Shifting from Scarcity to Abundance: Changing Our Perception of Money

Pre:S - I expect not many people on this list have really formally developed the skill of communicating their value, despite it relating to raising your prices, setting boundaries, marketing, and more. click this link to show interest for a new program on the topic.

In a world where money seems to be in abundance, many of us still experience stress and anxiety surrounding our finances.

This unease is deeply ingrained and often leads to exhausting internal dialogues that spiral us into worst-case scenarios.

As Seth Godin once said,

"We go from hearing the phone ringing, to seeing it's our boss, to thinking oh I'm going to be fired, to imagining oh I'm going to be homeless and then dead in less than 10 seconds."

So how do we put an end to our worries about money?

Where does a scarcity mindset come from, and can we ever truly move beyond this sense of lack?

It's entirely possible that you might dismiss the idea of an abundant world, which is why I'm writing this post – to help shift your perspective toward abundance and away from scarcity.

While real poverty undoubtedly exists, the focus of this post is on the type of self-imposed scarcity around money that doesn't necessarily reflect reality.

Founders and entrepreneurs are often subtly influenced by scarcity thinking.

If you've ever felt jealousy towards another founder raising money or discussing their success, it's likely that a bit of that envy stems from competitiveness – a surface emotion supported by underlying feelings of inadequacy or lack.

Is it competitiveness, envy? Or scarcity thinking?

Even those who have money can experience scarcity around it.

Hoarding money out of fear of losing it is another form of scarcity thinking. We often feel compelled to accumulate more money because, well...you never know.

Moreover, money frequently serves as a measure of our well-being.

Money is, in fact, flowing abundantly, but our perception of it shapes our experience.

To help you embrace more abundance and less scarcity, consider some of these ideas...

Money is abundant:

Value, and consequently money, is not a zero-sum game. Money is not a finite resource; it can be created and destroyed as needed. Both governments and individuals can generate money. The world's economy is always growing, and when someone makes more money, it doesn't necessarily mean that others are losing out

In the circumstances people often feel anger about, it's because money was not shared with stakeholders who were deserving, not because there is a fixed amount of money in the world.

Here's a simple example:

Can you turn a canvas, and some basic paints (cheap), into something worth hundreds, thousands, millions of dollars?

If you did create and sell a $1M painting to a happy buyer, from $10 of paint products, then who did you steal the money from to make the $1M?

Value is generative, we can create it from thin air, with just our creativity, as long as others choose to value it.

We can grow the pie.

Money is flowing (not stagnant)

Our global economy is built on trade. Like a circulatory system but with capital, the continuous exchange of money between individuals and businesses is staggering.

As you go about your daily life, notice the transactions happening all around you. Notice the cars, clothing, grocery stores, bikes, restaurants, store fronts...

When you start to look around, you realize that people are spending money constantly.

You, too, are a part of that flow, with the purchases you make, and the payments people make to you.

While you chase money, money chases quality.

The quickest way to earn money is by offering quality – be it in music, woodworking, teaching, or painting.

So, it's not a mystery where people choose to spend their money. Capitalism (when working) is built to reward quality. That's a good thing, and it's why the quality of life improves over time.

When you're worried about chasing money, focus on creating quality instead.

Money is made in infinite forms

There are no set amount of jobs. They're always changing.

Today you can make money by...Investing in stocks, bonds, real estate, art, cars, and jewelry.

You can sell services, products, your time, your likeness, and a sense of humor.

You can write, dance, play, sing, sweep a street, take out the trash, clean, do groceries for someone else, help people dance, do open heart surgery, make coffee, teach people to jump out of planes, police, politic, protect, paint...

It's all made up, as long as you do something that someone else values, you can get paid.

Money is emotional

Money, past our basic survival needs, is emotional and about meaning. We put emotional stories onto money and believe them to be "real."

When you realize that most spending is emotional, you realize that what you're seeking is to see, be seen, connect, love, relate, and feel worthy...

While scarcity measures shortfalls, abundance gives infinitely.

You can focus on the people, joy in your life, and feel more abundance.

Getting into the money flow

Seeing the flow of money as abundant starts with changing our perceptions about it. When you do that, you move through the world with more feelings of abundance

When we feel abundant, we're more likely to act in ways that create it.

While it might feel like there's this "on, off" nature of money related to our jobs, or "going broke" the reality is that this flow can increase or decrease over time depending on effort.

Money is a dial, not a switch.

Sharing more of who you are, giving to others, and focusing on them is the surest way to increase your own inner-abundance.

Learning to have a conversation about value.

A huge asset for creators, freelancers, consultants, and entrepreneurs is the ability to learn to sell and communicate their value to others.

Without this skill, creators/specialists continually...

• Undercharge for their services
• Have poor boundaries with clients
• Have difficulty monetizing their expertise

If you have struggled to package and communicate your value to others, I may be able to help.

You can add your info here I know.