Opening the Door to Money Health

How do we build strength in our budgets when it is just one thing after the next that comes up demanding our savings? The idea of anything extra being a scary thought versus a possibility of hope. Why is it so hard to get ahead? Is living paycheck-to-paycheck really how life goes?

The carefulness we apply to make every dollar go as far as it can is both art and savvy. It is a cautiousness wrapped around a fear that we may not have more when we need it. Every day feels like a struggle against strong winds as we eke out a small way for our family to survive this week and until next payday. Thinking about the future is for those that don’t have these worries but maybe one day we can get lucky and be like that too. Right now though we must focus on where we are and how to make it through.

I was once worried about asking someone if starting their own business was something of interest to them. This question intimidated me because I knew so many that were living payday to payday. I know very well what that is like and my heart feels in compassion and empathy in those circumstances. How then could I possibly be brazen enough to ask them to invest in a business? What promises and guarantees could I provide them that this was the right opportunity for them? What if it didn’t work out and they hated me for putting them in a worse position?

The truth is I cannot promise or guarantee and I won’t do that. I believe the decision to start your own business is one of great personal reflection and decision. It is not for everyone because more than investment of money it requires a mindset that goes beyond thinking today’s survival. There is necessity to dream and be strategic while acting boldly, putting yourself out there and giving it passion. When you are worried about basic survival these elements seem out of reach and impossible. Maybe they are but it depends greatly not on our bank accounts but rather our minds.

I won’t lie to you and say it is without cost. Any business operating from the carved out corner in a bedroom to largest corporation has cost. There is a time investment, our energy and focus and even money. It must all come together in a careful formula to create what will become a possibility and hopeful enterprise. We will have doubts, fear, anxiety and even anger at times too but these are foreshadowed by the excitement that is building in us over the possible. There is no room for anything else and have this work.

The other truth is starting your own business is about taking control of your life and future. It is a forward thinking maneuver to stand apart, do what is right for you and set sail for different skies than the majority. It is part dream chasing and part realistic goal setting to make those dreams happen. There is so much learning to do, development to experience and work to undertake but it starts with saying yes against the odds of current circumstances and seeing more as possible.

When I hear someone say they can’t because of their money situation or they have to wait until payday, I used to not know what to say. The truth is that answer is more than just a apologetic excuse to end a conversation. It is instead about imposing limits on their own life. It is settling and confining because perhaps there really isn’t money to consider it or more often than not it is fear. I know in my own life when something is really important to me, I will find a way. This is no different for anyone but fear is often what prevents us from exploring beyond a certain point. Fear says we cannot or we don’t have enough. Fear says no.

With no promises or guarantees, fear will often win. The rags to riches success stories are sometimes possible but more often than not even in those stories there was work involved. It is an undertaking of work and effort to make any progress happen and that responsibility rests on the person pushing to make those goals and dreams come true. The ironic thing is most of the time when we are feeling constrained by our budget situation we are also pushing but against circumstances rather than goals. It took me a long time to realize if I was going to push and work at something I wanted a healthy return on it sooner or later, not merely just more circumstances to contend with in my life.

Changing that mindset to think differently when things are challenging is a choice. We can let our circumstances define our life or we can choose to create day by day, paycheck to paycheck, action by action something different. The life we desire is the result of our own action taken to create it. If we desire to live paycheck to paycheck then that is as far as we will go but when that is no longer enough or satisfying there is a hunger we realize to create more. That is the moment you know starting your own business may be right for you. That is the turnpoint in no longer settling and surviving but pushing with renewed strength. towards a larger goal of the future. It is bigger than just seeing how we can make it through today.

I believe when we start to think like this we are opening the door to money health. We are taking control of our circumstances and choosing the next move. Maybe it is a small move that seems insignificant but trust me all moves count when they are about progressing on your dreams. This is the very point where hobbies turn into enterprises and everything we do has the potential to be that very thing that sets momentum in motion.

I still remember my first early wins. Small wins that didn’t equate to much in the grand scheme but they were the sweetest signs of progress. They recharged me to keep at it and keep believing in myself. This wasn’t a competition with anyone or something I had to be ashamed of doing. It was about me. A journey I was creating the path on to be exactly what I wanted and needed. It may have only been a few dollars in reward at the time but it was the taste of freedom because on the other side of the door of the odds that said it couldn’t be done, that I didn’t have what it took and I had to wait until next payday. I had opened the door just a little and squeezed through it to see it was possible.

It starts with making lists, vision boards and more of your ideas, dreams and why this is important. It is putting words to your fears and seeing beyond them. This is the moment of deep reflection of what could and needs to change in you to make it possible. It is then more lists of what is needed and strategizing how to make it work in current circumstances that are against you knowing while it can seem overwhelming you are ready to figure it out and overcome barriers. It is researching and talking to others to explore and learn of the opportunities available or if you need to create your own opportunity. This is the time to be savvy and creative to funnel that energy into the start of something more in your life. It is the single lighting of a candle symbolizing hope.

When someone tells you direct marketing, selling products or turning a hobby into a business is impossible realize where they are coming from. They haven’t seen the other side of the odds for what is possible. When someone asks you about considering starting your own business, this is a potential pathway through the doorway. It starts with a curiosity to see more than your current circumstances. It is an invitation not to sell products but rather to open your own door against the odds of just existing until the next payday and pursue the life you really want.

Again, though it may not be right for you if you haven’t decided it is time to change your mindset of what it means to live or exist every day. Circumstances change when we choose them to do so. When we say enough and act on those necessary changes to push back on what isn’t working well and find the space for new to be created. That timing, decision and motivation is entirely up to us. It is what changes the outlook from how to get to next pay day into how to create a future we feel alive and proud to be living.

For more information to explore if working with me is right for you, please visit dragonspitapothecary.com