Does the thought of having money scare the heck out of you?

Everyone wants to have more money, right? "The reason why I can't move ahead in life is because I need more money!" "If only I were making a little more, things would be going much better for me."

If you find yourself agreeing with these statements, you probably think of yourself as a rich person with a poor man's bank account. If you were to receive a huge promotion, things would change for you drastically, right?
Or would they?

I've heard it said before that in order to truly get on the path to wealth, you must create a wealthy mindset. A wealthy mindset means that you feel comfortable handling and managing increasingly larger sums of money. What I mean by comfortable is that you don't feel the need to sabotage your ability to become wealthy.

For example, let's say that you were to receive a bonus check or a large tax return, how long would it before the money was long gone? Would the money be used to increase your net worth or would you buy "nice things" with the money. As your income increased over the years with promotions and better job opportunities, have you consistently increased your level of spending? What about your bank account...if you find yourself with a decent amount just before payday, do you "reward" yourself with a nice dinner or some fancy digs?

A person who quickly spends any increase or surplus is in essence relaying a subconscious message that money is too much for her to handle or deal with. This person feels much more comfortable managing and operating with smaller amounts of money.

If I were to give you a couple of kittens,for example, and you quickly put an add in the paper giving away free kittens, I could tell by your actions that the kittens were not of value to you. On the other hand, if you kept the kittens, allowed them to breed as adults, sell their kittens, and repeated the cycle, I would know that you saw the value of keeping and maintaining those kittens.

In the same fashion, you must respect the money you receive and view it as a valuable tool. You can not raise your level of abundance without first respecting the money you receive. This means not being scared of having money and using money to generate more abundance for you. Every time you spend in excess until there is little or nothing left, you are sending out a very strong message about how you feel about wealth.

If you are currently earning $35,000 a year, and you'd like to earn more, take on actions that will help you become mentally aligned with more. Set up a 401K, pay down your debt, move your savings account to one earning a higher interest rate. Do something completely different that doesn't perpetuate the same results you are now experiencing.

If the thought of money does not scare the heck out of you, then prove it! Begin taking on wealth building habits one by one. You can start by just reading motivational financial books and move on from there. Keep going in that direction until the thought of wealth creation no longer scares but inspires you to take positive actions.

Why do the rich get richer and the poor get poorer?

I heard someone say the other day that money tends to go where it is respected. The statement dind't quite sink in right away but after thinking about it for a few moments, I completely understood the truth of those wise words.

How many of us know someone who struggles to make it financially. Sometimes we think to ourselves, "If this person would just get a large sum of money, they could get themselves back together and get back on track." A short while later that person gets a large tax return, or a settlement fund, and months later, he or she is right back to where they started. What happened?

Chances are, this person did not respect the money. One of the definitions of the word respect from the Oxford Dictionary is "to treat with regard." Regard is defined as placing attention or caring for something. If the person who received the funds handled the money with attention or with care, he or would probably facing a different level of reality. Because the money was not respected, that person quickly found themselves right back to where they started financially.

So how does one show respect for money? One way is to focus on the attributes of money so you can work with (not against) it. Money likes to be multiplied. You know this to be true because of the power of compounding interest. A few dollars invested over time can multiply itself a thousand times over. Rich individuals understand and respect this aspect of money. Those who aren't wealthy view the money as a means to obtain tangible goods. This way of thinking is inherently flawed because the individual is essentially killing goose to get the golden egg.

The rich clearly understands the need to have geese producing golding eggs. In fact, a wealthy person will check on the goose frequently to make sure the goose remains healthy, steadily producing eggs. If a goose is not producing to standard, one who respects money will quickly seek out an alternate way of replacing the stream of eggs. If a wealthy person traded all of his geese for bigger barnes, or faster machines, how long would it be before that person was no longer wealthy?
Hence, even if you do not consider yourself rich, you can begin to respect your goose by placing it in an investment vehicle where it can produce eggs for years to come.

You can show your respect for the wealth you receive by placing a percentage of the money into your company's 401(k) or an online savings account. Once you begin to experience the wonderful feeling of collecting golden eggs, you can begin to seek our larger geese who will lay larger eggs. Continue in this behavior and you will inevitably become wealthy. Building wealth is not about having a priviliged childhood or lucky breaks. Creating wealth is about taking specific actions that encourage the flow of abundance. So think about your actions and consider whether you are killing your geese or if you are tending and caring for them. Even if your goose is just a tiny little one who is not yet capable of producing eggs, the way you care for it today, will determine how many eggs it can lay for you tomorrow.