The Worker Money Mentality

For the past two weeks, we have been learning about the money mentalities, in particular, the Slave Money Mentality and the Boss Money Mentality. Today, we are going to dive into the third and last money mentality:  the Worker Money Mentality. Although it should have been the money mentality we studied last week, I purposely chose to save the Worker Money Mentality for last because it is the most common of the three and so, it is the one which deserves the most time and attention. 

In the middle….in between…indecision. The Worker Money Mentality is a bit complex. It defines a mind that is simultaneously stuck in the past and pushing towards the future. It represents the person who is motivated to reach forward and master his potential but is stumped by past decisions and experiences that have left deep scars. The worker can embody both a determined mind and an opportunistic attitude. He tends to waiver between faith to see his dreams come true and fear of taking the wrong risks and falling on his face. He longs for the financial ability and independence to help others but is distracted by his need to change his own present circumstances.  He is committed to hard work, yet too much of his income is reserved for high interest debts. He works hard for his money but hasn’t learned how to make his money work hard for his.

 

Externally, the worker may have the look of a boss but internally, she has the feel of a slave. She understands many of the principles that lead to the boss’ success and will celebrate him, but often fails to apply them to her own life because she lacks the confidence to exercise them. She wastes precious time and energy trying to rescue the slaves in her life. At the same time, she invests great skill and expertise in prospering her employer’s business because she hasn’t had the faith and fortitude to pursue her own. By nature, she is mature, responsible, and moral, however, she can also be impulsive, manipulative, and complacent. She knows she should be free but doesn’t know how to map out a plan for attaining freedom.

Most working class and middle class people remain captive to the worker mentality because they don’t have a solid plan for their lives and their finances. Unlike the boss, the worker doesn’t think enough with long term goals in proper perspective. He has the discipline to save for vacations but has nothing set aside for an unexpected job loss. He might limit his spending in order to invest in his child’s college education without planning for his retirement years. He is smart enough to avoid dumping money into schemes and blatant opportunists, but hasn’t been wise enough to avoid giving money to friends and loved ones who repeatedly waste his resources.  

The Worker Money Mentality is the most vulnerable of the money mentalities because it threatens to pull its hostages back into the pit of slavery while teasing them with the hope of reaching the insurmountable heights that come with being the boss. I must admit that I have spent much of my life clinging to a worker money mentality. Like many of you, I was unaware of this truth until I began to take a close look at my life…my past and present, my decisions and actions, my failures and successes. It wasn’t until I became genuinely angry about living life in the middle, seemingly marking time that I could approach the door to change, open it, and begin the necessary process that has enabled me to commence my journey into the Boss Money Mentality.

I pray that you will faithfully follow the blog this week. It is my hope that by delving into the Worker Money Mentality, you will resolve to approach past issues that have continued to haunt your ability to purposefully step into your future. If you haven’t taken any notes since this blog began, I encourage you to pull out your pen and notepad this week. I ask that you begin to assess your money mentality so that you can address the problems that have left you confined in a money mentality that is beneath your God-given potential and responsibility to live, move, and breathe as a boss who is slave only to the Lord’s purposes and plans for your life…a boss who rules the financial, physical, and spiritual areas that God has assigned for him or her.

I want to hear from you today. Let’s get a conversation going about the Worker Money Mentality and how it has affected your life and the lives of those around you. I’m anxious to hear from you!

Have a marvelous Monday!

Free to be the You Others Cannot See

Today I am borrowing part of my inspiration for this Freedom Friday post from a woman whose work and ministry are quickly transforming my life. Priscilla Shirer, founder of Going Beyond Ministries (and Dr. Tony Evans' daughter), has recently written and published a book entitled, The Resolution for Women to accompany the release of the movie, Courageous and the book, The Resolution for Men. In one of the sections of her book, Priscilla encourages women to embrace the beauty of being "authentically you". She admonishes her readers to recognize the power, privilege, and responsibility we have to give the people we love and the world at large our true, genuine selves because that is exactly what people have been waiting on and it is exactly what the world cannot do without.

Whether you are a man or woman, boy or girl, God has made you uniquely "you". Your dreams are uniquely yours and so, as we conclude this week's focus on the Boss Money Mentality, I want to encourage you to keep dreaming. Spend time meditating on the you no one has seen...the you who exists inside of your flesh. Who would you be if you were already walking in the fullness of the Boss Money Mentality? What would you look life, how would your actions differ if you didn't have to think about your finances, your self-esteem, your health, your family issues, and other distracting circumstances? 

Well, guess what? If you can see that "you", you are starting to tap into the "you" that no else can see. That is the "you" you must begin to live as, and that is the only "you" God recognizes and speaks to. Start small. Begin to prioritize your life and base your decisions on that "you". Discipline yourself to move towards that "you". After all, that "you" will pave the way for you to attain the boss mentality. It is how to make freedom a reality in your life.

I have a dream. My dream consists of becoming a solution, allowing my life to serve as an answer to the slave and worker mentality in others. So, as I continue to dream, I choose to act on it. I have begun to move towards it. I am mapping out a plan to elevate my dream into a vision that finds its way into my reality. I am disciplining myself. I am sacrificing my money, time, and energy in order to meet the needs of others. Instead of waiting until I have earned a graduate degree in some form of counseling, in the meantime I am offering my listening ears to troubled hearts. Until my small business has a need for additional staff, I will utilize other opportunities to assist willing workers in obtaining employment by networking and building connections with those who have the power to hire referrals from me. I'll pay a portion of an honest man's bills while I await the earnings that will allow me to pay all of them. 

The bottom line...I will no longer wait for circumstances to change before I choose to become my authentic self. Fear, doubt, and unbelief will no longer rule my thoughts, emotions, and actions. Instead, I will walk in the fullness of my true self and make an impact in my community right now, right where I am with what I have to offer today because that's what bosses do!

Thirsty for Resolute Vision

If there is one thing all boss money mentalities possess, it is resolute vision. There isn't one person who has attained true freedom without a visionary's mind. A person can stumble into success or gamble their way into riches, but it takes vision to enter into and maintain a wealthy place...a place where a person is able to leave footprints that lead to a legacy of domination and innovation for generations to follow. Such visionaries live full lives and die empty of potential; and when they're gone, the world remembers forever that they were here.

That's what I'm thirsty for. I'm thirsty for resolute vision. I'm thirsty for clarity in purpose and tenacious determination to see God's vision in me come to fruition. I don't want to experience a portion of this; I must experience all of it. I must attain the boss money mentality not just for me or for my family's sake, but for the benefit of everyone who is meant to receive God's contributions from my life while I am here and after I'm long gone.

I refuse to be one of those people many of us have seen lying on their death beds wishing they had more time to give, wishing they had been a better person, or wishing they had done more for others. I'm going to die knowing that I embraced God entirely, obeyed His instructions, and followed His plans to the end. Like the New Testament apostle, Paul, I will be able to say, "I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith" (II Timothy 4:7).

I have vision. As a matter of fact, I have many visions. What I am thirsty for now is the type of resolute vision that will lead me securely into the boss mentality so that I can unequivocally lead others to it as well, so we can all cry as William Wallace did in the movie Braveheart, "Frrrreeeeeddddddooooooommmmm!!!"

What about you? What are you thirsty for today?

Live and Do for Others

LAST WEEK'S CHALLENGE

This time last week, I encouraged you to give the gift of "NO" to someone in your life who has been content with maintaining a slave mentality. I challenged you to refuse to be anybody's enabler. Did you do it? Did you tell someone no? How did they respond? How did you handle their response?

Before we move into this week's challenge, I'd like to share my "NO" experience with you. I was asked for money and transportation from an elderly woman who is all too comfortable existing as a slave and whose hand is always extended, looking for a master to take responsibility for her life. I usually find it difficult to say no to senior citizens because I've been raised to respect them and to recognize the significance of their years. In this case, however, I was dealing with a seasoned citizen who seems to be more concerned with the quantity of her years than the quality of her life. 

I have rarely run into her and not been asked for something from her and I am not alone. I've quickly had to learn to avoid being taken advantage of by her. So, when she told me she didn't have anything to eat and asked for money, I started to walk past her but instead offered her $2.00 I had in my purse (like many of you, I don't usually carry cash). She was dissatisfied with that offer and proceeded to ask for a ride, to which I gave her the gift of "NO" and walked away.

In times past, I would have felt guilty for telling her no because she is a single woman in her sixties. However, the Bible admonishes us to try the spirit of a person by the Spirit of God (John 4:1&2), and God's Spirit urged me to leave that spirit in the shape it was comfortably in. That's not to say that I will never help her again, but it is to say that I will walk lightly with that one.

THIS WEEK'S CHALLENGE

The boss mentality is housed in humans who live in order to give and earn in order to disburse the best of themselves and their God-given abilities to others. Therefore, on this What Do You Have to Give Wednesday, I want each of us to challenge ourselves to live for someone else and earn income with someone else in mind today. We usually arise from our night's rest consumed with the tasks we need to accomplish for the day. Why don't we change our focus for the day and consider how we can contribute to helping someone else accomplish one of the many tasks ahead of them? Instead of prioritizing our wants with our earnings, why don't we intentionally meet at least one need for someone else today?

Remember, the boss mentality is one that keeps the big picture at the forefront of the mind. It esteems others not as more important than self, but prioritizes them above or before self. The boss knows how to pass strangers, leaving them feeling stronger and more significant than they did before encountering them. The boss studies people and invests in them in the best way possible to cultivate their potential. The boss isn't interested in being a lone ranger but purposes to propel others to positions, dimensions, and experiences beyond what he or she has even uncovered.

I am determined to live for someone else today. I will prayerfully consider others' needs and find at least one way to contribute to meeting them. I am committed to sacrificing something from my earnings to sow into the good ground of another so that I may inspire the boss in them to come alive. Will you join me?

I’m Not There Yet

Yesterday, I introduced you to the Boss Money Mentality and included descriptions to enhance your understanding surrounding the motivations and workings of this mindset. God never intended for us to be driven by any other mentality because the boss mentality is the only one that maintains a primary focus that revolves around being ruled by our Creator and demonstrating His greatness through the decisions we make and the actions we take, and not just as it relates to finance but in every realm of life.

As I’ve thought about the boss mentality and studied it for my own growth, I’ve come to realize that I’m not there yet. I was born to possess and exemplify the boss mentality to the glory of God and for the sake of others, but I’m honestly not there yet. I recently started this blog and I invited you to join me on a journey to arrest financial freedom because I was sure that many of you are also not there yet.

I am realizing now more than ever that information doesn’t automatically translate into application. I understand more clearly that prayer alone doesn’t produce change as much as allowing our beliefs and lives to align themselves in our efforts with the prayers we’re praying. God hasn’t held my dreams and goals back from me as much as I have failed to walk the tight rope in which I allow Him to rule my entire life while accepting the responsibilities associated with being called by His name and being both faithful and diligent to His plans.

Years ago, I watched the first installation of the reality show, America’s Next Top Model. As part of the prospective models’ introduction to the show’s creator and former super model, Tyra Banks, the girls had to stand before a panel of judges and proclaim their objective for wanting to become America’s next top model. As one particular girl stood before the judges she began to explain her passion and plans for helping poor people if she were to win the title. Well, Ms. Banks responded by complimenting the girl for her noble aspirations and then immediately began to inquire about her history of participating in charity events and community programs that serve poor people in the capacity that she had expressed in her bid to be accepted as a model on the show. Long story short, the girl hadn’t done anything in line with the supposed passion she had for the poor. Needless to say, Ms. Banks was furious and that was the end of the girl’s 15 minutes of fame.

I don’t want that to be us…men and women who are always looking for prosperous opportunities but fail to be purposefully productive right where we are right now. That’s how the mind of the boss works. He doesn’t pursue prosperity but is driven by a passion to offer his gifts and skills to the world. She doesn’t wait for someone to die and leave her an inheritance before she begins to live her dreams. Instead, she trusts God with her life and believes that she is and has access to everything she needs as she needs it to manage her life and influence change in the lives of others.

If I am going to be honest with you, I must admit that I’ve been just like the girl from the reality show. There have been times in my life when I failed to do anything for people I cared about because I didn’t have the resources to do everything I wanted to do for them. I have been guilty of waiting for some miraculous change to come to shift my life into a wealthy place even though I couldn’t believe that God was great enough in me to change my life through my faith and hard work. In essence, I haven’t always believed that I was born to be the boss…born to be an answer for multitudes and born to lead others into becoming the same.

Until now, I haven’t fully been ready for such an incredible transformation, but you know what? I’m ready now. What about you? Have you squarely decided to join me in moving beyond the knowledge of who we are and who God is in order to possess the power to experience who God is, and to allow His Spirit to live through us until we become and execute all He intended when He created us? Have you been preparing yourself to become the boss?

The Boss Money Mentality

It’s Monday! Last week, we exposed the Slave Money Mentality and this week we are going to begin focusing our attention on the Boss Money Mentality. In contrast to the Slave Money Mentality that is motivated by self-seeking, opportunistic beliefs, the Boss Money Mentality is one in which a person is driven by a passion to utilize his or her expertise in order to dominate specific arenas, to invest resources in improving various communities, to influence a multitude of people, and ultimately, to affect change in the world. People who operate in this mentality aren’t interested in becoming rich. Instead, their discipline, determination, and passion for change and growth attracts wealth to them.

The boss mentality follows an extremely important principle – the principle that money is a tool that must be given a purpose, a plan, and the potential to grow. You see, a boss’ mind recognizes that by itself, money is not an asset…knowing what to do with it causes it to become an asset. Find ten people who consistently maintain and build wealth and you’ll discover that they are people who exercise the vision and discipline to put their money to work for them. Money never puts them to work, and therein lies the obvious problem for most working class and middle class families (we will talk more about this next week). The boss mentality belongs to the man who is prepared, precise, and intentional not only in his financial decision-making, but in all areas of his life. He isn’t just interested in financial stewardship; he earnestly strives to become a man of exceptional wisdom.

What is also important to understand about the boss is this:  a person who possesses this mentality always views money with serving others in mind and he or she handles money with longevity as their focus. The boss is a life-long learner who consistently seeks greater education and training in order to enhance his knowledge and comprehension. He is a leader and a servant at the same time. He is a visionary. Money never dictates a true leader’s movements; his vision does.

A visionary never succumbs to pressure to frivolously spend money because she keeps her financial objectives at the forefront of her decision-making. She knows how much money she has, what she is doing with it, and how she plans to multiply it so she can have more to give away. As her money grows, she directs her spending with the future in mind. She focuses on providing an inheritance for those she will one day leave behind. More than anything, the person who truly possesses a boss mentality embraces the truth that God is her inheritance and as such, He is the ultimate source of her wealth.

The boss is an intelligent, resourceful man who works harder than most and gives more of his time, talents, and money than the majority of his peers. He accepts the responsibility associated with being who he is and having all that he possesses. He owes no one but is accessible to everyone who genuinely needs him. He refuses to pay interest for anything but invests substantially in people and opportunities that have the potential to provide freedom for others. He is never satisfied with his own freedom but lives to see others attain it as well. His interest in leading is born out of an extraordinary need to serve, and his persistence in continuing to learn and gain wisdom is for the sake of improving the lives and conditions of others.

There has been no greater example of a person who possesses the boss mentality than Jesus Christ. He was someone who seemed to own nothing but had access to everything. Every word, action, and gift given were demonstrations of the freedom He possessed and wanted men and women to enjoy. He knew what people believed and He knew what they needed in order for those beliefs to change. He knew where to invest Himself and when to shake the dust from His feet and walk away from people. He reserved His time and energy for the people, places, and things that only His Father had led Him to speak to, touch, and challenge to change. Jesus was prepared to face anything, He was precise with His words, and He was intentional in His actions. He knew what to say and do and when to say and do things for the advancement of the kingdom of God. Jesus was born as a gift to humanity, died and was risen as the ultimate gift…the ultimate offering of freedom for us all.

You and I were born to be offerings from God to our fellow man. Our freedom is necessary if we are ever going to really influence those around us who need all of what He has placed in us for them, but we can’t attain it if we don’t first begin to believe we are free. What is holding you back? Why aren’t you free? What are the lies you have learned to believe about your finances and yourself that keep you from experiencing true freedom? What do you believe it's going to take for you to shake the dust from your feet and loose those lies from your mind?

Hearing is Believing

There’s an old saying which proclaims that seeing is believing. Most often, however, that is far from the truth. It is not what we see that initiates fear or faith; it is what we hear! The Bible teaches us that faith comes by hearing, and by hearing the word of God (Romans 10:17). The Old Testament prophet Elijah heard that Jezebel was going to kill him and so he fled in fear. The Israelites heard that there were giants in the land of freedom God had promised them and so they resolved to die. King Herod heard that the world’s Savior had been born so he frantically murdered innocent babies. The blind received their sight when they put their faith in what they heard Jesus say, and the oppressed experienced freedom as a result of their belief in what they heard about Christ’s abilities.

Jesus spent less time manifesting miracles than He did proclaiming the truth to people. It is the truth that we know that sets us free (John 8:32). We won’t achieve real freedom as a result of what we've seen as much as we will to what we’ve heard. Jesus entered ministry preaching about the kingdom of God and followed what He said with actions that demonstrated their truth and reality.

An enslaved mind must absorb the truth in order to comprehend its power and witness it demonstrated before it can understand it. John the Baptist spoke the truth; Jesus came along to confirm it and exhibit it. It was the truth that Jesus shared with a Samaritan woman at a well that awakened her faith. It was the Lord’s spoken word to Peter that restored his faith and led him back to his position in Christ. Three times the man had denied his Savior and it took three times for the Savior to reaffirm his life's purposes.

It’s what God has spoken over our lives and within our spirits that wakes us up each morning. His word is what renews us and offers us life, hope, and passion. If we are going to live as God’s ambassadors on Earth, we have to reject our own wills and acquire tunnel vision like Jesus who only said, did, and pursued what He had heard and seen His Father say, do, and pursue. Accepting the invitation to hear God opens our minds to see Him at work and opens our hearts to believe His every word and live His every desire. Now, that’s freedom!

What do you hear God saying to you today, and how will you quiet contrary voices that come to confuse you about what you've heard from the mouth of God? How is what you've heard affecting what you believe and how is what you believe affecting what you do?

THIRSTY FOR CHANGE

Almost twenty years ago, I became acquainted with a young man who has since become one of my closest friends. When I met him, he was straight off the streets, unemployed, and living with his mother. He was an irresponsible young man, an absent father, and a brand new convert to Christianity. I saw a man who was as full of all of God’s potential as he was of the guilt and weight of his past…a past that was threatening to destroy his chance to change. I watched as he attempted to keep his mind submerged in the mentality of a hustler on the streets while trying to grapple with God’s call for him to be transformed by a renewed mind. This young man waivered for some time, trying to figure out whether to maintain loyalty to the street life he’d known or faith in the Christ who had redeemed him from sin and despair.

My new friend straddled the fence for a couple of years. He began to go to church almost regularly but wouldn’t go to work. He pursued dates with women but made little effort to spend time with his children. He earned a reputation for borrowing money and never paying it back. This fellow seemed to have no sense of integrity or desire for responsibility. He was a taker. He had a slave mentality and too many of us were his enablers. We didn’t realize then that by supplying his every need every time he asked, we were actually degrading him. We were all so passionate about witnesses a true transformation in his life that we couldn’t see how we were responsible for hindering him from becoming the type of man we were hoping and praying God would cause him to become. My friend couldn’t reach a decision to see himself through God’s eyes and fulfill heaven’s plans for him because we were all too busy being god for him.

Soon enough, we all ran out of the money, patience, and time that funding his slavery required. None of us were willing or able to feed his addiction to handouts long term. Therefore, we were forced to let go and let God deal with our dear brother. Of course he was upset with all of us for a while because we had taught him to depend on us to supply all of his needs (and wants). It wasn’t long, however, before he was working full time, living on his own, and getting to know God for himself. The less we did for him, the more he began to change. In a few short years, my friend became a reliable employee, an excellent tenant, a wonderful father and provider, and a man with profound integrity. Because we stopped holding his hand and moved out of the way, God was able to get hold of his mind and transform his life.

Today, my friend is a middle-aged, married, Christian man who leads his home, provides for his family, and opens his home to people in need. He is a leader in his workplace and in ministry; and he is a financially stable individual who invests in his family’s future. Every now and then I see remnants of the young man I was introduced to so many years ago but overall, he’s an entirely different man today. The enslaved mind that had once been ruled by bad decisions and circumstances is long gone. Not only is my friend paying his own way now, he’s praying his own way too!

Aren’t you thirsty to see someone’s mind change so that their lives can change? Is there someone in your life who needs you to stop being god for them? Are you that someone who needs to stop looking for handouts and seek God for a hand up? We should all be passionate about seeing ourselves and other men and women’s minds and lives change until freedom rings. What are you doing today to help imprisoned minds walk out of the doors of open jail cells and into privilege of God's freedom? What are you doing about the condition of your own mind?

The Gift of "No"

As we progress through this week’s blog posts, I’d like to continue focusing our attention on the slave mentality; and since today is the day that we direct our energy towards purposely and positively affecting others’ lives, I want to talk to you about giving people the gift of “no”. For the past two days, we’ve been considering the lengths that individuals with enslaved minds will go to take advantage of others. Well, today I’d like to challenge you to set boundaries for the slaves in your life. I’d like to encourage you to stop funding the advancement of slavery.

As a professional in the finance industry, I often accept education and training opportunities to assist individuals, couples, and small businesses with managing their finances. A few years ago, I was contacted by a couple who were interested in learning how to organize and direct their income and expenses so that they could strengthen their financial position. They appeared to be prime candidates for achieving financial freedom. Neither of them had credit cards, car loans, or any other substantial debt hanging over their heads. Their problem seemed to lie in a lack of planning and tracking their spending. However, as I listened to them and learned more about them I realized that the real dilemma was the fact that these two individuals were trying to achieve financial freedom with a slave money mentality. To make matters worse, they were unwilling to join forces and finances to achieve this goal. Still, I could clearly see their potential to change and grow as a couple and as financially responsible adults.

Over the next few of months, I worked with them mapping out financial plans that they could execute with success. I even provided my own money and transportation to assist them with what I thought were their goals, and when I saw their commitment threatening to collapse I offered to help them for free because I wanted to see them succeed. I believed wholeheartedly that they could. Unfortunately, that wasn’t what they wanted. This couple was more interested in basking in the ability I had given them to take advantage of me than in their potential to reach greater heights in their financial position. All they wanted from me was help to pay the bills they had created and for me to pretend with them that they were forging ahead on the path to change. These were people who couldn’t make ends meet because they refused to set common goals or combine their finances to achieve them.

I wanted them to want better for themselves because I knew they could have better but in the end, I had to let them go. I had to stop wasting my time. I had to quit trying to give them my faith and expertise because they were only interested in my money. I had to give them the gift of “no” because continuing to say “yes” was preventing me from helping someone else who had a genuine desire to change. More than anything, I had to stop being an enabler who was actively funding slavery. A few years have passed and that couple is still in the same financial rut they were in when I worked with them. They still are without credit cards, auto loans, and other substantial debt, but they are also still without financial unity, security, and purpose.

What about you? Have you come to terms with the slaves who can always count on you? Have you confronted the people who consistently come to you with their hands out, seeking your investment in their slavery? Are you filling those hands with money or are you walking away and leaving them empty? Don’t you think you should?