Author: Leanne Donoghue-Tamplin, Psychologist and Director of Real Success Pty Ltd, helping women create the lives they deserve, www.realsuccess.com.au
Can you think yourself rich?
I can’t count how many multi-millionaires I have heard saying that all you need to do is think the right thoughts and money will come your way. Many of my clients have told me how frustrating it is trying to find THE right way to say an affirmation statement to ensure “the universe” gets the message – it can become just something else you beat yourself up about. Our thoughts are very powerful tools that have an enormous effect on our lives, but unfortunately there isn’t one magic statement that will make you wealthy.
There are a number of critical components to achieving your dreams, one of which is your cognitions, or your thinking processes. And one of these cognitions is your “sense of entitlement”.
You absolutely must believe that you deserve wealth.
Someone that I think is an example of this sense of entitlement is Bernard Tomic, the young Australian tennis sensation. Now you may or may not agree with his behaviour on and off the court, but there is no doubt that he is a young man experiencing amazing success in his chosen career. I saw him playing at the Australian Open in 2012 when he was only 19 against some of the biggest names in International tennis. You would have thought a 19 year old would have been somewhat in awe of these legends of tennis, at least a little intimidated, and yet he had this air about him, like he deserved to be there as much as anyone else, as if he was “entitled”. Bernard Tomic believes he is going to make his own success, you can see it, and he feels it is owed to him.
We all need that same sense of entitlement about wealth. Without it, our mind is full of doubts and disbelief, and questions about our own abilities and our earning capacity. Basically, we limit ourselves and hold ourselves back from what is possible. I am not saying “think the right thoughts and it will come”. What I am saying is that you need to believe in yourself, know that wealth is yours for the taking, and navigate the path towards it with confidence.
But if you don’t already have it, how do you create this sense of entitlement? Your current beliefs come from a range of things – they might have been developed through your history (for example, growing up poor), through comments or phrases that you heard/said over and over again (for example, “you can’t have everything”), or repeated experiences (for example, trying and failing many times over). The really good thing about beliefs is that they are just that – beliefs – not facts or reality. One person’s beliefs may be completely unbelievable to someone else. And with some work and focus, all beliefs can be changed.
One strategy for changing your beliefs to create this sense of entitlement is to frequently tell yourself that you are doing a great job, how hard you have worked over your life (paid or unpaid), and therefore how much you deserve wealth. These are the kinds of things you might say to a close friend that needed your support.
Another is to notice three things you do each day that show that you deserve/should expect wealth. For example, “I did a great job getting the kids ready for school today and I should be rewarded for that”. It is even better if you write these in some sort of journal each day – the written word can be very powerful too.
A third strategy might be to see yourself living the life you want to live, picture it, in as much detail as you can. Even go to bed and daydream about it until you fall asleep. High level sports people frequently use this strategy by visualising themselves winning or making the perfect shot and feeling the joy of the success. This motivates them to get that feeling again, and gets their mind and body ready for what they need to do to make it happen.
You may find some barriers or blocking thoughts come up as you complete these strategies. For example, ‘is there enough money for us all to be wealthy?’ And, ‘if I am wealthy does that take away money from someone else?’ And, ‘is money “bad” or only available to people who are selfish?’ When these do come up, check out how realistic they are, or use the following facts to reassure yourself that you are entitled to wealth:
- According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (Household Wealth and Wealth Distribution, 2009-2010), the wealthiest 20% of Australian households account for 62% of total household net worth (on average, these households have $2.2 million each). The poorest 20% of households (averaging only $31,829 each) account for 1% of total household net worth. In other words, most of the money in Australia is in the hands of only 20% of the population.
- Households where the main source of household income is “other” income (principally investment income) had an average household net worth of $1.8 million (Australian Bureau of Statistics, Household Wealth and Wealth Distribution, 2009-2010). To elaborate, wealthy Australians generally make their money from investing and not from their salaries.
- The Reserve Bank of Australia reports that there are around 260 billion AU$ in circulation (M1: currency bank and current deposits of the private non-bank sector) – there really is plenty for us all.
- Bill Gates, Richard Branson, Peter Spann, and even Angelina Jolie have donated large sums of money and time to helping others. People can be selfish whether they are poor or wealthy. Who could you help, and how generous could you be, if you were wealthy?
I suppose one final question remains: do YOU deserve wealth? Well, that’s easy, there is no doubt that wealth is yours (and mine) for the taking…we are entitled. So, the real question is, what are you going to do about it?
