As much as you say you do – down deep inside you don’t really feel you deserve to be rich.  At least that’s what the majority face.  Weren’t you raised with that steady drumbeat of destructive criticism, that led you to conclude – at least unconsciously – that you really don’t deserve to be successful and happy?

The worst part of it is, that as children, when negative experiences are all too common, the feeling becomes ingrained to the point that today, we feel guilty when we do succeed.

These guilt feelings cause us – without realizing it – to get rid of the money from our success.  It’s called self-sabotage, and it doesn’t always involve money.  We destroy our lives in other ways as well.

Change your attitude toward money.

Money is like a lover.  Follow me on this one… It must be courted and coaxed, and flattered and treated with care.  It gravitates toward people who show it more respect and are capable of doing worthwhile things with it.  On the other hand, it flows right through the fingers of those who don’t understand it – or don’t take proper care of it.

Get good with money.  You can learn this skill with practice.  When you say you’re not good with money, it’s usually an excuse or rationalization for the fact that you’re not very successful or disciplined with money.  You simply haven’t learned to acquire it and hold on to it.

The starting point of accumulating money is to believe you have an unlimited capacity to get all the money you will ever need.  Feel and think successful.  Money gives you choices.  It opens doors.  But it can be hurtful to be obsessed with it.

The love of money is the root of all evil.  Money is essential, but preoccupying about how to get it is wrong.

Realize that virtually everyone who has money today at one time was broke and probably broke for a long time.  They learned the skills of accumulating money and now they are financially independent.  Whatever they did – you can do, too.

Become a student of money from today on.  Study it, learn it, apply the lessons you learn until you begin to attract more in your direction.

Quick quiz!  What can only be spent and can’t be saved?

Time!  Right!  It’s perishable.  And we all get the same amount of it – which bugs me when I read about some person attaining a top position when they did it from home with three kids and, did I mention they were pregnant, too?

How in heaven do they do it?

Rachel came in the office here today and said she was now taller than the tallest file cabinet, so there’s no place to write the date and make the little mark to chart her growth.  Time is so precious.

Did you know once time is gone, it’s gone forever?

I had a thought today, that since I really, really enjoyed my childhood, that God would allow us to have a great childhood in heaven – with many of the same things.  Who hasn’t thought, at one time, that heaven might have places like the “holodeck”  on Star Trek, where you could recreate things.  I digress.

Everything “takes” time.  Work, sleep, looking out a window…  And remember this 10/90 Rule: take 10% of your “time” to plan your day carefully in advance and save 90% of the effort.

You can’t replace time.  Nothing else works in creating those great relationships.  Care to expand your business?  Spend more time with people you want to partner with.  People who manage time well, find ways to spend large blocks of it with the people they love.

Kids spell Love – t-i-m-e.  Spouses do too.  Time equals love with all important people in your life. You get to understand them better.  Lose this time, and kids and others will go off into their own world of activities.

Every goal you want, the new white Mercedes, the great home, all… requires time.  One of the smartest things you can do is sit down and look at your goals, and allocate the time you are going to have to invest to achieve that goal.

If you don’t… you probably won’t get to that goal.

Precious time.  Do you feel you use it well?