Is Money the Enemy?

"Fear is not your enemy. It is a compass pointing you to the areas where you need to grow." - Steve Pavlina

I was at an eWomen networking event in Stockton, CA this week and we were asked what kind of challenges we are experiencing in our business? Anxiety and fear came up for many women. Unspoken was that this fear was about our money.

Money fears are  abundant right now and are a huge opportunity for growth. Instead of feeling powerless, helpless or stuck what would happen if we changed how we think about money and took our power back from this recession? What would happen if we decided to stop being afraid? Fear stresses the brain and shuts down creative thinking.

I'm going to share a story about how one country changed it's money consciousness and it's economy. This comes the article: "How Fake Money Saved Brazil" (npr.org/blogs/2010/10/4)

Twenty years ago Brazil's inflation rate hit 80%. Prices in the grocery stores changed every day. The problem started in the 50s and, like a virus, spread. Every president came in with a new plan to deal with the money problem and every plan failed year after year. Brazilians lost their TRUST in money. But four economists who had studied the inflation problem finally got the ear of the President. Their plan? Slow down the creation of money (stop printing it) and stabilize people's faith in money again. The economists created a new currency (fake money - like monopoly money) and then convinced people to use it to buy their goods and services. After a few months, people could see that this new currency was stable and their faith in the value of money returned. Brazil officially made the switch to the new currency which they called the "real."  Inflation basically ended and 20 million people were freed from poverty.

What is the moral of this true story for America? Through our focus - fear or trust and faith - we have the ability to shift our money consciousness.  Yes, it takes practical day to day work yet with the power of our collective will we can shift our economy back to one that is abundant and serves the good of the whole. "When the mindset of what's possible changes reality changes as well." (David Krueger, MD)