How does your self worth reflect your net worth?

How do you feel about your life right now?  Do you feel powerful?
Do you actually like yourself?  Do you care about what others
think of you?

You are probably wondering what this has to do with money.
It actually has everything to do with money.  Let me explain.
Last week, I mentioned that I would go into detail about the
philosophies of Money on Your Terms so you could have
an in-depth view on how to apply them to your own life.

What can a philosophy do for you?  Well, last week I told
you how it won Pete Carroll the Super Bowl championship.
As for me, I found that it gives me character.  A philosophy
will be there for me when I need to make a decision
and bring clarity to the most difficult situations.  It will also
lead me to where I want to go.  Most of all, a philosophy
will guide me in the right direction toward having Money
on my own Terms.

There are seven philosophies that I presented in the book,
so this is the first part of a seven-week series starting:

I am worthy of receiving money.

Suze Orman, a leading financial guru, says, “Your self
worth equals your net worth.” Even though this might seem
like an example of tough love, it speaks volumes.  If you
look at someone in society who is penniless and in lots
of debt, you can find that their feelings about themselves
are low.  Compare this to someone who has accumulated
wealth and is debt-free.  Your money can guide you to
how much you’re worth.

Let me share a story about my own life.

Four decades ago, I had this notion that I was not
worthy of anything.  My third grade teacher, Mrs. Shaw,
told me that I would never amount to anything because
I had trouble reading.  I could not understand phonetics.
Phonetics did not make sense to me because so many
of the words in the English language are taken from
other languages, and the words sound nothing like they
appear.  I bought into what Mrs. Shaw said about me.
Mrs. Shaw’s voice stuck with me for decades until I took
a stance and developed my own worth.  No more letting
the external world define who I am.  When I finally
believed I was worthy, my life improved, and money
started to flow in.  I was finding my own self-worth.
I needed to feel good about myself and define who I
was, feel good about what I stood for, and have thoughts
of victory instead of defeat.  I felt powerful for the first
time.  When I found my guide, I was able to begin
accumulating wealth until I found the financial freedom
I have today.

You see, when people live a life with low self-esteem,
they will validate those empty feeling by blocking money
in their life.  They will also further support these feelings
by taking on debt to purchase things they can’t afford
in order to mask their emptiness and show the external
world that everything is good in their life.  Being in debt
and feeling miserable can only make their situation worse.

So, what can someone do to change their worth?

Here are some questions to ask yourself:

What do I want my thoughts to be?
Do I feel good about myself; in fact, do I love myself?
Who am I and what do I stand for?
Should I honestly care about what other people think of me?
Am I living within my means?

If you have money in your life, pat yourself on the back.
You are worthy of receiving money in your life.  If you are
currently struggling with money, something needs to change
immediately about how you think, how you feel, and the
money choices you make.  Therefore, make the changes
now, and never let anyone define you like Mrs. Shaw
did for me.  Everyone is worthy of receiving wealth in
their life.