What is the meaning of money?

paper money What we use for our transactions It is merely symbolic. It is not even necessary for the State to back it with gold bars of its value, as was the norm in the past.

In that sense,money is an agreement between peopleand credit cards are doing even more abstract and ethereal this vehicle of constant exchange.

We often talk even about something that does not exist: If all citizens decided on the same day and time to withdraw their savings from checking accounts, the banks would fail in a chain, as has already happened in more than one country.

However, Originally, money was something palpable and quantifiable.

After an economy based on exchange of goods, it began to be coined precious metal coinslike gold and silver, which had the value of their own weight and symbolized the sun and the moon. Were sacred symbolsto the point that the first Bibles were embellished with coins on the covers.

This healthy relationship with money ended with the arrival of the second millenniumwhen in Europe the responsibility falls on the Jews impure task of managing the «vile metal».

Even today we maintain a conflictive relationship with monetary wealthwhich on the one hand we identify with the low and corrupt, but at the same time continues to maintain something sacred.

Today money is still a sacred symbol with millions of worshipers. Maybe the problem is that we have forgotten how to relate to it in a positive and natural way.

If we treat money as a vehicle to make projects come true, it will flow to us naturally and, above all, without guilt.

What do you spend your money on? The reflection of personal priorities

Álex Rovira, author of The inner compass and co-author of good luckexplains that Enrichment does not corrupt a person, but simply amplifies his virtues and defects.

So, for example, someone with a noble background will use prosperity to benefit his people and his communitywhile an unscrupulous person will channel money into purely speculative, if not destructive, activities.

Since Having more money increases our ability to maneuverBy enriching ourselves we reveal our values ​​and priorities.

In other words: money is neither good nor bad in itself; It is just a vehicle that can be used in various ways.

Let’s imagine that someone receives a significant amount unexpectedly, for example through a game of chance or an inheritance.

This Extra money can be spent on:

• home improvements for those who prioritize housing
• or else go on a trip if what attracts is knowing the world;
• or even for a cosmetic surgery operationif it is considered that the personal image must meet certain standards of beauty.
• a business person will invest the money in order to multiply it
• someone charitable can channel it towards a foundation that works for the most disadvantaged.

In the end we are talking about attitudes towards life, projects that define us as human beings, and money is only the fuel that feeds them.

Can you live without money? Two inspiring stories

As a rebellion against a world ruled by materialism and greed, in May 1996 the German Heidemarie Schwermer embarked on an ambitious adventure: living without money.

He gave away his furniture, left his house and psychotherapist office, and canceled his health insurance. Since then He stayed in apartments and houses that were given to him people who were traveling. What he needed to live he obtained through barter.

A year after she began to survive without money, she realized that this new way of relating to others had enriched her. Under the motto: having nothing and being much, for Heidemarie Concepts like «work» and «free time» took on a new meaningsince he managed to transform his existence in an uninterrupted flow of cooperation with its environment.

In his own words: «I don’t need a vacation. That’s one of the mistakes of our societythat separates leisure and work, because most people do something they don’t like just to earn money and spend it on things they don’t need..»

Currently, at 60 years old, he has been living without money for seven years, and claims to have fulfilled all his dreams without it. He has published a book about this unusual experience with which he has earned more than 10,000 euros that he has donated to charitable institutions.

Heidemarie’s testimony shows that there are other ways to channel abundance, although Sometimes it is the swings of fortune that generate the change of perspective..

A significant case is that of Jil van Eyle, creator of Teaminga method to provide funds to NGOs and foundations directly from companies.

His biography is typical of a Dickens novel. After a childhood marked by poverty in Hollanddecided that before the age of 30 he should be rich and own a Porsche. He worked hard delivering newspapers while studying Economical at night, and before thirty created a company passenger transport, So successful that his photo appeared on the front page of the New York Times.

However, shortly after the company went bankrupt. A year later he appeared in the newspapers again, this time because of his bankruptcy.. The treasury even took the suits from their closets and, of course, the Porsche.

This crash and the birth of a daughter with hydrocephalus They just convinced Jil that wealth does not bring happinessunless it is used to improve the world.

Since then he has lived humbly (he does not have any possessions), for his solidarity project and declares to be in the best moment of his life.

How to generate and attract wealth

The previous story shows that money is ethically neutral; Its meaning depends on the quality of the projects it feeds. To relate to him in a healthy way, it is essential to understand that he must be a means and not an end.

Someone who works exclusively to increase their checking account will hardly enjoy what they do. Instead, Doing something with passion, meaning and humility will lead us to excel and, therefore, generate more wealth.

Logically, Resources are not unlimited and we must adjust our aspirations to a sustainable model of the world. Accumulating goods without any purpose is equivalent to becoming spiritually impoverished.

Those who base prosperity only on finances forget other more important treasures: to be rich in friends, in good deeds, in experiences, in useful ideas for society. All this is also prosperity.

Monetary abundance is of relative importance. It opens many doors, but it also increases the thirst for liquidity to maintain what has been achieved. Owning many things is expensive.

As an old aphorism reminds us, Rich is not the one who has the most, but the one who needs the least.

Keys to make money flow

However, What to do when we need income and it does not arrive? Why are there people who seem to have an amazing ease at generating wealth? What is the secret of prosperity?

In good luck (Ed. Urano), Alex Rovira comes to the conclusion that this belongs to those who create their own opportunities.

There are many ways to optimize your relationship with moneybut they all require putting order within oneself.

• Recognize your obstacles. There is negative habits that prevent us from generating, maintaining or increasing our income. The first thing is to analyze where money escapes unnecessarily.
• Locate the flow. Money exists and is in constant movement. To achieve this, you must find out where it flows and prepare to fish this stream of abundance when the opportunity arises.
• Plan small wins. If we set out to amass a great fortune quickly, it is easy to get blocked or fall into incorrect practices. It is much more effective to set small goals that we are able to control.
• Work for good causes. Noble purposes help the energy of money flow in our favor. If we act ethically, coupled with practical sense, circumstances will be on our side so that we can achieve our objectives.
• Share the wealth. Abundance is reinforced when we are able to work as a team and share the benefits obtained with others. The best deals are those in which all parties win and no one feels like they have lost anything.
• Visualize success. For something to happen, you first have to imagine it. If we do not trust our ability to generate wealth, it will elude us. The mind is the testing ground for what will happen later.
• Prosperity workshops. They have become popular in recent years, and techniques such as NLP or coaching also often address these issues. Prices can be high, in part to screen out the most skeptical students.

The creative power of thoughts

In turn, the current number one best-selling book in the United States, The secretby the Australian Rhonda Byrne, is based on a much more esoteric assumption: since according to her The Universe is governed by the laws of attraction, thinking about money will make wealth end up coming to us.

According to Rhonda Byrne the secret of prosperity Follow these principles:

• Each person is a human transmission tower and everything they emit returns to them. Therefore, If you want to change your life you have to first change your way of thinking.
• Current thoughts create future life and they end up materializing, for example, through money.
• Like attracts like. Thus, thoughts of wealth favor circumstances of wealth, while defeatist thoughts help cement failure.
• To attract fortune you have to follow these three steps:
  1. Ask what one needs.
  2. Have faith in it, visualizing it as if it had already been achieved.
  3. receive with gratitude what is given to us.

Books to attract prosperity

• My life without money; H. Schwermer. Ed. Gedisa
• The secret; Rhonda Byrne. Ed. Urano
• Teaming; Jil van Eyle. Ed. RBA