Читать книгу Value-Based Fees - Alan Weiss - Страница 12

It's insufficient to possess abundance. One must be willing to use it. We must move from a poverty and scarcity mentality to an abundance mentality. If the farmer with a surplus decided it was best to keep it and protect it for that proverbial “rainy day,” there would be nothing with which to pay for a tutor or fence repair. And some people, no matter what their income or savings or prospects, act as if they're poor.

You've all seen this: the otherwise successful people who never pick up a check, who take modest vacations, who have ten-year-old cars, whose houses need maintenance. These are people continually asking if they “really” need something as an excuse not to spend money on an acquisition. We've all seen elderly people who have ardently saved through their lives only to lose it all in a health crisis or scam.¹

I once asked a group of coaching clients at an event what they would do if they unexpectedly gained $600,000 via a client request for work, or a lottery winning, or an inheritance. Most spoke of partial savings, some philanthropy, some personal acquisitions, vacations, and so on. But one woman said to me, “I wouldn't touch a cent of it, it would sit in the bank!”²

Thus, we experience people with significant growth and prosperity who continue to act as if they were desperately trying to gain a foothold, to keep their heads above water. I call the need to change based on true prosperity securing the “watertight doors.”

Figure 1.1 The Watertight Doors

In Figure 1.1 you can see the progression from trying to survive, to being “alive,” to having “arrived,” and finally to thrive. Survival takes pressure off, then “alive” means you have a “going concern,” as the accountants like to say. “Arrive” denotes a brand and recognition within your field, with unsolicited referrals coming your way. And “thrive” is the expert and thought leader, one who sets the paces and is used as a reference point for excellence.

The problem is that many people to the right of my chart still act as though they're on the left, never having been able to abandon old habits and old friends. To transit from left to right, we must be willing to change our beliefs, friends, image, self-talk, expectations, affiliations, and so forth. That's the only way to create “watertight” doors that don't permit us to slide back.

I talk to people too often who tell me in the same sentence that they're having their best year ever but can't afford to invest in their own self-development, or give to charity, or take an unexpected vacation. You may see this as hypocrisy, but I see it as an inability to leave a poverty mentality that enabled them to survive but not enjoy their arrival or beyond.

The abundance mind-set is not merely about money. It's also about time, information, volunteerism, support, and so forth. In other words, an abundance mentality is denoted by generosity. The most successful people I know are also among the most generous I know.

You can begin each day as a long-slow crawl through enemy territory or as having the potential for great opportunity. Thinking abundantly is a mindset and a permanent disposition. It's not a motivational technique or a fad.

Not long ago, so many people burned their feet at a fire-walking (hot coals) session that extra EMTs had to be called! My conclusion is that they just weren't motivated enough! Trodding hot coals does nothing for your life, unless that's the only route to your office. But creating and maintaining a positive and abundance mind-set will enable you to enjoy life, be resilient, and constantly appreciate your own worth for others, which just happens to determine your fees.