Path to Financial Freedom.

Generating and sustaining wealth takes some internal shifts, in this article I describe the personal development journey that it takes to go from financial ruin to financial freedom.

Take responsibility.

By owning my behaviours and mindset towards money I can understand that whilst I may have gotten myself into this financial situation, I can also get myself out of it. Even if I need to seek help to do.

If you know you have a spending problem, addiction or fear of money - you need to first work on breaking those patterns of thinking and behaving.

Breaking old patterns of thinking and behaving is a critical first step to prevent sliding back into debt or financial ruin.

Money Mindset.

Do you have a Growth mindset or a Fixed mindset towards money?

Stanford University psychologist, Carol Dweck discovered that your mindset is key to your ability to succeed at anything in life. We have either a fixed mindset which is the self belief that your character, creativity, intelligence and general ability to achieve a certain goal is “fixed” and cannot be changed, you are born the ability or you are not. Or we have a growth mindset which is the self belief that any goal can be achieved given learning, practice and time.

A growth mindset perceives the world as full of opportunities and potential. A person with a growth mindset will find solutions, innovations and take calculated risks to create wealth and prosperity.

A fixed mindset perceives the world as fairly negative, maintaining the status quo, noticing problems rather than solutions, failing to recognise opportunities or blaming others for their misfortune. A fixed mindset will keep you stuck in cycles of debt, scarcity and financial conservatism.

How do you develop a growth mindset?

• Gratitude is the simplest way to change how you see the world. Gratitude changes your attitude and attitude is just another way of saying your mindset – how you perceive the world.

• Count your blessings – take this literally and look around your home and your workplace and name your blessings.

• Look at the world through the lens of opportunity – every choice has multiple options and each choice will lead to a different outcome. Try choosing a different option, try new places to eat, new experiences, find different ways to do your daily routine. This will train your mind to see new possibilities everywhere.

• The fastest way to develop a growth mindset is to step outside your comfort zone regularly. By taking small steps into the unfamiliar we quickly develop flexibility, adaptability and innovative thinking skills.

Change Your beliefs about Money

Every time you think about money – whether it be at the supermarket, standing at the atm, paying a bill, shopping online or handing over cash – watch your thoughts.

Thoughts become your words and your words create your Reality.

People who have generated large sums of wealth, have an abundant mindset and use language that is positive and non-attached to needing money because they know it always comes back and they can always generate more.

Instead of thinking, I’m broke, I can’t afford it or I hate bills – replace these thoughts with an affirmation that instantly flips your mindset.

Money comes easily and frequently.

I have more than enough money to spare and to share.

I am thankful for the wonderful service (name it) that this bill affords me.

I am abundant in every way – Thank you.

My generosity is multiplied and returned to me.

Money comes to me in unexpected ways.

NO more Money Worries.

Turn off worry, this takes practice and discipline; however, it is critical to changing your financial situation.

Worry is generated in the mind and is based in fear – that means it’s not actually real. Worry is our mind generating worst case scenarios, which rarely ever come true.

Worry takes up a lot of our thinking time and energy and leaves us emotionally tired and drained, so we are unable to see new potentials and rationalise solutions to our problems.

When discussing money or finances with others, do so by solutionising not agonising.

Ask for ideas and discuss opportunities rather than talking about problems.

Don’t surround yourself with poverty.

This may sound silly, but if it’s broken, dirty or has been un-used for more than 12 months – clean it, fix it, gift it, sell it or toss it.

Don’t surround yourself with objects and possessions that bring you down and keep you in a negative mindset about your financial situation.

See your non-sentimental possessions as your assets, if kept in good working order you will be able to convert them to liquid assets when they are no longer needed.

Keeping a clean, clutter free environment not only keeps your mindset positive it allows space for your new life to manifest.

Financial Strategy.

Get serious about your financial goals by sitting down with any family members, financial partners or a professional financial adviser.

Ask each person in the household to contribute to the financial strategy and together define the goals you wish to achieve. A unified approach to solving financial matters and will increase the likelihood of goals and targets being met.

Brainstorm your financial strategy by focusing on three key areas:

Reducing Debt | Smarter Spending | Generating Wealth

Generate a specific list of ideas and practical solutions in each column and start taking tangible steps towards your financial freedom.

Visualise your new financial freedom.

How will you live, where will you holiday, what school will your children attend, what would you like to own?

Set realistic deadlines to eliminating debt and achievable goals to work towards, so you feel a sense of accomplishment and success as you hit each milestone on your way to financial freedom.

A vision board or collection of inspirational images is a great tool for manifesting the life that your new financial wealth can generate. A friend of mine manifested the exact floor-plan of the brand new home that she had pinned to a vision board years earlier!

Celebrate every win.

Even the smallest of savings or gains is a win to changing your whole financial situation. Do a happy dance, ring a bell or high five your partner.

I was in a personal development workshop in which we were learning about generating wealth and I realised that I had never stopped and celebrated my big savings goal.

It was a huge milestone that flew by unappreciated.

At the time, I had simply set the savings bar higher and moved on.

So, I bought two bottles of champagne and celebrated my goal with the entire class.

Generosity begets generosity

Having a generous heart is an important key to accruing wealth, it sends a clear message to your brain that you have plenty, that money is always coming back to you even in unexpected ways. Being tight or miserly with your money only concretes a fixed mindset, telling your mind that money is limited, finite or scarce, when in fact it is the opposite - money is fluid, it flows into your life and out of your life, like the tide. There will always be more.

Recognising others generosity as a financial windfall in your favour, even if it is returned to you in a different form is a great way to develop an financially abundant mindset.

Forget about Debt.

Put measures in place to automatically pay down your debts, bills and increase your savings, so you can set and forget.

Have accounts emailed so you no longer receive paper bills in the mailbox.

Attitude of Gratitude

When paying a bill rather than being upset with how much it cost be grateful for the goods and service you enjoy, in the knowledge that money will flow back to you again.

If you have experienced other successful ways to obtain financial freedom, share them in the comments below as generosity begets generosity!

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