5 Myths About Money That Are Holding You Down

Money is a scary subject, but it doesn’t have to be. I remember my elders reprimanding me when I was younger whenever I asked an “inappropriate” question about money. Finances are a sore subject, so best to not talk about them.

Money is a powerful tool – it creates amazing things, but also facilitates awful things. It’s part of our daily lives, whether we like it or not. Even if you let the bills pile up, you are still actively using your money by choosing to ignore them.

The good news is money isn’t all bad when used in the right way, just like any good tool. Using money right begins with having a good relationship with it, and that starts with clearing out some of the junk in the way.

Here are five big myths about money that are holding you down.

Myth #1: Money Is The Root Of All Evil

You’re probably already screaming at me for suggesting it, but this is the truth: Money is not the root or all evil. Money isn’t even evil itself. To have a good relationship with money, you have to first be honest with yourself about what money actually is.

Ayn Rand says in Atlas Shrugged, “Have you ever asked what is the root of money? Money is a tool of exchange, which can’t exist unless there are goods produced and men able to produce them. Money is the material shape of the principle that men who wish to deal with one another must deal by trade and give value for value. Is this what you consider evil?”

Money is a tool like a car. When you use your car with care and intention, it lasts for many years and creates positive experiences. Some people use cars to create destruction and pain. The real problem arises when we start applying our damaging intentions and emotions to money, and manifest negative and painful experiences for ourselves and others.

I’m amazed when I look back at times I used my money, my tool, to hurt myself. For many years I was unhappy with myself and where I was in life, and I funneled my money into lots of alcohol. On a larger societal scale, we create systems around money to disadvantage others and protect ourselves. It’s not the money that drives these circumstances – it’s the intention behind it.

Myth #2: Your Finances Say How Successful You are

I would love to honestly say I don’t have any judgments about myself and money at all, but I can’t. There are always times I wish I had more than I do, or something different. Sometimes I cringe when I see a friend on social media on a killer vacation I would love to be on but can’t afford at the moment. I feel like I’m falling behind and I’m not a successful as I should be.

It’s hard not to measure ourselves by money in our modern society. Everywhere we go there’s a message about how we can make or spend more money. And I do mean everywhere: On the TV, in your car, and even on that device in your hand first thing when you get up in the morning. We all talk about money all the time, so it’s easy to let that be the way we measure how successful we are at life.

Whenever I let another’s success get to me and I start feeling bad about not “having enough,” I remember how I chose to focus on building my business instead of taking fancy trips. I remember that I made certain sacrifices to escape the nine-to-five rat race and that I’m reaping the benefits of that choice every day. Your finances don’t say how successful you are – your finances say what you care about, and how much you care about it.

Myth #3: Money Can Buy Happiness

I hear people argue this one still to this day, and I can understand where both sides are coming from. But let’s be clear that there is one correct answer here: money cannot buy you happiness. I don’t say this because happiness is some ethereal and unattainable thing, but because it’s just not how happiness works.

There’s no question money can create comfort. Flying first class, or even private, with limousine service to anywhere on Earth is a dream come true. But even less than that, it provides access to healthcare and services that improve quality of life and life expectancy. Why isn’t this enough to buy happiness? Ask any unhappy rich person – I’m sure you know of at least one.

Happiness is a choice. You have to choose to be happy in order to be happy. We put a phone in our watches, but we don’t have a device to make our choices for us. One person with very little money can be entirely happy in his or her circumstance, while many millionaires drink themselves to sleep. Money can’t buy happiness because there’s nothing you can buy that will make you choose happiness.

Myth #4: You Have To Trade Your Time For Money

The greatest lie is that the only way to get the money you need is by selling your time. I believed this for many years as I ground my way through the nine-to-five corporate ladder. I constantly polished my resume, wondering when my boss would decide to give me a raise so I could upgrade my circumstances. Someone else had my life in their hands.

Tim Ferriss completely changed this for me in The Four Hour Work Week where he talks about focusing on solving bigger problems instead of slaving away in an office. He discusses identifying real needs and building systems to help serve those needs in an ongoing and scalable way. I remember at the time the idea of a four hour workweek seemed criminally negligent – and now I understand how it’s the path to greater success than climbing the corporate ladder would ever be for me.

My father and I laugh over our shared habit to do things “the hard way.” Many times, “the hard way” also means “the way it should be done.” My friends and I tear our hair out (what little is left) when we see young kids taking off with internet businesses while we’ve spent years trying to build ours. The difference is just that us old-timers haven’t fully shaken off our old, generational and misguided mindset and aligned ourselves to the freedom younger people have.

Myth #5: You Don’t Have Enough

When I was just getting started with my business, I looked around and wondered why I didn’t have any money. It was the clients’ fault for not paying, or it was the market’s fault for there not being enough clients. I finally took a hard look at all the problems I had with money and one common thread appeared: me.

As soon as I realized my own power to create my circumstances, financial and otherwise, I started making changes. I saw my own behaviors which were pushing dream clients away while attracting problem customers, and altered them without getting stuck in self-judgement. I finally wanted to have more money enough to do what it took to receive it. It wasn’t that I didn’t have enough money, I had exactly as much money as I wanted to fit my story at the time.

Russell Brunson talks about how to “give yourself a raise,” particularly when you have an online business. Each day he makes subtle changes to his landing pages and marketing message to see if they help improve conversion rates. Small improvements scale to big rewards when he finds these winning changes. When you’re strong enough to look at what isn’t working and change it, you can have as much money as you want.

If you want more now, get your free copy of “How To Discover Your Superpower,” your guide to go from Scarcity to Abundance, at abundancehackers.life.