Archive for 'value'

Abundance or Greed?

I received an absolutely fabulous question from one of my readers in response to my last post:

“The lesson of ‘not settling’ is one I have been learning about for a while now, and can easily see how it has brought much abundance into my life. Where I am struggling with this lesson is in the financial arena, and wanted to ask your thoughts. In money terms, how do you know the difference between knowing your worth (and ‘not settling’) which I assume is positive, and on the other hand, ego-driven greed which I assume is negative?” – Michelle

This question really got me thinking. Is there actually a limit to our worth, beyond which we are simply being greedy?

I don’t think that the spiritual perspective allows for the concept of “greed.” I would think that each Soul is as infinitely “valuable” as the whole of creation, and that there is no limit to our innate worth. And since Divine Abundance states that all resources are infinitely available, we are also not taking anything away from others by living abundantly.

But we are also human Beings, living in a third-dimensional experience! From this perspective, I think “value” vs. “greed” becomes a matter of personal integrity. Let’s say we were trying to sell something we KNOW is of no value whatsoever, just to make a quick buck. I would probably consider that greedy.

Value is a very subjective thing. In the end, it is up to us to truly determine the value of our products and services – and if we believe it, then we are not greedy. Then we are in integrity with our own sense of worth.

There are other considerations I always use when it comes to valuing a product or service that I’m offering. To me, being in integrity means that I will not charge my clients prices that I myself would not willingly pay, or am not able to pay myself. If I myself wouldn’t consider a comparable investment “worth it” – then how can I ask my clients for that investment?

I actually just sent out private invitations to my Divine Mastery program. The highest investment rate for that program, depending on what payment plan is selected, is $7,500. As it happens, that’s also what I invested in my business last fall for strategic tax coaching. I actually think the value is far greater … but I stay in integrity with what I myself am willing to invest.

Obviously, as our relationship to financial abundance changes, so does our sense of worth. Or … as our sense of worth changes, so does our level of financial abundance! Whether we like it or not, our relationship to money is all about our inner relationship to our own worth and the value that we have to offer the world. And as we embody a greater sense of worth, we can also uphold others in own their innate value.

When we consider the total transformation that we have to offer our clients or customers – the potential that our work has to create a significant change in their lives – then we usually find that we actually under-value our products and services. Think about it – my Money Manifesting Mastery program has the potential to teach someone how to consistently create exactly the income they want. I’ve gotten emails from students who have manifested five-figure dollar amounts from working with the program for a single month! Was that worth the investment of $297? Of course! Will every student get results like that? Probably not … but as service providers, that’s completely out of our hands. We can’t put a value on someone else’s result – only the potential. Because in the end, everyone is responsible for creating their own results. We can only offer the best tools we possibly can.

So if we can honestly, in our hearts, value the potential transformation that we have to offer others, then we are not greedy. We are owning our worth.

Thanks for the question, Michelle!

Blessings,

Andrea


How To Stop Settling for Less in 2010

It’s the end of another year. While most of us look ahead and set intentions for the year ahead, I think it’s equally important to take stock of the year that is coming to a close. Did you accomplish what you wanted this year? Did you create the transformation you intended at the beginning of 2009? Did you even know what you wanted to create?

Most importantly … what did you create or tolerate in 2009 that you are ready to let go, so that you can make 2010 the year of creating what you truly want?

It’s tough to create anything new in our lives when our lives are already full of what we’ve settled for. A lot of us want to hold on to what we have until we know for sure that what we want is definitely on its way. Unfortunately, life doesn’t work that way. Before wonderful, new things can come into our lives, we have to do a little clearing and create a vacuum. Without a temporary vacuum, there’s no space to be filled.

It’s easy to forgo what we truly want in favor of what we can easily have right now.

Let me give you an analogy. Let’s say you want a thousand dollars. You know you are absolutely worth that much. You believe in this value! But now here’s someone who shows up and offers you $650 right now. What do you do?

It’s tempting to just take the $650, isn’t it? After all, it fell right into your lap! And surely that’s a pretty good chunk of money, right? Maybe not a thousand … but getting closer, for sure.

But here’s the problem. If we say “yes” to the $650, we’ve just declared our true self-perceived value to the Universe. We aren’t all that insistent on our “true” value – in fact, we’ve just invalidated our “true” value altogether by accepting less!

When we settle for less than what we want – dissatisfying relationships, careers, financial situations – we are declaring to the Universe that “less than” is our actual value! At all times, WE are the only ones that decide on our worth.

What we have right now, in this very moment, is a perfect reflection of what we think we deserve. If we want to exchange what we have for something more or better, then we first have to label it as “not good enough, sorry!” and take the Universe up on its eternal return policy, so that we can receive something more in alignment with what we want.

What “less than” situation might you be willing to let go of in order to create a reflection of your true value, your true heart’s desires?