How I transformed my money energy

I couldn’t wait for Saturdays. It’s when I allowed myself just one guilty pleasure:

A diner breakfast with eggs, toast and potatoes, all for $7, including tip.

If my best friend and I were feeling extra bold? We’d spend 45 minutes on the subway to get to the East Village, where for just $6, we’d stuff ourselves at the Indian prix fixe places on 6th St.—thank heaven for the pakoras, chana masala, mulligatawny soup, and coconut rice pudding that just kept coming.

I was a college freshman, a new Manhattan-ite, and living off just one piece of advice from my money-savvy parents about my finances:

“Be responsible.”

So, I’d walk past some of the most expensive stores in the world, showcasing watches, necklaces, and dresses that cost a whole year’s rent…on my way to get my $7 breakfast “splurge.”

I parceled out muffins over two days, lived on pasta and soup, and stretched my dollars so far that I’m surprised they didn’t rip in half.

Oh, and the subways? A luxury.

To save the $1.50 fare, at one point, I commuted 60 blocks on foot from Lincoln Center to my apartment with loads of musical equipment weighing on my back. I can (proudly?) say that instead of gaining the Freshman 15, I’d become the pioneer who lost the ?Freshman 30.?

Once I graduated, I had loans to repay, and landing a few low-paying jobs and music gigs barely brought in money. I remained in this cycle of “frugality” well into my twenties. It felt like a battle, where I was at my money’s mercy, and it felt like I’d never gain the upper hand.?

It really hit me how far I’d sunk into lack when my CPA laughed, going through my 1099s at tax time, and commented how I’d somehow ended up with a negative income—meaning, I wouldn’t need to pay taxes on much because my performing gigs had actually lost money that year.

Even when I did push myself to spend some money on a nice top or skirt to perform in (SALE rack only, thanks!) or get a cheap dinner out with some friends, I’d go full-on anxious afterward, up to my neck in buyer’s remorse, all the way home.

But I was “being responsible,” right?

(Yeah… if responsibility meant fear of failure, full-on lack consciousness, ignoring my shame, and never asking for help.)

A few years later, the universe led me to my spiritual teacher, Master Choa Kok Sui. He was teaching a prosperity course.?

How ironic and perfect: as was true every time I had to face my wallet, all of the triggers came on, full blast. No risk, no reward. I had to cross the bridge of deciding whether to invest in myself and turn the tides of my financial life, or stay where I was.?

I mustered up the courage to trust the gift of the opportunity, despite feeling anxious to the core, and worrying that everything would short-circuit, or get worse (update: it didn’t).

Weeks after the course, for the first time, I began to notice a shift. I was thinking about, talking about, and using money differently.?

The energy transformed from fear into something new understanding: Trust.?

Within a few years of integrating the prosperity techniques I’d learned into my life, I’d moved up in my career. I used this prosperity energy and won prime gigs, got hand-picked by industry leaders for high-paid opportunities, got fast-tracked for promotions, and started quickly moving up the ladder.

A few years later, a divorce marked the end of a messy chapter of my personal life but also yielded the largest amount of money I’d ever held in my hands at a single moment.

Instead of grabbing hold of it with all my might, I deposited those funds into a high-yield savings account, and confidently accepted a once-in-a-lifetime career opportunity that paid $200 a week with no benefits, no housing, in a brand-new city. It was time to invest in myself. And I had the backing and the pathway to do it!

Somehow, I just knew things would work out. Because finally, I felt I had tangible prosperity to lean on. In accepting this professional opportunity, I became one of 10 people selected globally for a role that quickly advanced my career (and afterward, my income). My job titles and income grew, and week after week, I saw more opportunities welcoming money my way.

After working in the 9-to-5 world for longer than I could bear, I made another bet on myself and started my own business–which is now The Business Healer.

This time around, I finally wasn’t $7-diner-breakfast scared.

Something shifted for good (in all the ways!) during that prosperity course. Because I finally understood the technology of prosperity, I’d been able to forge a new relationship with money–one that was full of positive energy and emphasized doing good.

See, prosperity isn’t rocket science : it’s simply the result of small, repeated actions, plus a commitment to invest in you and your best and highest potential—which always creates your value, and the value you provide for others.

When you spend a couple of decades of your life not living in prosperity, you learn a thing or two. Like how…

• Nickel-and-diming everything immerses you in “lack” consciousness. Having an abundance mindset will make you richer (in money, time, and relationships).
• Personal and romantic relationships—whether you’re conscious of it or not—directly affect your money relationship.
• All money flows under the influence of karma, the Law of Attraction, and The Golden Rule. You must know what you want to receive and plant the seeds that will bear the fruit of that receiving. Thus, you must pay attention to what you are planting, and stop planting what you do not want.

Money is energy, and good leaders use it for good. The more good leaders who get on better terms with money, the better it is for our world.

What’s your “$7 breakfast” story? Are you ready to enjoy a feast?