Tony Robbins Personal Power Day 18 Ending Financial Self Sabotage

[Music] welcome to day 18. the day you end financial self-sabotage. that's our focus today. yesterday we talked about wealth wounds, and I hope you took the time to do your homework and really go through those seven wounds and start making progress to healing them.

but I have to tell you, the number one thing that keeps people from really having what they want financially is not the lack of a plan. it is not the lack of good advice. it is not the lack of possibility. it's not the lack of intelligence. it's not even the lack of capital. it is this unending process that most Americans go through of sabotaging their own financial success.

so why do we do this to ourselves? why is it that right when we start to really make financial progress, we do something stupid? or we stop following through? we stop practicing the fundamentals we know will lead us to financial abundance?

I believe the answer is what we talked about yesterday, and let's review it. everything we do in our lives, we do for one of two reasons: to either avoid pain or to gain pleasure. if you are sabotaging yourself in any area, and we're going to talk about this again and again, it is simply because you believe at some level of your thinking, subconscious thinking if not conscious thinking, that this situation that you're getting involved in, the accumulation of additional capital, is going to lead to more pain than pleasure. and again, I know that sounds insane and crazy, but I have to tell you, it's absolutely accurate.

in any person that I've studied who's been living in financial lack, in addition, many people associate pleasure to having a lack of financial abundance. because, see, think about it. when people really do well financially and they're around their friends, what happens? well, I can tell you from experience. when I was really young, I really went for it. 19 years old, had my own company, written up in newspapers and magazines. wonder boy, remember me, right? ego exploding. well, sure enough, I was making all this money, about ten thousand dollars a month. I was jazzed. except I thought money was going to lead to pleasure. I looked around and saw the problems in my family, said, "hey, if I got money, I can eliminate those, and I can have a lot more fun." I can give to my friends. and I'd go back to my friends and want to take them with me on a trip or want to go someplace, and they were uncomfortable. in fact, a lot of them started to judge me. and all of a sudden, some of them treated me harshly, and some of them made excuses. some of them stopped going out to dinner with me. some say, "well, you know, I don't have a home like yours." and I said, "I don't care."

but what began to happen is I began to link that having money didn't mean the pleasure I thought it was going to mean. my brain started linking up having a lot of money means that people reject you. people you care about aren't comfortable with you. all of a sudden, it started feeling like an outcast. all of a sudden, I started feeling all this pain. and sure enough, within a short period of time, my brain on some level, not consciously, but subconsciously, began to just destroy everything economically. and I already told you how I did it: not showing up for key meetings, right? treating people harshly, distracting myself to eating food continuously, watching television. all those elements came up to destroy my finances.

and so we must remember how our brains work. they don't work logically, they work on what we associate to things. so if we're going to eliminate financial self-sabotage, the answer is very simple. you've heard it over and over again and again. you'll hear it from me, and that is: we must change our neural associations about money. that is, we've got to change some of our core beliefs. we've got to make sure that earning money is purely a positive and pleasurable experience for us, and not one, in our mind, that's going to lead to pain.

again, some people think, "god, I'll have to pay all these taxes." and they don't have the money, and they're worrying about the problem. no wonder they'll never have any. why are they already considering the negative aspects of having money? the answer, I believe, is that for most people, having an abundance of money is the unknown. it's an experience they've never had before. and people are basically afraid of the unknown. see, they know how it is right now. they understand it. they understand the status quo, and that's fairly comfortable. I mean, you might have a little bit of pain, but the unknown, that's really scary.

so I've found that most people fail to achieve what they want financially or sabotage themselves financially simply because they haven't gotten themselves ready for wealth. financial wealth. they've not conditioned themselves emotionally to have money. they've not developed the kinds of beliefs that would allow them to create an abundance of money and then continually expand that money as well.

you remember the metaphor we talked about when we started this program? that what we have to do to really succeed, we have to build up our ability. we have to condition ourselves, just as we would physically. and you start with a little bit, and you begin to work with it each day, increasing the amounts until pretty soon, what happens is you really develop the muscle. but you've got to be able to use it. you got to condition your arms, for example, to be able to do curls. well, you're going to condition your mind and your emotions in order to be able to have an abundance of money and feel comfortable with it. otherwise, even though it's something that's very positive, it may feel like a weight to you because you just don't have to deal with it.

so how do we first get beyond the sense of lack? how do we first begin to create that wealth? and then how do we keep ourselves from destroying it once the abundance starts to flow? the way to really create the wealth that you want in your life starts with step number one. the way to get wealthy right now today is to free yourself from the illusion that you're not already wealthy. you say, "what are you talking about, Tony? I don't have any money." listen, wealth is not just money. wealth is an abundance of the things that you really desire in your life. wealth is leverage. that is, the ability to have experiences that you have not personally controlled or generated.

what do I mean? well, you are wealthy. you live in a country where there is abundance around you all the time, and you own it just for living here. I mean, you own the public highways. you don't have to pay anything for most of them across the country. you own many of these government buildings. you can go in, they're yours. you can use them anytime you want. you can go into a public library and get access to any book that's ever been written, virtually, and it costs you nothing. think about it. leverage in your life is everywhere. you didn't have to go out and actually create your breakfast, nor did you have to hunt down your dinner. these things have been done for you. say, "well, yes, I paid for them." yeah, that's true. and it wasn't on your back that the salt came out of mines so you could put it on your food. you are truly wealthy. the level of abundance that you and I experience every single day, no matter how much money we earn, compared to the rest of the world, is absolutely absurd. and yet, we walk around feeling like we have lack. and see, like attracts like. whatever you hold on a consistent basis in your mind is exactly what you'll experience in your life. so the first key to becoming wealthy is to understand that you already are.

now, wanting to expand that, I believe that's healthy. you know, some people say, "well, is it really right to make more money? I mean, if you got a lot, is it right?" let me ask you a question. if you're intelligent, is it right for you to continue to want to expand and become smarter? is it right if you're already close to your husband or wife to want to deepen that relationship even more? is it right for you to want your children to have even more, to be happier, to be stronger, to have better relationships? is that right? is it right, no matter how close you feel to your creator, to want that bond to be even stronger and to strive for it? is that right?

I've got a question for you. if you could have more in your life, if you could have more, then should you? if there are things you could do that create greater abundance in any area of your life, then should you? and my answer to you is absolutely. I think I shared with you earlier in this program that there was a point in my life where I thought, "gosh, if I have so much abundance and other people don't, there's something wrong. that's unfair." hey, listen, every single one of us was born with opportunities. we're equal in our opportunities. we're not equal in our decisions. we're not equal in our education. we're not equal in how much we demand from each other or from ourselves. we're not equal in our motivation. we could choose to be, but most of us are not.

now, I know there's the argument that, "hey, I grew up in the South Bronx, so I grew up in a difficult part of town, or I didn't have the role models." I can certainly appreciate that a hundred percent. I really do believe that there are many people in our society that don't seem to start out with the same level of resources, no doubt about it. so my approach to that used to be, "well, I really care about people that I have less than I do. I care about people that are poor financially." in fact, my strategy was, "the best way to help poor people is I'll be one of them." well, that's not exactly the most intelligent approach. instead, what I decided to do was realize that no matter what someone's resources were, I didn't have any either. I didn't have any great role models. I didn't grow up wealthy, not even middle class. and yet, I was able to make the things work because I pursued them. and no matter where I've looked in the country, no matter how horrible the environment, there are a few people from that environment that somehow have made it work for themselves mentally, emotionally, socially, spiritually, physically, and financially.

so why did these people make it in spite of all the odds? the answer was not necessarily more talent or more ability, but that they were able to get access to their talent and ability because they had beliefs that empowered them in each of these areas, including financial. I mean, that's really what it comes down to. your finances will not change until your core beliefs change. trying to turn around financial sabotage simply by working harder, by the way, will not work. the reason is, you'll work harder, and your beliefs, like this rubber band, you'll push, push, push, push, stretch yourself out there. it'll start to make some progress, and right when you get to a certain point of threshold, ymo, the rubber band snaps you right back to where you were. I mean, haven't you experienced this?

sometimes the only way to break through is get rid of the rubber bands. expand your picture of your life financially so that what's happening is you're on a road, a road you're always building, one that's always expanding. in addition, you must believe that by building your road, what you're also doing is creating a way for others to travel to their dreams as well. simultaneously.

so since it starts with our own beliefs, we got to remind ourselves what beliefs are. beliefs are nothing but a feeling of certainty about what something means. so again, if you've got limiting beliefs, it just means you've got beliefs. you have a feeling of certainty that having money is going to be more painful than not having it. that having an abundance of money is going to be more painful than not having an abundance. yeah, you can get by, and it'll be okay. you've got to change that.

how do we do it? well, one, the easiest way to change anything is to link pain to the thing we want to change. in other words, link, in our own minds, that if I don't change this belief system, it's going to cost me so much, it's going to hurt so bad that your brain says, "I'll do anything to get rid of that belief." and then show your brain an alternative one, that by applying it, you'll have pleasure.

now, what most people do in life is sit around and hope that someday something magical will turn it around, or again, they go out and just work harder and harder and harder, and they wonder why they still can't make it financially. no matter how much money they make, they always end up with more month at the end of the money. maybe I was one of the lucky ones. maybe I just have a low threshold for pain because I just couldn't take it. I found so much frustration in not being able to go certain places, not being able to be with certain people who are traveling, not being able to give some of the things I really wanted to give most to the people I cared about, not being able to have the lifestyle and the freedom of choice in terms of my time and my energy and the things that I was going to have in my life as well. it was so painful, so embarrassing, so frustrating that finally, one day, I said, "I have had it." and that is a great place to get. get to the place where you've had it, where you've gone through threshold, where you're not willing to do that anymore. but here's the key: when you realize you've had it, know what the reason is. it's because of your beliefs, and you need to go inside and shift them.

now, so how do we do this? I'm going to guide you through a three or four-step process right now to eliminate self-sabotage in the area of finances forever. so let's go for it. get your success journal or pull over the car. now, this is the time. as you pull it out, here's what we're gonna do. and if you need to stop the tape and come back to me, you have 30 seconds. go.

welcome back. I again, hope I'm welcoming you back, and you did turn off this thing while you went and got your success journal. you don't want to write on a scrap piece of paper. keep that thing with you. okay, good. now, here's what I'd like you to do. I'd like, if you would, to write down all of the pain that you presently experience in your life because you don't have the level of financial abundance that you truly deserve. in other words, what are you losing right now? what are you missing out on? what's it costing in your life not to have financial abundance? in other words, our goal here is to not just be intellectual, but to really get ourselves to experience, once and for all, a tremendous amount of pain from not having finances. so really go into your gut, go into your core, and say, "okay, what are things I really want to do or be or share or create or give or make that I cannot do right now because I don't have financial abundance?" I've got enough finances to get by, or I've gotta, you know, maybe even worse, you're comfortable. that's really a death rattle in terms of finances. but what are some of the things beyond that that you're missing out on? maybe just the self-esteem of knowing that you can create as much as you want in an instant. what is it that you're missing out on? I'm going to give you about two and a half minutes to do this. so please begin now. remember, while you're doing this, make it compelling. what are some things you'd really like to do in your life that you can't do? think about how much pain that could generate if you really focused on that enough. normally, you don't pay attention, do you? ever have to say, "someday, honey, we'll do that." how does that make you feel? or "someday, son, someday, daughter." "yeah, I'd really like to do this, but we just can't do it right now. maybe later. maybe sometime." and yet, in your feeling, in your gut, you don't think it'll ever happen. with some of the pain you experience because you don't have massive financial abundance, what's it costing you in your life? what could you do to develop yourself if you had more money, and you're missing out on it now? what could you do for your favorite foundation or favorite charity? would you like to buy something? is there somebody in your family who's suffering right now financially, and you're unable to help them? how does that make you feel? no, you don't have the money to help them. someone needs medical care. would you like to be able to purchase a nicer home or something like that for family members, a mom or a dad? I'd like to take better care of your grandparents, but can't because you just don't have the financial abundance. is there a school you'd like to send your children to, but you just can't? again, because there isn't enough money. what are some of the prices you pay every single day because you don't have enough money? what are some of the things you really want, but you've had to settle for second best because you didn't have financial abundance?

[Music] is there a studio you'd like to build? you can't do that, so you got to go somewhere else.

[Music] are you having to live in a neighborhood that is not supportive of your own values, simply because of economic necessity? how does that make you feel, knowing that you have to do that? make sure as you write these down, you really feel the pain. I know that doesn't sound very nice, but the way we change is link pain to something. get it out on the table. okay, so what we've done here, if you, we've done it effectively, is gotten your brain to begin to associate major pain to not having money. now, you might say, "well, Tony, I already had that." well, maybe, but maybe it was like you had one thought at a time. what we want to do is intensify the feeling of pain so your brain will finally say, "I've had it. no more. I've got to have money." so what's on your list? is it compelling enough? when I have people do this, many times they'll tell me things like, "well, gosh, you know, not having money means I don't have time with my kids." or "not having money means I can't live with my son or daughter." or "not having money means I can't get them the kind of child care they really deserve, and I'm busy working too, and I don't know what to do." that's pretty strong pain that'll get somebody motivated real quick. remember, we'll do more to avoid pain than we will to gain pleasure. so put it on yourself. some people say, "just the pressure of the bills themselves." that is so painful. having people calling you up again and again saying, "hey, you got to handle this thing." that does it for some people by itself. or maybe in this society where one out of two people end up in divorce, some people are having to support two households, and they think about the pain they have in that. they can't have the lifestyle they want because they can barely take care of themselves after taking care of somebody else. for other people, it's saying, "you know, I can't do it, or I'll do it later," but knowing in their heart that later may never come. that's pain. or maybe for you, it's just the pain of knowing somebody who really deserves help, and you just can't do it because you don't have the money. or maybe it's the inability to travel or visit the places you'd really like to, or maybe visit some people. I know some people have made on their list things like, "I just don't have the money to even go visit the grandparents who are about to pass away. I know I need to be there, but I just can't because I'm busy and I have to keep working, or because I don't have the money to even get there." again, this is not negative. this is the most positive thing you can do to yourself. creating pressure on yourself, massive pressure, where not having money hurts, will make your brain want to change. that's the only way you'll get rid of the sabotage. does that make sense?

so let's go to the second stage. the second stage is, let's just find out what you think of when you think about money itself. so now I'm going to give you about 60 seconds. but in these 60 seconds, what I'd like you to do is back in your success journal, just write down anything you think of that you associate to money. if I say to you, "money," or "a lot of money," I want you to write down what pops up in your head. just write down singular words that you associate to money. so you got 60 seconds. please begin now. go for it.

[Music] [Music] okay, time. so what's on your list? well, I'm not sure what's on yours, but I decided to try this with the engineer here in the studio, and he came up with some things like this. he said that he has freedom. he associates to money. time with loved ones associates to money. less stress, less bills, safety, and stress reduction in the form of entertainment. somebody else here has on their list: freedom of movement, security, giving, peace of mind, hard work, the burden of responsibility, lifestyle, wider social latitude. interesting. what's on your list? now, when you look at your list, is it mostly positive or mostly negative? what I found is when I have people do this, it depends on the individual, but oftentimes I get a lot of positives. you know, on most these lists, both these lists seem to be primarily positive. they think about money, and there's these positive things they associate pleasure. and you say, "Tony, then why would somebody sabotage if they only associate pleasure?"

well, let's try another approach and dig a little deeper into your brain. let's see if all your associations really are positive here. here's what I'd like you to try for the next two minutes. I want you to write down the things you remember hearing growing up about money. in other words, what were you taught about money, both explicitly and implicitly, by what people told you, like, for example, in your family, your mom, your dad, etc.? what are some of the phrases you remember hearing? jot them down. now you have two minutes, beginning now. do.

[Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] okay, again, time. so my question is, do you notice any conflicts here? well, I don't know what's on your list, but if I were to take a sampling I have here in the studio, it's rather interesting. in the beginning here, we have a person's list where they say they associate money: freedom, time with loved ones, less stress, less bills, more safety, stress reduction in the form of entertainment. but what was this person taught growing up? well, "money is the root of all evil." second thing on their notes: "money isn't everything." "person obviously doesn't know where to shop." the third one is, "no time to enjoy it." fourth, "well, no, there's no time to enjoy it." "time with loved ones, no time to enjoy it." isn't that an interesting conflict? and we wonder why we sabotage? why we start to move towards, and then all of a sudden think there's going to be pain here, and we sabotage ourselves.

here's another sampling. a person whose notes said that they associated money: freedom of movement, and security, and giving, and peace of mind, and hard work, and the burden of responsibility. few negatives there. and lifestyle. this person has: "money doesn't grow on trees." how's that for conditioning you for abundance? I'm not saying it does, but that's probably not the best frame to hold in your mind on an ongoing basis. secondly, "we can't afford it." interesting. and that sentence is still probably running through this person's brain. there's the next one: "it costs too much," or "it's too expensive." here's the next thing on this gentleman's list: "take care of pennies, and the dollars will take care of themselves." now, let me ask you a question. how do you feel about taking care of pennies? does that like, really create pleasure for you? you think your brain says, "oh man, I'm gonna take care of all these pennies so I get a few dollars." whoa. I highly doubt it.

here's my point. you want to know why people are sabotaging? check out the massive contradictions here. on the one hand, the person associates money primarily positive experiences. yet on the other, everything the person was taught growing up is it's going to be painful. think about that. that's why people experience approach-avoidance, where they go out and start to make some money, but only go so far before they limit themselves. like having a governor on your car. you put your foot on the accelerator, you start going a certain pace, but that's the highest you're gonna go. see, that governor is all the things you were taught in the past. those old beliefs.

now, how do we eradicate them? again, we associate enough pain to them. think about it. are you willing to pay the price, the price you wrote down to start with here, the things you're going to miss out on your life, in order to keep these measly ideas in your mind that somebody dumped in without realizing the impact, maybe years ago? I doubt it.

so in essence, what we can do right now, we've got a lot of choices. one way to change your beliefs is use what you already know. do a Dickens pattern on yourself. go back to the tape where we did that, and just guide yourself right through it. we've begun it already, haven't we? we've got you to begin to associate some major pain if you don't change. but I also need you to do is associate some pleasure to the change. and that part should be pretty easy. all you have to do now, and let's do it, is make a list of all the benefits you would have, all the things you would get in your life, all the ways your life would be absolutely totally enhanced if money was no longer a question in your life, if you had true financial freedom and financial abundance. I'm going to give you 120 seconds to write down as fast as you can how your life would be greater and better if money was no longer an issue in your life. in other words, what would be all the additional benefits? how would your life be greater? how would your life be better immediately if right now you handled the financial issue? you have 120 seconds. write it down now. do.

[Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] all right, time again. now take a good look at your list. this should be a whole list of things that, as you think about them, imagine if all of these things you wrote down were actually part of your regular daily reality. how would that make you feel? see, our whole goal is get ourselves now to link major pleasure to financial abundance, not financial sufficiency, but financial abundance. we want to link major pleasure to that, and pain to not having it.

so how did you do? did your list really produce the result? I figured as long as we're doing this, if I'd use the people here in the studio as an example, so let me show you what they've got. they've got, "gosh, if I had all this additional financial abundance, my credit cards paid off." that may make me feel great. "my car would be paid off." "I'd go to the theater more." "I'd go to movies." "I'd go to cultural events." as a result, I'd be informed. I'd feel relaxed. I'd feel cultured and increase my self-esteem. I'd feel more. I'd have more humor in my life. I'd feel more articulate, more balanced. I'd be able to make conversation more easily. there'd be less stress in my life. I'd be able to have more time with my son." another person's list says, "gosh, if I had financial abundance, not just financial sufficiency, I could finish my studio. I'd buy a new home. I'd have more travel time. I'd be able to get in the music business full-time and just enjoy what I love most. I could be more generous. I could give without any concern for the future. I'd have no daily pressures from financial obligations." think about how you'd feel if these things were really true.

so what is the main strategy for turning ourselves around financially? simple answer. you've heard it many times. again, repetition being the mother of skill. and you've heard that one a few times too, haven't you? but I want to remind you that our brain moves away from pain and towards pleasure. right now, if you don't have enough money, it's because your brain links pain to having it in a major abundance, at least not sufficiency, but a major abundance, and a certain amount of pleasure staying where you are. we want to reverse it. how are we reversing it? one, create massive pain and associate that pain to not having it. two, create tremendous pleasure to having it. get it clear in your mind that there's a carrot and a stick, and they're gonna drive you forward financially, and you'll see the financial self-sabotage disappear from your life.

now, we need to go step beyond. we've now got the beliefs that work, but that's not enough by itself. got to go beyond just eliminating the negative beliefs. and by the way, one way to get rid of some of these old beliefs that used to stop you as well is to ridicule them. see, if you take anything you've heard or said to yourself, and all you do is say it over and over again in a unique new way, you create a new anchor. in other words, that's what advertisers did, right? "Winston tastes good like a Winston tastes good like a Winston tastes good like a." "How do you spell relief?" "R-O-L-A-A-S." "R-O-L-A-I-D-S." and you heard over and over again, so that's what you linked. simple anchoring.

so what you could do is attach to those old phrases new beliefs. so that when your mind says, "money doesn't grow on trees," you say, "that's absolutely right. it grows out of the positive ideas that I follow through on every single day of my life." if you do that over and over again, pretty soon "money doesn't grow on trees" won't have the negative impact. does that make sense? I know that sounds so simple. I'm sorry to help you to be free in an easy way. I guess we could make it tougher, but that's all it really takes. all you've got to do is identify what used to stop you, destroy it, eliminate it, or get it to trigger something more positive. have you got one here that says something like, "money isn't everything"? say, "for people who don't know where to shop." you know, have some fun. get yourself to giggle or laugh. all you have to do is get these beliefs to have less heaviness to them, less control over you. ridicule them, play with them. and that's going to be one of your exercises. in fact, it may be useful for you to do that now, to go through right now and do things to these beliefs to either make them trigger a new empowering belief or to ridicule them to the point where they no longer affect you. to where you would think of them every time you thought of "money isn't everything," you begin to smile. think of that funny phrase. "well, you don't know where to shop." in other words, it's not true. what I'm saying is not true. all it is is taking away a limitation. does that make sense?

let's try it. let's stop. one last thing. you're giving me a lot of exercises today. that's true, but this is an issue. it's time to just get over it and move on so you can have the kind of abundance here that you also have and are continually developing in your relationships and in your business and your spirituality and your emotion and your energy and your life. go for it.

what I want you to do specifically is the following: take out your success journal. go through each of those limiting beliefs, any, any limiting beliefs. in other words, remember we said, write down anything you used to hear growing up about money. any of them that would be a limitation, and change the belief. another, attach a new belief to it. just the way we did here. "money doesn't grow on trees." "that's right, because it grows out of the ideas that I generate every day and follow through on that create good for myself and other people." and just say it over and over again, so pretty soon you begin to link it. or maybe something simpler than that complicated phrase I came up with. let's take another one as an example. let's say growing up, you continually heard, "it's too expensive." "it's too expensive." now, that's part of you. you say, "you're absolutely right. it used to be too expensive, but now it's an investment in my joy." you get the idea. now, you may say, "well, gosh, this is really hard." so is not having any money. you deserve financial abundance right now. get creative and go through each of the negative phrases or beliefs and find a way to either counteract them or attach something to them that will empower you. please take the time to do this one right now. let's just eradicate these beliefs. do it now.

[Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] okay, time is up. so let's continue here with the people in the studio and see how they've done this. this gentleman's list used to say, "money is the root of all evil." now it says, "in the wrong hands, money is the root of all evil, but I am a responsible and sensitive person." very nice. next one is, "money isn't everything," but "added to my other qualities, it'll do a lot of good for me and those I really care about." fabulous. here's another example. "money doesn't grow on trees," but "it grows out of my acting on my creative ideas." "I can't afford it." "we can't afford not to expand our financial resources and share them with others as well." "take care of the pennies, and the dollars will take care of themselves." "if I take care of the pennies, my focus is way too narrow. if I take care of the opportunities that exist around me right now and give great service, the dollars will multiply massively." "I have no time to enjoy money." "I have had no time to enjoy money in the past, but I'm now learning to delegate, and I'm working smarter every day." these are fabulous examples. that's what you need to do for yourself as well. free yourself from your old beliefs.

finally, on today's lesson, let's take a look at what are some of the specific empowering beliefs that you might want to add to your repertoire now, not just to get beyond financial self-sabotage, but to really ensure financial freedom. here are a few of the beliefs that I've modeled from people that are extremely successful financially, and some of my own that have really assisted me as well.

number one: money is nothing but a measure of the value that I create for other people. the more I give to others, the more money I receive on an ongoing and consistent basis.

number two: my belief is, in order to become wealthy, I need only two things: one, every single day, live in an attitude of gratitude. that is, feel incredibly grateful for the wealth that I already have in my life, and my friends, and my family, and the environment, and where I live, and my work, and everything around me. see a sense of possibility and feel the abundance that is my life. that will create more wealth without me doing anything else. like attracts like. water seeks its own level. you've heard these phrases, burnt out as they may be, over and over again, but they are true. in addition, if you truly want to be wealthy, learn to consistently focus on how to give much more to others than you expect back. and by the way, it's impossible. the more you give, the more you're going to receive.

now, you might say, "well, Tony, this doesn't work for me. I tried it. I tried it with John Smith. you know what I did? I gave, gave, gave, gave, gave me nothing." well, guess what? see, it doesn't always come back from the person you gave it to. sometimes they just take, take, take. you're right. I have no argument with that. but I'll tell you something. you got to open your eyes. you got to start paying attention because it's coming back to you from somebody else, somewhere. and if it hasn't already, it's on its way. you gotta trust. you gotta know that that's true. by living with those kinds of beliefs, you will attract the kind of wealth that you deserve.

how do you make certain that you develop in your life besides eliminating the sabotage? you do what we talked about on the seven wealth wounds. an abbreviated look at that might look something like this:

one: decide exactly what you want financially, in terms of abundance. remember, we talked about developing a number that was going to be a must for you, not financial sufficiency, but true financial abundance. more than enough. avalanches of abundance, that's what we're talking about. make a decision because you've got to remember, whatever you focus on consistently, you will get. so if you're always focusing on getting by or how to pay your bills, that's what you get. if you focus on massive abundance, that's what you'll have too. and as long as, in your mind, now, having massive abundance is something good. having massive abundance is not negative. it's not guilt. it's not problems. it's not pain. it is pleasure to be and do and create at the level that you are as a spiritual and successful human being.

two: daily condition your mind for wealth, so that your brain is looking for opportunities to succeed financially. remember the metaphor we talked about? we talked about setting goals where you buy a car, you buy a particular outfit. once you have it, all of a sudden, everywhere you start noticing everybody who has that car, noticing that outfit. well, there's a part of your brain called the reticular activating system. it's the part of your brain that determines what you pay attention to. you recall earlier we said human beings are deletion creatures, that we don't pay attention to most of what's going on around us. we only pay attention to a small band of our experience. our goals, our mental conditioning, tells the RAS, the reticular activating system, what to pay attention to. the RAS is like a policeman. it determines what's going to get through to your conscious awareness and what's going to be screened out. so when you daily decide what you want and condition yourself to look for opportunity, it's like all of a sudden you see that car everywhere. all of a sudden, you see those clothes everywhere. all of a sudden, you will see places that cash in financially when you've now made the decision to condition your mind to attract wealth.

how can you do it? well, for years, I started using affirmations for myself. now, you might say, "well, didn't you say affirmations aren't that great?" no, I said that you got to make sure that if you're going to use an affirmation, you do it with some real physiology, that you really change your state. and I basically, I read all kinds of books on attracting wealth, and I found this in one of those books, and I really liked it. and so I said it over and over again. but again, saying an affirmation means nothing unless you generate feeling. and before I give you this affirmation, I want you to know that it's not meant to be religious in any way. I do want you to know that I do believe in a creator. I call it God. you may call that something else, and that's fine. but I believe that you and I have this privilege called life because something or someone has given it to us, something greater than our conscious awareness. and when people tell me, "well, I don't believe in a God. I'm an atheist." my view to them is, I like to ask them a question. I said, "so you're trying to say to me that everything we see, the earth, the plants, our environment, the solar system, this universe, that all works with absolute precision, is all the result of things just falling together?" that's like saying Webster's dictionary is the result of an explosion in a print factory. come on. there's got to be something more.

but let me just tell you how I condition my mind for wealth. I believe that we can tap in. we can attract more in our lives when we connect ourselves mentally and condition ourselves for that abundance. so what I say to myself is this: "God's wealth is circulating in my life. His wealth flows to me in avalanches of abundance. All my needs, desires, and goals are met instantaneously, for I am one with God, and God is everything." and I would say this to myself over and over and over and over again. I would go run down the beach for a couple of miles saying this to myself with all the intensity of feeling I could generate. that's one of the major reasons I believe that in 12 months, I went from totally broke to a million-dollar net worth because I didn't just hope. I created a level of certainty in my body that total financial abundance was a part of every cell, every thought, every feeling, and things began to jump out at me, and I began to attract them. now, that may sound real metaphysical. it may sound weird to you. but anyone that I've met who has created great financial abundance has not only decided what they want, but they've begun to condition themselves daily to have that level of abundance where it felt right for them. and that's what I did with myself. I offer you the opportunity if it's worthwhile for you, or you can correct it, change the language so it works for you. but please, condition yourself for the abundance you deserve.

step three: get some role models. find out what to do and get yourself a great vehicle. one way to get a vehicle: sit down and write down what is it you love to do most in the world? see, I think financial abundance comes from doing what you love most, doing it massively, and making sure that in your doing it, it creates tremendous value for other people. if you do those things effectively, you're going to have financial abundance. so if you're looking for a vehicle, what do you love to do most? number one. number two, how could you do it in a way where other people would benefit and be willing to make an investment to take part in something that you love? I mean, that's what I've had the good fortune of doing by asking that question. question three: how could you do it massively so you could reach tons of people and make a major difference, and hopefully get paid well in the process? and then fourthly, how could you do it intelligently so that once you've done all this stuff and you've worked so hard and you've helped those people, there's something called profit when you're done? there are lots of possibilities for vehicles, and there are lots of models. if you already want to stay right where you are and do very well financially, again, call or write us. we'll teach you some models. come to our seminars, or find somebody who you respect locally and model them, or go to somebody else's program, whatever it takes. please get yourself a model. that's how you'll know what to do.

four: make sure that on an ongoing basis, you experience yourself as a giver. and I save this for last because I want you to remember this. I believe that the bottom line of financial success comes from your believing in your gut that you deserve everything that you've got in your life. now, that may sound egotistical, but the reality is, you got to feel like you deserve it, or it won't stay. you won't attract it. my way of generating that I deserved it came in many ways. number one, I deserve it because I'm alive. just as much as I deserve to grow mentally, emotionally, in my relationships, and my intellect, all those things, I think I deserve to grow. so why would finances be any different? in addition, I deserve it because I'm a giver. because I always strive to give much more than I would expect back. these tapes are an example. I hope you can feel I'm trying to give you ten thousand percent of myself at each and every time here. I'm committed to having you get much, much more, a hundred times more, a minimum of ten times more than you've invested in this program. and I know for a fact, if you really been listening, you agree with me. the bottom line is, by knowing you're always trying to give much more, you feel like whatever comes back, "yeah, hey, I've earned it. I deserve it, and it's great." now, some people might say, "well, you shouldn't have to earn it. you should just..."

Accept it. Well, that's a great strategy too. If that works for you, do whatever works. But make sure that you give. See, you've got to take at least 10 percent of what you earn and give it away, minimum.

Now, some people say, "Well, Tony, when I make more money, then I'll give 10 percent." Who are you kidding? What do you think is harder to give, a dime out of a dollar or a hundred thousand out of a million? Trust me, the hundred thousand will feel quite a bit different than the dime out of the dollar. If you don't develop the habits now, you certainly won't do it when the numbers get bigger.

Listen, go get yourself a book. Simple book. It's called "The Richest Man in Babylon." It's by George Clayson. It's a very old classic, very small, you can read it in a short time. It's like a series of short stories that'll teach you how to use money through allegory. It'll teach you three basic principles.

One, it'll teach you, no matter how much money you make or don't make, take 10 percent of it and give it away immediately. Why? It doesn't say this, but this is what I believe: When you give away a percentage of what you have, it teaches your subconscious mind that there's more than enough. Boy, that's a great belief to install, because once it believes that, your subconscious mind will create that reality in your life. It makes you feel like a giver, and we all deserve to have that feeling of pleasure of being a giver and not a taker.

Two, it'll tell you to take 10 percent of what you earn and use it to reduce your debts. Pay off MasterCharge, Visa, Arnold's, Linoleum, whatever it takes.

And three, take 10 percent and save it up to invest. No matter how small it is, you can't believe what some of the investments are that are available out there. There are things that take almost no money you could get started with and begin to build your wealth.

But make sure you give. And here's the fifth step that I want you to take to really condition yourself for wealth and move to the next level, and that is: Create experiences with money that create tremendous pleasure and joy for yourself and the people around you. Give to yourself. Be willing to really do that, and watch your financial picture change.

In other words, you can't expect to work that hard, make a lot of money, and then never get any pleasure out of it. Just put it in CDs, or just invest it, or just give it away and never feel that direct connection of pleasure. Your brain won't do it forever. So you might take a certain amount of your money, and it's just mad money. You're just going to go out and do stupid fun things that maybe in the past used to make yourself wrong for. You're going to go play. That's play money. And if you do that, you can't believe it will happen. You're going to go, "Yeah, let's make some more money. We can have some more play, more pleasure." And it'll enhance your life in virtually every way.

Remember, if you have financial abundance, it's because you deserve it. If you've lived by your values, and you've truly given yourself each day to try to add major value to other people's lives, and you've had a decent vehicle, you will develop financial abundance. You'll have financial excess.

Now, the challenge with that is that people think when they hear "excess" is "too much." But in this case, you've got to realize that your excess is the result of you giving much more than what's even shown up. It's a great scorecard for the value you've added in other people's lives, and as a result, you have even more on your own as well. There is no need to create limits on yourself. Let yourself grow well beyond your past limits and create the abundance you deserve.

Here's your assignment for today. You go, "I got another assignment?" Why not? We're on a roll. The last assignment is this: As you turn the tape off, let me give you a 10-day challenge. I know I've given you some daily challenges like your morning questions, but just for 10 days, and start it today, would you be willing to take a minute or two and begin to condition your mind for financial possibility by doing the following: Writing down simply three ideas on how to make money. Three new ideas. Either something that already exists that you haven't been paying attention to before, or a brand new idea, a concept for a service, or a business, or an investment, or a possibility, or an invention, anything at all.

And let me give you one caveat: Maybe a bunch of your ideas won't be worthwhile. Who cares? How many ideas do you need to be able to create financial abundance? One or two good ones. That's it. And that's all you need is one. So if you did this for 10 days, you'll have 30 ideas at the end of 10 days. Plus, you'll have done something else. You'll have established a conditioned mental pattern or habit of looking for financial opportunity. And you certainly deserve that.

If you keep looking, you're liable to find something. And if you find something, you're liable to follow through. And if you follow through, you're liable to make some major money. And then you'll want to focus on money. You'll be able to just have that abundance and be able to focus on whatever you hold is most important now. So go for it. Try the 10-day financial challenge. Three ideas a day. It'll be a lot of fun, plus it'll stimulate and stretch your imagination.

When you come back tomorrow, we're going to talk about how to eliminate the fears of failure, success, and rejection. So go for it right now. Come up with your ideas and look forward to being with you tomorrow. Until then, live with passion.

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