“If you want to know what God thinks about money, look at who he gives it to.”
I cringed when I heard this phrase come out of the podcast host’s mouth.
Did he realize the damage a phrase like that can have on someone’s psyche – especially someone who’s trying to earn money to make a living and a life for themselves?
Let’s not even get into the fact that this person was the host of a well-respected podcast ‘helping’ creatives make a living from their work. Thousands of creatives may have nodded along to those words, never knowing the harm.
How easy do you think it would be to build a successful business if in the back of your mind you think only horrible people get money?
That in order to be rich, you must also be bad?
And even worse – that it’s decreed from the divine?
Money issues have more flavours than a 99 cent wing joint.
Maybe it’s thinking we have to work hard to earn it.
Or that we’re not deserving of it when we get it.
Perhaps it’s that money shouldn’t be the goal, and our passion should be enough to sustain us.
My own personal flavour? Thinking I can have either money or love in my life, but never both.
I’ve been battling it for a long time and at this point, I’m winning. But it’s not a duel, it’s a Cold War. And even when I think I may have finally won, I’m sure there will be a choice, a situation, a feeling that arises one day to bring it back to light.
But after learning about it, my own mentors and coaches have helped me. They’ve taken it into consideration while we work together.
Now that I’m on the other side of that table, mentoring and teaching others, I feel I need to take an oath akin to the hypocratic: “But first, do no harm.”
It starts with examining my own issues and ensuring I don’t pass them along to those I’m supporting.
It continues with doing what I can to become aware of the myriad other issues people may have; being sensitive and cognizant of the harm I may do if I dismiss them out of hand, or inflame them with my ignorance.
And just like my own personal battles with my barbecue ranch flavoured money issues – this is a process that will never really end.