Cultivating a Money Mindset

Transform your financial future by mastering a wealth mindset with me, Michelle Rios, on the Live Your Extraordinary Life podcast. You'll discover the power of positive thinking and the importance of surrounding yourself with uplifting influences to break free from limiting beliefs. By tuning in, you'll learn how to shift your perspective towards abundance, embrace new opportunities, and cultivate gratitude for what you have, ultimately enriching your financial and personal life.

Ever wondered how deep-seated beliefs about money impact your financial success? This episode tackles the pervasive feeling of unworthiness and the paralyzing fear of scarcity that often hold people back. Through personal stories and research-backed insights, we'll dissect how growing up with financial struggles can create risk-averse behaviors and how education and exposure to wealth can shift your mindset. Hear inspiring anecdotes that demonstrate the powerful impact of self-belief and upward mobility on achieving financial prosperity.

Ready to incorporate daily habits that will set you on the path to wealth? This episode covers actionable strategies such as goal setting, visualization techniques, and financial education. Learn from Jim Carrey's incredible visualization success and the transformative practice of daily affirmations and gratitude journaling. We'll also explore the benefits of generosity and vision boarding, showcasing how these practices can attract abundance and open doors to new opportunities. Join us for a compelling journey towards cultivating a wealth mindset and unlocking your financial potential.

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Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

If you're going to overcome a limiting belief, you cannot be around negativity and the reinforcement of the negative belief over and, over and over again. So start to engage with people and content and environments that support your new belief. Once you replace that negative belief with an empowering affirmation, where are you going to go to get that reinforced? It's so important. Listening to podcasts like this, reading books, being around people that are like-minded is going to significantly influence your thoughts and behaviors. Hi, I'm Michelle Rios, host of the Live your Extraordinary Life podcast. This podcast is built on the premise that life is meant to be joyful, but far too often we settle for less. So if you've ever thought that something is missing from your life, that you were meant for more, or you simply want to experience more joy in the everyday, then this podcast is for you. Each week, I'll bring you captivating personal stories, transformative life lessons and juicy conversations on living life to the fullest, with the hope to inspire you to create a life you love on your terms, with authenticity, purpose and connection. Together, we'll explore what it means to live an extraordinary life, the things that hold us back and the steps we all can take to start living our best lives. So come along for the journey. It's never too late to get started and the world needs your light.

Speaker 1: 1:51

Welcome back to another episode of the Live your Extraordinary Life podcast. I'm your host, michelle Rios, and today we're diving into a powerful topic that truly can transform your life cultivating a wealth mindset. Now we've talked about wealth consciousness before. I had my friend Neil Falora on. We both do wealth mindset and wealth consciousness work. So if you haven't seen that episode, just go on to Apple or Spotify and search for Neil Falora or wealth and it will pop.

Speaker 1: 2:23

But whether you are striving to build financial freedom, seeking abundance in really any area of your life, or simply wanting to shift your perspective on wealth, this episode is for you, my friends, because wealth isn't just about money. It's about a mindset. It's about how you think, feel and act concerning abundance, generally speaking, and prosperity, specifically speaking. According to a study published in the Journal of Social Psychology, people with a positive mindset about money are more likely to achieve financial success. So stop for a moment and ask yourself what is your relationship with money? What kind of mindset do you have around money? Do you have a positive mindset or do you have a negative mindset around money? Because it really will shape your outcome. I want to explore exactly how cultivating that positive mindset and unlocking extraordinary wealth is possible. So let's start by defining what a wealth mindset is.

Speaker 1: 3:42

Simply speaking, a wealth mindset goes beyond financial wealth. It's an attitude of abundance, it's an openness to new opportunities and it's a belief in the limitless possibilities that this life has to offer. It also is about being grateful for what you currently have while you work on bringing in more. Some key characteristics of a wealth mindset. See if this checks for you or if you have some work to do.

Speaker 1: 4:13

Abundance mentality Do you see? The world is full of opportunities rather than limitations. Research from Harvard Business Review indicates that an abundance mindset will significantly improve money, problem solving skills and creativity. Number two gratitude. Appreciating what you have and acknowledging your progress is so important. There was a study by UC Davis that found that by practicing gratitude, you can increase your happiness and decrease your chances of depression over time. Really important. It's something I think most people know, but very few people actually practice. So gratitude is incredibly important when you're cultivating a wealth mindset.

Speaker 1: 5:01

Growth orientation Are you always looking to learn and grow and improve or not? According to Carol Dweck, her research on mindset states that individuals with a growth mindset are much more resilient than the average person and they tend to achieve much higher levels of traditional success and what we would call new success. So not only money in the bank, but also rich in experiences, rich in connections, rich in the enjoyment of life, that broader sense of totality of wealth that we think about today. People with a wealth mindset also have positive self-belief. Believing in your ability to create wealth and succeed is critical. If you don't have self-belief that it's possible for you to generate wealth, you're really not going to be able to do it. A Forbes article stated that 86% of wealthy people actually believe in lifelong self-improvement. So there's personal development going on, constantly reinforcing the importance of believing in oneself, working on your inherent self-worth and making sure that you are your biggest advocate and fan.

Speaker 1: 6:24

You have to love yourself first. You have to really think about your positive mindset vis-a-vis your own capabilities and what's possible. And if this is hard for you, if you have historically been hard on yourself, which I know a lot of people have, you need to think about it less about who you are in this human body, but the fact that we are all spiritual beings having a human experience. We've talked about this before. But matter is neither created nor destroyed. So you didn't just come out of thin air, right, you were in the spirit realm. You came into this human experience, and when people die, they don't disappear, they're just their presence in another form. Same thing with water, right. When we heat water, it evaporates. When we freeze water, it becomes ice, but its essence is the same it's still water.

Speaker 1: 7:16

So you are spiritual being at your truest essence and from that perspective, the light in you is inherently good. It doesn't have the negative connotations or limitations that your human mind may have attached to yourself based on past experiences or things people have said to you over time. And so understanding who you are at your most authentic is pure light. You come from divinity. The divinity is within you, the universe source, god. That is all woven in who you are. So when you think about having positive self-belief, it goes beyond who you are as a human form, but who you are as a spiritual being. And I'm not talking about religion, I'm talking about your essence of being, your spiritual state of being and the fact that you are formed from the light, from the universe, from God, and so there has to be a sense that your value is inherent, because you are here, you have been sent to be on this earth and to serve a purpose. So, cultivating positive self-belief around your ability to actually create wealth, even if you don't know how. Today is essential. It's an essential characteristic of a wealth mindset.

Speaker 1: 8:43

And, last but not least, generosity. I've often seen that when you suffer from a scarcity mindset, it's very difficult to part with money, to part with resources, because they feel finite, right, they feel like, oh, I don't have enough, how can I part with the little I have? Night, right, they feel like, ugh, I don't have enough. How can I part with the little I have? But generosity is linked to not only increased happiness and sense of purpose, but when we are willing to give not only of our money but of our time, of our resources, of our knowledge, that kind of generosity creates flow. Generosity flowing out of you, generosity flowing back to you. So a lot of people don't think about that. They think when I reach a certain level of wealth, then I can be more generous. And certainly you can be more generous as you acquire more traditional wealth. But wealth is so much more than just the money in the bank right. It is the experiences, it is our connections with people, it is certainly the basis of our relationships, it is good health. All of these add up to a wealthy experience of life. So generosity really transcends simply giving of money. It can mean lots of things giving of your time, giving of your knowledge, giving of your support or encouragement to another person.

Speaker 1: 10:16

So if you have historically or even currently suffered from a scarcity mindset, there are some very specific ways to shift from scarcity to abundance. So a scarcity mindset, of course, focuses on limitations and lack, while the abundance mindset focuses more on possibilities and growth. So, in order to shift your mindset, practicing gratitude daily, affirming affirmations, affirming your strengths and capabilities and surrounding yourself with positive influences is really important. There was a Gallup study that was done that found that people who focus on their strengths, which really around money, are six times more likely to acquire more wealth simply by focusing on the things they have a strong skill set in. Conversely, the survey showed that people who focused on their weaknesses tend to stay stagnant or in decline. So think about that Simply from the mindset.

Speaker 1: 11:24

So let's talk about breaking limiting beliefs. Now. If you're following the podcast, you know we just did an episode last week on limiting beliefs and overcoming them, so I'm not gonna spend too much time here. But because money mindset and wealth mindset often involves overcoming limiting beliefs specific to money and wealth, it's important that we address it so we know that there are limiting beliefs. These ideas, belief systems, social conditioning that we inherit either from our families or cultures or society can often hold us back from achieving the wealth we desire. These deeply ingrained thoughts and attitudes around money can actually sabotage our ability to acquire more wealth, and a lot of people don't think this. But you can't have a negative mindset around money and expect money to flow to you right. Money is going to flow where money is wanted, where money is appreciated, where money is respected, and this goes back to energetics. You have to be on the frequency and vibration of that which you wish to bring into your life. So, on money frequency and a wealth mindset requires us to have positive ideas, beliefs and feelings about money and wealth ideas, beliefs and feelings about money and wealth.

Speaker 1: 12:49

So let's talk through some common limiting beliefs around money. The first is money is the root of all evil, right? If you've heard this and if you believe this over the years, it can really make you feel guilty about wanting wealth, and there's a study published in the Journal of Economic Psychology that found that negative attitudes toward money lead to poor financial decisions. Not surprising, because if you're uncomfortable with money, you feel guilty around it. You're going to want to get rid of it. It's kind of a natural reaction. If you think it has evil connotations or nothing good can come from money, then that mindset is going to set you up to behave in certain ways that are going to really shut money out of your life.

Speaker 1: 13:38

Another common limiting belief is I don't deserve wealth. Many people feel unworthy around money and that can block your financial success. Stanford University did a study on self-esteem and it basically demonstrated that if you do not have strong self-esteem, you're missing one of the most critical factors in achieving your financial goals. So it goes back to that importance of self-belief and your ability to actually bring wealth in. Even if you don't know the how and that's a really important thing for us to note you don't have to know the how immediately to cultivate a wealth mindset. You're setting up the basis for wealth over time, right?

Speaker 1: 14:21

Another common limiting belief around money is there's never enough. It's scarcity, that fear of lack can prevent you from even taking a risk. I certainly was very risk adverse when it came to money when I was younger, having grown up in a family where money was very tight, and hearing some of these limiting beliefs over and over again, like that's too expensive, heard that a lot, or we can't afford that. And when you hear that over and over and over again, when you start to have a little bit of money, you tend not to spend it or invest it because you're afraid you're going to lose it. You become very risk adverse. You want only sure things. Well, the problem with that is very difficult to build wealth at the rates that 100% secure income generators are going to provide. It's a really slow rate of return right.

Speaker 1: 15:12

I have a money market account that I've had for years. It's kind of silly, quite frankly. That, I think, is generating a 0.01% yield quarterly. I mean I literally get pennies on the dollar. It's ridiculous Versus higher yield accounts where, over time, I've been able to address my own limiting beliefs around money and cultivate my own wealth mindset. That's allowed me to become much more comfortable with taking risks calculated risk, but taking risks. I didn't even want to short of putting it under the mattress, which I didn't do. I just never invested money when I was younger. I didn't buy real estate when I could have. In my 20s I put a lot of things off because I was afraid of losing money, and so I think about it somewhat often. If I had bought real estate when I was really young, when I had money and but was too nervous to spend it, man, I'd be sitting on a lot more than I even currently have. I'm pretty blessed right now.

Speaker 1: 16:19

Okay, another common limiting belief is wealth is only for the lucky. I get this a lot. I meet people who don't know me or don't have a sense of my background or history, and they'll go well, that's easy for you to say. You grew up in an environment where you probably were wealthy, and I find that really interesting because I know why they say that I've been in business for a long time. I sort of exude a more sophisticated mannerism. I'm highly educated, but I didn't come from anything. I came from a 16-year-old mother who had to drop out of high school and a barely 18-year-old father that had to work two jobs, including shift work at a paper mill. We didn't have two nickels to rub together. So this idea that wealth is only for the lucky or those that inherited it, or for the few. Is wealth is only for the lucky or those that inherited it, or for the few? Is it's really not based or rooted on fact. If you believe that wealth is unattainable for you, it will become a self-fulfilling prophecy. As you thinketh, so shall it be. There was a Pew Research Center study that found those who actually believe in the possibility of upward mobility are more likely to achieve it Now.

Speaker 1: 17:34

I went through a lot of money woes as a kid. I watched my parents struggle to really make ends meet, and there were times where we were on food stamp assistance. We needed to get help from the town to pay for some of the basics like lights and electricity. There were moments, particularly when the paper mill that my father worked at went on strike, where we were getting food donated from the union because we just couldn't afford to eat. And it sounds so bizarre to me now because I live a very different reality, but I always believed, even during that experience, that I could change my circumstances. And I credit my parents with that because, even though they experienced struggle, they really planted a story in me that said you're gonna light the world on fire. Anything's possible for you. Education is your ticket to a better life. Go and set the bar high. We are gonna watch you pave the way. You have younger siblings coming behind you. So I always believed that upward mobility was possible, that I could move up socioeconomic classes, and because I believed in it, it was possible, were there moments that were hard. Sure, I'll tell you.

Speaker 1: 19:03

Going to college in a very affluent environment, I went to a private liberal arts school in Maine and most of the students were very wealthy not all, but a good portion of them were from very affluent families and that level of wealth all around you and sort of laissez-faire behavior around money was really disheartening. As a kid who came from nothing, there was a lot of resentment, there was jealousy. I mean, I was 17 when I started college and I had a roommate who came from California and her father was a really well-known neurosurgeon and I remember when she moved in she had all these brand new clothes that had. Clearly there were designer clothes and beautiful comforters and just all these amazing things and I had the basics, like the basics probably, like notebooks and pens and whatever clothes I had coming out of high school. There wasn't a lot of new and that was hard to be around initially, but it also incentivized me because I definitely saw this other experience, this other side of life people enjoying money and being much more relaxed around money than what my experience was, and I wanted to be able to experience that too. So my own journey on overcoming limiting beliefs really started when I left home, because I was more exposed to wealth, and to wealth in many different forms that I began to really challenge some of the money stories I heard growing up.

Speaker 1: 20:50

So let's talk about some strategies for overcoming limiting beliefs here. First of all, you need to identify the limiting belief and question its validity. Is it based in fact? Right? There are a lot of things we say that become the underlying belief systems that are actually not based in truth. Like money is the root of all evil, has money been used to do evil things? Sure, but has money also been used to do really wonderful things? Absolutely and quite frankly, money doesn't have its own personality or energy. Money is a resource. People using it is what gives it a negative connotation or a positive connotation. Money is simply a resource. People using it is what gives it a negative connotation or a positive connotation. Money is simply a resource. It's paper, right or coins. It really doesn't have an evil connotation. It's the people behind it. So we have to keep reminding ourselves are these limiting beliefs that we often hold true based in fact, or are they just stories that we've been passing down generation to generation that really keep us imprisoned? So identify the limiting belief and then challenge it, question whether it's based in fact. More than likely it won't be, and so it's important to reframe your thoughts.

Speaker 1: 22:11

You have to replace the negative belief, the limiting belief, with an empowering affirmation. So, for example, if your belief was a more scarcity mindset there's never enough money, there's never enough money to go around, there's a finite amount of money, and I don't get my piece of it. If that's the limiting belief that's rattling around in your head, then you're going to need to replace it with. Money flows effortlessly to me, money is all around me, there is an overabundance of resources and wealth and money available to me. Anything that really counters the there's not enough mentality. That would happen to be the limiting belief that I inherited there's not enough, there's a finite amount, and I thought I had to fight for everything I had in terms of getting my seat at the table and getting my promotion or my raise or what have you. It was only when I challenged that and really believed that there was a limitless amount of wealth available and I didn't have to fight for it, I could be open to receive it, that it actually started to flow much more readily, with a lot less effort. So think about that. You need to reframe your thoughts. Replace the negative belief with an empowering affirmation.

Speaker 1: 23:37

Visualization probably one of my favorite ways to overcome loving beliefs, but obviously you need to identify it, you need to reframe it. Replace the negative belief with a positive, empowering affirmation. But then visualization takes it to another level. Empowering affirmation, but then visualization takes it to another level. It's one thing to know it, it's one thing to even speak or write it down, but then when you put the energy into visualizing your life in a wealth setting, it changes everything. And I don't just mean visualize in your mind, I mean feel what it's like to live this abundant and wealthy lifestyle that you're wanting to have. When you do that, you put the wheels into motion. And how well-accomplished athletes like Michael Phelps and Serena Williams use visualization to really see their matches and see their shots and see themselves completing the swim, the race in the pool or what have you, and therefore it was like it already happened.

Speaker 1: 24:48

Because the mind doesn't distinguish between actually doing something and imagining doing something. The same neurons fire in our brain, so that visualization process creates the emotions of the reality. You're allowing yourself to feel what it's like. You're going to activate some of the brain regions. You think it's actually experiencing a state of wealth. This is going to not only open you to new possibilities, it's going to enhance your motivation and performance because you're going to see this as possible when you can visualize it and you can feel what it's like to be in that state of being so in this case, a wealthy setting. It changes everything. I've used this time and again, and I'm going to talk about a specific incident that transformed the way I thought about money fairly early on in my 20s here shortly.

Speaker 1: 25:49

And then, last but not least, you need to surround yourself with positivity If you're going to overcome a limiting belief. You cannot be around negativity and the reinforcement of the negative belief over and, over and over again. So start to engage with people and content and environments that support your new belief. Once you replace that negative belief with an empowering affirmation. Where are you going to go to get that reinforced? It's so important. Listening to podcasts like this, reading books, being around people that are like-minded is going to significantly influence your thoughts and behaviors. Okay, so developing wealth building habits is also something that's really important when you are cultivating a wealth mindset.

Speaker 1: 26:39

Here are some practical habits to consider, and I say these in the order of which I actually practice them. So, first and foremost, goal setting. If you don't know what you want, you don't have a map to actually achieve it right. You don't know where you're going, so you have to set clear, achievable goals. I actually have kind of moved past what I would necessarily think is achievable. I mean, I think everything's possible now. So I'm in a whole new realm of thinking around this. But I set some pretty other people would think are unrealistic crazy, crazy goals, because I believe that anything's possible and I've seen that come to be One thing that you may consider doing. I'm a big fan of this and I'm going to put the link in the show notes to this, but if you go to Google and just type in free check from the universe, there is a method to my madness. Here I'm actually doing it in real time, free check from the universe. There is thesecrettv. You click on it and they actually give you a check template. It's a PDF that you can print out. I'm not joking. It says Universal Bank Unlimited, and it says pay and you put your name in there to the order of the amount and sign it.

Speaker 1: 28:04

And maybe you've heard this story before, but it's worth mentioning again. The actor Jim Carrey once wrote himself a blank check for $10 million. Now, he didn't at the time have the $10 million, but he believed it was possible. So he wrote himself a check for $10 million for acting services rendered. And then, guess what? He got this movie deal from Dumb and Dumber and it was for $10 million. So you can bet I am writing down in my check regularly. I update these because I used to be really conservative about what I thought was possible. Now I'm writing in the millions and I know that's what's coming. So go and check that out if you haven't before. The secrettv Again, these are check templates and you can actually write yourself a check.

Speaker 1: 28:57

You print it out and you just write it out with pen and put it somewhere so you can see it. My husband has it in his office. I have it in our bathroom. It's a nice reminder. This is coming.

Speaker 1: 29:08

So goal setting, visualization, practicing the mindfulness to stay present and visualize success around wealth and money. So, again, I have a very amplified view of wealth that goes beyond the money in the bank. I'm looking for extraordinary experiences, deep connection, a feeling of peace and ease throughout my day. All of this and good health. Right, you come to a point in time where you realize how important good health is, because if you don't have good health, you're not gonna be able to enjoy this wealth mindset that we're cultivating. So, visualizing this, be specific, be really mindful of what you want and allow yourself to play.

Speaker 1: 29:57

Take 10 minutes, start of the day when you're drinking your coffee and visualize that experience of wealth in your life and do it again at night. I've got so used to doing this. My husband sits down in the morning, he has his morning coffee, he goes through his affirmations. We both have the secret app on our phone. Mine is. I think it's a specific money app that the Secret created that you can get from the app store. I have an Apple phone, so I just got it there. It's fantastic.

Speaker 1: 30:29

There's different ways for you to actually help manifest money in your life and think about wealth. There are affirmations, there are daily inspirations, there are you can make purchases. They're not real, but it's designed to activate your visualization skills and it's fantastic and we use it every day. So, again, goal setting and visualization to me bar none the most important things you can do to really start having wealth building habits. And then after that it really goes into education around wealth and growth mindset. So in the instance of traditional wealth and financial stability and security and prosperity, there needs to be education right. Learn about money, read about money.

Speaker 1: 31:19

It never ceases to amaze me the people who are so uncomfortable around money and to think about money. It makes them just feel awkward. They don't feel like they have enough, but they also don't spend any time getting comfortable with money concepts or understanding or educating themselves. And you have to have a financial literacy to correlate with financial well-being. I put my head in the sand when I was young about money. I didn't spend any, which was, I guess, my saving grace, but then so I was able to save money, but I didn't understand the importance of. You can't save your way to wealth. You can save your way to creating some space from feeling financial burden. So that's a good thing.

Speaker 1: 32:09

But if you're gonna create wealth, you do need to find different avenues of wealth building right. Different avenues of investment, and I was, in my very early 20s, uncomfortable with that because, having not had any money, I didn't want to lose any that I brought in. Unfortunately, unless money flows in and out, it's not going to flow. You're going to create stagnation. So you've got to be able to spend and invest in order to bring money back in. And you spend and invest and money comes back in. It is the circular motion of money. You have to create that.

Speaker 1: 32:49

So financial education, financial literacy, is so critical, and I don't mean you have to go get an MBA or understand finance or watch stocks go up and down every day, but there's basics around money and wealth building that are important to learn Budgeting and saving again, these to me are sort of the meats and potatoes of just having financial literacy. But understanding that part of wealth building is also being respectful of money and mindful of it. Finding ways to be savvy around money is really important. And then, of course, investing, because you can't save your way to wealth. You've got to find ways to invest and understand the power of investment. And I'm going to tell you right now, if you have access to a financial advisor probably and you have either a 401k or some sort of pension or what have you it's worth sitting down, particularly if you're already in midlife. But even if you're young, even better. But already in midlife, sit down with a financial advisor.

Speaker 1: 33:55

It's transformed our life because I was very frugal, because I was so afraid of losing the money that I was earning, but as my financial advisor woke me up and said, hey, we're not spending enough, you need to spend some of this and we need to invest some of this in order to set you up for a really secure future. And so it really transformed the way I behaved with money. Okay, so here are some daily practices I use for building good wealth habits Morning affirmations Start your day with positive affirmations about wealth, abundance and money. Gratitude journaling you know, here we are again Write down the things you're grateful for, focusing on the abundance in your life. And again, this transcends just the money in the bank. We want to obviously look at that too. We got a rebate check and I'm trying to remember who it was from. I think it was for the insurance on our mortgage for like $55. And you would have thought we hit the jackpot, because we celebrate all of those little bits of money coming in to show appreciation and gratitude for money flowing in. I mean it sounds silly, but we're big on celebrating that now because we recognize that money only goes where money is appreciated and where money is wanted. So celebrate those wins and they can again be beyond money in the bank.

Speaker 1: 35:26

I am so grateful for the friends I have in my life, for the ability to bring people together and gather. I'm so incredibly grateful for the travel experiences that I've been able to have in my life and I continue to have. That's probably one of the things that makes me feel the most wealthy is my ability to travel, and the way I travel and where I go and what I do during those travel experiences reinforces that wealth mindset and wealth environment that I love. Being in Learning time You're listening to this podcast right now. This is really positive information going in and you're absorbing this. But dedicate time each day to a growth mindset, learning more whether it's specifically about finance and money, I would argue personal development in general creates this growth mindset that supports wealth achievement. So dedicate a little bit of time every day, listen to a podcast, read a book, read an article. You need to have good information flowing all the time to create that growth mindset.

Speaker 1: 36:41

Okay, generosity this is gonna sound counter to I know what a lot of people who have struggled with money in the past have experienced, because you're thinking well, wait a minute, I'm trying to build wealth, don't yet have it, and you want me to be generous? Not feels hard because I'm trying to hold on to it and I'm trying to grow it. But the reality is there are great benefits to being generous, and not just with money, but with your resources. So time and knowledge are huge. So it doesn't mean you just have to give money, but you do need to think about how you are investing in others, because when you do this, you're going to increase your happiness. Giving makes us feel good, it increases our sense of fulfillment and when you do this, you're going to put yourself at a better frequency and vibration for bringing wealth into your life and vibration for bringing wealth into your life. Harvard Business School did a study that found that spending money on others not ourselves on others leads to greater happiness than spending it on ourself. Imagine I experience this now. When I was younger and struggling, I did not think that was going to be the case, but I do feel just a sense of warmth, and I mean it is a sense of well-being that's generated by being able to spend money and I would put again into that category time and knowledge on others.

Speaker 1: 38:14

Okay, another benefit of generosity you attract abundance. When you give, you're signaling to the universe that you believe in abundance. You're letting go of what you have because you trust that it's going to come back, and the law of attraction principle suggests that generosity creates a flow of positive energy that attracts more of the same. I would say spend some time looking at law of attraction, but also law of reception. You have to also, as you're giving it out, be willing to receive, because that's the flow that you're creating when you give. And last but not least, another benefit of generosity is building connections. Generosity strengthens relationships. It builds networks that can lead to new opportunities. The Journal of Social Psychology reports that acts of kindness improve social bonds and community ties. You don't know how wealth is going to come into your life and who's going to help bring it in, and how it's going to come to be. It's unlikely it's going to be by yourself. Most great things that have been accomplished have been done when people elicit the support, help of others that can guide them, of others that can guide them.

Speaker 1: 39:41

Okay, here's a really good story I wanted to share. I was 21 years old so still had some money issues, but I had applied right after graduating from college for a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholarship. It was $25,000. It was a joint scholarship between Maine, the state of Maine and Quebec and anyone who had grown up and lived there or just studied there in a higher ed institution, university or college in either of those places was eligible to apply. Hundreds of people applied and it was a very competitive process and in the end myself, along with 49 other applicants, were brought in for finals and we all congregated in Maine and in a hotel. There was an in-person interview. So after we went through the actual application, we had to write to submit our resumes and our college transcripts. We had to show the package of what we would do with the scholarship money, what we would study because it was money $25,000 to study in a foreign country and represent Rotary International. So that actually is where I started.

Speaker 1: 40:54

My speaking career was as a Rotary ambassadorial scholar, I would speak at Rotary clubs across Europe. It was a fantastic experience of getting up in front of business folks and talking about the programs that Rotary International was supporting globally. A lot of humanitarian work that was going underway, but anyway I digress work that was going underway, but anyway I digress. What I wanted to share was I was 21 years old and I was one of 50 applicants that made the finals brought in to do this interview, and I got there and there is a social mixer for all of the finalists and I'm meeting these other people who are significantly older than me. When you're 21, 28, 29, and 30 feels ancient right and I was meeting post-med students, doctorates, folks that wanted to go cure AIDS in foreign countries. I mean tremendously noble causes. I was blown away with the caliber of people I was meeting.

Speaker 1: 41:59

I had just graduated from undergrad, I had just gotten recruited into a job. I was one month of work under my belt in management consulting, which meant I knew nothing, and here I was in this environment and here's the thing I was meeting all these people and realizing they were super talented and probably on paper for sure Really well beyond what I had experienced. They had more life experience. They had more education. Most of them had already completed master, doctorate or medical school or JD, what have you? They had already done even higher education than I did at the graduate level, and it was stiff competition.

Speaker 1: 42:40

Now, that said, I was tremendously feisty and when I decided that I wanted to do something, I was all in. And when I had started applying for this scholarship, I did two things. I spent my whole summer between graduating college and moving to Washington DC for this job in August. So the June and July time period, while everyone was out traveling or chilling out before their next phase, I was sitting in my parents' kitchen writing an application for scholarships because I wanted to fast track my graduate studies and find a way to get them paid. So every day I would sit down at the kitchen table for hours and I would do two things work on the application, because it was very involved, and I would write down what my goal was. I'd have daily affirmations around that goal and then I would visualize myself winning the scholarship.

Speaker 1: 43:40

I was the at that time, 1993-1994 Rotary International Ambassadorial Scholar from Maine and Quebec because I had to represent both regions in Spain for graduate work. I did that, day in and day out for two months straight. And when I got notified in early September that I had made it as a finalist, I went right back to work and I got starting to get ready for the interview process and I spent a lot of time introducing myself in my mind, visualizing myself as the 1993-1994 Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar to Spain, from Maine and Quebec. And guess what? Guess, who won that scholarship? Me out of all those amazing talented people. And I remember getting feedback from the judges. There were like 12 business people evaluating it, six from Quebec, six from the US, and they met all of us.

Speaker 1: 44:46

We had to answer a ton of questions. I don't think we had a lot of time. I want to say we each got like 20 minutes to make our case of why we should be the candidate, why we should be selected as the winner, and I went in there again with the mindset that I already was the Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar for 1993 and 1994. And that was a year ahead of when we were going through this process. It was only 1992 when we were doing the interviews. But I had convinced myself and I walked in with such confidence and ease that they believed it. The feedback I got was clear that you already were the Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar.

Speaker 1: 45:26

You walked in with such confidence and poise and you spoke about what you would do, and I did not have as noble a cause. I was talking about increasing trade. And I did not have as noble a cause. I was talking about increasing trade Listen to this between Spain and New England, because there's a great trade here going on. But I was in very I used a lot of ingenuity of like what was happening at the time. There was a lot going on with international fisheries and it was a big topic at the time, and I was gonna be in Barcelona and studying at the Asade, which is business school there, and I had it all worked out. I was going to increase connections with business people there and then, of course, with my representatives back home in Maine and Quebec, and I also went the extra mile of speaking French, because in Quebec they speak French and if I'm going to represent them, I should be speaking in their language too, and I think that blew their socks off. I don't think any of the other candidates that were American and applying from Maine went the extra mile of even bothering to figure out how to be representative of Quebec as well. So I spoke some French proficiently not fluently, but proficiently in my interview and when I got the notification, the chair of the committee selection committee said you know, michelle, we couldn't give it to anybody else because they were all selling us on why they should be the ambassadorial scholar. You walked in as the ambassadorial scholar and we all believed you. So don't underestimate the importance of visualization. It's so incredibly important.

Speaker 1: 47:09

I always think about Oprah Winfrey, because we all know her now as the media mogul who has $2.6 billion of net worth. But she grew up in poverty and yet she never let her circumstances define her future. She had this relentless belief in herself. She struggled with her weight, she struggled with self-esteem issues that some of those burdens would have sidelined a lot of people, but she continued to put herself out there and take those risks. I really always think of her story as a testament to the power of cultivating a totality of wealth, mindset, not just money. But she fully believed that all things were possible and so they were. It's an incredible story of rags to riches.

Speaker 1: 47:58

Okay, let's talk some practical tips and takeaways as we wrap up. I do wanna leave you with some practical tips to start cultivating your own wealth mindset. Today, again, you're gonna hear this time and again from me daily affirmations. If you need some around money, go to the App Store and download the Secret Money app. It is a fantastic tool. There are a lot of others out there, I'm sure, but if you need something quick, it's free, it's a great one. Write and go over your affirmations about wealth and abundance every single day.

Speaker 1: 48:33

Vision boarding I'm a big believer in vision boarding. The reason why I have the house I currently live in in the suburbs of Washington DC and it's a beautiful, very expensive home is because this home that I did not purchase until the spring of 2017 is something that I cut out of a magazine in 2009. I put on a vision board. My son was two years old. I was doing a vision board with a coach and my husband of what I wanted my house to be. At that time, we couldn't afford a single family home. We had a townhome. It was a beautiful townhome but it was old and I really wanted to have more space. We had these narrow hallways and it was just an old style. I want to say 1970s townhome Lovely, but not where I wanted to be forever. So I put this vision board together and one of the images was of a home. It was this very modern looking home, which is not necessarily what I normally go for, but I really loved the white facade on the outside. I had this black trim on the windows and beautiful wood floors.

Speaker 1: 49:50

Long story short. Years later we're home shopping and we're looking at older homes, for the most part, and getting frustrated. We had gone through this process now in 2016. We put a bid on a home and we got it, and then the inspection fell through because they found mold and it just wasn't going to be a good remediation process, so it didn't happen. It was heartbreaking to go through all of that, and so we kind of put it on hold and said you know what? We're fine where we are, let it go.

Speaker 1: 50:18

And then for fun, one Sunday morning after breakfast I said let's just drive around and look at the houses for sale. You know, we don't even need to like go look it up online or in the paper, let's just drive around the communities that we're interested in. And my son found this home. We were literally just driving around Vienna, virginia, and he found this home Brand new, just built home, and my husband and I kind of looked at each other like, yeah, this is gonna be expensive and probably not possible. But I'll tell you. I walked in and I watched my little guy who at the time was nine years old. He walked in and he said he turned around and he said we have seen so many homes over the last few years. This is the first one that feels like home and that sold it for me, I mean, it was a beautiful home. But we walked out of there and I looked at my husband and I said let's figure out how to do this. And we put an offer on the home that night. It was accepted the next morning and we moved in a month later and we have been here now for seven years. It is a beautiful home and beautiful community. It probably would not have come to be had it not been for that vision board I put together back in 2009.

Speaker 1: 51:37

So vision boarding really practical tool for helping to bring your goals and dreams to life. You hear this all the time from me. I may sound like a broken record, but it's so important. Meditation, meditate, mindfulness and meditation help keep us grounded and focused and when you do this, you can really focus on your goals. So spend time in meditation. I use it as part of my visualization time, so for me, it sort of blends together, and feel free to do that too.

Speaker 1: 52:10

Continuing to grow and learn, having a growth mindset You've got to commit to growing. A wealth mindset is a growth mindset. So read, listen to podcasts, expand your circle of people that you know and are meeting. When you do this, you're putting yourself out there for more personal growth, and that personal growth is increasing your vibration and your frequency to put you on par for that which you desire. And, last but not least, network and connect. I say this for everyone, but I particularly wanna encourage women to do this Among friends. Meet more people beyond the circle you're in Network with women entrepreneurs, educators, leaders. Being around people who are high achievers just changes something in the way you think about what's possible for you. When you build relationships with like-minded individuals or people that are beyond where you are, they can support and inspire you to get to higher levels than you could on your own. So don't negate those possibilities. I know that the word not working conjures up all kinds of bad post-work experiences for a lot of people, but there are a lot of professional networking and personal development. Connect groups out there. If you have one and you're interested, please reach out. I do one virtually and I do one in person, so I'm happy to talk to you more about that.

Speaker 1: 53:58

Okay, key takeaways from today's episode. Wealth is a mindset, not just a bank account balance, overcoming limiting beliefs is critical if you're going to unlock your financial potential, and developing wealth building habits can really transform your money future. And don't forget that generosity and giving play a significant role in attracting abundance into your life. So I want to thank you again for joining me for this episode on cultivating wealth mindset, and just keep in mind that wealth begins in the mind and by shifting your perspective you can unlock the abundance that's available to you. So I encourage you to start implementing some of these strategies and tips we've discussed today, and for any of you that are looking for creating that next level of transformation in your life, perhaps you've been in a career and are looking to create your next chapter and you're maybe stuck or not sure how to go about that, reach out to me.

Speaker 1: 55:10

I have some limited spots for one-on-one coaching opening up in September. So it's not until September, but they run six months and this is a phenomenal way to get a mentor that has made the types of transitions you are looking to do. So, whether it's going from a traditional career to trying entrepreneurism, or if you are looking to elevate within your current career setting, get a new job, go back to school whatever that is, that's gonna require a next chapter transformation for you. Having a coach or mentor guide you through the process can really completely change your experience. You're gonna do it much more quickly. I guarantee you. In six months time you're going to be a changed person.

Speaker 1: 56:00

So if you're looking for transformation, reach out to me. You can send me a DM on social I think most of you who listen also follow me on Instagram, at michelleriosofficial, or on Facebook, but you can also go to my website and I encourage you to do this michelleriosofficialcom. There is a coaching page within there and just fill out the application form. It's super easy. We can jump on a call, talk about what your goals are and see if it's a good fit. You have nothing to lose. So again, thank you for joining me for this episode and until next time, live your extraordinary life. Thank you for listening to today's episode. If you enjoyed this podcast episode, please take a moment to rate and review. If you have recommendations for future topics, please reach out to me at michelleriosofficialcom. Lastly, please consider supporting to me at michelleriosofficialcom. Lastly, please consider supporting this podcast by sharing it. Together, we can reach, inspire and positively impact more people. Thank you,