn More.

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Is Money a Pressing Priority?

You say you want to make more money, right?

But understand this. Nothing will happen until you consciously decide to make financial success a pressing priority.

A decision is not the same as a goal. A goal denotes the desired destination. A decision implies the determination to reach it.

Here’s the beauty of a committed decision. You don’t need to have a plan all figured out. All you have to do is decide what you want and do what comes next.

Decisions are like magnets. They attract opportunities.

But be warned: those opportunities always lie outside your comfort zone.

You’ll come to a point where you must decide what you’re really committed to: increasing your income or staying where it’s safe.

You can’t have both. Have you done anything recently that’s outside your comfort zone? Leave me a comment below.


If you’ve made a decision to build your Wealth in 2020, I’m here to tell you it’s easier with support. Get the support you need to stay on the Wealth-Building path in my virtual community—The Wealth Connection. Learn More.

Ready to Rewire for Wealth?

Is this the year you become a wealthy woman? Or an even wealthier one?  It’s really quite simple.

 Every time money comes in, put a portion into savings on a regular basis. How much? Ten percent is ideal, but less is absolutely fine. Sadly, few people do this.

For many, setting aside savings is akin to self-imposed poverty, as expressed in a recent email I received. “How can I SAVE money to create wealth (which means cutting back spending) and still have a feeling of ABUNDANCE (which means the desire to SPEND) and not a mentality of LACK?” 

 In her mind, spending provided the pleasurable pretense of prosperity while savings felt like self-denial. But a brain wired for wealth views it quite differently.

Saving means you’re giving the money to YOU (not Visa or Starbucks) so that ultimately you can purchase whatever you please without pressure or worry.  The difference between the two mindsets is not deprivation but delayed gratification.

The ability to delay gratification is a sign of maturity and the quickest way to accumulate more than enough, which is the true definition of wealth.

The best part. Saving is so easy when you set up automatic deposits. You don’t miss what you don’t see.

And, with little effort, you set the rewire process in motion.  As you watch your savings grow, the reward centers of your brain light up and your inclination to save more increases by the day.

How do you feel about savings—self-denial or the way to wealth? Share below.


Give yourself the Gift of Wealth in 2020! Join my virtual community, The Wealth Connection and Become a Savvy & Confident Investor!  Learn More!

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A Radical New Way of Making New Year’s Resolutions

Can it be? We’re only two weeks away from beginning a new year. I’ll be spending time with my family and I’m offering this last “from the archives” blog for you to consider as you celebrate whatever traditions you celebrate and get ready to jump into 2020.

I used to do it every year. Then I stopped. Last weekend, however, I was drawn to make New Year’s resolutions.

It felt really good to list them: Write another book. Create a home study course. Visit my kids more frequently. Get away with my hubby. Yoga class at least 3 times a week.

But when I reviewed the list, I was surprised by my reaction. Instead of being pumped up, I felt uninspired. Huh? These were things I deeply desire, achievements that would surely feed my soul. Why wasn’t I excited?

I remembered a line from A Course in Miracles: “Seek not outside yourself…for you will surely fail.” In other words, I’ll never find what I really want if I keep looking for it ‘out there’ or stipulating where to find it.

Then I have a flash back. New Year’s Eve, 1995. At the top of my list: Finish my first book. Not because I enjoy the writing. But as a published author, I’ll finally feel important. Two years pass. I walk by a bookstore, see my book in the window, and wait to feel important. The feeling never came.

Looking back at that memory, I realize that what I’m wanting isn’t actually a tangible goal. It’s how I want to feel once I attain it.

I make a brand new list: To savor the gratification and joy writing gives me. To relish in the pleasure of working with my team in the creation of something new. To spend more time immersed in the love of my family. And to feel connected to my soul, healthy in my body and experience extended periods of inner peace.

Reading these now, I feel energized, excited for whatever unexpected events or unimagined opportunities the universe may bring.

What if you did the same? Rewrite your resolutions, listing the feelings you wish to experience without insisting you know how to find them, Share your thoughts below.

Wishing you all a wonderful holiday and a healthy, happy, prosperous new year. I’ll be back in 2019 2020!


Give yourself the Gift of Wealth in 2020! Join my virtual community, The Wealth Connection and Become a Savvy & Confident Investor!  Learn More!

Meet Barbara Huson

When a devastating financial crisis rocked her world, Barbara Huson knew she had to get smart about money… and she did. Now, she wants to empower every women to take charge of their money and take charge of their lives! She’s doing just that with her best-selling books, life changing retreats and private financial coaching.

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