Most people know the story of Donald Trump who made and lost a fortune. Went bankrupt and had made a fortune again in three years.

And we’ve all heard of the lottery winners who “spend spend spend” and are as broke as they were before in three years.

why? Because of their money mindset.

What is money mindset?
It comprises a number of different aspects:

What is your money attitude?
your attitude to money – often picked up from when you were growing up

Did money give you choices?
Or were people with money ” fat cats” or filthy rich?
Was your family’s attitude to money that there was more than enough to go round or never enough?
What are your beliefs around money?
By going through our learned attitude to money we can find out where we sabotage ourselves.

What is your money altitude?
We each have a level of monetary wealth at which we fel comfortable like a thermostat if you will. I prefer to think of it as being told to fly at a certain level by an air traffic controller and if you sink below that level you have to boost the power and make corrections to maintain level and if you are taken higher by a thermal for example you need to drop speed and can coast to maintain your height.

And although the air traffic controller may tell you at which height to fly you need to ensure that you are flying high enough to cover the terrain you are flying over. So if you are flying over the fens or other low lying land you don’t need to fly too high to avoid obstacles, but if you are flying over the Alps you will need to get to a higher altitude in order to clear the mountains.

So you can decide in both your business and your life to fly over the low level easy terrain or you can decide to fly over mountains and take on lots of financial responsibilities – big house, car etc In each case as your own air traffic controller you need to decide what level you need to fly at and stick to that height. A lot of people decide it is boring flying over the fens and want to fly over the alps, but don’t think through the implications of how much money they need to maintain that lifestyle.

What is your worth?
As a business we calculate the net worth of a business by using the balance sheet. It always fascinates me what people pay for a particular product or service an hour’s worth of work. How much we are charged will depend partly on the value we perceive , which in turn will be determined partly by what the individual feels they are providing.
As an individual we have an internal measure of self worth – what we deserve. Obviously this is linked to our attitude to money and our self esteem. Certainly with coaching clients I have found that by working on self esteem and what we contribute to the world there is a shift in the physical realm of personal wealth.

what is your relative worth?
. This is not just about how much money you have in your bank account. When I worked in big corporates and everyone was well paid you wouldnt believe the complaints and dissatisfaction when we were told our bonuses – because they were based on individual performance people thought they deserved more or that Simon got more because he went round telling everyone how wonderful he was and was a member of the Carlton Club or Clare had more because she was sleeping with one of the partners! ( I use false names obviously to protect the guilty but you know what I mean).

What makes you feel wealthy?
The next issue is often having to address what makes us feel wealthy. In my village a neighbour of one my aunts lived in rural poverty: she had less than fifty pounds in the bank when she died, the cottage she had lived in had to be pulled down as uninhabitable. And yet she used to say she was wealthy – because she could grow vegetables in her garden and watch the robins, and delight in nature. she had enough for her needs, and also used to take round the excess to my aunt and other needy people in the village.

By contrast I know two millionaires who are constantly fearful they don’t have enough and feel insecure in their wealth.
A sense of wealth is not just about money in the bank but how secure you feel and what you enjoy. By changing your standards of what wealthy means you can achieve greater satisfaction and feel happier.. And isn’t that what it’s all about?

What has this to do with business you may be asking?
Well your attitude to money will determine how far you drive your business to earn more money. Your need to make a profit but is a certain amount of profit enough or are you going to be pushing for more growth?
Well you are either growing or declining so

Is your wealth growing or declining?

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