It’s nice to dream about a treasure or an unexpected inheritance. Can our own resources become such a treasure? We talk with a coach about the new currency — energy and why the rich and successful often do not experience joy.
Is there a magic key to wealth and how to apply it?
Leonid Krol: There are several keys. Just like the question «How to get rich?» many answers, all of them are individual and depend on the character, life stories, declarations. Imagine: each of us has a set of keys on our belt. Which one to choose and which door to open?
Everyone has their own doors. For one, the task is to live with dignity. And for another, getting rich means making big investments and insuring yourself against possible troubles.
And here it is important to understand: why do you need money?
For example, if you have a high level of anxiety and want to build a fence, have a separate house and guards, this is an internal incentive. You need money to keep yourself safe. This is not abstract money, but a tool for solving a specific problem.
When we know and feel better why we need money, we get closer to the result. Try to find an internal stimulus. I note that if you try to open all the doors with one key, you are unlikely to succeed.
Do the rich think differently than the poor?
Many people have general, glossy images, we look at wealth as a set of bright advertising pictures — a beautiful house, a brand new car, travel and so on. And those who really change their financial ranges, basically, do not think about money: not about the result, but about the process.
Earning, they always receive positive reinforcement: success, pleasure. And the profit comes by itself. In the memoirs of famous entrepreneurs, we find a lot of evidence in this regard.
Think — what is your attitude to money?
Do you treat them like an investment or like a treasure: keep them safe and never touch them? Play with money. Let some of them serve for necessary expenses, and some for joy, for pleasures. The second part of the money can simply be taken and spent.
By the way, it’s not always easy. I worked with a wealthy person who was on the Forbes list and was painfully unable to give a waiter more than a 10% tip.
How to treat money to get rich?
If we want to get rich and start thinking about money as an investment, as a tool, this is much closer to the result. And this is much more effective than when we think about what we will spend on if we earn. And everyone has their own strategy.
For example, Yuri, the director of an enterprise, approached me with a question about how to scale the business. He spoke rather tensely and hastily. And I got the feeling that he was running all the time to catch up with the tram. We began to analyze this metaphor, and he said: “I even have such an image: no matter how many people there are in a tram, two students can always squeeze in.”
Yuriy chooses those types of business where there are already many competitors, and «pushing» with them. For him, the road to increasing income is to be less stressed, to pause. Because the best ideas come to him during pauses. In this example, we see: in order to be not in the routine, but in the strategy, you need to pause. For Yuri, the strategy is as follows: an hour to work and half an hour to rest, to walk quickly to recover.
What hinders our well-being?
Everyone has their own demons. They dictate formulas of behavior that influence our actions. These patterns are part of character, habits. They may be related to family traditions. For example, if in childhood we were told: “keep a low profile”, “the rich are dishonest”, “neighbors should respect you”, then these formulas can implicitly and very significantly influence how we behave.
I recently had a client, Vlad, who grew up in a small town where everyone knew each other. And in early childhood, he lived with his parents in a barracks. They were quite successful, but at that time it was not customary to assert themselves. Everyone was equal.
Since then, he has internal controllers
They tell him, like pensioners sitting on a bench, «This is an honest man, and this is a dishonest man.» Vlad compares his possible successes with the «controllers» and … earns less than he wants.
What can be done in such a situation? At the session, we agreed that Vlad can buy good, expensive shirts for himself or change the chair in which he has been sitting for many years.
Talking to your demons is a matter of internal dialogue, not external signs. Ask yourself: what can I afford? You can agree with yourself and switch to another type of reference. Do not think anymore about children’s memes «what will people say» and «so as not to be beaten.»
It must be hard to let go of demons…
…But you need to find your way to money. Look at the generation of zoomers, they make easy money. They have not even heard about the shame of being rich or «keep your head down, be like everyone else.» They have a great future. Any success contributes to further success in life.
Energy helps to earn?
Today, energy has become the new currency. Knowing our energy characteristics, we can adjust ourselves, our own working rhythm, taking them into account. For example, many people have a certain phase: in a state of activity we energize, it seems that everything is achievable, that we can always work in this rhythm.
But the recession sets in, and we still demand from ourselves to work with the same intensity, to energize ourselves and others. As a result, we get tired, we begin to borrow energy from the future.
Knowing this feature, you can tune in to your rhythms in advance and do 30% more in one period, and devote less hours to work, relax more, and contemplate in another. This will help make it easier to earn and stay in the resource.
Are Energizers the New Rich?
Energizers can be called those who are very good at using periods when their energy is at a high level. They know their energy characteristics, they are more charismatic than others. They turn energy into their main product, and indeed often this leads to success.
During a crisis, you can lose your job and feel trapped. How to deal with it?
You don’t have to lose your job to do this. Let’s look at the crisis from a biological point of view: at this time, part of the butterflies or frogs inevitably begin to eat worse, because of this they multiply less, and some individuals die. But we have much more room for transformation. For example, time to move somewhere, do something else. It is most difficult for those who have a high degree of inertia or conformism.
For example, I had a session with Julia, she works as a laboratory assistant at a chemical plant and receives a small salary. She has a higher education, which her mother forced her to receive. And she really doesn’t like it. I want to be successful and make more money.
Her mother is a strong person, and she explained to her daughter a hundred times that a tit in the hand is better than anything else.
Julia, in her almost thirty years, does not dare to leave for a big city, but does not want to stay either. She feels trapped in self-adhesive tape. When she leaves her mother, her anxiety rises, when she returns, irritation arises. So he lives between irritation and anxiety, and this is a typical case.
How to get out of such a situation? It is useful to recall the story where one frog got into sour cream, jerked, whipped butter and got out, and the other drowned. Change during a crisis can be a source of stress. And at the same time, it is useful to look around, maybe take a vacation, and then start acting. The faster you manage to cope with anxiety and find a job within your power, the higher the chances of change.
Can a lack of money cause stress?
Maybe, of course, but not for everyone. Akaky Akakievich’s overcoat was stolen, for him it was a great stress. But if he found the loss or returned it, then it would be no less an experience. It depends on the type of personality: some of us belong to the type for which any event is a lot of stress, while others, even if it fails, will laugh and be glad that there is a reason to move and shake things up.
Will we be happier when we are rich?
Happiness and success are two different things. Among us there are achievers who earn a lot, cannot stop, do not pause. And as soon as they achieve something, they immediately put a tick and move on. They rely on external achievements and simply do not know how to enjoy the process. Being successful and often richer, they lose in joy.
And there are those who enjoy the process. For them, the result is less important, they know how to relax, relax, try new things. They are joyful even with less money. So everyone has their own path.