Becoming The CEO Of Your Money

5 steps to follow

Do you ever feel like a follower instead of a leader as it relates to the way money in your life is spent, saved, and invested? For many people, money is the boss, calling the shots from the corner office, while you, the worker-bee, chase after money, trying to keep up with its demands.
 

Vince Lombardi famously said, “leaders aren’t born, they are made.” If that’s true, and I believe it is, anyone can exhibit leadership skills and ability over money through intentional hard work and focus. Great money leaders understand you need more than natural ability to achieve success. The leadership development plan to become the CEO of your money includes understanding the practical, emotional, and spiritual implications of money. It takes much more than a myopic focus on every dollar and cent earned. Building true leadership skills around money involves examining the purpose, relationship, and impact that money has in your life. There are practical steps you can take to grow and develop your financial leadership skills, elevating your enjoyment of and contentment with money.
 
The following are 5 steps you can take to become a money leader in your own life:

1. Forgive Yourself for Past Money Mistakes

Money decisions made by you (or others) that have gone south can be emotional baggage hanging around for years, like a backpack full of regret, shame, jealousy, and disappointment. These feelings significantly hamper your ability to live fully into the present moment and make clear-eyed decisions, unencumbered by the past. As time passes, not dealing with these painful feelings can turn into a form of shame and regret that becomes toxic and limits your ability to experience the fullness of life. Forgiving yourself and others for money mistakes, losses or missed opportunities is a potent antidote to heal your heart, liberate your mind, and bring wholeness to your relationships. When you let go of money mistakes, money is no longer controlling your emotions: you are the boss.

2. Redefine Success for Yourself—It’s Not About Your Bank Balance

The default definition of success is acquiring lots of money and everything money can buy, including toys and time. Interestingly, we have plenty of examples in sports, Hollywood, and business that confirm money won’t buy happiness and research routinely corroborates that fact.  Bestselling author and vulnerability expert Brene’ Brown explains that burnout and damage to your physical and mental health are often the results when you narrowly focus on achieving traditional measures of success, namely money and power. Taking a holistic and thoughtful approach to defining success for yourself beyond purely financial objectives is key. True success is evidenced by the kind of person you become, the quality and depth of your relationships, the empathy you show, the generosity you share with those in need. When you recognize how successful you are in these areas, money is no longer something you need to chase.

3. Understand Your Own Money EQ

You have a relationship with money that is grounded in attitudes, beliefs, and experiences, many of which were passed on to you by your parents during childhood. Your personal relationship with money can be quantified and explained through something I refer to as Money EQ, or your emotional intelligence for all things money related.

This framework is grounded in the belief that your money emotions lead to downstream behaviors and decisions, that can positively and negatively impact you, and those closest to you. If you can consciously improve the emotional connection you have with money, you can enjoy a richer experience of money in your life. To learn more about your emotional relationship with money, visit www.moneyeq.com. Understanding your Money EQ will help you take the lead on financial decisions, rather than an emotional knee-jerk response.

4. Ask Yourself, “How Much Is Enough Money?” Define “Enoughness” for Yourself

Enough is never quite enough when we compare our money to those with more. If you never put a boundary around your needs, or calculate enoughness, the finish line keeps moving, and financial security will always be just beyond your reach. It’s also easy to become so enamored with creating wealth that you forget to calculate what it really will take to reach your financial objectives. The “more is better” approach to money accumulation disassociates the mission from the target, and the goal becomes an arbitrary outcome that isn’t really connected to the life you want to lead. First, define the lifestyle you want, and use an online financial calculator and/or a wealth advisor to help you calculate the resources needed.

Freedom is found in creating a well-defined and achievable plan built around your personal objectives: when you feel confident that you will likely reach your goal, you open space in your life to explore other areas that bring you joy. When you set these boundaries, money isn’t telling you what you can or cannot do.

5. Make a Goal to Change One Thing About the Way Money Makes You Feel and Act

CEOs must be self-disciplined - in order to become a money leader, identify one of your personal money triggers, and decide to change, improve, or heal in that area. You might seek out someone who models a healthy relationship with money for inspiration and encouragement. Maybe you want to experience generosity, even on a relatively small scale. Start by putting a $20 bill in your wallet or purse for the sole purpose of giving it away to a random person in need. Tell someone close to you about your goal for added accountability.
 
2019 can be the year that you become the money leader you’ve always wished to be! It will take courage, persistence, and humility, some of the many traits of a great leader in any walk of life.