A Broke Financial Advisor – What must he be thinking?

When my back was against the wall, I made the biggest financial decision of my life.? I chose to do whatever it took to change my money mess.? No stone would be unturned. I had $250,000 of credit card debt and was at the end of my financial rope. I finally woke up and could no longer be comfortable with being broke.? I committed to changing my relationship with money. How could a CPA and Financial Advisor be broke? I knew what to do, but I wasn’t doing it. It finally clicked that my money beliefs kept me broke and in debt.

?I connected the prices that my wife and boys were paying for my pathetic financial results, it was too heavy. Time to get to the root of the symptom. To make the shift, I needed to find those unconscious thoughts and make them conscious.

?I read everything I could on money mindset and beliefs. I tripped over a masterpiece, Tapping into Wealth by Margaret Lynch. She states “It became clear to me that the common denominator in all my clients was struggle and limitation related to money, which meant that specific blocks to money were playing a significant role. Many of these people were some of the greatest, most passionate, and talented people I’d ever met. It just seemed wrong and unfair that such smart, positive, and willing people would struggle so much with money. It also hit very close to home, as I was experiencing similar struggles. I discovered that at the core of limiting beliefs, struggles, and self-sabotage in relation to money are the vows made unconsciously around money and wealth. Most originated long ago, usually in childhood, and have long since been forgotten on a conscious level.” Wow, this was a huge revelation to me.? Continuing to work 80 hours per week and grind it would never get me anywhere until I addressed these blocks.

The unconscious vows I made at a young age were working against me. My Dad was broke.? My amazing Mom passed away too early at 64 with $10K saved.? She worked her entire life.? Money struggles had always been pervasive in my family. I strived very hard to not be like my dad.? I wanted to be the opposite, so wasn’t that good enough?? How could I be just like him?? There was definitely something to this “childhood thing” and I dug deeper.

I learned that from Age 0-4, We are 50% programmed on everything.? “Money is good, money is bad.? People are good, people are bad. It’s a friendly world/unfriendly world.” At this age, we have no ability to accept or reject any of the ideas impressed upon us by people of influence.? We buy their limiting beliefs and head trash to gain their approval and acceptance.? By age 10 we are 75% programmed and by age 18, we’re 95% hard-wired programmed. Our thoughts are unconscious, and we are on autopilot.? Through my research, I discovered that most wealthy people had similar negative money programming. However, at some point, they decided that enough was enough. They chose to do the work to upgrade their 18-year-old money mindsets. I finally made that decision at 37.

If the programming by people of influence wasn’t enough, then society and the masses pour more gasoline onto the “it’s okay to be broke and being rich is bad” narrative.

Money is one of the most emotional topics. There are many opinions on the topic. Googling “money” leads to 156,000,000 search results. Money is the second most mentioned topic in the Bible.?The media, movies, and television portray wealthy people in a negative light. Society believes they are miserable, back-stabbing, horrible people. The movie The Titanic places wealthy people in a horrible light.? A scene in the movie shows the wealthy people all dressed up at dinner, miserable and hating each other. The poor passengers are below, drinking, partying, and dancing on tables. Having the times of their lives. In Spiderman, the villain, The Green Goblin is a Billionaire. The masses fear they will become these people if they get wealthy.?Exposure to these messages creates a belief that wealth is bad. As a result, we block our wealth and miss opportunities. How it manifests is the following: We don’t ask, follow up, or follow through. We procrastinate and hesitate.?This was me!

I realized that money is a neutral topic; what we add to it is our experience. Like a hammer, it can be used for good or bad. Money makes a great person better and a bad person worse. Just like oxygen, we need it.

?When I hired my coach, he said the first step to transformation was to contemplate what the word “money” meant to me. How did I view it? What were my beliefs? Conflict between your conscious desires and unconscious beliefs is a major block in receiving what we want.

?To change we must work through this equation. ME+THOUGHT=RESULT.? If I didn’t like the result, then the thought needed to change. I purchased a green journal and wrote “money” at the top of the first page. What did that word mean to me? What stories was I making up? I was a great storyteller. If I could shift the story, I could change the results. It became apparent why I was broke; my thinking was broken. It was a long list of bad stories blocking my wealth.?They had been hanging around unnoticed for 37 years.?

???? Rich people are crooks.?

???? Money is made on the backs of poor people.?

???? Money, you either have it, or you don’t.

???? I don’t deserve money.?

???? I can have fun or money but never both.

???? Money will never make me happy.

???? I felt guilty if I was wealthy while others suffered.?

?What a game-changing exercise. Why didn’t I do this before? How could I go decades and never inventory the thoughts that created so much stress? I was grateful that I finally did. I wrote out the new story I wanted.?

???? Money is Good.?

???? Money is a scorecard of the value I bring to others.?

???? If I’m growing, so is my money.?

???? Making and saving big money is easy.??

???? I’m a good person, and money will make me better.

???? I attract success, abundance, and peace into my life because that is who I am.?

???? I deserve to be wealthy.

I intently focused on these affirmations with emotion and feeling. It was time to control my thoughts. Anytime I would begin to drift to the old story, I would smile, laugh, and redirect. It wasn’t overnight, but eventually, everything changed. During this initial phase, I frequently noticed signs that I was on the right path.? I tripped over this quote, and it ultimately proved true for me.

“If a person gets his attitude toward money straight, it will help straighten out almost every area in his life.”

Billy Graham

?My intense focus on changing my money beliefs led to better health, relationships, spirituality.? I see the positive ripple effect today as it has spread to my kids.

?Being broke creates stress for us and our families. The mind virus can perpetuate for generations, eventually impacting our health and relationships. Financial stress is deadly.?

?The results in our lives are directly tied to the stories we create. Uncover your money story and assess the price for you and your family. Change and upgrade your story. Find positive reasons for becoming wealthy. How will it positively impact you and your family? Who could you help??Peace of mind is difficult to obtain without money. Resolve to reverse financial adversity and create more wealth for you and your family. ?

?Chris Felton is an international speaker and bestselling author. Chris shares his story and lessons learned from being on the brink of financial ruin and divorce to building one of the most successful financial services firms in the country. He speaks on stages to audiences of over 20,000 and appears on top podcasts, such as the Ed Mylett show, reaching millions of listeners around the world. He’s been featured in US News & World Report, Market Watch, Yahoo Finance, and Nasdaq.com to name a few.

Does your team or organization want to get off the financial struggle bus? Book Chris to speak to your group.? With his keynote talk “From Broke & Stuck to 7 Figures” he will help your team get out of their own way and transform their results.? He can also do half or full day workshops based on principles from his best-selling book Think & Grow You.

Contact Chris’ agent Lima Maclean @ [email protected] or 201-955-8786.