If intentions are so powerful, why don’t they always pan out? What if you swear you want to make more money, but try as you might, nothing changes?

For one reason: You get what you want, not what you ask for.

The distinction is critical.

We all have numerous intentions, many we aren’t even aware of. You run into trouble when your expressed intentions are at odds with your unconscious ones.

When an implicit desire—say, to feel safe—is stronger than your spoken intention—to be profitable (which always requires going outside your comfort zone)—you’ll stop yourself at every turn.

You’ll water down your efforts, make misguided choices, and justify your actions with a variety of excuses (“I’d love to, but…).

You may say, and believe, you want to make more, but that’s not the message that’s reaching your brain.

If you want to know what your strongest intention is, regarding money, look at your life. If cash flow is tight, if your job pays too little, if your debt is spiraling out of control, then you either have not set an intention, or you actually intend not to be financially successful.

Why in the world would anyone intend not to be successful?

In part, because it’s scary. Think about it.

You may say you want something, but deep down, a muted voice is persuasively arguing, ‘No you don’t.’

Part of this is human nature, says psychologist Abraham Maslow. “We crave and fear becoming truly ourselves.” Which is what’s required to achieve and sustain financial success.

This is why the inner work is so critical, especially at the outset.  You have to make sure your declared intention is an authentic reflection of who you are and what you want, that conflicting intentions aren’t inadvertently impeding your progress, and that your intent to profit doesn’t run counter to the way you were raised, the role you’ve assumed, or the beliefs you embrace.

Where do you suspect your implicit desire is in conflict with your spoken intention? Tell me about it in the comments below.

I can personally vouch for the incredible power of a strong intention!

Years ago, I noticed that just about every High Earner described a moment in her past, when she said to herself, with utter conviction: “It’s time to make more money.”

She didn’t always believe it possible or know how she’d do it. But she was definitely determined.

Compare that to Underearners. Almost without exception, they’d tell me “I’d love to make more money, but…” as they listed off a litany of excuses.

And indeed, their incomes remained consistently low.

I was quite struck by the difference in their responses. So one day I took a post-it note, wrote $125,000, and stuck it on my computer. That was my earnings goal for the year.

I hadn’t the slightest idea how I’d do it, especially since I’d never earned anywhere even close to that in my entire life. But there was no ‘but’ in my decision, no reasons why I couldn’t.

Whenever life gets hard, doors won’t open, nothing goes right—I know I need to ask myself a question.   Where am I out of integrity?

The word integrity comes from a Latin root, meaning wholeness or entirety.

Whenever you’re not asking for what you want, spending money you don’t have, or your behavior is out of synch with your most cherished values and highest aspirations, you’re giving away your power, sabotaging your success.

Conversely, you take your power back by identifying, verbalizing and living your truth, moment by moment by moment.

Or, as A Course in Miracles puts it: “there is nothing you say that contradicts what you think or do.” 

I’ve long known that women’s difficulties with money have little to do with money per se and everything to do with their fear of power.

In a 2012 study, “Women and the Paradox of Power,” 38% of respondents said they’d rather be well-liked than powerful. As if the two were mutually exclusive.

Our confusion around power should come as no surprise. Historically, girls haven’t been groomed, expected, or encouraged to be successful, powerful adults.

If anything, we were raised as the power behind the throne, often punished for even aspiring higher.

I’m convinced, beneath our dislike of or discomfort with power, lurks a deeper, more ominous concern—the dire consequences we might suffer if we become truly powerful.

Historical narratives of strong, assertive, outspoken women being harshly punished, even burned at the stake, have permeated our collective unconscious.

Do you realize it’s been 20 years since The Secret was released. I’m still a big fan of the movie and occasionally watch the video.

Thanks to this wildly popular movie and subsequent book by Rhonda Bryne, the Law of Attraction is part of our vocabulary. And that’s a very good thing…to a point.

The Law of Attraction states that you attract whatever you want into your life through your ability to feel good, think positively, and focus only on the desired outcome. Simply put, if you want to be rich, don’t focus on lack.

But here’s the problem.  How many times have you said you really want wealth, believe riches are on the way, refuse to focus on anything but abundance….and still, nothing happens?   Your bills go unpaid while your bank balance dwindles.

What the Secret failed to mention is that the Law of Attraction is only part of the equation. There is also The Law of Congruency.