There is no doubt that the single biggest obstacle to you becoming wealthy is yourself. We truly are our own worst enemies. Now, it is true that some of us have had horrid medical bills which gobble up our last remaining savings. Others have lost jobs, and being unemployed for over a year can definitely drive one’s finances to the poor house. But I also know that for over 90% of my clients who are in debt, their own attitudes and behaviors sabotage their best intentions for becoming wealthy. They become mental dams in the way of potential cash flow and abundance. 

Those who live in debt are not the only ones I’m talking to here. I also refer to those who have only their house to pay off. (Congratulations, by the way, if you are in that category! Give yourself a pat on the back!) But you, too, have a few issues that need to be addressed. I don’t want you to just get by in life. I don’t want you to be always dipping into your savings to bail yourself out of the next financial crisis, and the next, and the one after that. I want you to be wealthy, stinking rich if you will! I want you to break the mental dams that are preventing your abundant life, and I want you to give way to the wealth that is yours for the taking.  

How is that going to be possible when you’re looking at a mortgage that takes 35% of your paycheck and/or you have $15,000 in credit card debt? First, I need you to examine what sort of person you think you have to become to be wealthy. You have the potential to become a very rich person if you allow yourself to stop damming the flow of cash in your life. How do you do this? You must stop making choices that lead you further and further into debt.  

For starters, if you already have credit card debt, the last thing you want to do is to continue to BORROW MONEY! I know that this seems totally obvious to some, but I am amazed at the number of clients I have that tell me they have over $10,000 in consumer debt and then they email me asking what car loans are the best to obtain from their local bank. My quick answer is: NONE! What you want is to stop borrowing money, and instead pay some back. This is very difficult, I realize. Our society makes it incredibly easy for you to get other people’s money and use it. This has to stop first and foremost before you move on to any other principle on the wealth accumulation path.  

Second, you want to decide right now how much money you want to have? Do you want to have a half a million dollars, one million dollars, five million dollars, or even 20 million? You want to establish some financial targets so that you can celebrate when you hit these positive goals. Paying down debt is great, but you also want to focus on the positive aim of saving of money. If all you have is $25 in your savings account, then start with your next paycheck and put $10 into your account, then slowly build up the amount you are depositing until you have three months of your salary in a savings account. When you hit that target, celebrate. Go to a movie, a spa or camping. Whatever works for you as a celebratory event. You’ve earned it. You deserve to splurge a little at that point.  

Third, what makes you happy in life? Do you really enjoy going to amusement parks or are national parks more your lifestyle? Do you love travel or staying at home and enjoying a good book? What makes you feel good? Take a moment and examine the answers to these questions. It will help you determine where you want to go in life and what purpose you wish to have. Decide today that you are no longer going to spend money on things, people and places that don’t make you happy. That means if you don’t like visiting family during the holidays, why do it? I had one client that talked about how her recent trip to family cost her over $5,000 due to air travel, etc., and she had a rotten time. I asked how often she did this. “Once a year,” was her reply. I then asked her if she ever felt she got her money’s worth on this travel. No, she did not. Why then spend the money? Why work so hard for your money doing things that you don’t like with people you DON’T enjoy? Her response was, “Because I’m supposed to.” By whom? Society? Family? Who is it that is guilting you into spending money that doesn’t give you energy and joy?   

I know that I’m being a bit harsh here, but what I would like you to do this month is really examine why you are spending money on things that don’t make you happy. Seriously question your motives. Stop at the moment of decision and say, “Hey, why am I doing this?” Then take the time necessary to dig out the truth. You work hard for your money. I want you to get value added in your life. By really watching your choices you will start to see where you have been damming the flow of money and creating a block to abundance. Take some time, now, and find a path to Give a Way. Basically give yourself a way to open some new paths of abundance through your unblocked thinking.