A Master Class in Wealth Creation…Based on Kick-Ass Quotes

Written by Barbara Huson

I love quotes. These tiny bits of timeless wisdom convey vast amounts of knowledge in a mere sentence or two.

This week, I’ve boiled down the secrets to successful investing into a series of pithy expert sayings. Consider it a Master Class in wealth creation.

Let’s start with economist Jeremy Siegel, “Fear incites human action far more urgently than does the impressive weight of historical evidence.”

Financial decisions made from fear (vs knowledge) never turn out well. As history reveals, after every crash, the market eventually surges. Yet fear has us selling at a loss, missing future gains.

According to wealthy industrialist J. Paul Getty, fear can be a buy signal. “Buy when everyone else is selling and hold until everyone else is buying.”

That’s not just a catchy slogan. It’s the very essence of successful investing.

Baron Rothschild was even more succinct: “The time to buy is when there’s blood in the streets.”

Our biggest risk is not the market tanking, but our emotional reaction.

As acclaimed investor Benjamin Graham pointed out: “The investor’s chief problem — and even his worst enemy — is likely to be himself.”

The 3 Questions—For Anyone Facing a Perplexing Challenge

Written by Barbara Huson

Recently, I stumbled on an unfamiliar book title, A Course of Love. It got my attention since it’s billed as a sequel to A Course in Miracles.

I was intrigued enough to click a link that promised to send me a chapter.

I haven’t read the book, so I can’t offer my opinion on the entire manuscript. But the chapter they sent had me sit up and take notice.

In the chapter were 3 questions that were so profound, I wanted to share them with you, especially if you’re facing a perplexing challenge.

These questions could be asked in situations as commonplace as balancing the checkbook, the chapter explained, or as momentous as a doctor’s diagnosis of a disease.

In other words, ask yourself these questions anytime you’re overwhelmed, anxious, confused, or even mildly puzzled.

The Anxiety Cure (It’s Not What You’d Expect)

Written by Barbara Huson

Money + Anxiety go together like a fifth of vodka and a hangover. An inevitable outcome unless you’re really careful.

Whether you don’t have enough or simply don’t know enough; whether you’re overspending or underearning; whether the market’s plunging or your debt is mounting…anxiety is unavoidable.

If you’re feeling anxious because of your finances (or anything else), what are you supposed to do? Live with the angst?

No, claims The Wall Street Journal. Try Sighing! Yes, you read the right. Let me hear an “AHHHHHHHH.”

Savings Can Be Fun! (Who Knew????)

Written by Barbara Huson

She had long avoided savings. Until she got an idea. What if the next time she did something scary, she rewarded herself by contributing a small amount to a saving account?

“Today I dealt with a confusing problem at work and got it resolved,” she explained in The Wealth Connection chat group, “So I just added a dollar to my savings! It’s a great feeling. I’m having a lot of fun saving! “

The moral of this story: Savings can actually be fun when you frame it as a reward.

Positive reinforcement—anything from patting yourself on the back to paying yourself a dollar—works for one simple fact. It feels good…which triggers the release of pleasurable chemicals like dopamine, encouraging your brain to keep repeating the behavior.

Women Are Different Than Men

Written by Barbara Huson

When it comes to women investing, I’m reminded of a quote attributed to Einstein: “If you ask a fish to climb a tree, she’ll always feel stupid.”

Same is true with money. If you try to approach finances like a man, you’ll always feel like a fish out of water.

So instead of trying to do it ‘their way,’ it’s time we value the feminine perspective. Let’s look at 5 ways the genders differ:

#1: Our Impetus for Investing

Men are very motivated by profit, perks, personal gain. No matter how much they have, amassing more is a powerful incentive.

Not women. Once we’re financially stable, we’re rarely motivated by money. Sure, we want to profit. But what really inspires us is helping others.

Power-From-Within

Written by Barbara Huson

If you’re not where you want to be financially, consider this. Your difficulties may have little, if anything, to do with money, but your fear of or ambivalence about power…because you don’t understand true power.

Basically, there are 3 kinds of power:

1. Power Over (Domination)

2. Power With (Collaboration)

3. Power-From-Within (Dominion).

The drawback with the first two is that exercising power depends on others cooperating.

The Myth of “More”

Written by Barbara Huson

I have always found myself yearning for more…more money, more success, more sales, more ______ (fill in the blank).

I proudly considered this constant yearning a healthy sign of a robust ambition. Until I began studying neuroscience and realized how truly unhealthy this kind of thinking actually is.

Here’s why. We literally sculpt our brain by what we dwell on. The more we think a thought or feel an emotion, the stronger that neuropathway becomes in our brain.

By constantly hungering for more, I was inadvertently telling my brain “I don’t have enough.”

The more I repeated that thought, the stronger the “not enough” neuropathway grew, until I’d unconsciously do things that kept reinforcing my experience of ‘not enough.’

Shifting from Financial Misery to Financial Miracles in 3 Steps

Written by Barbara Huson

I spent much of my adult life in financial turmoil. Even as I learned more about money, I still felt out of control. Then everything changed.

The answer didn’t come from a financial text, but a spiritual one, A Course in Miracles.

From the Course I learned that we have “two thought systems” or two distinct “voices” in our head:

The voice of Fear (the Ego).
And the voice of Love (the Soul).

The Soul and the Ego have conflicting agendas. Thus, they produce dramatically different results–either miracles or misery.

“You cannot follow two masters,” the Course warns. “There is no compromise between the two.”

You Say You Want More Money, But….

Written by Barbara Huson

If intentions are so powerful, why don’t they always pan out? What if you swear you want to make more money, your intent is sincere, your desire is strong, but try as you might, your paycheck remains paltry?

If this is the case, it’s for this reason: You get what you want, not what you ask for. The distinction is critical.

When a buried intention—say, to be comfortable—is stronger than your spoken one—to be profitable—you’ll stop yourself at every turn. You may say, and believe, you want to make more, but that’s not the message that’s reaching your brain.

If you’re not getting it, for whatever reason, chances are you may not want it. Or as A Course in Miracles explains: “What you ask for, you receive. But this refers to prayers of the heart, not the words you use in praying.”

I guarantee, setting a powerful intention and committing to it can make a big difference in how financially successful you actually become.

What’s Your Legacy? Don’t Wait Till It’s Too Late to Think About It.

Written by Barbara Huson

When I was in my 20’s, I saw a poster that read “Will it matter that I was?” Those words got me thinking about the legacy I wanted to leave, an inquiry that’s still ongoing to this day.

Every one of us leaves a legacy, but surprisingly few reflect on what they want theirs to be. Yet, it’s an important point for us all to ponder.

I once stumbled on a very touching blog written by a hospice physician. She saw how many of her patients were “deeply disturbed” because they hadn’t “contributed anything significant to life.”

“The message I have taken away from these patients,” she wrote, “is that it is far better to contemplate the meaning of life when we actually have some time left to work on the question.”

Blog

A Master Class in Wealth Creation…Based on Kick-Ass Quotes

The 3 Questions—For Anyone Facing a Perplexing Challenge

The Anxiety Cure (It’s Not What You’d Expect)

Savings Can Be Fun! (Who Knew????)

Women Are Different Than Men

Power-From-Within

The Myth of “More”

Shifting from Financial Misery to Financial Miracles in 3 Steps

You Say You Want More Money, But….

What’s Your Legacy? Don’t Wait Till It’s Too Late to Think About It.

Meet Barbara Huson

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