Leaving a Legacy

Written by Barbara Huson

Have you thought about the legacy you want to leave? Not just the business you want to build or the career you want to pursue. But how you want to be remembered after you’re gone?

Every one of us leaves a legacy—be it Greatness or Mediocrity. But surprisingly few reflect on what they want theirs to be. Yet it is an important point for us all to ponder.

Your legacy need not light up the sky. It need leave only the slightest footprint in the sand.

Whether you engage in small acts of kindness or a groundbreaking global initiative, the scope is irrelevant. All that matters is that you’ve touched another’s life.

Not clear about your legacy? Try this exercise. Close your eyes, take several deep breaths, and relax. Imagine that you are on your deathbed, at the end of a long and wonderful life.

As you lie there, ask yourself this question: What gives me the most satisfaction knowing this is what I’ll be remembered for?

Then ask yourself: What can I begin doing right now that will contribute to this legacy?

I’d love to hear the legacy you wish to leave and what you’re are doing about it. Leave a comment below.

Would you like to try out coaching with me? Join The Wealth Connection for six-months—Only $297 and get a 30- minute private coaching session with me! (The coaching alone is a $300 value.) JOIN TODAY!

Where Are You Out of Integrity?

Written by Barbara Huson

Whenever life gets hard, doors won’t open, nothing goes right—I know I need to ask myself a question. Where am I out of integrity?

The word integrity comes from a Latin root, meaning wholeness or entirety.

Whenever you’re not asking for what you want, spending money you don’t have, or your behavior is out of synch with your most cherished values and highest aspirations, you’re giving away your power, sabotaging your success.

Conversely, you take your power back by identifying, verbalizing and living your truth, moment by moment by moment.

Or, as A Course in Miracles puts it: “there is nothing you say that contradicts what you think or do.”

Believe me, it’s as easy to slip out of integrity as it is for a dieter to slip in extra calories, never realizing that’s what you’re doing.

But life will show you. It always does.

And when it does, try asking yourself: Where am I out of integrity? Where am I living a lie? As soon as you find the answer and course correct, I guarantee, the situation miraculously shifts.

Where are you not living your truth? Share in the comments below.

Do you know what you cherish most in life? Use this Values Clarification Exercise to find out. Values Clarification

Lifting the Veils of Confusion

Written by Barbara Huson

The class was titled “Women, Money and Power” and I took it over 30 years ago.

I had attended countless financial classes, read countless money books but this one class changed forever my relationship with money–and, much later, my approach to teaching it.

On the first day, I remember sitting in a circle, in the middle of which was a clump of white netting, like a bridal veil, flung carelessly on the floor.

The instructor walked over to the netting, scooped it up, and announced: “This is what we’re going to do in this class. We are going to lift the veils that cloud our understanding of money.”

Underneath the netting was the Wall Street Journal, which (ironically) I’d recently subscribed to. I couldn’t understand a word of it and I was about to find out why.

“To lift the veils,’ the instructor continued, “We have to get in touch with the decisions we’ve made about money, most of which were made early in life and are now unconscious. These decisions are like veils that get in the way of our financial understanding.”

She patted her head. “The more we can see in here, the more we can see out there.” She pointed to the newspaper.

The instructor was speaking from experience. Although she was the director of the University’s MBA program, had a degree in economics, and an extensive background in financial services, she had a long history of financial neglect in managing her own money.

“I had all the technical information to act in a responsible way, but I wasn’t doing it,” she told us. “I realized that I may have some deeper issues and I better start working on them.”

Reflecting back, I asked myself: Why does the mainstream, male dominated financial industry still takes a strictly intellectual, left brain approach?

Why don’t they get that, regardless of IQ, education or experience, many continue to behave in disturbingly irresponsible ways with money?

The industry focuses solely on changing behaviors. Yet our behaviors are not the problem. They are symptoms of something deeper. And we aren’t likely to find the solution “out there’, in a conventional finance class or book.

If you see yourself exhibiting self-sabotaging behavior, keep this in mind. While you’re learning the facts you also need to examine your blocks. While you’re exploring the difference between a stock and a bond, you also need to delve into your attitudes, beliefs and early messages about money.

Unless you do the inner work, shifting your behavior will be a constant struggle.

Have you done The Inner Work of Wealth? What early beliefs about money did you uncover? Leave me a comment below.

Get the support you need to create the Wealth you desire in my virtual community of women supporting women, The Wealth Connection. Join the conversation today!

How Does One Become Wealthy? Part 3

Written by Barbara Huson

According to success guru, Jack Canfield, “Everything you want also wants you. But you have to take action to get it.”

I thought of that quote when a woman, in one of my groups, recently posted: “Even though I say I want to create wealth, I keep signing up for more courses that kept putting me deeper in debt.”

I hear this all the time. Taking endless classes feels like you’re taking action, but it’s actually an act of self-deception. So I responded with a question: why don’t you want wealth?

When an unconscious desire—say, to conform to family patterns—is stronger than your spoken intention—to be wealthy—you’ll stop yourself at every turn.

You’ll water down your efforts, make misguided choices, and justify your actions with a variety of excuses. You may say, and believe, you want to be wealthy, but that’s not the message that’s reaching your brain.

There’s a story about two caterpillars that spy a butterfly high overhead. One turns to the other and says, ‘You’ll never get me up in one of those things!’

In many ways we’re like that caterpillar. We get a glimpse of what’s possible and immediately get cold feet. We may say we want something, but deep down, a muted voice is convincingly arguing, ‘No you don’t.’

I’d love to know if you’ve struggled with an internal conflict: part of you wants something, part of you doesn’t. Leave me a comment below.

Get the support you need to create the Wealth you desire in my virtual community of women supporting women, The Wealth Connection. Join the conversation today!

How Does One Become Wealthy? Part 2

Written by Barbara Huson

Here’s the good news about creating wealth. Believing that you can do it, or not, is inconsequential. You just have to decide that’s what you want and be willing to do whatever comes next.

Powerful intentions produce sheer miracles. There’s a sort of magic inherent in a strong intention that will carry you through the toughest and scariest of times.

Here’s a 2-part exercise for creating a powerful intention.

1st Fill in the blank:

My intention is_________________.

You may have more than one, but for now, limit it to one. Be very specific. You can always add, change or modify later.

2nd Ask yourself this question:

Why do I want to create wealth? Why is it important to me? What will wealth allow me to do?

This is the Higher Work of Wealth. When you can tie creating wealth to your deepest desires, you’ll be far more likely to stay the course despite the obstacles. And there are always obstacles.

But if your desire is greater than your fear, success is inevitable.

Can you identify your deepest desires when it comes to creating wealth? Leave me a comment below.

Get the support you need to create the Wealth you desire in my virtual community of women supporting women, The Wealth Connection. Join the conversation today!

How Does One Become Wealthy? Part 1

Written by Barbara Huson

I’m often asked this question: I want to become wealthy, but how do I do it?

I am tempted to respond with a line from Hope for the Flowers by Trina Paulus:

“How does one become a butterfly?” she asked pensively.

“You must want to fly so much that you are willing to give up being a caterpillar.”

In other words, you must want to soar so much, that you’re willing to give up playing small and staying safe.

Because creating wealth is about far more than amassing riches. It’s about becoming the powerful woman you were born to be, soaring higher that you believed possible.

But you must want…really want…to soar. You may say “Oh Yes, I truly do,” but face it. Soaring is scary. If your fear is stronger than your longing, you won’t let yourself do it.

But if you’re willing to go for it, I go back to Hope for the Flowers.

“Yellow decided to risk for a butterfly.

For courage she hung right beside the other cocoons and began to spin her own.

‘Imagine, I didn’t even know I could do this. That’s some encouragement that I’m on the right track. If I have the stuff inside me to make a cocoon—maybe the stuff of butterflies is there too.”

Let me assure you, you have the power inside you to live an incredibly prosperous life. A good place to start is by finding others on the same path, learning from their examples, avoiding their mistakes. Before you know it, you’ll indeed realize that the stuff of wealth building is inside you too.

I’d love to invite you to join my online community, The Wealth Connection, where you can metaphorically, hang out with other “cocoons” as we transform into butterflies.

Do you really want to soar? What’s holding you back? Leave me a comment below.

Would you like to try out coaching with me? For a limited time join The Wealth Connection for six-months—Only $297 and get a 30- minute private coaching session with me! (The coaching alone is a $300 value.) JOIN TODAY!

A Woman’s Financial Paradise

Written by Barbara Huson

If you haven’t heard of HERMONEY.com, I can’t wait to introduce you. It’s a kick ass website, which co-founder, Jean Chatsky, dubs a “judgement free place to talk about all things money.”

On the site, you’ll find a vast reservoir of rich content and fascinating podcasts. And, best of all, HERMONEY is jargon free.

Jean has a talent for making a complicated subject entertaining and clear without dumbing it down. Personally, I consider HERMONEY a woman’s financial paradise!

Jean has spent over two decades reporting on personal finance for magazines like Forbes and Smart Money, serving as the Today Show’s financial editor and writing 11 books, including her latest—Women with Money–which I love.

Last week, I had a wonderful chat with Jean about her own struggles with money, her excellent advice for taking financial control, and why she founded HERMONEY.com.

“I needed to educate myself,” she said of her career choice. “I was an English major who racked up credit card debt, pulled money out of my 401(k) after my first job, and ceded too much financial control to my first husband.”

As she learned about money on the job, she told me, “I was inspired to take control.”

“What did you do to take control?” I inquired.

“When I got divorced, 15 years ago, I automated everything I could,” she said. “I automated college for kids, retirement, savings accounts. Once a month I’d look at all those accounts.”

Then she laughed. “Saving money is no fun. But seeing how much it grows—that’s fun!”

Finally, I asked Jean what inspired her to start HERMONEY.

“I wanted to grow something bigger than me,” she said. “I wanted to build a platform where all woman could see themselves.”

Check out www.hermoney.com and let me know what you think!!!

Want to take charge of your money & your life? Join me in my virtual community, The Wealth Connection. Special limited time pricing—only $47/month. Join Now!

What REALLY $cares Us About $uccess!

Written by Barbara Huson

What scares us most about financial success is not that we may fall short, but that we may actually take flight and discover that we are, indeed, “powerful beyond measure.” For many of us, that’s the very thing we’re trying to avoid.

When we claim our power, we raise the stakes. Power insists that we become responsible adults—the primary authority in our life— autonomous and accountable, too big to ignore. That’s precisely what’s so scary!

A woman afraid of her power is like an eagle afraid of its wings. We were born with power. It’s who we are, why we’re here, how we create our lives.

I am reminded of a story of a Zen monk who, when asked the secret of Buddha’s smile, replied, “It can only be that he smiles at himself for searching all those years for what he already possesses.”

We, too, may smile at ourselves when we finally figure it out. Financial success is really about reclaiming our power—power that lies dormant within—by realizing our potential, expressing our passion, owning our value, and being well compensated.

Have you conquered your fear of being a powerful woman? Share your story in the comments.

Looking for a supportive, active community where you can learn to take charge of your finances (and your life)? Check out my virtual community, The Wealth Connection. **Special Pricing Now Available—Only $47/month.** Learn More!

The 3 Questions. (Everything You Need to Know About Creating Wealth)

Written by Barbara Huson

I’ve recently had a number of conversations that centered on 3 questions.

What is Wealth?
How do you create Wealth (without becoming a workaholic?)
Why is creating Wealth so scary?

Today, I’d love to share my responses. Let’s begin with the first. Simply put, Wealth is having more than you need…so money ceases to be a source of stress and becomes a tool for living life fully.

But like any tool, you must understand how to use it skillfully and wisely to get maximum benefit with minimum risk. Which brings us to the 2nd question.

Creating Wealth is actually quite simple. Just follow these four rules: 1) Spend less; 2) Save more; 3) Invest wisely; 4) Give generously. In that order!!! The first 3 are the How’s. The 4th is the Why.

If it’s that simple, why is it so scary?Because the 3rd rule feels r-r-r-risky. But as Warren Buffet once said: “Risk comes from not knowing what you are doing.”

In other words: The biggest risk you take, in investing as in life, is making decisions based on fear, ignorance or habit…rather than knowledge (knowledge about investing AND yourself).

The more you understand the way investing works AND what makes you tick, the easier it is to separate from the herd, manage your emotions, and make informed investment decisions.

Now it’s your turn. Do you agree or disagree with my responses? Leave me a comment below.

Changing your mindset about Creating Wealth can be a challenge…but you don’t have to do it alone. Join my virtual community The Wealth Connection for the support you need to Become a Savvy & Confident Investor! Join today for only $47/month.

Rewiring—Why Willpower is Never Enough

Written by Barbara Huson

There’s a lot of talk about your money mindset. But, far more important, is understanding how your mind and brain work together.

In a recent experiment, at the University of South Wales, students were told: “Whatever you do, don’t think about a red apple.”

As you’d expect, most couldn’t get that image out of their mind. Which is quite normal.

But what about those who swore they’d successfully obliterated the image from their mind?

Well, according to brain scans, “even those people who are good at suppressing certain thoughts still harbor traces of the thought in [ their brain’s] cortex.”

And any deeply embedded thought—say of scarcity or inadequacy—exerts an irrepressible force to behave accordingly, regardless of your efforts to change.

Will power—trying not to think about buying those to-die-for designer shoes, which are way out of your budget—is a fruitless task. A far better (and easier) solution—thought substitution rather than thought control.

So instead of NOT thinking of the red apple or NOT buying the designer shoes, you’d be far more successful substituting a dramatically different thought, like imagining a white cloud or a surplus of cash in your savings account.

“Using brute force to not think about something simply won’t work,” noted the study, “Because the thought is actually there in our brains.”

From now on, stop struggling to exert willpower and focus on rewiring your brain by calmly and continually repeating positive affirmations, such as: I love watching my bank balance grow; It’s so fun to save; I am smart with money and my Future Self thanks me.

What deeply embedded thoughts do you live with and what could you substitute to improve your relationship with money? Leave me a comment below.

There’s still time to join the Spring 2019 Session of my ReWIRE Mentorship Program!

If you are eager to create Wealth & Well-Being in your life, apply for this 5-month Mentorship program today!

Click here for more information or to apply!

Women & Power

Leaving a Legacy

Where Are You Out of Integrity?

Lifting the Veils of Confusion

How Does One Become Wealthy? Part 3

How Does One Become Wealthy? Part 2

How Does One Become Wealthy? Part 1

A Woman’s Financial Paradise

What REALLY $cares Us About $uccess!

The 3 Questions. (Everything You Need to Know About Creating Wealth)

Rewiring—Why Willpower is Never Enough

Meet Barbara Huson

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