Live well and prosper

“To have true wealth or affluence is to be totally carefree about everything in life, including money.”
Deepak Chopra

There’s a very good reason why this particular mummo zone is called ‘Prosperity’ and not just ‘Money’ or ‘Finances’ or even ‘Wealth’, all of which might have had more instant appeal for some people! The reason is that the word ‘prosperity’ means more than just being rich in financial terms. It calls to mind a sense of wellbeing - when you prosper, you thrive. And, whilst you’ll find plenty of sensible financial advice in this zone, you may be more interested to discover how to feel rich even if you’re not! Because, as Paul McKenna points out in his book ‘I can make you rich’:

• “Making money is just a skill, but becoming rich is an art.”

So here are our top tips to help you prosper and live happily no matter how much money you’ve got ...

1. Work out what ‘rich’ really means
2. Believe that you deserve it
3. Get a ‘rich’ mindset
4. Create a ‘rich’ vision
5. Stop emotional spending
6. Concentrate on being happy ... in the here and now
7. Give more
8. Find ways to add value
9. Position yourself for success
10. Appreciate what you’ve already got

1. Work out what ‘rich’ really means

What are the most important things in life, to you? It’s easy to think that money is the answer to all your problems, especially when you haven’t got enough to go round. And it’s certainly true that people living in poverty tend to be less happy than people who have sufficient money to meet their basic needs. But research shows that, above a certain level (currently around £15,000 pa), happiness has little to do with money. In fact, even when people win huge amounts of money on the Lottery, for example, their happiness levels only increase for a very short period of time before reverting back to their pre-win levels. So we can be financially wealthy and, at the same time, emotionally poor.

To borrow a lovely definition from Paul McKenna:

• “Being rich is living life on your own terms - according to your possibilities, not your limitations”

He goes on to say, in his book ‘I can make you rich’:

• “Stop for a moment and really imagine how your life would be if you were already rich - if you were living life on your own terms, following your possibilities and not your limitations:

• How would you spend your time?
• Who would you spend it with?
• What kinds of things would you think about?
• How would you be on a daily basis?
• What would you do?
• What are the most important things you would have in your life?

Why not do this simple exercise and see if it helps you to

• realise that you’re already rich, because you wouldn’t change much about your life
• gain a broader understanding of what it means to be ‘rich’

There’s nothing wrong with wanting lots of money, as long as you want it for the right reasons and as long as you have other riches in your life as well.

“When we seek money, or a good relationship, or a great job, what we are really seeking is happiness. The mistake we make is not going for happiness first. If we did, everything else would follow.”
Deepak Chopra

2. Believe that you deserve it

You’ll only ever be rich if you believe that you deserve to be rich. Our beliefs affect everything in our lives - the way we perceive the world around us and the other people in it, the way we behave, and so on. Life has a tendency to be a self-fulfilling prophesy, so if you think you’ll always be poor, the chances are you probably will!

British culture tends to have a fairly negative approach to wealth, as if there’s something slightly vulgar about it. Most of us have inherited all kinds of beliefs - both positive and negative - about what being rich might mean. For example, we might have been brought up to expect all rich people to be rogues ... in which case we’re unlikely to want to be one! Or we might have gained a belief that you only get rich at the expense of your health or your relationships ... in which case we’d be understandably nervous about acquiring wealth. Test your own beliefs by seeing how you react to the following statements:

• I deserve money
• It’s okay for me to be rich
• There’s more than enough money to go round
• Money can come to me easily

If they make you feel at all uncomfortable, ask yourself why. Challenge your negative beliefs around wealth and develop positive ones instead. In her book ‘Make money, be happy, Carmel McConnell suggests that you keep repeating this ‘mantra’:

• Right now, as I am, I deserve to make money and be happy.

Notice that it’s not about tomorrow, when you’ve sorted this, that or the other out. It’s about you, now! Try it and see how it feels. If you say it to yourself often enough, you might start believing it. You DO deserve a happy, fulfilling and financially sound life.

3. Get a ‘rich’ mindset

Two individuals can look at the same set of circumstances in very different ways, depending on whether they are ‘glass half full’ or ‘glass half empty’ people. Or, as Paul McKenna would call them, ‘rich thinkers’ and ‘poor thinkers’. Which are you? Do you focus on what you have, or what you don’t have? Regardless of how much money they may or may not have, the richest people are those who can - and do - squeeze every last drop of enjoyment out of life.

Anyone can cultivate the experience of feeling rich, just by appreciating the rich moments in their lives. Think about something that brings you a sense of pleasure, satisfaction and meaning. How much does it cost? Probably very little. Most of us, when pushed, will admit that we get the most joy from our loved ones, from nature, from feeling well and healthy, from getting ‘into flow’ (see ‘Find your flow’). When you think about the things you really treasure, do you think of expensive belongings or do you think of relationships, feelings and experiences?

One easy way to develop a rich mindset is to start a ‘best bits’ book. At the end of every day, just list your ‘best bits’ of the day - as many as you like, provided you write down at least three. They can be big or small, as long as they’ve given you pleasure in some way, shape or form. A beautiful tree. A good glass of wine. A hug from your child. Train your brain to experience enjoyment via all your senses - sight, sound, smell, taste and touch.

“Wealth consciousness, by definition, is a state of mind.”
Deepak Chopra, ‘Creating Affluence - Tthe A to Z Guide to a Richer Life’

4. Create a ‘rich’ vision

One of the best ways to motivate yourself to live well and prosper is to create a ‘rich’ vision. In other words, fast forward five years and imagine that your life is filled with the most wonderful things you could ever dream of. Write down how you would really like your life to be in each of these key areas:

• mind and body
• family and home
• career / business
• friends and fun
• community and contribution
• prosperity

Then look at all the things you have said you’d like to have or achieve and, for each one, ask yourself:

• What do I want this for?
• What will having this give me?

Keep asking the same questions until you get to short answers such as ‘fun’, ‘peace of mind’, ‘freedom’ and ‘a sense of achievement’. You are trying to uncover the values that are really important to you. This helps you to see the things (and we don’t mean material possessions) that will really create a rich life for you. You’ll also realise that there are lots of different ways to achieve them. Keep playing around with this exercise until you understand what matters most to you. Then you can built a clear and compelling vision of the kind of life you want, and begin moving towards it.

5. Stop emotional spending

So much of what we spend money on has nothing to do with our physical needs and everything to do with our emotions. For most of us in the western world, the days of only being able to buy the bare essentials are long gone, (no) thanks to the introduction of umpteen different forms of credit. Nowadays, we buy things because we think we want them ... when actually what we really want is something far less tangible - like a less stressful life, more love and affection, and so on. Hence the term ‘retail therapy’!

If you can work out what’s really important to you, you can begin to put the brakes on your emotional spending. You can start to see beyond the superficial and assess the real value, or otherwise, of a purchase. As part of this process, ask yourself the following questions every time you go to spend any money on anything:

• Do I really need or want this ... or do I just want to feel better?
• Will buying this make me richer or poorer?

And remember what being really rich means to you.

6. Concentrate on being happy ... in the here and now

It’s a bit of a recurring theme on Mummo, but the key to feeling rich is to concentrate on being happy in the here and now. After all, as Babatunde Olatunji (a Nigerian drummer, educator and social activist) famously said:

“Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. And today? Today is a gift. That’s why we call it the present.”

The ability to live in the moment and get maximum enjoyment from whatever you’re doing, however mundane it might seem to others, is probably the most valuable skill anyone can have. And the best thing is that anyone can acquire it, although it does take practice! Meditation is widely recognised as being a great way to develop this ability, and people who meditate regularly are scientifically proven to be far happier than ‘average’ human beings! There are many different types of meditation, but perhaps the easiest way to get started is simply to try and be more mindful. Pay attention to the world around you and the sensations inside you. Get curious. Focus on what is actually happening rather than what did happen or might happen or what you think about what is happening. If you keep bringing yourself back to a mindful awareness, you’ll be amazed at how much better you feel.

7. Give more

According to Carmel McConnell (in her book ‘Make Money, Be Happy’):

• “The way to get more is to give more.”
• “If you are working “just for the money”, it won’t work. What gets you the money is being the best, caring more, contributing more ...”

People don’t generally get rich by doing just enough to get by. You become rich - on any number of different levels - by going the extra mile.

On the basis of what we already know about the links between altruism and happiness (see ‘give something back’), one of the easiest ways to feel richer is to give to others in simple, practical ways. Buy flowers for an elderly neighbour, look after a friend’s children for the day, leave a love note for your partner, or just let someone go in front of you in the supermarket queue. Little things that can be worth a great deal, to them and to you.

“Being rich isn’t just about you - it’s about how you impact the world around you and the legacy you leave behind.”
Paul McKenna

8. Find ways to add value

Okay, so unless you’re a Lottery winner, money doesn’t fall from trees! Most of us have to earn it somehow. So how can we go from an ordinary salary to extraordinary wealth? Paul McKenna states quite clearly that, in his view:

• “Money is one of the rewards you get for adding value to the lives of others.”

And Deepak Chopra also says:

• “Money is life energy that we exchange and use as a result of the service we provide to the universe.”

Indeed, studies of some of the wealthiest people in the world have revealed that they are constantly looking for ways to add value to the world. What could YOU do that would add value to the world? What could you create or provide that would benefit other people so much that they would happily pay good money for it? Spend some time thinking about this over the next few weeks and tune in to all the wealth-creating opportunities around you. You don’t necessarily have to leave your job and start up your own business. Just open your mind to new possibilities and see what happens.

9. Position yourself for success

As we’ve already said, money is unlikely to just land in your lap, you have to actually do something worthwhile to earn it. In her book ‘The 7 Rules of Success’, well-respected life coach Fiona Harrold says that one of the key factors distinguishing top achievers from everyone else is the simple fact that they ‘do more’! Of course, it’s also about what they do. True wealth doesn’t come from doing more of the things that make you miserable! In order to be rich, you need to be doing the things that are right for you - in other words, living life according to your own sense of identity and purpose, and your most deeply-held values.

Assuming that you are doing the right things for you, then Paul McKenna suggests that you develop three core skills that will help you to achieve greater success in any field:

• networking - to let other people know who you are
• marketing - to tell them the story of what you are offering
• selling - to convince them it’s worth having

Ultimately, what underpins your ability to do these three things is the strength of your belief in yourself, in other people and in the value of what you’re offering. You won’t be surprised to hear that ‘practise self belief’ also features as one of Fiona Harrold’s seven rules for success. So, the bottom line is that if you want to be really rich, you need to invest in YOU! Everything starts with you, so nurture and grow yourself. Work on your mindset, look out for opportunities to learn, spend the time and the money (if necessary) to give yourself the best possible chance at an amazing life.

10. Appreciate what you’ve already got

It’s simple. Stop looking around you at what everyone else has got (or appears to have) and concentrate instead on what you’ve got - all the riches that are already in your life. Flick back through your photo albums and ‘best bits’ book (see tip 3) to remind yourself of all the wonderful moments you’ve been fortunate enough to experience. And just be grateful.

“Gratefulness is the key to a happy life that we hold in our hands, because if we are not grateful, then no matter how much we have we will not be happy …because we will always want to have something else or something more.”
Brother David Steindl-Rast