The Relationship Between Prosperity and Living Your Vision of Success

Posted in Visions |

Musing About Money

Written by Dr. Nicole Cutts, PhD   

What is the relationship between prosperity and living your Vision of Success?
Many believe that a lack of money can hinder you from manifesting your goals but can being financially successful also hinder you from living your true purpose? Consider the difficulty in leaving a job in which you make a lot of money to pursue a vision which may not “make you rich.”
Your relationship to money, your beliefs about prosperity and abundance, and how these things intersect with your Vision of Success is one of the many internal dynamics that you must sort out in the course of living your vision. By “sort out” I mean increase your awareness of then shed any beliefs that are limiting.
Like any relationship, your relationship with money can exhibit varying degrees of health through your behavior.
For example, how can you manifest a dream that entails having great wealth if deep down you see wanting/having money as somehow negative i.e. evil or dirty?
Likewise an ego-driven focus solely on making money may lead you astray from your authentic self and true purpose.  Greed may help you to ignore your core values such as compassion and altruism.

Journal Exercise: What are my beliefs and attitudes about money?   To explore how beliefs about money may be impacting how you are living (or not living) your Vision of Success write your answers to the following questions?
1) What messages were you told by your parents/family about having money? (Was money valued,   vilified, shunned or chased after and put above all else?)

2) Growing up, compared to those around you in your community, were you considered poor, average, or rich?

3) How has your childhood economic standing shaped your attitudes and earning or spending habits today? (Perhaps you are afraid to have money so you spend extravagantly and stay in debt. Or maybe you are afraid to ever go without so you consume and hoard money/things.)

4) Now ask yourself how any of the above may be affecting your ability to realize your visions. (Are your fears or paradigms around money keeping you and your vision small? Is a drive to be “rich” or comfortable keeping you in a well paying job that you hate because you aren’t living your true purpose?

Next Step: The next step is to rid yourself of any self-limiting beliefs so you can exhibit your true personality and manifest your greatness.
Easier said than done? Yes but remember the vision quest is a journey.
A few resources you may find helpful as you explor how your attitudes about money relate to how you are living your vision are:
My girl Suze Ormon’s - The Courage to be Rich: Creating a Life of Material and Spiritual Abundance 
Women & Money: Owning the Power to Control Your Destiny
The 9 Steps to Financial Freedom: Practical and Spiritual Steps So You Can Stop Worrying

and by Olivia Mellan Money Harmony: Resolving money conflicts in your life and relationships

If you are a woman (21+) I invite you to submit your story for possible inclusion in a book on the state of  women living their Visions of Success.


Join Nicole at the Jan 15th 2011 Women's Conference: Taking your Dreams from Design to Destiny: The Next Level.  The focus of the 2011 conference is living your visions in a context of prosperity

20 F Street, NW
Washington, DC 20001-6701
Saturday, January 15, 2011
9:00 AM – 1:00 PM

Please register at http://www.visionquestretreats.com

How Did I Get Here?

Have you ever wondered how and when you got to a certain place in your life?  For example, last year you were hoping to do one thing and then you realize that your life is headed in a totally different direction.  What happened?  What threw your sail totally off course?  Or, what successes have you attained sooner than you anticipated?  I would truly like to hear about some of the celebrations and/or challenges that have showed up in your life over the last few years.

Here are some examples of the things I'm talking about: 

• Did a long term relationship end and you are totally at a loss? 
• Did your wife or husband announce that they want a divorce?
• Did a love one pass away and you are struggling to find your way?
• Have you or your spouse been diagnosed with a serious illness?

How are you coping?  What strategies have you used to get through the pain?  What are you doing to heal emotionally?

Let me know how you're doing.

Your Success Coach,

Dr. Amy

***********************************

The book is now available:  Yes you Can!  Reaching Your Potential while Achieving Greatness - co-authored with one of the most influential thinkers of our time, philosopher, motivational counselor, business executive, and best-selling author  Mr. Jim Rohn www.jimrohn.com; and management and leadership expert and author Dr. Warren Bennis, and many other experts in their field.  Order your copy at www.dramyhymes.com

***********************************

DO YOU KNOW WHAT BUTTERFLIES REPRESENT?

Butterflies are a symbol of resurrection, hope, joy, and new beginnings.  It is a symbol of rebirth and a transformation of change: meaning out with the old and in with the new.  Just like a caterpillar must go through several growth and development before it can become a beautiful butterfly, so must we go through several growth experiences in life before we experience our true purpose and get to a place of inner peace in life.  Like the caterpillar, many people have build a cocoon – a bubble or guard - around themselves (and around their hearts) and have not allowed themselves the opportunity to experience love, new things, and to psychologically grow and develop into the person they truly should be.  Just like it becomes necessary for the caterpillar to burst out of its own chrysalis – or cocoon like- surrounding and become the beautiful butterfly that it was meant to be, so must we break out of our comfort zone in order to become the predestined person that we were meant to become.  Just like butterflies go through a life cycle known as complete metamorphosis, so must we if we want to accomplish more than we ever have in our lives thus far.

Caterpillars face a major challenge as they grow because their skin cannot grow with them.  In order for a caterpillar to grow, develop, and change into the beautiful butterfly that it was ordained to become, it must go through five stages of development before it can emerge into its true being.  Finially, it is ready to emerge and reveal itself - or “pupate”- to the world.  A caterpillar must go through these stages (or obstacles) because its original skin that it was hatched with cannot support the massive growth that is needed for it to become a butterfly.  Because of this, it must make a new, larger skin underneath its outer skin.  Then, when it’s ready, it "sheds" the old skin, and the newer, larger skin underneath is exposed, allowing it more room to grow.  From there, the caterpillar transforms itself into a beautiful adult butterfly. But when the butter emerges from its chrysalis or cocoon, it is still not ready to fly quit yet.  It still has to rely on itself.  It must pump fluids from its own abdomen through the veins in its wings, which causes the wings to expand to their full size allowing it to be able to fly high.

So what can we humans learn from the metamorphosis of the caterpillar to a beautiful butterfly?  Well first of all, we must allow ourselves to engage life to the fullest.  We have to take responsibility for our own adult growth and development and stretch into the person that we want to become.  The moral of the story is this:  Something that was once unattractive – the caterpillar – over time developed itself into something marvelous to the human eye.  So this goes to demonstrate to us that with time, self-improvement, dedication, commitment, and diligence, we too can resurrect ourselves and change or make a major transformation or makeover in our lives. 

So what do you need to put behind you these days?  What do you need to let go of so that you can develop into the beautiful butterfly that you were meant to be?   After going through some things in life – disappointments, hurts, resentments, setbacks, etc., - I know that you are now ready to put it behind you and experience a new beginning.  Remember, the butterfly had to rely on itself; it had to actually pump fluids from its own abdomen to sustain live to its wings – a necessary component for it to fly.   So when you are feeling down, think of a beautiful butterfly and what it had to go through to become what it is now.  

It’s time for you to replenish yourself and take flight today! Start anew: love more, laugh more, and take the time to learn how to develop yourself into what you want to become. 

Your rebirth can start today.  Be Blessed!

Your Success Coach,

Dr. Amy

How to Decide When to End a Long-term Relationship

How to Decide When to End a Long-term Relationship