In speaking to many of my coaching and consulting friends in the past few months, I’ve noticed that the folks I’m most connected with — those with whom I share the most emotional, spiritual and behavioral common ground – are all feeling the same way about the trend we’ve seen during the recession of marketers offering promises like these:
– Double your income in weeks!
– Recession-proof your practice!
– Earn six figures now!
– Kiss your money worries goodbye!
– Make money while you sleep!
And so on…
Why do some of these marketing programs make us sit up and pay attention, and others make us press “delete” before we read the tenth word?
As a women’s researcher and a marketing consultant, I myself am offering an ongoing marketing success program for women coaches, consultants and practitioners called Prosperity Marketing Mindset. I believe that this program helps you name and claim greater success and fulfillment on terms that meaningful to you. But I make no promises of doubling your money, making money while you sleep, recession-proofing your practice, or finding a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. I’m careful about what I indicate are the potential outcomes of this program. I feel that I can authentically and with integrity back up what I’m saying are the probable outcomes, with proven results.
Of course, most of us want to make more money, but the key outcome we want in making more money is doing what we love and doing it with more ease. Many of us come from a place of wanting to give what we love to give, and we’re NOT drawn to making more money through constructing empty, inauthentic passive revenue projects, affiliation schemes, programs and partnerships that don’t, in the end, bring us closer to what we love to do.
In the wonderful book The Energy of Money (highly recommended), author Maria Nemeth shares this:
“We are all happiest when we are demonstrating in the physical reality what we know to be true about ourselves, when we are giving form to our Life’s Intentions in a way that contributes to others.
I think that this statement sums it up so beautifully and powerfully. The folks I resonate with want to:
- Create in life and work that which reflects what they know to be true about themselves
- Honor their Life Intentions (truest visions and goals) in ways that serve others
- Make great money doing what they love
- Expand themselves in the process of being of service
If we can stretch ourselves to do the above better, more effectively and with greater ease, now we’re talking!
So what makes some money messages highly distasteful and a complete turn-off, and others more authentic, believable and compelling?
Here are five ingredients I’ve found in inauthentic money promises that make us want to run:
1) They talk about shifting yourself to double your income as if it can happen tomorrow – and in most people’s experience, it’s a process that takes a good deal of time
2) They promise that because others have done it you can do it too in the same way – and that’s just not always the case. Financial success is a unique and specialized journey based on the individual’s needs, desires, beliefs, and visions.
3) They focus on money to the exclusion of other factors that go into creating success, fulfillment, reward, and results
4) They hold up money as the ultimate outcome we desire – whereas being of service that reflects our Life Intentions is the true outcome we want
5) They ring of self-service – not of uplifting messages that will help US
Coaches, consultants, practitioners, and others who come from the heart want to be of service in the largest way possible, while earning a living that reflects what we know to be true about ourselves. It’s simple but not easy, and we know it. There are challenging steps involved in clearing and stretching us to be able to give of ourselves in a healthy and generous way, and strike a beautiful balance with the energy of money.
In the end, it’s vitally important to embrace messages that feel authentic and compelling to you. Please don’t worry that’s something wrong with you (or that you’re not doing what you should) if you feel out of synch with these make-money-quick messages and schemes. Make yourself RIGHT, and not wrong!
I’d love to hear from you – Do many of these “double your money!” messages turn you off? Why, exactly? And what money messages are attractive and exciting to you? Please SHARE!
Hi Kathy,
Yes, these money messages turn me off because this type of marketing out there engages my reptilian brain, the part we share with the animals…not my “highest self brain.” The “pull’ is the get rich quick fix, you can have it tomorrow baby, earn six figures, get the magic wand out and triple your income…I am told this marketing works. Is it mis-leading? Often “yes.”
With this type of marketing, lots is left “unsaid.” No one is talking about the cost of getting to a certain income level. Not just the cost of money, but time, energy, life blood.
Money is a measuring stick to a certain point, to the point where our deepest needs are met, savings for the future and enough money to have some fun. Other measuring sticks are equally important…how we SPEND our time, energy, the quality of our relationships, etc.
Thanks for the post 🙂