Bringing wealth to your life is all about your mindset regarding money. You may think all you have to do is work hard, and you’ll bring in the big bucks, but there’s more to it than just spending your time working. You can work 60 hours a week and still be financially struggling or you can work smart 30 hours a week and be financially independent of debt.

I’ve read several books on the money mindset. These are my favorites:

You Were Born Rich by Bob Proctor 

Secrets of the Millionaire Mind: Mastering the Inner Game of Wealth  by T. Harv Eker

Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill 

Each book defines our relationship with money (earning and keeping it) first stems from our mind. However, that doesn’t mean we only have to wish for money, and it comes to be. That is part of it by focusing our thoughts on what we desire and then visualizing it. But we also need to take some action to get it.

Our minds control our lives.

We cannot blame away our current life on someone or something else outside of ourselves. It’s not our significant other, job, or financial situation that creates our life. I know it’s cliche, but we are the captains of our ship, whether we believe it or not.

The most important part of our mindset – our subconscious mind – the one that got programmed when we were babies – controls our life.

There is stuff rattling around in our minds that we aren’t even aware of, yet it’s so powerful and controls our lives. Why do we sabotage healthy relationships? Probably a result of something that happened to us as a child that taught us we weren’t good enough, so we’d better end it before there’s a problem. It’s like training a dog. You say and do something repeatedly to get the dog to do something, and the dog behaves accordingly.

My upbringing was not a happy one. I write this because it’s the truth, not to blame anyone. I’ve forgiven, but I need to share this for this post. As an adult, I’m struggling due to negative programming. I’m in therapy for it, and it’s helping. Writing this blog is proof. Two years ago, I was terrified to do so. I’m struggling financially and have been all my adult life. I’m intelligent, talented, and have a great work ethic, yet I struggle. Why? Why are there others who live paycheck to paycheck? We all certainly deserve to earn more.

The answer lies in the way we (our subconscious mind) view money. As a kid, I got disappointed a lot. After a while, I just expected less. Wanting less meant not having to deal with disappointment. I didn’t dare to focus on something better for myself because it seemed so unrealistic. When I was young, I was told by many people close to me (family and friends) how awful I was, was repeatedly made fun of, and told to stop singing, stop playing the trumpet, and stop doing anything that made me happy. I didn’t know it then, but that programming set me up for a life of failure, mistakes, and loneliness, spending much of my time alone.

I took low-paying jobs because I needed money but wanted to do something easy enough that I couldn’t get called out on not being good enough. I settled for mediocracy to avoid pain. How many of us do that too?  All the while I settled, a weak voice inside of me kept nudging me to try harder to earn a living doing what I wanted to do. I didn’t believe I could do it and never tried hard enough.

Good news! There is a way to regain control; all it takes is to pay attention to our thoughts. When you think or say something negative about money or your present financial situation, change the language to positive. Instead of saying you don’t have the money for that, say you chose not to buy it. Instead of worrying about money, think there’s always a way to get it. I’m not referring to acting irresponsibly with money, just being smart about it.

Why should anyone go through life miserable because of their financial situation? And yes, I heard before, why can’t you suck it up and make the most out of it? I did that for a long time and felt wrong for wanting better. I am grateful, but there’s nothing wrong with wanting better.

My guy says, “Life is ten percent what you make it and ninety percent how you take it.” That’s a good way to think because we need to be grateful and see the good to reduce stress and anxiety.

In his book, You Were Born Rich, Bob Proctor writes, “Start right where you are – build the image of what you want and then act if you have already received it. Act like the person you want to become.”

All that begins in the mind. To bring wealth to your life, whether that wealth is good health, a happy relationship, or being financially independent, we need to believe we deserve it, see ourselves having it, and then act toward it. What appears so simple takes time to override the old programming with new ideas. But it will happen. You can re-train a dog, and we can re-train our minds. We are far more intelligent than canines, but it’s the same principle. Never despair that you’re older, set in your ways, and it’s too late to change. That’s not true. It’s just more wrong messages and programming your mind learned that does not serve you. Don’t give it attention and it will lose its control over you.

Here’s a good action step. Write down what you would do if you won ten million dollars. Be very specific. What would you do? Some people say they’d quit their job and live out on an island, drinking pina coladas all day. That’s great, but when you start writing your ten-million-dollar life, you might find your passion and what excites you, and from that knowledge, you can create a plan to start living that life.

I’d love to know what your dream life looks like. Comment below.

Thank you very much for reading this. It takes just as much brain power to think a negative thought as it does to think a positive one. You have the choice. Which one will you choose?

To Having a Great Money Mindset,

Francesca