| The Bruce Lee Approach to Valuing Money Posted: 06 Apr 2011 10:12 PM PDT  Bruce Lee lived his life through action; he was a man who lived what he taught. Many people don't know that he wasn't just a great martial artist but he studied, amongst other things, philosophy at the University of Washington. He was deeply interested in life and and all that encompasses, including money. From the book, ' Striking Thoughts ' Bruce Lee talks about money as a useful tool, nothing more. Here are some of the lessons:
- The Nature Of Money
"Money of itself has no explicit nature. Money is what one makes of it"
Many of us believe that money holds a certain power. This is wrong. Money itself does not hold the power, rather it's our perception of money that has the power. If we change our perception about money, and understand that it is a tool used to acquire necessities, it no longer has the same power. In fact, I'd contend that we can start living life with a more balanced view once we understand what money really is.
This lesson is not usually gained until we are older and unfortunately, in youth, we have a very different view of material items and do whatever we can to accumulate items for the wrong reasons.
- Money Is A Means To An End
"A Child must be taught early that money is only a means, a type of usefulness, an implement. Like all instruments, it has certain purposes, but it will not do everything. One must learn how to use it, what it will do, but above all what it will not do."
We've all heard the saying money can't buy you love. In fact, it can't buy you a lot of things in life. While the commercialization of the planet advertises that new cars, purses, and homes can create happiness, I think most of us know better.
Once you understand that money cannot purchase the emotions, relationships, or feelings that truly lead to happiness, money (and material possessions) will become much less important to you.
- Money Is An Indirect Matter
"My policy is that money is an indirect matter. The direct matter is your ability or what you are going to do that counts. If that comes, the indirect things will follow."
If you do something just for the money, the love of it will soon die. If you do something you love, then the money is secondary but it will come a lot easier and it will last longer. This is something I have learned in business: when I chase the money it runs faster than me, when I let the money chase me by doing something I love, like writing, the race is a foregone conclusion.
- A Fair Share Of The Profit
"Many film producers think I am only interested in money. That's why they all try to lure me on their set by promising me huge sums and nothing else. But, at heart, I only want a fair share of the profit."
This is a great lesson by Lee. By looking at what is fair for all parties involved you will be known as a fair and trustworthy person. If you take bigger slices of the profit, the profits will soon dry up. Think of it like this: If you are asking for a ton, those that you are working with may feel unmotivated and ultimately the success of the project suffers. If you are fair, and everyone is fair, the group works as one and accomplishes great things.
- The Good Times Will Not Always Last
"I profited from my father's philosophy about money. He used to tell me, "If you make 10 dollars this year, always think to yourself that next year you may only make five dollars - so be prepared."
We all know this at heart and yet so many of us fail to practice saving for harder times. Many economic gurus these days like telling us to save more. Great, but if the mortgage can't be paid, how am I able to save? The key is to do something and set something aside - albeit only a few bucks.
- Keep Money In Perspective
"Sure money is important in providing for my family and giving us what want. But it isn't everything."
Money is important, there is no questioning that, but answer this question:
"Would you swap your family for 1 million dollars?"
Ok, I know how most of you answered. The important test here is that you should always weigh the important of money against your actions, decisions, and behaviors. What are you willing to give up during your quest for cash? Your integrity, your family (by never being around)? Give it some thought.
- Enjoying Your Work Is The Important Thing
"At [one] time I wanted all the indirect things - money, fame, the big opening nights. Now I have it, or am beginning to get it, the whole thing doesn't seem important anymore. I have found that doing a thing is more important. I am having fun doing it. Money comes second."
This is one of the most important lessons about money that I think Lee spoke about, and it's certainly true in my life. I have discovered over the years that the prize at the end of the rainbow is not really the prize, the prize was the Journey to the end of the rainbow.
 | Written by Steven Aitchison. Steven is the Author of Change Your Thoughts and works as an alcohol and drugs counselor. He has a BSc in Psychology and has a passion for studying belief formation, thought processes and values and principles.
| Photo Credit: juanma |
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| You Know, You Can Change Who You Are Posted: 06 Apr 2011 08:13 AM PDT  Have you ever been labeled? Maybe your parents always said you were the "naughty one" or the "quiet one" or the "clever one". Maybe your classmates called you a "geek". Maybe your friends expected you to live up to a particular reputation (even when you thought you'd outgrown it). You almost certainly have labels that you give yourself – whether you realize it or not. Perhaps you think you're "lazy" or "bad with money". Or you resist other descriptions – you think you could never be "musical" or "artistic" or "creative". The truth is, we can all change. In fact you have changed, gradually, throughout your life. You've probably been through times when you realized that you were capable of much more than you gave yourself credit for.
Plenty of qualities – like your creativity, intelligence, physical strength, and more – aren't fixed. You can actively improve them, through practice, and sometimes just by changing the way you think about yourself.
Three Stories About Change
When I was in college, I got a lot of vacation time – and I wasted plenty of it playing computer games. On a good day, I managed to write a thousand words or so.
Now, I work for myself, and while I could play games all day, I never do. I often write three or four thousand words, and I'm much more focused and self-disciplined than I used to be.
This didn't happen overnight. I gradually built up the habit of writing (and worked to break bad habits – like thinking that I needed to idly surf the net while I "woke up properly" every morning).
My change hasn't been dramatic or overnight, just a gradual process of trying to become more and more the person who I want to be. I'm not there yet (I'm not sure anyone ever reaches that goal!) but I'm definitely moving in the right direction.
Sometimes, people change in more dramatic ways – life-changing, even life-saving, ways. I want to very briefly share a couple of inspiring stories from two bloggers who I've admired for a long time.
Shauna Reid, aka Dietgirl, lost half her body-weight and wrote all about it on her blog. She had a book published about her dieting journey. (Along the way, she moved from Australia to Scotland, and got married.) She's a fantastic writer, and her story shows that you really can change your life.
Trent Hamm, who writes The Simple Dollar, was mired deep in financial problems when his first son was born. In 2006, he began a financial turnaround which led to a very successful blog, two book deals, and a much more stable life. I've been particularly struck when he writes about his previous attitudes to money (or other aspects of life, like leisure time) compared with his current ones: proof that you can change, radically, at a really fundamental level.
How You Can Change Too
The first step to changing who you are is to recognize that it's in your power to change. Sure, most of us don't change overnight – though health and financial wake-up calls can prompt sudden focused action. But we can all take steps, slowly and gradually, to change ourselves into the people who we want to be.
You might want to think about:
- Habits that are holding you back. Perhaps you keep procrastinating, or you constantly overspend.
- Lack of confidence or other psychological issues.
- Health issues – like being overweight, struggling to manage a health condition, or being chronically unfit.
- Your skills and abilities – is there something you'd love to do or learn, but which you keep telling yourself you're not capable of?
I wouldn't recommend trying to change everything at once. Instead, pick one area and focus wholeheartedly on improving at that particular thing. You might like to check out some recent posts on Dumb Little Man for inspiration:
Whatever you choose to change, good luck! You really can do it. Give yourself plenty of time, and work in small steps: this time next year, your life could look radically different.
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