Money is a Tool not a Goal

Money is a unit of measurement, and, being human, we measure our success through how much money we are able to generate, attract and maintain. This measurement is a social standard, reinforced through community judgment that we then internalize. The danger is that we learn to assign our value based on the money, status symbols and material accumulation, confusing those things as a measurement of human capability and capacity rather than valuing skill, expertise, opportunity and intelligence. For some people, it’s that very concept of being measured by and valued for money that becomes a prime motivator for significant achievement.

Throughout the entirety of our lives, we walk around with the vision of money guiding us in making choices and taking action – essentially, money becomes the holy grail. Many entrepreneurs (or entrepreneurs in the making), think ‘I could do this if only I had money…’ or ‘I have to keep my day job until I have the money…’. The tragedy with such thinking is the time lost in pursuing a full life filled with serving the world, navigating change as a way to grow personally and professionally and, frankly, the false limitation being in charge of their lives, preventing them from taking a chance in the first place.

“Money was never a big motivation for me, except as a way to keep score. The real excitement is playing the game.” ~ Donald Trump

So what do you need to know about this in order to do something different and build your business? Only this… money is a tool, just like a hammer or any other garden-variety tool. The only meaning it has is what you give it; that is, just like any other tool, it’s useless unless you know what to make of it and how to use it. You must detach yourself from anything that you have made money mean in your life so you can learn how to use it effectively. It’s hard to see a kite if you’re attached to seeing a heap of paper and sticks in a pile on the ground.

 “Successful people make money. It’s not that people who make money become successful, but that successful people attract money. They bring success to what they do.” ~ Wayne Dyer

People often embrace money as though it were life force itself; rather, it’s a symbol that measures the exchange of energy between people. Money is very literal – it’s a tool – so it doesn’t judge where it should go and who should have it. The money paradigms, or systems of beliefs that you developed over time about how you predictably understand and relate with money, including your expectations, habits and behaviors, actually determine your experience with money.

In general, the money exchange system as we know it is about paying for value provided. People package resources into solutions that other people want, need and are willing to pay to get… and for those consumers to have the money they trade to get what they want, they had to understand their own access points to attracting, creating and having money.

In my personal experience, focusing on money has always led to bad decisions and bad people. Sure, it is a necessity for life and family but it cannot, and should not be your primary motivation for starting, managing, leading and operating a business.

Play the game, find other players of which you like and trust, the formula will solve itself.