I love what I do. I love to use my platforms to showcase tools, resources and knowledge that could benefit anyone. I love to be able to hold the space for exploration and meaningful conversations. And most importantly, I love sharing (with everyone around me) the experience of continuous improvement and growth.
And speaking of sharing the growth….
Guest writer alert!
Today’s post is by one of my clients and I’m so freaking excited about it!!! I hope you enjoy this read as much as I did.
Grab a cup of joy and let’s go!
By Fanny Frias Brito:
As a 22-year-old college graduate experiencing a quarter-life crisis, it was incredibly hard for me not to believe that I had no direction in life. Rationally-speaking, this was untrue. Though, this is also the result of being unaware of serious mental health issues. (Mental health matters!). Burnout sure is real! Thankfully, my mother’s guidance (and a deeply-held interest in changing my situation), led me to my coach, Josybel. My main goal was to re-organize my life, with the help of a professional in personal and professional growth. But boy did I get more than that! I have been able, throughout this process, to find great (re)sources of inspiration to take decisive actions to reach my goals. This has been life-changing. “Motivation is not there when you need it,” she repeatedly said. So, I decided to seek sustainable inspiration instead in order to stay on track. One of the areas where I sought to become inspired was finances. To many, just the word ‘finance’ can conjure up more than one sigh, and not necessarily the healthy kind that keeps your lungs in working condition. Practicing financial responsibility is a challenging task to undertake. Considering my upbringing (coming from a working-class, later divorced family), internalized myths around money have unfortunately carried on with me throughout my early adult life. To create a shift in consciousness, she recommended a book which challenged my POV on the topic in terms of the privilege (or, lack thereof) of people of different SESs (yes, I am that Millennial-Gen Zer who believes there should be enough money to go around for most of us, not just the top 1%): T. Harv Eker’s “Secrets of the Millionaire Mind.”
Eker emphasizes the importance of reconsidering your money blueprint if it does not support a fruitful way of gaining and/or handling it. According to him, “your money blueprint will determine your financial life” (p. 42). He mentions that we often remain in partnerships with a low money blueprint potential “…so you can stay in your financial ‘comfort zone’ and validate your blueprint” (p. 42). Becoming aware of how your money blueprint—i.e., beliefs and associations that guide our response to money and wealth—is affecting your spending habits negatively is the first step to change your money mindset and welcoming abundance into your life. The quickest, most effective way to find out what your financial blueprint is to look into your bank account. “Look at whether you’re a spender or a saver” (p. 43), he says. Committed to this financial mindset shift, I decided to test this out. I was unsurprised to concur that my money blueprint is set for low; partly because I am not taking the time to “pay myself first,” a financial philosophy proposed by David Bach in his “The Latte Factor” book. This reverse budgeting strategy aims to shift our financial priorities from small spending habits that add little value to our lives to conscious investments that will secure our financial freedom in the future. Saving money has remained a challenge in my life. “There’s not enough wiggle room in my monthly allowance to give my savings account a boost,” used to be a common excuse to avoid cultivating the habit of saving money while in college. Even with a larger cash flow in a given month, I would end up with less than $10 in my bank account mid-month (not to mention the negative balance that would occasionally pop up). I was quick to place the blame on external factors instead of admitting my lack of proper money management habits. The issue was not perhaps a lack of awareness, but about failing to assume responsibility for my actions, and committing to a different, more fruitful financial lifestyle. This is still in the works! Transitioning from student-life with a monthly allowance (to cover “lower-end” living costs) to young-working-adult life with a modest salary (to cover all fixed and unfixed expenses) has been tricky (not to mention frightening). However, the teachings received throughout this self-discovery process have been enlightening, and will surely guide me to success.
The following “wealth principle” truly resonated with me: “Your income can grow only to the extent that you do!” (p. 1). Are you ready to grow?
first coffee, then things 