The following blog is by Amy Jo Lauber originally published on her blog page.

“Financial planners should help people figure out how to live.
What’s the role of money, and how much is needed, in terms of life quality?”
Dan Ariely, PhD

This quote has planted itself firmly in my brain and guides me in my day-to-day life as a financial planner. On one hand I tell people, “It’s not about the money,” and on the other hand I have to say, “Except when it’s about the money.” It’s all about that left brain right brain stuff.

Have you ever heard of or created a vision book or vision board? They’re pretty awesome. You cut out photos, words and quotes from magazines and even junk mail that inspire and resonate with you and paste them onto poster board or into a book. You use your book to help you attract those good things into your life. It’s about the energy of intention. You look at the book regularly to maintain motivational and manifestational (yes I made that up) momentum.

Sometimes people have a hard time manifesting what they want in life. Sometimes things don’t go as they envisioned.

I’ve encountered a rather strange situation. I’ve been working with a marketing coach, who has helped me tremendously. A woman who is considering hiring her asked for a reference and my coach sent her to me. The prospect is a “Conscious Breath Coach.” She asked me that, if my coach helped me reach my $1 million revenue goal, would I still work with her to reach my $5 million revenue goal?

In what reality is a breath coach earning a million dollars per year?

Okay, maybe she is manifesting and earning a million dollars is in her vision book. But, really? It all gave me plenty of pause.

Maybe I’ll get an “F” on my vision book.

As I was working on a financial plan a couple of week’s ago, I glanced up for a mental break. I looked – almost absent-mindedly – at a large vase given to me by my fellow NYS Women Inc. (Buffalo Niagara) members for serving as chapter president.

I realized that the glass made the items behind it look all wonky. I know what the items really look like, despite the distortion. But sometimes in life we may not know what is distorting our vision. The gray sky, the cold weather, poor diet, lack of sleep, an argument with a friend, a bad hair day…all of them can distort our vision of life.

In my work, I try to identify each client’s money story; what they believe to be true about money. The client’s money story is the narrative for their behavior with money, and identifying it can lead us to have some breakthroughs for how he/she may change the (dysfunctional) behavior(s) by changing the story.

Some examples of money stories include:

• More money will make me happy
• Money is the root of all evil
• Rich people are greedy
• Poor people are lazy (and/or stupid)
• You must work hard to have money
• Money means _____________ (fill in the blank for yourself)

These money stories often distort your vision of a successful life.
You may be living an amazing life and not even know it!

“Empty pockets never held anyone back.
Only empty heads and empty hearts can do that.”~Norman Vincent Peale.

I spent some lovely time talking with an incredible woman I know who is living the life of her dreams, she just doesn’t have the email list (or income) to match her vision of that life. She’s pretty bummed out and all I kept thinking was, “But you’re LIVING it! You’re DOING it! You HAVE it!” but she is looking for validation of an amazing life through money.

Money doesn’t give a flying rat’s ass about your visions or your life.

Stop treating money as if it’s a god. Neither worship nor fear it. Don’t give it energy best spent otherwise, like living your amazing life, or give it power over your incredible vision.

I share with you some thoughts from truth giver Louise Hay.

My husband, daughter, and I all wear glasses. We all have completely different prescriptions but, until recently, all of our frames were almost identical. We’d frequently put on each other’s glasses by accident and laugh at how poorly we could see, how distorted things looked, even though the same glasses helped someone else see so much better.

It’s been two weeks that I’ve been wearing my new glasses; they’re bifocals. I’m now that age. They really help me see better. Huh.

In addition, my wonderful husband is an amateur photographer and uses different lenses based on what he is capturing in a photograph. He uses a different lens for photographing a lion and photographing a flower.

All of this got me thinking about our own perceptions of things, our vision or lens on the world, and how sometimes what we may need is a different prescription to see things more clearly.

Just because you’re not rich or famous or both doesn’t mean that you’re not living an incredibly amazing life. The key is simply seeing that you are. Wayne Dyer says, “You’ll see it when you believe it.”

Where are my glasses?

About the author: My mission: I help people make good financial decisions with confidence. My purpose: I help people find peace with money. As President of Lauber Financial Planning, I provide financial advice, guidance and coaching on a fee only basis (no products, no commissions). I run a monthly support group called “I HATE Budgeting (But I Like Having Money)”, offer classes and seminars, speak around the world on the psychological, sociological, spiritual and emotional aspects of personal finance, and am the author of the ground-breaking book, “Living Inspired and Financially Empowered: Aligning Our Spiritual and Material Lives.”