How A Con Man's Advice Can Set You On The Road To Riches

I absolutely love The Princess Bride, the 1987 film which centers on a book being read to a sick little boy by his doting grandfather.

One of the characters in the film is a con man, named Vizzini (deliciously played by Wallace Shawn). When things go awry, and one of his henchmen (Inigo Montoya) has lost his way, there is one crystal clear piece of advice that Vizzini gave to Montoya which saves (or at least, paves the way to save) the day…. “Vizzini! You told me to go back to the beginning... so I have.”

What does this have to do with becoming an awesome wealthy woman?

Everything!!

When you have lost your way…when you don’t know where to turn…when you don’t know what to do…

Go back to the beginning!

Most of us were never taught the ins and outs of handling money when we were young (if you were, congratulations – you are among the fortunate minority!).

When I say ‘go back to the beginning’, I mean simply that you need to start by identifying everything related to your money:

·       ~ How much you earn (gross and net – and know the difference between them)
~ What your expenses are, and, when they are due
~ Identify which of your expenses are “fixed” and which are “variable”
~ How much interest you are paying on any loans, credit cards, lines of credit
~ How much you are paying in monthly bank fees, NSF charges, overdraft charges, etc.
~ What contributions are made by you and/or your employer into a registered pension plan
~ What contributions you are making to a TFSA, RRSP or other investment account
~ How much you are putting into an Emergency Fund each month (and you DO need one of
   these)

      ~ How much cash are you spending, without knowing where it went (hint: ask for
   and keep receipts)

There is no other way to start getting a handle on your money situation than by taking the time to sit down and list all of these items and their related amounts.  It’s simple advice but not always easy to bring yourself to do.

Once you’ve identified every piece of your financial puzzle, you’ll be able to make some decisions about where you need to make changes and where you may need help to get back on track.

It’s a simple process which I call  “I – T – A”   Identify, Track, Adjust.

Don’t be one of the Money Ostriches out there (you know, head in the sand and backside up).  Pull your head out of the sand, write everything down and see where you truly are – right now – in your finances and know that, whatever the picture is (pretty or not-so-pretty), you can start changing it into more of what you want if you start right now.

Go on…get out your pen or pencil, your paperwork and receipts and start writing. The first step is always the hardest but I know you can do it!

“Many folks think they aren't good at earning money, when what they don't know is how to use it.” ~ Frank A. Clark

Dial In Your Abundance Frequency

What frequency are you tuned into - Abundance? or Lack? 

We often hear people refer to the “WII-FM” (what’s in it for me) focus of others, but forget that WE also tend to take that approach to everything and everyone in our lives – at least, to some extent.

We seek out people, things and experiences which make us feel good about ourselves and use them to lift us up when we are feeling less than loving towards our inner Self.

The Law of Attraction is working all the time and you are creating the world you are experiencing as a result. 

But there’s a problem when you talk to most people about what they are manifesting in their lives. 

They aren’t very happy with the reality they are living and so they say that the Law of Attraction isn’t working, or doesn’t work for them and they fall deeper into negativity.

We forget that, when we’re feeling that way, we are sliding down the vibrational scale to very low-frequency emotional states.  

And, we forget that we can’t expect to attract the glorious riches, travel, homes, cars, perfect soulmate, etc. that we desire when we’re operating from that place of fear, desperation, anxiety, frustration….(you get the idea!).

It’s not really your fault.  We’ve heard conflicting things – “Opposites attract”  “What you focus on grows”   “Birds of a feather flock together”   “Like attracts like”  and more.

So let me make this easier for you:  Your emotions drive your thoughts, your thoughts drive your actions and your actions create your outcomes.

If you are focused on how badly you’ve been treated by someone, whether personally or in business, you are stuck in that low-frequency negative energy. 

And because what you focus on grows, the angrier you get about being treated badly, the more likely you are to experience being treated badly by someone else (we all know that misery likes company). 

On the other hand, if you are filled with happiness or contentment, are positive in your outlook and expect great things to happen for you, that is exactly what will happen.  “Aha!”, you think to yourself, “that Law of Attraction stuff really does work for me.”

Now do you see how this is driving your experience of abundance … or lack thereof?

Keep checking in with yourself today and, when you find that you're thinking about, or focusing on, lack in some area of your life (especially your money), immediately change that dial to the frequency of Abundance.

"How??" you ask ... "It's easy", I reply.  "By expressing Gratitude for all the Abundance you already have in your life.

Remember, what you focus on will always magnify and attract more of the same.  When you're grateful, you attract more for which to BE grateful.

Go on...give it a try...you CAN do it!  And you just might surprise yourself with what incredible Abundance you can create in your life today.

"Abundance is not something we acquire. It is something we tune into." ~ Wayne Dyer

Why Women Get Stuck On Money Issues

Were you a ‘Daddy’s girl’?  A little princess?  Were you treated as if your every whim was a cue for Daddy to spring into action and make it reality?

Or was Father stern and aloof?  Did he ignore you or make you feel like you were bothering him when he was doing “important” work?

Our first close opposite gender relationship is with our father and it sets the tone for every other relationship we have with men, for the rest of our lives.

It is also usually our fathers who first teach us about money – either by actually sitting us down and explaining what money is and how to use it effectively, or, by saying cryptically “save it” but not giving us any idea how to do that.

Most of our employers are men and, if you started working in the early 1970’s (as I did) you knew that you were probably being paid half as much as your male colleagues (two-thirds, if you were lucky).

There is no question that women have travelled a different road than men when it comes to having and using money – especially married women.

Did you know, that until 1870, any money a woman received (earned income, inheritance, gift, etc.) automatically became her husband’s property – along with any real property and/or chattel goods she owned before the marriage – and he had the legal right to dispose of these things at his sole discretion?

These restrictions did not apply, however, to unmarried and widowed women, who were allowed to retain control of their own money and property.

So you could be alone and have control of your life and finances, or, you could be married (hopefully for love, but not always) and lose control of everything in your life.

This challenging reality was first changed by the Married Women’s Property Act 1870 in the United Kingdom, which ruled that any money earned by a woman remained her property and did not pass into her husband’s control.

By 1882, the Act was expanded to allow married women to hold property in their own name – the first time this was the case since the thirteenth century!

So there you have it, ladies … the challenge of love vs. money has been with us for over 700 years!!! That’s a lot of history and collective memory to escape from.

“A woman’s best protection is a little money of her own.” ~ Clare Boothe Luce

Find Your Buried Treasure

Remember the stories you heard about buried treasure, leprechauns’ gold in the pot at the end of the rainbow and a place called Treasure Island?

We got so caught up in the idea of a hidden secret treasure that we could have for ourselves - if only we could find the map, correctly follow its instructions and get to the gleaming gold coins we knew we waiting just for us – and we believed that it was true!

Then we got older and our parents told us to stop believing in that foolish nonsense.  They told us we had to work hard just to get a pittance, begrudgingly paid to us by employers we despised for doing work we couldn’t stand – that was reality, they said.

So we stopped believing that there was a treasure with our name on it, gave up on the hopes and dreams of possibility and put our noses to the grindstone.

But I want to share a secret with you…

There IS a treasure with your name on it, and it is your birthright to enjoy untold abundance. 

The only problem is, no one has ever taught you how to find your buried treasure.

Until now.

Join me as a regular reader and I’ll take you on the journey to discovering exactly where your buried treasure lies waiting for you, and, how to access - and add to it – any time you desire!

“The treasure that one seeks in life can only be found within.” ~ Old Proverb