I was messaging back and forth with a new colleague last week. We were talking about how our society is so wrapped up in the idea that owning a business is ALL about making money.
Most of us started our businesses because we wanted a way to make money and do work that mattered. Work that is meaningful and changes lives.
The best feeling is going to bed at night knowing you made a difference in someone’s life today.
And it’s so much more than that.
When I talk to my Soul Tribe about why they started their business, the top 5 reasons are:
- Freedom and Flexibility
- Creative Self Expression – using your gifts and Beautiful Brilliance.
- Meaningful work – generously doing work that makes a positive difference.
- To share your passion and be purposeful – doing business in a way that is in alignment with your core values and beliefs.
- To make money doing work you love.
For my clients, money isn’t #1 on the list of motivation and drivers. It’s typically around #5.
It is absolutely important. It’s in the Top 5. For many of us, myself included, it’s how we pay our bills, keep our businesses expanding, and build retirement.
But it’s not the excitement and thrill of making money alone that makes me jump out of bed in the morning.
That excitement and thrill comes from being able to have the flexibility and freedom in my schedule to dive into my business deeply and support a life that I love.
It’s about aligning with my gifts, my talents, expertise, strengths and passions and putting those into the world to make it a better place.
What gets me up in the morning is knowing that I gave hope and inspiration and transformed someone’s idea of what their business can be like – for real.
And yes, it’s thrilling making great money doing work I love!
I notice that when my clients get anxious and doubt their ability to make great money doing what they love, they tend to take a nosedive in their confidence.
They let the old paradigm of “you should be hustling,” “you’re not good enough,” “if you were good enough then you’d charge more/make more,” run their thoughts.
When we get into that mindset, we start feeling like we should be struggling every day to prove our worth.
When you dare to get real and choose to unshackle from the mindset that says money is the 1st priority and we need to struggle and hustle to get it every single day, the real abundance will flow.
Our Soul Work is full of healthy challenges that are loaded with opportunities to practice compassion, grace and love, and ask us to give our creativity, commitment and conviction.
When you create and grow your business from that place, you feel in alignment with your true motivations and drivers.
The money comes when you let go of the stranglehold and focus on creating from a deeper, more creative place and your true motivation.