Money Metaphors
Channel: George Kao
Date: 2017-10-25

People wake up thinking about money. They spend their days at work for money. They read articles about how to manifest it. They go to sleep wishing for more money.

Without realizing, some have made Money their God… they think more about and work more for Money, than for their God.

If we want a deeper life than the pursuit of money, then let’s put money in its place.

I find it helpful to relate to money as a metaphor, so that I can be more mindful about what the space it occupies in my mind.  See which one makes the most sense to you:

Money = Red Blood Cells.

Just like you couldn’t survive without red blood cells, you can’t survive in society without money… and yet, you don’t *live for* your red blood cells, do you? You don’t think about it all the time, right? Similarly, let’s not live for money or think about it too much.

If you don’t feel like you have enough money right now, it’s like not having enough red blood cells… rather than think about the red blood cells, think about the actions that lead you to beocme healthier: what foods are nutritious, what exercise you need, what rest is helpful. 

In business, this means thinking about the actions that lead naturally to the money --rather than thinking “how can I get money from my audience” think “how can I be more meaningfully, truly helpful to them? How will I know I’m being helpful? How can I get to know them better, and see where they’re spending they’re money, and how I can create something even more helpful than what they’re spending their money on?”

Money = Energy.

A common saying is that “money is just energy.” It is interpreted by some people n the new age sense of “spiritual” or vibrational energy, that you can therefore “attract”. I think this interpretation is faulty and damaging -- I’ve known so many friends and clients who have tried for a long time to “attract” the energy of money, and it occasionally may work in spurts, but rarely as a way to sustain their livelihood, no matter how positive and “attractive” they make their energy.

A better interpretation of Money as Energy is to notice where there’s excitement among human beings. Notice what energizes people in your audience, and make offerings (products or services) that *meet their excitement*, that match their energy, and you’ll likely make money.

Another interpretation of Money is Energy is the idea of “energy exchange”, meaning, are you giving too much energy away to your audience without their energy coming back to you? I also don’t love this interpretation, because your audience *does* give you back energy in the form of their attention and engagement, whether money is exchanged. It’s important to appreciate that.

Money = Fire.

Fire is useful to human beings. We make food, we keep warm, we use it to create things that we use. But it can be very damaging when fire gets out of control: it burns homes, destroys businesses, kills people, the earth and its creatures. 

We need to look at Money the same way: contain our desire for money carefully, and don’t let it get out of control and turn into the fires of greed that burn what is truly good in life. 

Money = Manuer?

A funny one... money is like manuer: when piled in one place, it stinks, but when spread around, it helps things grow. 

Think about that one :)

Money = Luggage.

In the journey of life, money is luggage. 

The more luggage you have, the more you’re worried it gets lost or damaged, but also the more familiar comforts you bring with you as you travel. 

With less luggage, however, you can travel more lightly, and it will require you to depend on the goodwill of others to meet your needs. 

The lesson for me here is to aim to travel lightly in life, being detached from what I am familiar with, and being open to the adventures in life and the goodwill of people. This means making the least amount of money I need to be happy. And to grow internally and creatively, so that I can even lessen the meeting of my needs through money. To travel lightly in life, with a trusting, open heart.