Article by Grant Criddle
As I navigate online with the various projects I work on, I see a lot of “can’t miss” programs and offers designed to make me “wealthy.” The pure volume of these offers tells me very clearly that there’s a great many of us seeking what the thousands and thousands of different offers are advertising….”quit your day job and retire to the tropics, make 7 figures annually within 6 months,” etc etc.
So why do we do it all? What are we really chasing? What is the “endgame” to this pursuit? How do we win, and more importantly how do we know when we’ve won? I often get frustrated with sifting through various “make big money now! offers as I look for a few nuggets of genuine value via various online forums. You can condense 90% of that stuff into a single sentence: “do what I’m doing and you can make big money like I’m making.”
Not to say that there isn’t value in the offerings of some online entrepreneurs – there is. My personal faves over the past while have been Yanik Silver and Kevin Wilke. But if “more money” is the only goal, do you attain the goal if you find a dime on the sidewalk? I’m exaggerating, but you get the point.
Money in itself is simply a number on paper right? – Only a means to what we really want. You would be surprised how many people don’t “get” that idea. They equate their bank balance with self-worth, with happiness, with feeling secure & safe, with personal power. Almost their entire sense of confidence about themselves, their place in the world and the social hierarchy of their surroundings is tightly woven around money and what it can buy. They mistake buying power for genuine power. More often than not, they are perpetually unhappy and feeling a lack of “something” that they can never quite put their finger on.
Behind the pursuit of money and anything else that people chase, there’s really only one single thing that ALL people desire. Happiness. Yes, we all just want to feel happy.
Ironically, the relentless chase for more money for more stuff often takes us away from happiness. We always feel that we’re “not quite there” yet.
Is there another way? YES! Do I have to take a vow of poverty to find true happiness? NO!
Like most things, perspective is the key. There is no inherent value in money or lack of money. There is however, inherent value within you. Choose that first always. As Wayne Dyer says, “There is no way to happiness, happiness is the way.”
If you feel wealthy, you simply have no need to grasp after money to achieve some monetary goal that will provide state of happiness.
Ironically, once you begin to appreciate who you are now and what you have now – that is usually when more material wealth seems to flow into one’s life!
If you have dreams that are going to take a certain amount of income to achieve then get started! Just be happy as you do it – enjoy the journey! Stay on task but let the path unfold as it develops. Don’t attach your personal identity to outcomes.
As Bobby McFerrin sang so wisely, “Don’t worry, be happy!”
About the Author
Grant Criddle is a business coach, author and social media strategist. As well as his marketing and business interests, he is passionate about personal growth and development. Visit his blog at grantcriddle.com
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