Nine rules for making money work or how to make a heap of money and still feel good about yourself

The problem today for most businesses is the confusion, ambivalence and stress created by wanting to make enough money.

CNN Money says one of the top three reasons people leave their jobs is minimal wage growth. And we also know a bad boss or poor job fit are high on the list. Values matter, and often conflict with our desire for profit and wealth.

It’s vital organisations and their leaders get a clear, empowered view of money and how it reflects and expresses vision, mission and values in the workplace. And we must keep clarifying these perceptions of the power of money because it informs us further about who we are and what we value.

From my own experience working with CEOs and senior leaders as well as private coaching clients, the key question that remains unanswered in subtle ways is:

How do we make a heap of money and still feel good about it?

Ultimately, how do we create a soulful relationship with our material world?

Are you giving money ‘bad press’? I have seen the immense power money has to make positive change through charitable work and in the business world yet money still gets ‘bad press’, whether there is too little or too much of it. Why? What’s our issue with money?

I know there are endless stories of mismanagement, but let’s get clear – people did these things, not the money.

The three realms of money rulership We need to see money from a few different realms that operate within us. We tie money to these realms as a currency that enlivens them and they rule the way we perceive and relate to money – and money can rule them if we let it.

1. The material level

2. Personal values and appreciation

3. Self-acceptance and self-worth

1. The material level Money is carried in the form of cash and currency, stocks and bonds, funds, investments, assets, capital, diamonds and gold. We apply a value to money so we can do a fair exchange of property and commodity. And we can store value for later use.

2. Personal values and appreciation Our values and inner aesthetics are carried in the goods and services we consider to be ‘high quality’, ‘luxury’ or plain ugly or ‘worthless’. What we value as important and worthy of our investment shows up in how we use our money, literally what we invest in and what we support.

3. Self-acceptance and self-worth On a deeper soulful stratum it is in our self-acceptance and self-love where money’s taproot finds its sustenance. We invest in ourselves through how we create and use our money. We often value ourselves by how much we have and what we do with it.

The essence of living well with money lies in how we create our own soulful relationship with the material world – and money is the currency for that relationship, including what we might be attracted to and what we attract to us, and our capacity to love.

Reflection: What are your money patterns, issues and strengths?

Don’t blame the money We judge others and ourselves by how we make and use our money. So it is quite evident that we project on to money something it actually doesn’t deserve.

These days the world expects so much for free that we have become even more confused about our relationship with value and its currency – money.

Nine rules for love and money Money affects how we relate. Our relationships centre on shared values, feeling loved and appreciated, pleasure, affection and sensuality. We use money to fuel our relationships and often rely on it to express our love and affection as gifts of money. Therefore, our own belief systems and how we relate through them often get entangled in issues of both love and money, at home and at work. Get clear about the following:

1. What you want to give

2. What you want to store

3. What you want to use

4. What you value and appreciate

5. How you measure value

6. How you express love

7. How you ensure fair exchange

8. How you value others

9. How you value and accept your self

Money at work How do we apply this understanding at work?

1. Start with giving. We open the flow to best results when we start with an attitude of service rather than an attitude of getting. Any business that is focussed on its clients and what they need will be well on the way to attracting further wealth. Tithe a percentage to a trust fund that supports the change you want to see.

2. Store enough for the future growth and innovations. Create security to fuel the changes you don’t envision and the ones you do.

3. Be a good steward of money. Honour the energy you and others spent to create the money and ensure your own wellbeing is taken care of in ways that you value.

4. Spend your money on what you value and appreciate, what will appreciate.

5. Ensure fair exchange. Ensure the fees you charge reflect the true value of your products or services.

6. Be generous with your money. Be aware of how you use money to express your love.

7. Don’t make it personal. Equality goes as far as everyone being worthy of wealth and wellbeing. Your value as a staff member is about the value of the tasks you perform and the results you get – not your personal ‘worth’.

8. Express your gratitude to others appropriately, especially when you are using money to do it (bonuses have become meaningless to many…).

9. You are greatness itself, therefore ‘priceless’. Separate your own worth from money while creating a soulful relationship with the world of objects; your material world should reflect what you value about yourself, so spend accordingly. Your working environment is an expression of your company’s vision, mission and values. Decorate accordingly.

How we create money and use it determines the feeling of wealth we discover within ourselves. Listen to your soul’s urgings and money will be a fine conduit for a wealthy life.