When I HAVE money, that’s when I’ll need some help managing it.

Fortunately, my curiosity (and dislike of dusting) finally got the best of me and I cracked open SECRETS OF THE MILLIONAIRE MIND by T.Harv Eker .... the catalyst of my journey to become a money savvy kind of gal.

Now the title, I will grant you, is VERY cheesy; like you should be lighting incense and visualizing a $1000 dollar bill floating toward you. Since reading it, however, I have changed my attitude toward judging a book by its cover.

In SECRETS OF THE MILLIONAIRE MIND you won’t find any charts, advice on stocks and bonds, or RRSPs vs. TFSAs. What you will find is a clever analysis of how people’s success is largely determined by their ATTITUDES and CONDITIONING, and how,

“emotions usually win an argument over logic.”
(What... me? emotional? P’shaawwww)

In the first half, Eker talks largely about your FINANCIAL BLUEPRINT: that magical, seemingly set in stone legend of how you are supposed to relate to success, and wealth. Being conscious or,

“observing your thoughts and actions so that you can live by true choice in the present moment
rather than being run by programming
from the past”

...is the main theme. The most important realization for me was that my blueprint (financial, career, relationships) was not SET IN STONE (!!!) I could renovate and rebuild at any time; check the blueprint to see where the support walls were and knock out every thing else that wasn’t helpful.


The second half of the book is divided up into 17, easy to read WEALTH FILES. Little observations of how successful people always see past a challenge and focus only on a positive outcome, and how unsuccessful people focus solely on the obstacles in their path and eventual failure. Since re-reading the book in 2011 I found myself underlining new ideas that hadn’t resonated with me back in 2005, but certainly do today.

#12
Rich people think, “both.”
Poor people think, “either/or.”

...was this year’s attention grabber. If everything we do is truly a choice, why do we (ok, me) feel like we have to choose either/or? That’s fine at the grocery store, but what about opportunities? Gigs? Relationships? If your attitude is either/or in one arena, it’s likely to be your habit in other areas of your life too.

“How you do ANYTHING, is how you do EVERYTHING”
(uh, oh)

Happiness and Success ARE a possible combination, so why not (at the very least) make that the goal regardless of the actual outcome? Changing your attitude doesn’t cost a cent.... and if it’s for the better, it might bring in the bounty. I know that the circle of friends around me (circa 2011) supports excellence and forward thinking; amazing examples of artistic entrepreneurs proving that both can happen, if you let it.

Who do you associate with, and do they focus on
success or obstacles?

There’s no magic spell that will create YOUR success. Harv Eker is quick to point out that his wealth files are not there to make life easy or work free. On the contrary! You’ll work harder for what you want. His point (and why I recommend this book to artists) is: the more aware you are of what you DO and (more importantly) what you DON’T DO (because of fear or past conditioning) may help you actually work SMARTER and get a whole lot FARTHER.

Happy weekend and thanks for reading!

for more info visit www.harveker.com - Secrets of the Millionaire Mind

*note: I do not advocate, or suggest that you attend any seminars $$$ as hi-lighted near the end of the book. I’m only here to recommend the paper and ink. : )

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(Hullo? I was 23)

In hind sight, however, I’m kinda’ glad they didn’t. I don’t think I would have found out how resilient I really am, or how fear can often be the corner stone for success. That’s code for:

“If I don’t figure out how to do this on my own, who will?” *

One of my money buddies recently told me about her writer friend who, after living in the U.K. on her parent’s dime (apartment, food, clothing...) was now – officially - CUT OFF. In her thirty years, she hadn’t been given the opportunity to struggle, or figure out how to survive on her talent alone. Once the familial financial plan was gone, so was her art. She couldn’t see how she could possibly survive as a writer and gave it up completely for something more stable, and lucrative. Might she still be a writer today if she had been given the benefit of the doubt that she was capable of building her own artistic empire? I guess we won’t ever know....

We each have our own personal cutting edge, and once we slip back from it into some kind of complacency where experimentation and struggle are no longer necessary, we may as well hang it up. (W.Criswell)

In truth, I don’t think the word struggle should be so commonplace in an artists’ vocabulary. At some point, the well earned rewards should come but, there’s a balance to consider. I guess, my question is:

Is there really any comfort in being cradled
after leaving the nest?

How does one build their financial muscles if
someone else is lifting the weights?

On the flip side:

Can artists reach higher ARTISTIC HEIGHTS
if they can keep their eye on the PRIZE instead of their WALLET?

Being an artist in the 21st Century definitely has it’s challenges and to be completely fair, I’m fairly certain I would have JUMPED at an opportunity to live worry free under some version of the familial financial plan, NO QUESTION. I would have been first in line at the condo show room, then off to IKEA, “I’ll take one of everything.”

I don’t think, however, that I would have felt the need to start saving in my 20’s (or would have seen how valuable that choice was by my early 30’s) if I had been too comfortable living under someone else’s wing. There was always some form of motivation staring me in the face to push me to create a bigger, and better version of my life. Believe me, if eating cereal for dinner with 4 roommates, and working 40hrs of retail per week isn’t enough motivation for you to reach for higher goals, I don’t what is.

Time to fly solo?

What motivated you to leave the nest
to start flexing your success muscles?

If you have stocks in the familial financial plan
what goals, or timelines have you set for the eventual
solo flight?

Thanks for reading.

*note to all of my familial supporters: thanks for always knowing what would make me stronger (insert picture of me flexing my success muscles).

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Tags: Canadian Musician, leaving the nest

(*aside: I know that the term PROPERTY popped up in the last blog but,
I’m actually going somewhere else with this- gimmie a minute)

He had saved enough (I think with a little help from family) to put a down payment on a 4 (maybe it was 6) suite house near the University. The tenants payed the mortgage, he just had to keep up with maintenance. I was a bit gob smacked at how casual he was about it all. I had only lived on my own for about 4 years (subletting) and here he was, only a few years older than me, investing in a MAJOR WAY. He shrugged his shoulders, like it was nothing, and said, “I’m an average looking guy, with an average build, average height, and brown eyes gigging in Canada. Acting makes me happy but property is what will make me rich.”

I didn’t lose too much sleep over DUDE but, years later, I’m working on how to change my train of thought to be as casual, and confident about investing as the guy who made out with his cell phone. Honestly, can you tell me:

Why are some people so (seemingly) instinctive about financial risks and gains
and others so unconscious, unwilling, or just plain old scared?

I used to think: “No, we have to do this success ‘thing’ with the art, only the art. Conquer society and show them that our talent is all that we need.” I now know that that isn’t always what successful artists have done to solidify their financial grounding. They didn’t fight the system, they put it to work. Let’s start with one of THE most successful names in entertainment:

• Yes, ladies and gentlemen, BARBARA STREISAND is in the building: Not only is she a singer/actress extraordinaire, she’s a property mogul and stock trader. Yup. I’d be curious to see what percentage of her earnings comes from music in comparison to the percentage of her clever buying, and selling profits. Babs has made money with her talent BUT! she’s been smart with that money and gave it an opportunity to grow.

• Closer to home: A Canadian Actor I spoke to doesn’t enjoy doing the tv commercial auditions etc. but, he knows that if he lands one, he can afford to say yes to a creative, independent film (even if it only pays pennies). The thing he doesn’t necessarily love funds the thing that he was made to do. This is very logical to him: once again, it’s instinctive.

• On the flip side (and there’s always a flip side) there are those performers who have had serious cash flow for a good number of years but later discovered that choices, or maybe poor instincts, have put some of them on a financial tight rope at a time when the gigs start slowing down. Why didn’t these performers feel motivated to save, or invest when the going was good?

One candid singer said,
“When you gig all the time and make lots of money you feel invincible, like the money will never stop. If someone had told me to save more and spend less when I was younger, I don’t know if I would have listened.”

I know I’m trying to piece together a HUGE issue: human nature & money. Yes, my fascination with this topic is a little more than a hobby (insert nervous laughter). I am CAUTIOUS with money but, fortunately, the flip side to my caution has led me to become a PASSIONATE STUDENT OF FINANCES. I’m hoping to tag SUCCESSFUL RISK TAKER at the end of my name at a later date. (I’ll let you know when the Cardinal’s Nest turns CONDO.)

Are YOU INSTINCTIVELY a great FINANCIAL RISK taker?

What are YOU doing outside of your ART to help
GROW your financial footing?

or

How many Beethovan 9s do you need to sing to SAVE a million bucks!?

Thank you for reading!

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