Why do you want money?
 by Donna Krone

A story to reflect on:

A boat docked in a tiny seaside village. An American tourist complimented the local fisherman on the quality of his fish and asked how long it took him to catch them.

"Not very long," answered the fisherman.

"But then, why didn't you stay out longer and catch more?" asked the American.

The fisherman explained that his small catch was sufficient to meet his needs and those of his family.

The American asked, "But what do you do with the rest of your time?"

"I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, and take a siesta with my wife. In the evenings, I go into the village to see my friends, play the guitar, and sing a few songs...I have a full life."

The American interrupted, "I have an MBA from Harvard, and I can help you! You should start by fishing longer every day. You can then sell the extra fish you catch. With the extra revenue, you can buy a bigger boat."

"And after that?" asked the fisherman.

"With the extra money the larger boat will bring, you can buy a second one and a third one and so on until you have an entire fleet of trawlers. Instead of selling your fish to a middle man, you can then negotiate directly with the processing plants and maybe even open your own plant. You can then leave this little village and move to the city, Los Angeles, or even New York City! From there you can direct your huge new enterprise."

"How long would that take?" asked the fisherman.

"Twenty, perhaps twenty-five years," replied the American.

"And after that?"

"Afterwards? Well, my Friend, that's when it gets really interesting," answered the American, laughing. "When your business gets really big, you can start selling stocks and make millions!"

"Millions? Really? And after that?" said the fisherman.

"After that you'll be able to retire, live in a tiny village near the coast, sleep late, play with your children, catch a few fish, take a siesta with your wife and spend your evenings doing what you like and enjoying your friends.”

I love this little story, although simplistic and humorous it does bring up an important inquiry: Why do you want money?
If you are like most people you are so busy making money you probably don’t take time to ask yourself that question.
 
Last weekend I was working with a group of individuals at a workshop on Financial Freedom. 
During one of the exercises we asked the question “why do you want money?” but we didn’t stop there. Each participant had a partner who helped them get under the question in a much deeper way. It went like this:

Why do you want money? _________________ (that response was inserted in the blank and they were then asked……)

Why do you want __________________________?

And why do you want _______________________?

And why do you want  ______________________ ? etc., etc.

We kept going, steadily asking why to each new answer for 3 full minutes, until the participant hit the same or a similar response. It was amazing to see what people really wanted. Here are a few samples:   peace~ feeling more fully alive~ a sense of deep joy~ to feel safe~ to die feeling complete~ to be loved etc. etc.  We labeled these end game answers core desires.

Throughout the workshop individuals began to see that money was not what they were really after but just one of the many tools to help them achieve what they wanted.  It was not our point to ignore or minimize the importance of money, but just to have it seen in its true light. Knowing our core desire helps us to see the big picture of our life and make some adjustments if things are out of alignment. If your core desire is peace and you are anxious every day at a job you don’t like trying to make money to feed your core desire of peace, you may want to take a second look! If your core desire is to be in a loving relationship but you don’t have time for that because you are too busy making money, something is out of whack!

Once you know your core desire the real challenge is to keep it in your awareness. If your focus stays on what is most important, and your attitude and essence reflect that, a funny thing happens, the money often follows!! 

Donna Krone is a Certified Professional Coach and a Certified Financial Planner. Donna is the founder of TLL Coaching and Consulting in Massachusetts and a senior partner of Financial Conversations in Tempe, Arizona. For more information, visit www.tolovelife.com