As you learn more about money, you may notice a few things. I have. In the past 6 months I’ve earned more money than in the previous 2.5 years combined. I have doubled my coaching rates and worked with some amazing people. In this post I want to share 3 truths I’ve learned about money.
Truth #1: Give More Than You Receive
Last summer this kid knocked on my door. He asked if I would like him to cut my lawn. He must have been about 11 years old and he seemed like a nice kid, so I said, “sure.”
“$25,” he said and I said, “deal.” And with that he proceeded to cut my lawn with his push-mower.
About 10 minutes later he came back and said, “I’m finished.”
“You’re finished,” I thought and I went outside to see the job he had done.
There were traces of little mohawks all over the lawn, places he had missed. I showed him the mohawks on the lawn… little areas where the grass was spiked up…. and asked him to cut them again so that it was all flush. I thought that was reasonable for $25 bucks (my lawn is tiny).
He went back a second time and did his thing. A few minutes later he came back, knocked on the door again and said,
“I’m finished”
We went again together to inspect the lawn. This time I noticed the lawn near the fence was not trim. I asked him if he had a trimmer to trim all the pieces of grass by the fence. He said,
“nope”
So I pulled my trimmer out from the garage and showed him how to use it. Minutes later he went again… this time trimming all the high grass along the fence.
10 more minutes and he was back… I heard the nock on the door again. I opened the door and he says…
“I’m finished”
This time I took a good look at the fence where he did the trimming. It looked pretty good. I went to give him the money and just before I did, I thought occurred to me, so I said,
“I’m curious, do you want to make more money cutting lawns? I mean, do you want to have so many clients paying you money to cut lawns that you never have to worry about knocking on another door again?”
He looked at me with eager eyes and said, “yes, yes.”
I said, “Next time you cut a lawn, make sure to always do more than you’re being paid to do. Don’t just do a little. Do more than you’re getting paid… and if you do that, you will always have plenty of people sending you money to cut their lawns.”
Truth #2: Provide Valuable Service
You must provide valuable service to the person or company that is paying you. The way to create more value for your company is by solving their biggest problems. Learn how to do that and you will never have to worry about money again.
Prosperity will always be at your fingertips.
What happens is that we get so caught up in our own issues that we get distracted from serving others. We think, “I just need to sort out this and this issue and then I can help others with their problems.”
The reality is that if you have money issues – and I know that some of you do – you cannot afford not to pay attention to other peoples issues. The key to your prosperity lies in unearthing creative solutions to your companies biggest problems and issues.
In Richard Branson’s book “Business Stripped Bare: Adventures of a Global Entrepreneur,” he was asked in an interview,
“what would you say to someone who just lost their job?”
Paraphrased he said, “the most important thing to a business is money. Most people try and think of ways for the company to make more money and that’s fine. But the other side of the coin is how to save the company money. I would tell the person who just lost their job to think of some innovative ways to save their company money and pitch it to the CEO. If they see the validity in your idea, then all you have to do is name your price.”
That is exactly what I am saying. You want to continually deliver valuable service. And you can do that by looking for the biggest problem your company has and coming up with some very creative solutions to that problem. The bigger the problems you solve for them, the more money you will get paid.
Truth #3: Don’t Go Out & Get Money – Attract It!
Money is not “Out There” somewhere. It’s not something that you go out and physically get. That’s an illusion. The truth is that you’re continually harnessing and shaping your outer reality based on what is going on inside of you – ALWAYS.
Money is something you attract.
The way you attract it and bring it into being is by feeling abundant. The more abundant you feel, the more resourceful you are. The more resourceful you are, the more options you have. The more options you have, the more creative you get. The more creative you get, the better solutions you’ll create.
But it always starts with the way you feel.
Steve
12 Comments
Monique
July 26, 2011Steve,
I enjoyed reaching this and must say I loved your story about the kid cutting your lawn and that the valuable coaching you shared with him.
Monique
Steve
July 26, 2011…ya, that kid still comes by once in a while… what shocked me was the one time when he came by and knocked on the door and asked me for some money!!!
ken from GTRfreebook
July 26, 2011I been in situations where the money as stopped coming to me from one source but then money does come to me from another source which is must be attracted to me because I expect it. I often go the extra mile which comes back to me.
Steve
July 26, 2011Hey Ken…. isn’t that great? As you said, even when it stops coming to you from one source, it can show up from another because there is an infinite number of ways money can come to you … I guess for many people it is being “open” to that possibility…
ken from GTRfreebook
July 26, 2011Share this on my fan page
http://www.facebook.com/ThinkandGrowRichComunity
d
July 26, 2011$25 to a kid to mow your lawn for what appears to have amounted to less than half an hour of work? That’s $50 an hour!
Dude, I think you need to learn some negotiation skills.
I’m surprised that someone who is obviously such an expert on money as you are didn’t even think twice before agreeing to an arbitrarily-set price by some kid.
Though maybe he was just using the law of attraction to find an easy sale like you.
Steve
July 26, 2011that kid totally got a deal… :D
Lynn Brown
July 26, 2011All great tips here Steve. And I agree, it does start with a feeling, your inner self and the right mindset. I am a firm beleiver that when you wake up each and every morning, you have a decision to make. That decision will bring you want you decide.
My son tells everyone how much of a positive person I am and I take that as a compliment. When even during, what I thought were the toughest times for our family, the law of attraction is there and I do believe it is all about the way you feel.
So I appreciate your thoughts on this topic Steve. And will be happy to share with my fans, followers and clients.
Steve
July 27, 2011…I appreciate your thoughts too Lynn :)
Jon
August 2, 2011I enjoyed your article, and I am familiar with the principle of giving more value.
However, I trade stocks for a living and focusing on giving value is not something I relate to in my work.
A stock trader is more like a competitive athlete. A professional golfer, for example, is not trying to provide value when he plays, he is trying to win the tournament, that’s the only way he can make money.
I would enjoy your thoughts on how people who compete for a living can use this principle or any others to grow their income.
Thanks!
Steve
August 2, 2011…hey Jon, I don’t think I have an answer to your question.
I’ve never traded stocks before… I know what it feels like to be a competitive athlete and I understand what you’re saying, but I’m not sure how you translate your occupation into value (and then into dollars)…
Does anyone else have experience with this??
Jon
August 2, 2011I’ve been reflecting on it since last night and I realize that really what you are saying isn’t so much “give more value” but “focus on the process of your business” which is by the nature of any business to provide value.
If we take the essence then of focusing on process, it becomes the same for traders, athletes or anyone else trying to accomplish something.
Focusing on results is always a negative state since it produces tension and take you out of the now. Only focusing on the process, in my case making great trades (which may or may not make money) can lead to long term success.
If I boil it down further, I guess the formula for making money would be to focus on what you can control. I can’t control the market and a business cannot control whether anyone will buy their product.
Just some random thoughts.
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