What's Your Money Mindset?

I just finished up 3 days at a high level marketing conference in San Diego.

Not only were the speakers top of the top (Richard Branson actually flew in from Necker Island to deliver a talk) but there were some big players from all industries in attendance.

It’s embarrassing but at one point I found myself looking up people’s Instagram and FB accounts and comparing how many followers I had with them. It wasn’t necessarily conscious but inside I started feeling a little “less than.” Thankfully I was able to snap myself out of it and didn’t get swept away.

Many of the speakers, including Rachel Hollis and Trent Shelton talked about the danger of comparison.

“Comparison is the thief of joy.”

-Theodore Roosevelt

I used to do the same thing with money and still need to keep a pulse on my money thoughts.

Many people suffer from a poor money mindset and no amount of marketing tactics will save them.

They think and struggle with things like:

They deserve to be taken care of. Whether it’s a family member or the government, they feel an extreme sense of entitlement that someone else needs to take care of them.
Jealousy – When they see someone doing better than themselves, rather than learn from them and/or be happy someone is doing well, they hate on them.
They think things should be “fair.” Similar to entitlement, it doesn’t matter if they are lazy or unfocused – They deserve to make the same as the person who has sacrificed to get where they are.

The above 3 poor money mindsets are extremely common but this next one might be the biggest issue when it comes to having a poor money mindset. It’s also the one that got me into a world of trouble. They spend more than they make. It sounds so simple to not spend more than you have but so few people follow this. There are a lot of factors that cause this to happen but one of the biggest is immaturity. It wasn’t until I realized I had to be an adult and take responsibility for my poor choices that my life began to change.

OK I’ve spent some time talking about poor money mindsets so let me mention what a positive money mindset looks like.

Generosity – People with positive money mindset aren’t hoarders and they know it’s very difficult to receive if you can’t give
Lack of worry – People that are worried about money all the time don’t have a positive money mindset. Sure it’s important and we need to take care of our families but this is a by-product of a positive money mindset. Being all consumed with how much money you have or make will never lead to happiness
Non-materialistic – People with a positive money mindset can have some nice things to enjoy but those things don’t have them. People with poor money mindsets are constantly thinking about “stuff” whether it’s how to get more of it or how not to lose it.
There’s more than enough – Those with positive money mindsets don’t mistakenly believe that if someone else has a lot of money, there won’t be enough for them. That isn’t how economics work. In fact, if I have more money I can help you have more.

Here’s my challenge for you today. Think about where you have a poor money mindset and where you have a positive one.