The Vibrations of Money, Wealth, and Success
I was listening to my favorite marketing podcast recently, and the young man being interviewed was talking about money and how we respond to it on an emotional level, along with how our attitudes toward it help or hurt our desire to be successful, provide for our family, and climb the proverbial ladder.
During the interview, this young man said the following: “Money does not come from effort.”
I enjoyed the conversation overall, but I disagree with this statement. I think it's false and even a little offensive.
In this article:
- Our Mixed Feelings About Money
- Believing in Abundance
- The Value of Work
- What Do You Really Believe About Money?
- Money as Energy
- Shifting Your Financial Energy
- Change Your Thoughts, Change Your Life
I believe many of us are our own worst enemies, when it comes to the “head game” around success, money, and wealth.
Our Mixed Feelings About Money
We have a complicated, love-hate relationship with money, don't we? I believe many of us are our own worst enemies when it comes to the “head game” around success, money, and wealth.
Money has energetic frequencies. If you’re willing to let this conversation get pretty honest, maybe a little bit raw, let’s talk about what your own personal energetics are around this subject.
If you were raised Christian, you might have been taught Biblical sayings such as love of money is the root of all evil or it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to get into heaven. If you then saw your parents spend many hours, almost every day, trying to get more money, the whole situation was probably pretty confusing.
The Christian religion I was raised in has given rise to far more than its fair share of millionaires and educated, successful, even wealthy people. Both of my parents and most of my 7 siblings have advanced degrees, and it’s no secret that the #1 reason people obtain post-graduate degrees is to increase earning power; all of my siblings are very successful financially.
The contradictions aren't limited to religious folks; most people, regardless of background, make frequent negative statements about the pursuit of money and people who have lots of it—all while spending most of their waking hours doing everything they can to make more of it themselves.
So it seems worthwhile to explore the "vibration" of money—because, like everything else, money is simply energy (or vibration). The best energies are ones that flow without resistance. The energetic space you hold for thinking about, talking about, and pursuing money should ideally, then, be a flow state.
"There is plenty of money, it is abundant, there is enough for everyone, it flows like a river, it’s easy to earn, it’s easy to spend, it’s easy to give and share, and it’s easy to invest it well."
Believing in Abundance
Consider this outlook:
There is plenty of money.
It is abundant.
There is enough for everyone.
It flows like a river.
It’s easy to earn.
It’s easy to spend.
It’s easy to give and share.
It’s easy to invest well.
Read those words over and over again, and notice how you feel when you do.
Did any part cause your mind to trip? Did you feel any resistance?
What did it feel like -- Shame? Anger? Self-pity?
Where in your body did you feel resistance to the idea that money is free-flowing and abundant?
I hope you’ll spend a minute thinking about any part of that statement that you found yourself pushing against, instead of flowing with. Because all of those things are true. Money is a manmade concept. Human beings create the physical tender itself.
As you know, most “money” is flowing via digital transfer these days anyway. The value of Bitcoin went from $327 in November 2015 to $19,650 two years later, then back down to $3,183 today. Cybercurrencies are literally creating money. It's nothing more or less than energy, and if this is true, then it’s worth exploring what your own energy blockages may be.
The Value of Work
When the speaker on that podcast said, “Money does not come from effort,” I think he meant to challenge our parents’ and grandparents’ advice: “If you want to succeed, work hard.”
However, of all the twisty and conflicted beliefs we may have around money, I think that message is one we should keep.
Stonehenge, Machu Picchu, the Colossus—all the great feats of humankind have involved massive effort. Sometimes unthinkable, thousands-of-hours, if-they’d-known-how-much-work-it-was-I-wonder-if-they-would-they-have-done-it work. Hardcore labor.
I think the young speaker dismissing the idea that money and success flow from hard work may have had a valid point underneath his words. There's such a thing as working smarter, not harder. If you're a business owner, you must learn to delegate, leverage systems, and get the most from your team in order to not kill yourself in building a business.
But let’s not throw the baby out with the bath water! I’ve never achieved anything without a massive amount of work. I love the idea that work creates wealth. We’ve all seen that in action.
I also think that working hard for something that matters creates quality, principled humans. Are we really able to value the things we achieve if we don't work hard to achieve them? That's exactly what I've done every time I’ve “birthed a baby,” whether it was a new book, a new business, or a new product line.
If the “green-eyed monster” of jealousy invades our consciousness relative to material wealth, then we may need to accept that we value money more than most of us are willing to admit to.
What Do You Really Believe About Money?
Have you ever felt critical towards or said harsh words about someone who achieved great financial success? Perhaps you went to high school with them or were at the same financial status once, and now they’ve outpaced you.
Have you noticed that you don't go after big financial or professional goals because you fear your family and friends will criticize you or see you differently if you out-earn them?
Are you known to say self-sabotaging things about material success? Examples include statements like, “Money doesn’t buy happiness anyway,” or, “I didn’t really want to succeed at X anyway because it would be too stressful.”
Do you really believe that a rich man can’t get into heaven?
Do you believe that the wealthy are innately more sinful, or less good and kind, than others?
Whatever your feelings about money may be, they can be changed to flow with more peace and abundance. All it requires is a little intention and practice.
Money as Energy
When I was 24, I set some ambitious financial goals for myself and planned to achieve them by the time I was 42. When I finally got there (at 48 instead of 42 -- just a little behind schedule!), I understood that the idea of “financial freedom” I originally set out to achieve is elusive, if not entirely a myth.
Most people who achieve 7-figure net worth will tell you that in the acquisition of their wealth, they’ve become acutely aware of how quickly it can disappear. This can lead to the sense that the original goal, “financial freedom,” or “financial stability,” may be impossible.
The more they work and acquire, and the older they get, the more they become aware of thousands of years of human history where the rich became poor, assets crumble overnight, and entire national economies fluctuate--even created or destroyed in just days or months. (We all watched the stock market tumble in 2007.)
Many of the most wealthy among us report having more anxiety around money when they’re worth $5 million than they did when they were young and working near the poverty line.
This may be due to becoming clear about how illusory and transitory money is.
If wealth is just digital transmission of energies, and it’s just a concept that we’ve all agreed to, why do we use it as a barometer around which we feel pride, shame, fear, guilt, and almost endless anxiety?
If money is in constant flow, and if we can either be in or out of that flowing river depending on the energies we choose, aren’t we all better off choosing to be more abundant?
Now that I’ve gotten entirely philosophical about the green stuff, you may be thinking, “No, Robyn. Money isn't energy. Money is a cold, hard fact of life that I need in order to have food and a place to live.”
Fair enough. But there are billions of dollars, mostly in the form of little digital data bits flowing across wires buried in the ground, that we can create more of. There is no actual scarcity.
Money flows to those who work, who do so diligently, who finish their projects rather than just dream about them, who put their time and effort into “highest and best” uses.
Plenty of people work very hard, harder than wealthy people do, and never earn any significant amount of money. Many people expend a tremendous amount of effort on a variety of things, while avoiding putting their labor into activities that will actually lead to material success due to their fear or aversion around money.
So, because there’s more to becoming wealthy, or financially successful, than what your parents may have told you (“Work hard!”), we must examine another aspect of whether you could be more successful than you are.
Shifting Your Financial Energy
You can absolutely have more money and wealth than you have now.
Because money is energy, and because spending it creates lots of ripples and flow in the larger energetic system known as “the economy,” you can create money and wealth, without taking it from someone else who needs it!
The idea that “effort does not create wealth” is disrespectful to over 90% of the human beings on the Earth for whom physical labor pays for their food and shelter and their children’s needs. We have most of what is available to us due to someone’s physical effort, so I don’t think it serves to devalue that.
But in addition to acknowledging the value of effort, shifting your energies and thought patterns towards money has the power to completely change your financial status when added to hard work and being a “finisher” of your projects. What if you challenged these commonly-held beliefs:
- that money is something to fear
- that entrepreneurs and people who work more than 40 hours a week are “workaholics” and therefore pathological and need to change
- that you aren’t capable of obtaining enough money
- that people who obtain money and spend it easily are somehow bad or obsessive or misguided
- that you shouldn’t bother to try to earn more money because you’ll just lose it somehow
- that if you become financially successful, your friends and family will turn on you
- that because money can’t buy happiness, then staying where you are is actually better
- that only shallow people care about money
- that because people who are “satisfied” with their financial state are the happiest, you should decide to be satisfied with your financial struggle rather than pursue success
Change Your Thoughts, Change Your Life
I hope you'll try a little experiment: when you have a negative thought about money (whether the thought is judgmental, jealous, or fearful, consciously replace it with a positive statement.
When you see someone who's obviously had financial success and think to yourself, "I bet that guy has stepped on a lot of people to get where he is," make an internal shift to something like this: "I'm learning to get in the stream of flowing money and to both give and receive it willingly."
Instead of settling for, "That car she’s driving is fancy, but I don’t need a flashy car to feel good about myself," tell yourself, "I view others with money positively because I want those positives to flow into my life as well."
Change, "He’s got a really nice house, but I wouldn’t want a mortgage payment that big," to, "I don't need to make a judgment about expensive things or the people who own them, because it doesn't serve me."
Go from, "I'm sure I'll lose this business/house/car eventually," to, "My energies around money help more of it flow to me and the people and causes I care about."
If you find yourself saying, "Money can’t buy happiness," replace that thought with, "I want more wealth, and I'm not afraid to say it."
Stop judging those who work hard as somehow broken or inferior and start seeing money as the ability to use your time the way you want to.
The words, thoughts, and emotions we have about success, money, and wealth directly affect whether we are in the stream of wealth and abundance or straining to get a drop from a turned-off faucet that drips now and then. Money flows to those who work, who do so diligently, who finish their projects rather than just dream about them, and who put their time and effort into “highest and best” uses.
Read next: 14 Ways I Optimize My Health and Energy Every Day
Robyn Openshaw, MSW, is the bestselling author of The Green Smoothies Diet, 12 Steps to Whole Foods, and 2017’s #1 Amazon Bestseller and USA Today Bestseller, Vibe. Learn more about how to make the journey painless, from the nutrient-scarce Standard American Diet, to a whole-foods diet, in her free video masterclass 12 Steps to Whole Foods.
Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links that help support the GSG mission without costing you extra. I recommend only companies and products that I use myself.
Editor's note: This article was originally published on December 7, 2017; it has been updated for accuracy and relevance.
Posted in: High-Vibe Living
Great article! My husband and I have always worked extremely hard. The more money we got, the more it afforded us but it didn’t necessarily give us more happiness. It wasn’t until we started taking care of our energy, changing and reframing our views and relationship with money, and taking action where we felt best served our family, that our perspective and lives shifted in a massive way. It took a lot of inner work and A LOT of action…and it doesn’t end, it’s constant work. At the same time I can also say that money is flowing a lot easier to us now (almost too easy sometimes and it can be a struggle to receive as well), and while we still have struggles, we are able to shift and take the actions needed to get back into that state of being/receiving.
So powerful. Thank you for sharing Nesa – you and your husband appear to have made some key realizations and good changes! I commend you on your new journey and all it takes to keep it a strong resolve! Much joy and good health in 2018!
Interesting article.
Please note that the Bible does NOT say “money is the root of all evil” – it says: “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil.” 1 Timothy 6:10
This is the verse in context:
“6 But godliness with contentment is great gain. 7 For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. 8 But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. 9 Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.”
Duly noted Pam and this will be edited. Thank you for you eagle eye to a very important detail!
Thank you for this beautifully written, thoughtful article.
Hi Kris – thanks for reading – it was a longer one but so full of important facts I wanted to share well. It’s a passionate topic for sure. Be well!
Not to nitpick, but I felt compelled to correct one of your biblical quotes, specifically 1 Tim 6:10, “For the love of money is the root of all evil…” This verse is often shortened to leave out the first four words, which obviously changes the meaning significantly. Money itself is neither good nor evil; it is our attitude toward it and how we use it that is important, which is pretty much what your article says in a nutshell.
Thanks for all you do Robyn. I recently discovered you and your website through an interview you did with Chris Wark. As I type this, I am sitting here sipping on a pink smoothie, which has now become my breakfast of choice. Great stuff!
Jay, thanks for kindly pointing out the omission which has been corrected, and thanks for commenting. So glad to hear you’ve connected with Chris and his powerful work – enjoy that HPS! Be blessed and well!
This is a very timely and well-written article as I have been questioning my own and cultural beliefs about money and exploring many of the same ideas you have mentioned. So thank you for writing about this topic. The only thing I’m wondering about is the second positive statement at the end of the article: “I view others with money positively because I want those positives to flow in my own life, as well.” I can understand the value of this reframe, however, because I follow political matters closely, I find it difficult to do this authentically when I see how business/corporate and personal wealth can be used to “buy” legislation that serves a certain business or personal interest or to “buy” a politician’s vote. And yes, there are many wealthy business owners or individuals who use their wealth in very positive ways. So it’s easy to view them with positivity but as for those who are using their wealth in a way that is harmful to others and the planet, I’m not as clear about how to view them positively in an authentic way.
Hi Darcy, Thank you for writing your perspective/beliefs. My thought to your concern over how to view others with money positively even when they use it for poliical/personal gain . . . You don’t have to view everyone positively, of course. And while corruption isn’t the focus of this article, you’re certainly right that there is too much of it in corporate America and in Government.
Impressive article,well written and thought out in my opinion. My husband and I have been on both sides of the spectrum (hand to mouth vs wealth) and both sides has its lessons. It is important to learn those lessons and to share them with others. Thank you for doing your part in sharing your experiences.
Agreed – Your key point is so valid regarding lessons learned and sharing with others. Thank you for reading my words today.
This really what I love about you Robyn — happiness is when you, qua you, are wrestling with the hugest issue that’s anywhere around you. “Effort” (happiess really ; the power of your innocence and the strength of yourrighteousness) produces the spiral of joy and love. And, so, we are all inducted. We are a part of a huge, but also invisible, river of abundance. As a matter of creation, it has been flowing through everything since the beginning of time.
On deeper levels, the problem starts when we are taught a corrupted concept of “profit.” This minus that, that’s the definition. And then, voila! we have “it.” The roots of our corrupted this-and-that concept of profit are fed by our corrupted concept of money. And the roots of our corrupted concept of money are related to its cousin-root, our corrupted concept of property.
Leaping over all kinds of intellectual fences,this ultimately gets into the necessity of a plant based diet. As Katrina Blair points out, we find in plants, especially plants that grow free and in the wild, the DNA of Happiness. Yes, there is a DNA for Happiness, and, yes, there are “people,” who adhere to a false concept of profit, who it seems, apparently might not want us to know about that. How did the DNA of Happiness, inherent to all things, somehow go missing from the agricultural concepts by which we produce our foods and medicines?
It’s called pleomorphism. It’s a big topic. Please permit me to say … It might be that there is more intelligence, and more sentience, and consciousness and awareness, and innocence and happiness, in a single blade of grass, basking in the flow of electricity from the Sun and the happiness of the monrning dew, and the joy of the microbiome that feeds its roots, than there is in most of humanity. The one desire of all the various herbs and wild foods, and a single blade of grass if you will, is to know the joy of the inherent and unlimited abundance … vast and invisible though it may be … we are a part of it. If only we will admit the DNA of our own happiness. Thus, we see a blade of grass and we eat it. There’s something in the grass that makes us feel stronger. Because it nourishes our health and happiness, we help the grass to reproduce itself.
Might we not consider that this desire for abundance was actually the innocence of the grass to start with. By eating it, we might actually be helping “it,” the sentience of an innocence blade of grass, to reproduce, that there might be even more abundance tomorrow, than there was today. By our hunger, we make effort to fulfill, and we end up building, a spiral of innocence and love of which all things are a part, It might even be, that we a part of a spiral of joy and abundance that is ultimately immeasurable.
Back to money, and its relationship to proft and property … When our concept of profit is not based on building, and being a fully sentient part of a spiral of joy and abundance of which all things are playing their proper part … when our concept of profit becomes alienated from the DNA of the Happiness, which is in herbs and medicines that we “consume,” from the DNA of the innocence of our birth … when our concepts profit, and thus money and property, are based not on abundance, but on concepts of scarity and fear, we start off on a path (momentary and monetary) to “the other spiral.” All forms of scarcity are manufatured. (… scarcity being one of the horrors of oh-so-scary too!). Reality is a pleomorphic terrain. By its innocence, it is self-correcting, and self-organizing. There is a righteousness within reality which will always be restored. Thus, no matter how hard we might try to deny it, we are a part of a river of abundance. It runs through us, in deed through all things. Gee whiz! It’s so huge.
Love!
Bert, wow . . . thank you for sharing your deep thoughts about the topic! Sounds like you have thought about this long and hard and I appreciate you taking time out to share your perspective. Be well and blessed!
Ah, first I’ll admit I did not thoroughly read your entire article. It’s just a time issue. I do appreciate your recognition that making money, earning money does require effort. One cannot simply sit back and wait for checks to magically arrive in the mail.
However, as a Christian – a Biblical Christian, I must disagree with your opinion on what the Bible (or TRUE Christianity) teaches about wealth. First, it is the LOVE of money that is the root of evil (as is understood when we read the Bible in context) which will explain why “it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of heaven”. We must read the Bible as a whole and not pick and choose verses or partial verses out of context. Actually, if you read just two verses down from that verse in Matt. 19:24-26 you’ll find another very quoted verse that is NEVER quoted in this context, interestingly enough. Many old testament saints were wealthy and there are many present day wealthy Christians (Dave Ramsey comes to mind here since my youngest teaches people – free of charge – how to get out of debt, save and GIVE according to Dave’s Biblical teachings on finances). The Scriptures teach that we are to love God first with all our heart, soul, mind and strength. This is why loving money – or anything – more than God is simple idolatry. Sin.
God teaches that we are to work honestly, earn honestly, save that we might provide for ourselves and give to those in need. The Scriptures say so much about greed and the wrong use and attitude of money. When a person misinterprets the Bible to mean anything other than what it truly teaches – which is why we are to study the Scriptures – it doesn’t make the Bible wrong.
That being said, I received your book in the mail recently and although I’ve not had the time to read much (I’ve been caring for my father who passed Nov. 26) I have enjoyed what I have read. I am trying to interest my husband in healthier eating, at least, and when you brought up Tesla I gave it over to him to peak his interest. 🙂
Thank you for writing the book and reading my comment.
May God bless your efforts to teach people how to better care for these awesome, God designed marvels we live in – our bodies.
Hi Stephanie, thank you for reading and sharing your biblical world view. I corrected the verse to read “the love of money . . .” and truly, we are called to be good stewards with all that we have, from money to our bodies/health and everything that is in our care. I am so sorry you have recently experienced your father’s passing right at Thanksgiving. Hope VIBE resonates with you – all things created have a frequency and how it affects everything. Merry Christmas and blessed new year to you and your husband! Maybe we’ll see you on the detox side? 🙂
Love this article! One thought about the comment that “money doesn’t come from effort.” Since I didn’t hear the podcast, I obviously can’t know where the interviewee was coming from, but I think he may be more “on track”—than “off track”—with your viewpoint. On an energy level, effort can be a form of resistance. I imagine the following statement might be a more complete expression of his sentiment: Money doesn’t come from effort (resistance), it comes from action (flow).
Thank you for articulating so well what I was thinking – an excellent distinction.
Sue, thank you for reading and writing your perspective! I really appreciate the flow of dialogue around these important topics! Be well!
I’m reading gsg post a month late…it somehow didn’t sit totally right until this EXACT distinction. It is SO perfect I’m eager to share my experiences with this new insight. This may explain the following experience:
I don’t have a job right now or consistent income but I needed to pay a certain bill. I took action by placing a notice on the community email list and contacted lots of people for a tour that I would do (& never done before). I invested much time and effort to get this together but invested no money. After the amazing tour that I worked hard to arrange and was very inspiring – I made not 1 dollar. I told the participants that G-d knows that I did this tour to pay for this need – I know that it’ll be taken care of just like my other needs. Only a couple of hours later someone called to rent my apartment for 1 day and offered to pay twice the going rate – about $50 more than what I needed for the bill & that I was hoping to earn from the tour. I certainly took action and made strong efforts – the money certainly flowed…but NOT DIRECTLY from those efforts in a “logical” way.
This is really encouraging me to complete my open projects and work on arranging more inspiring tours.
Robyn – I can’t wait until the entire world is filled with influencers who were influenced by you and continue to create communities of influencers of powerful love & peace!!!:)
Bravo! I want more wealth and I’m not afraid to say that. Wealth puts me in a better position to serve others… I’m all for it! Thank you for a great article.
Agreed!
With all due respect, it does NOT take an “eagle eye” with regard to this TOO often biblical misquote. Any moderately informed Christian, or reader reasonably acquainted with scripture, knows this. I personally think it is simply an excuse of the uninformed to use it wrongly for their own agenda.
Great article. Thank you for sharing with the world. Life is a lesson, we keep on learning. That’s why I can’t miss your passage, I have to learn new things. Robin be blessed dear.
So kind of you to write Anita. To choose gratitude for learning is key! Be blessed in this season and in the coming new year!
I love this post! Just what I needed 🙂
Hi Caroline – Thank you for reading my blog – so glad it resonated with you! <3
In my opinion, a well thought out and written article. Implicit in the article is that with respect to wealth are not dealing with a zero sum game. Many wealthy people actually increased the wealth of the world in the act of becoming wealthy. This is one of the most important concepts to realize. Yes there are those that by virtually any measure steal wealth from others. Such is often accomplished through crony capitalism, that is using force of government.
The evil that does and always has existed should never sway us from believing in the great accomplishment for the entire world that the creation of wealth bequeathes to the world. The ‘for profit’ free enterprise capitalistic system has in roughly 200 years raised the wealth and standard of living for the entire world more than all of the efforts of the previous 10,000+ years.
I also particularly liked your reference to ‘satisfizers.’ You read a great deal about ‘minimalistic’ living today though most now seem to really mean something more along the line of ‘optimizers.’ In this materialistic world of today it is a good thing to recognize that we typically burden ourselves with too much stuff! In general I believe that most people are happiest when they have all (or at least most) of the ‘stuff’ that they really want to have for the way they want to live. ‘Stuff’ that does not support living as they wish is just an unnecessary burden and can even be a source of expense and stress.
HeyGSG!
I’m about to sign up for your life time Detox Program. I’ll have to admit I’m at the end of my rope. I’ve got neuropathic pain that has destroyed my life. Sitting in my lounge chair 18 hours a day, I feel like death will be the only way to stop this pain but of course I can not kill myself. That would hurt my 20 year old daughter and wife…..In one of your videos you talked about two Nano additives but I can not find them on your site…..I’ve never done a detox before, I want to make sure I do it with everything I need. I’ve had my gall bladder removed, will that make a difference as to which detox I should do?? Thank you GSG, your an amazing entrepreneur!
Paul, I hope you had a lovely holiday time and are ready to detox with us! I can’t think of a reason why this program wouldn’t resonate with you and minister to your body! Check with your doctor first if that would be best, but our goal is to dislodge, release and exit extensive toxic load from life all around us environmentally, our food, rx’s (metals), teeth fillings, etc. We provide everything you need in the lifetime package and especially daily support on line with a wonderful group of men and women now currently detoxing. Many are starting this week and next so you’re not too late!