Archive for the ‘Advice from Julie Murphy Casserly’ Category

The basis of everything I do is bridging the gap between emotions and money. I believe that emotional unrest will eventually lead to financial distress. To be in a healthy relationship with your finances, you need to be in a healthy and harmonious place emotionally.

Many would argue that the basis of our emotional state is our happiness. That we could not truly be happy if we are not emotionally sound and secure in who we are as human beings. Since we do not feel happy, we try to find that happiness at every possible corner. By that, I mean we look for happiness in all-things external hoping that it will eventually seep into our inner selves and turn us into happy people. When this doesn’t work, we are emotionally – and even sometimes physically – exhausted.

Does this sound familiar? Maybe you’ve realized that you surrounded yourself with negative people. Or that the work you do doesn’t fulfill you – you’re only working there because of the paycheck. Maybe one of your most important relationships had changed so much that it’s unrecognizable, and you’re devastated at the thought of letting go of someone that was at one time a central figure in your life.

Whatever the root of your unhappiness is, it is causing greater damage to your life than you may realize. But there is good news here; it doesn’t have to stay that way. You are in the driver’s seat of your life. You just have to accept where you are right now before you can speed off into the future.

Accepting yourself

You may not be able to change everything around you, but you can change yourself. To change, you must accept. Accept yourself. Accept yourself in your current reality. You must stop blaming yourself for your failures and instead empower yourself for the changes you can make right now for a better future.

Remove shame, blame, guilt and judgment from your life in all areas. But be sure to start with yourself. It’s okay that you made mistakes, got hurt, or said something wrong. Once you let go of perfection or an unattainably high standard, you’ll see that who you are is who you need to be to learn and grow. And that’s okay.

Before you can create solutions to your financial life ; before you can be innovative in your personal and professional lives; before you can shift to higher vibrations; before you can heal your relationship with money, you must accept yourself.

Not a month from now. Not 20 pounds from now. Not $15,000 from now. Not a new house from now.

Right now.

Action step

Where are you right now? Do you love yourself? Do you accept yourself? Are you willing to meet yourself where you are right now? In previous posts, I’ve told you to spend some quiet time thinking about a specific aspect of your life. But this week, I want you to do one simple thing that is the base of everything we’ve covered:

Accept yourself.

Accept your surroundings, your habits, and your current hobbies. Accept your failures and successes. Accept YOU – all of you; not just the good. Accepting who you are right now is what needs to happen before anything else can take flight.

How often to you find yourself looking to the outside to fix what’s going on in the inside? In this time where jobs are still shaky, incomes are still up in the air and your financial lives may be somewhat unstable, it seems easier to search for comfort in all things external. And sometimes, we wonder “what if?”

Questioning our choices during rocky periods is pretty normal for most people. We look at the things we’ve done in some or all of the areas in our lives, and we second guess the steps we’ve taken. Did we build the right career in our work life? Are we spending too much time worrying about relationships in our personal life? Will the economic instability affect our family life negatively? Is our financial life going to suffer because of the disorder happening in the other areas of our lives?

Finding ourselves in undesirable situations leaves us with two options: thinking “what if?” or changing our perspective. Instead of seeking out peace of mind in changing all-things exterior, look within. When we look to others for the roadmap to living our lives, we make things more complicated. Outside fixes cloud and confuse us, making the life path made specifically for us much harder to see.

Getting caught up in the outside things you can’t control can affect you deeply. Allowing what your parents think, what your kids want or what your siblings say to make your decisions is putting them in the driver’s seat of your life. To live your own life , you must first stop jumping on other people’s paths and then focus on the one crafted just for you.

Action step

Whose life are you living? Whose path are you walking on? If you’re not sure, that’s ok. Spend this week sorting out your actions from your true intentions. If you’re doing things that aren’t tapping into your heart space, why are you doing them?

Take a look at the things you do that are not fulfilling you. After you list those actions on paper, eliminate one of them this week. Replace it with something that’s more in line with your ideal life. Live the life of your dreams -  walk on the path made just for you – not anyone else’s.

Welcome to your best year ever!! The celebration that happens during the first few days of January is a nice way to both wrap up the holidays and usher in a new beginning to our lives. We make plans for weight loss (or gain), new business opportunities, or set out on a path for our deepest dreams and desires.

Yet so many of us fall off the wagon and go back to what we did in years past.  But not in 2012! This year, I want you to focus on the positive things in your life. The things you already have will help you achieve the things you want to get during the next twelve months.

So this year, I’m going to focus on seven ideas to help you get the things you want in 2012: innovate, grow, create, succeed, collaborate, serve and shift. You’ve heard these words before. But I believe that now is the time to put those ideas into action in your personal, professional and financial lives. Here’s how:

Innovate

Find new ways to make money and save the money you already have. Tweak the “establishment” to cater to your priorities and your priorities- alone. We’re all beautifully weird, so you should focus on an individual approach to achieving whatever goals you set for this year. It’s okay; you can be different and still find success. Remember: let your freak flag fly!

Grow

Grow your business, your salary or your investments. Find opportunities in today’s environment and multiply your return on them. Look in places you never thought to look – be contrarian. Allow opportunities to pan out and just go where they take you. You’ll experience the most growth both personally and professionally by jumping on the wave and letting it ride.

Create

Create solutions to the problems that you just can’t seem to figure out. If the road looks like a dead end, create your own path to the goal. Don’t be afraid to search for creative solutions to the problems you face.

Succeed

Be your own success story. Every single step you take is one in the right direction. Don’t undermine what you’ve done because you haven’t made it to the end goal just yet. Give it time; each day is another paragraph in your own testimonial.

Collaborate

Join a team that’s going towards the goals that you are working toward. If you can’t find one, then build it yourself. Collaboration will help you grow, aide in your creativity and be helpful in your long-term success. Don’t be afraid to bounce ideas off of other people.

Serve

As you find success, remember to give back. Serving humanity can be volunteering at a homeless shelter, walking dogs at the humane society, becoming a mentor or donating money to charity. It can also mean sharing your success story with others or encouraging your friends to follow their hearts.

Shift

Move up the ladder. Increase your awareness. Listen to your instincts. Follow your gut. Shifting means more than just changing your mindset; it’s moving to higher vibrations. As you get in touch with what’s in your heart space, that shift will become easier.

My promise to you

This year, I resolve to give you creative solutions to your financial issues. I resolve to grow with you in your quest to a higher vibration. I’ll encourage collaboration among everyone reading this blog, and I’ll share success stories both here and on social media. We can serve humanity together by sharing our success with those around us, and not letting the setbacks discourage us.

In 2012, I want you to focus on these seven things. And we’ll tackle them together one at a time. Make this year the one that you act – consistently and deliberately – on the things that you truly desire.