As EOFY (end of financial year) approaches here in Australia (30 June), I have been focussing on money, spreadsheets, bank accounts and transfers this last week. Good news is that I have a healthy business bank account, but is this REAL wealth?
Perhaps, real wealth is NOT about money, as James Clear, author of Atomic Habits, he writes that real wealth is:
· not having to go to meetings
· not having to spend time with jerks (my favourite)
· not being locked into status games
· not feeling like you have to say “yes”
· not worrying about others claiming your time and energy
Real wealth is about freedom. Money can help achieve these things, yet there are plenty of people who make lots of money yet aren’t free.
What is real wealth for you? I didn’t realise it at the time, but when I wrote my own book (the pcbs revisited) I answered this question for myself:
“Welcome to the pcbs revisited. You are about to embark on a journey – a journey that will get you out of the back office and in front of your clients; a journey that will have you spending less time managing money so you can spend more time making money; a journey that honours why you wanted to coach in the first place. This journey leads to ‘more peoplework and less paperwork’.
Remember your dream? Remember why you wanted to coach to begin with? Was it to contribute to others? Was it to create your own lifestyle? Picture this – there you are, lying in a hammock; a lovely breeze is in the warm air; you look out over your garden vista to the distant mountains and then your phone rings… it’s your coaching client. With your laptop nearby, you take in these beautiful surroundings as you spend the next 40 minutes on the phone coaching your client. Mmm… what a life! You are making a difference to others while honouring your own dream, AND you get paid for it.”
OK, I’m not lying on my hammock, but I am in my beautiful home office here at Brooklands overlooking our magnificent rose garden with the paddocks in the distance; my puppy at my feet; I’m wearing smart casual clothes and minimal makeup. My screen lights up and it is my coaching client(s). Light years away from the sterile corporate executive suite I spent 13 hours a day in at General Motors wearing a power suit! This is REAL wealth to me.
· managing my own work schedule
· choosing whom I spend time with (I don't deal with dickheads)
· connecting deeply with authentic people
· deciding how I feel and what I want to do
· managing my energy
“What is REAL wealth to you?” If this question is a challenge, I encourage you to consider working with a coach. As my website says:
Coaching moves you from who you are today to who you want to be…your best self. You want to navigate the complexities of your life, your work, your career and your relationships. Coaching with Belinda M will move you towards this vision. As a client you come with at least one of these:
1. a crystal clear vision
2. a fuzzy vision
3. a lost vision, thus you are running on autopilot
4. no vision, yet you know you want to move from your present position
Do consider working with a coach to discover and design your own Real Wealth vision, so that you, too, can feel wealthy, healthy and peaceful.
