Madeleine writes:
Research shows that feeling wealthy in quality time, relationships, freedom, security, fun etc. can give you the same feeling as if you’d had an £82k pay rise.
When I’m working with clients I often use the life wheel as a tool for helping clients gain more ‘wealth’ in every area of their life and help them avoid the risk of going for goals that mean they have to make themselves poorer in one area of their life in order to be wealthier in another area. For instance, avoid success in career or business stealing from quality time with friends, family and themselves.
“It’s good to have money and the things that money can buy, but it’s good, too, to check up once in a while and make sure that you haven’t lost the things that money can’t buy.”
George Lorimer
So I’m going to suggest a few tips for increasing your wealth related to each area of that Life Wheel. If you’d like a copy of the Life Wheel click here to download one.
Career/Business
- Often we underestimate the value of what we do well because it comes easily to us.
Stop undercharging for what you do – charge a win-win price/salary for your services so that you can look after yourself and your family as well as giving good value to your clients/employer. - A Financial Times survey of employers revealed that employers rate interpersonal skills above having a degree, the university you went to, appropriate work experience and IT skills when it comes to considering someone for hire or promotion. So invest in developing your ‘soft skills’ such as win-win negotiating and conflict management. With these skills you’ll enjoy your work more, get more opportunities and much of what you learn will also help you in your personal relationships too.
- Often employers will give their employees grants to finance their personal coaching or to develop themselves. Just ask! (Image removed)
Money
- Set a date by which you’d like to be financially free…in other words a time when you’d like to have the choice about whether you work or not. Then work out what it would take to achieve it. It might mean saving and investing. It might mean creating some sources of income that don’t require you to keep selling your time for salary e.g. rental income or royalties from a book you’ve written. If you need to save and invest, set up standing orders so that your financial freedom happens automatically.
- Often it’s our beliefs that stop us becoming wealthy. Some people think that rich people are bad, lazy or corrupt. If you hold negative beliefs about wealth and wealthy people, you will tend to stop yourself from earning more. Or if you do earn a great salary/profit, you will tend to overwork to justify earning it.
Create positive thoughts about money and wealthy people. Think of good wealthy role models. For instance, Bill Gates created software that has created jobs and opportunities for millions of people and he has become a major philanthropist
Health
- I remember a complimentary therapist saying to me, ‘Your true wealth is in your health’. In many ways, it’s so true, isn’t it? It’s hard to feel ‘wealthy’ in your life when you’re unwell and it’s harder to earn more too.
- Our body repairs itself when we are sleeping. If you steal some of your sleep time for work or play, it’s your body that pays…as does your creativity, alertness and vitality. So, if you ensure you get your 7-8 hours, preferably between 10.30 p.m. and 6.30 a.m., you’ll feel rich in energy and be more effective in your career, or business and your relationships.
- One thing that can make it hard to sleep is an over-active mind. I find if I’ve already written my ‘To Do’ list for the next day, it helps me to switch off from work. Also, I keep a notebook with me so that if a good idea or something I need to remember pops up, I write it down rather than burdening my memory with it.
Family
- Focus on how your family members’ strengths enrich your life rather than focusing on their faults.
Romance
- Focus on how your partner’s strengths enrich your life rather than focusing on their faults
Self
- Worry, stress and lack of confidence are expensive habits robbing you of your creativity, joy in life and sometimes a higher salary or profits. One way to build your confidence is to reflect on your achievements every day.
- Learning from all your own mistakes can be expensive, frustrating and discouraging. I remember a successful business owner saying, ‘Life is too short to learn from all my own mistakes.’ So find good mentors and invest in coaching and training.
Spare Time and Social Life
- Have you noticed that you tend to keep appointments? My clients make an appointment with me to meet every week to ‘work on’ their business, career or personal life so that they get off the hamster wheel of life and spend time making their lives better.
Make appointments with yourself, or a life coach, to help you make your life wealthier in every way or to relax, recharge and re-energise yourself.
Where You Live
- De-clutter – it will help you feel richer in space and peace of mind.
- Sometimes you can feel richer in time and energy if you have a shorter commute to work. So move nearer to work or get work nearer to home or negotiate some days where you can work from home.
Are you interested in making 2015 your wealthiest year yet in your personal, career and business life?
If you are, I’d like to offer you a free, confidential ‘Wealthiest Year Yet’ Coaching Discovery Session
I have 6 sessions to give away in January.
During that 60 minute session, we’ll:
- discuss where you are with your personal, career or business life.
- uncover hidden barriers to your success.
- get clear about how you’d like your life to be.
Then I’ll show you how you can bridge that gap. You’ll go away feeling positive, excited and confident about making 2015 your best year yet.
If you would like to apply for a session, just email me:madeleine@growu.co.uk
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