It’s no secret that success in business is strongly dependent on your relationships, including with partners, vendors, industry contacts, employees, and customers. But the relationship most entrepreneurs overlook is the one that’s most likely to hold you back from financial success: your relationship with money.

Money is simply a currency that customers exchange for your product or service. However, money is also a mindset—the most important entrepreneur mindset. And the truth is that most people have a terrible money mindset and a poor relationship with money.

Do you ever feel guilty spending money?

Do you ever feel threatened by competition or fear you’ll never have enough?

Do you ever feel awkward having more money than others or judge wealthy people?

You’ve got to change your relationship to money so that money can have a better relationship with you.

Most people negatively associate with money, but they don’t even realize it because it’s so “normal” in our society. We’re bombarded by messaging that makes us feel threatened by competition, ashamed about money, resentful of wealthy people, and that “money is the root of all evil.” 

We say, “Money is the root of all awesomeness!”

There are three common “Money Blocks” that lead to an unhealthy relationship with money. By reflecting on where these limiting beliefs show up in your life, you take back power from your unconscious beliefs and patterns and practice a new, empowered money mindset. 

MONEY BLOCK #1: Poverty Consciousness (believing there is “not enough”)

It’s hard to focus on growing your business when thinking about your “competition” brings up feelings of fear, panic, and uneasiness. This feeling is due to the belief that there is not enough money to go around and that you must fight ravenously for what is yours. 

Often feelings like this stem from childhood experiences where either you experienced a true lack of necessities or were in an environment with adults who felt the lack and were stressed about money. When we hear “money doesn’t grow on trees”, it may inspire us to become smart with our spending, but usually, it just makes us feel a sense of lack. These emotions related to money make a powerful imprint on us that will continue to be our money blueprint at an unconscious level throughout our lives unless we do the work to change it. 

So, how do you change a poverty consciousness belief? Evidence. Beliefs are passed down or “seeded” by the beliefs of others. Then, through living life, we experience “evidence” that reinforces the belief. Find evidence to the contrary, and you can change those beliefs.

Here are a few questions to get you started.

1. Reflect on the fact that you do have money in comparison to others who have less.
2. Remember times in your life where money just appeared out of nowhere when you needed it.
3. Expose yourself to people with a great entrepreneur mindset whose stories demonstrate that money is easy to get.
4. Consider how much better the poorest people in the world live today than the wealthy did centuries ago.
5. Look for evidence that there is, in fact, no competition because each person’s “right clients or customers” will find them.

MONEY BLOCK #2: Money Guilt (feeling unworthy or undeserving of receiving money)

Money guilt is a feeling passed between humans, often adult to child. Phrases like “eat everything on your plate because there are starving children in the world” are a good example of how this mind virus is transferred. How do you feel when you grow up knowing you have while others don’t? Guilty. And so what does this cause? Guilt over having money. And how are you supposed to create money if it makes you feel guilty? You won’t; you’ll block yourself.

To overcome money guilt, you’ll need to reprogram your association with money to a feeling of worthiness. It is about recognizing that every person is deserving of a joyous life and that you are no exception. But, to get your unconscious mind (where those nasty viruses hideout) to agree with you, you’ll have to prove it to yourself. How? By proving to yourself that you have a worthy reason for wanting the money.

• In what way does what you sell positively impact your customers/clients?
• What good things would you do for the world if you had an overflowing abundance of money?

MONEY BLOCK #3: Fear of Money (believing bad things happen when you get more money)

If you are one of those people who find they have negative feelings about wealthy people—they are selfish, crooks, evil, or lucky—then you have a fear of money. Why? Because you fear that if you get too much money, it will turn you bad, like them. 

Money changes you, after all. Right? But if you kept growing your business and suddenly had 10 million dollars, you would probably help many people with it. Money doesn’t change people; it just magnifies who they are.

The best way to face this fear is to look at it. Ask yourself, what makes wealthy people bad? Why does money turn people bad? Be honest with your answers. Just observe them. Then ask if you have any actual evidence for them. You don’t. And so, you can let them go.

Then, reflect on what you would do with that 10 million dollars. Who would you be? What would you do? 

There is one more reason you may fear having money. You fear it will change your relationships with people you love and value. 

If you suddenly became wealthy, what would you talk about if you can’t complain about money problems? Who will no longer feel they can relate to you? Who would judge you? 

Now that you are aware of your relationship with lack, guilt, and fear, you can release them and practice the belief that: There’s more than enough, you’re worthy, and there’s nothing to fear.

About the Author: Natalie Rivera.  Joel & Natalie are co-founders of Transformation Academy, where they train leading-edge entrepreneurs, leaders, and life coaches how to master their mindset and create a purpose-driven business so they can monetize their passion and live life on their terms.