“I Need Lots of Money Now” Your Need Could Be Your Greatest Obstacle

 © Rosamunde Bott 2008

I recently read an article that suggested that a “need” for money could be the biggest block to actually getting it.  Sounds depressing, right?  Reading further, I realised there was a lot of sense in this argument, but you don’t have to despair.  The ideas I learned are inspirational and motivational, and could get you back on track.  If you are thinking “I need lots of money now”, then please read on.  It could change your life.

 I know that in the past if anyone had questioned my own “need” I might have been ready to respond with some choice language!  But, looking back, it does seem to be that the more I felt I needed money, the less it seemed to appear in my life. 

 One of the reasons for this is partly because when you feel desperate for money, you are likely to take whatever is on offer.  For example, several years ago I had paying lodgers in order to help me pay my mortgage.  When a lodger moved out I was always left extremely short, and I would feel needy, which would lead me to take on the first applicant that came along.  Consequently, I took on irresponsible lodgers who did not pay on time and also one who ran up a £300 telephone bill in one month which he refused to pay.  Of course this put me in an even worse financial situation than if I had bee more patient (I did take this chap to court – and I did get the money back, but only in small monthly instalments, which wasn’t much good to me).

 Ask yourself this question if you feel that you really do “need the money”.  What would happen if you didn’t get it?  Every time you answer yourself, ask yourself again, what would you do then?  You may realise that even if you do not get the money you feel you need, there will be some other way forward.  No single opportunity is the be all and end all of a situation.

 Here’s another question:  How long could you go without this money before you would be homeless?

 The answer to this question is very rarely a matter of days.  In fact, the vast majority of people would probably answer that this would never happen because they have friends or family who would help out somehow until they were sorted out.

 I have heard of an instance of someone who “needed money” who, when doing this exercise, realised they could actually go for ten years before running out.  Working with a coach, he decided to work on his business with an assumption that he did not need money. 

He based all of his decisions on instinct and desire, rather than need.  And, guess what, within a year he was making ten times more money than he had been doing.

You might think that this person was a lot less needy than you to start with and it’s easy for him.

Well, that may be true, but it does illustrate a very interesting fact.  When you let go of neediness and act out of what you want to do instead of what you need, you are no longer working out of desperation, but out of inspiration.

As I’ve said above, desperation leads to settling for anything.  A sense of urgency can tip the balance of favour against you.  But when you act as if you don’t need the money, you are able to move forward with ease and a sense of wellbeing.  You then make decisions without fear.  You can ask for what you want without fear of losing it.  You are not dependent on making a deal.

OK, you might say, that’s all well and good, but if I really don’t need the money, why do I feel like I do? 

On the whole, we have taught ourselves to be motivated by fear and worry.  We believe that these things are what motivate us to take action.  Unfortunately, fear is an incredibly ineffective state within which to make decisions.  Your reason and vision become limited, and your desperation creates an ambience that makes you unattractive to other people who might have done business with you.

When you work from ease and wellbeing, your creativity grows and you are more open to opportunities around you.

But what if I really DO need the money?

If you really are about to become homeless, of course you need to take care of this as a priority.  I find that when I get very realistic about my own finances (no matter how difficult that is) my mind gets very clear about what I need to do.  In fact, often things turn out to be not as bad as I thought.  Most people can go on for a little while before absolute crunch time – so take this time to make a few adjustments, and use your creativity and inspiration to add value and find ways of benefitting others – these are the best ways of making money.

Take a look at the areas where you make (or are trying to make) money.  Watch your motivation.  Are you doing things because you WANT TO, because you SHOULD, or because you are DESPERATE?  Notice how the last two deplete your energy levels and enthusiasm.

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