Small things, done consistently and deliberately
over time lead to mastery.
I was conducting a personal mentoring session with a very successful cosmetic dentist some time back. He was asking for insights into increasing his income. I learned a long time ago, that if money is your problem… money won’t solve your problem.
When I’m hired as a mentor I find that 99.9% of the time the presenting problem is not the real problem. In most cases (if not all), the presenting problem is the effect of a much greater and deeper cause. As a result, I always start with an in-depth diagnosis.
Prescription without diagnosis is malpractice.
He told me about his multiple businesses, cash flow, overhead, challenges etc. and at one point I asked him, “How much money do you currently have in savings?” He quickly replied, “A little over 2 million.”
Now if you’re an entrepreneur you’re wise enough to know that if your monthly expenses are high… you can quickly burn through any amount of money you have set aside.
Legal costs can often increase the burn rate a thousandfold. Believe me, I know.
In fact, there was a time in my last business, with an overhead of $500,000 per month, that $2M was a four months run rate… assuming no unforeseen situations and expenses.
By the way… there are always unforeseen situations and expenses. Haven’t you found that true?
“Being an entrepreneur is like eating glass and staring into the abyss of death.”
~ Elon Musk
Bottom line… there is no magic number. Expenses always tend to rise to meet income unless carefully planned, monitored, and disciplined; and even then there are unforeseen situations.
Fear, dealing with fear and the unforeseen, is part of the game.
However, this was not the case for him.
Running the numbers, and barring any catastrophic event, his expenses and overhead were very low and this amount of money could literally sustain him for years if necessary.
Obviously, his problem was not money!
He had an abundance, even in a tangible form, but he didn’t feel and know he had an abundance. So, what does it take to feel abundant? $3M, $4M, $5M, $10M?
Again there is no magic number, believe me.
While many (actually most by comparison to the rest of the world), in the West have financial riches and an excess of things… they still don’t have true wealth or abundance.
Your experience and results will always and only rise to your level of perception and belief. Please read that again.
True wealth is wellbeing (we’ll return to this time and time again); and true abundance is the ability to pursue your own life and meaning.
Experience proves in our pursuit of what we deem as tangible wealth and abundance, we’ve gotten lost in externals; and in the process we’ve lost abundance both internally and externally.
Yet abundance still remains. Patiently waiting for us to wake up and find it.
True wealth and abundance are not external possessions,
they’re internal recognitions.
Can you answer the question "How Wealthy Are You?" Learn more about it here.
Real abundance is the ability to have the time to think, create, dream and experience life. The freedom to live your life in a way that inspires meaning… regardless of the amount of money.
In many ways I’ve had much more abundance in the last 5 years than I did in the years prior. The Law of Compensation proves that nature always compensates. What’s lost in one area is always gained in another. Always.
The will of God is harmony and integration
Over the last 7 years, I haven’t “worked” too much in the traditional sense. Yet I’ve worked on myself, and I’ve contemplated life more deeply and fully than ever before.
Particularly for a two-year period in which I did nothing but read, contemplate and write. This is a great gift, and for the thinking man something that is rarely afforded in our world. Particularly in the midst of so-called “mid-life.”
I had nothing but an abundance of time to come back to the center, and to the degree, I could maintain my wellbeing by focusing on the gifts this brings, I was truly wealthy.
Sometimes I was able to do this—and other times not so well. The insidious programming of the Western world continually rears its ugly head.
When compared to Maslow’s hierarchy, my survival needs were covered, my safety needs were there for the most part (once I learned the system), my external relationship needs were a little sparse but still intact, but my internal relationship was going strong (I’ve always been my own best friend); and self-actualization and transcendence, both purpose related, were in full swing.
This is abundance!
While society programs us that we must be “out and socially about” studies of genius prove that true genius is awakened in the internal kingdom of solitude.
Do you want to understand more about how to find your unique genius? Read here.
Solitude is the key to the kingdom of the muse.
Another reason why I love getting up at 4 AM. But I digress.
While my wellbeing was off and on, as stated earlier (more off than on initially), I began to realize what was most important to me, and the more I realized, the more I was truly wealthy.
It all boiled down to a matter of focus, belief, and perspective.
Now I know you may be saying, “Well James I don’t have the luxury of that amount of time to read, write, and contemplate. I have bills and kids and a job.”
Yes, you’re absolutely right!
So are you saying you want to give up everything and live in a cage to achieve an abundance of time?
I bet I know the answer.
Besides… there’s always an abundance! Including of time. It’s up to you to find it. All else is a story.
Even the above prevalent belief about “not having enough time” is nothing but a story… for there’s always an abundance of time—always.
Do you have 24 hours in a day? 7 days in a week? 4 weeks in a month?
12 months in a year? You have all the time there is.
It’s up to you to choose how to use it.
Truth be told we not only have an abundance of time… we always find the time for the things we hold in highest value and want the most.
Everything else is a story.
Maybe you should consider getting up at 4AM.
And the journey continues…
Be a Leader. Live Your Purpose; and Take Your Power Back!
James
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