What is Your Wealth Identity?

The strongest force in human nature is to stay consistent with the identity you hold of yourself. Your identity is who you believe you are: I am a sales person, I am a mother, I am a master influencer, I am not a closer, I am not good on the phone. Any statement that begins with you saying or thinking “I am” is part of your identity. You have an identity in every area of your life, regardless of whether or not you are consciously aware of it. 

 

Identity is at the foundation of everything. Your wealth identity is the combination of your mental attitude, beliefs, values, and behaviors that determines how you respond to and interpret every situation around your finances and wealth. Recognizing how you want to see yourself financially, believe in yourself financially, and the decisions you consistently make regarding your finances allows you to recognize the difference between your current wealth identity and your ideal wealth identity. 

 

What are you motivated by in your finances? Avoiding pain or seeking pleasure?

 

Purpose is the leverage or the “why” behind results. Purpose is the gas that runs the engine. Utilizing your individual purpose or leverage allows a dream, hope, or wish to turn into a passionate, motivating, and compelling journey to your ultimate visions. Why is it important to build and maintain wealth at this stage of your life? What does it allow you to do or avoid?

 

There are two motivating forces of leverage when it comes to making decisions or taking action: 1) moving away from pain and 2) moving toward pleasure. Either leverage point can be more dominant in one’s nature or decision making style and be recognized based on patterns and conditioning. 

 

When you are motivated by pleasure, you recognize opportunities to feel and be your best and take proactive action. When you are motivated by avoiding pain, you take action in response to the anticipated consequence or fear of something being painful if you didn’t take action.

 

Everyone has a tendency in their personal finances to either move toward pleasure or avoid pain. Once you recognize your primary motivation, you are able to provide yourself with the leverage to make a plan and follow it. 

 

As humans, we do more to avoid emotional pain than physical pain, which indicates that our emotional needs are more motivating than any physical desire. By deepening your purpose for creating more wealth, you support your mind in becoming more emotionally engaged and therefore more motivated.

 

Money never leads; it always follows the provided value.

 

As you serve and create more and more value, your wealth consciousness expands, and money will come to you in abundance. Money is a tangible measure of the value and service you provide. Great wealth is a result of great purpose. 

 

You have infinite capability to deliver value to this world; the more value you provide, the more you grow your worth. Maximize your resources and limitless creativity to generate and cultivate wealth. Lead with abundance and gratitude, focusing on what you want and have versus what you lack, putting more attention and energy to what you give than what you get. When you offer exponential value in everything you do, knowing it comes back to you emotionally and financially, you grow your wealth. 

 

Embrace the responsibility and privilege of being an expert at managing and investing your personal finances. Every experience in the process of realizing your wealth desires happens for your benefit and is valuable to your growth. Ultimately, when you serve and add value, you deserve to receive all forms of abundance.

 

How do you define your personal wealth identity? What guides your wealth strategies?

 

As you develop the beliefs, values, and behaviors of a wealthy person, start to consider the ways you want to increase your wealth. What are some strategies from the world’s most abundant and successful people? Before we can uncover and attract the strategy best aligned with you, you must start to desire more. 

 

Spend a couple of minutes today thinking about what your ideal financial strategy looks like. What would you do if you could do anything in the world? How would you create value and experience value? What success would you achieve? 

 

There are four levels of wealth identity that guide your wealth strategies.. 

 

The first level of wealth identity is Entitlement. When functioning with the Entitled wealth identity, you come from a place of expectation without a level of gratitude or contribution in return. If you are operating from an Entitled wealth identity, you are coming from a place of demand. Think of a time when you had an Entitled wealth identity. What was the outcome, and how did it make you feel?

 

The second level of wealth identity is Equal Exchange. Equal Exchange is when you have an expectation to get exactly the same amount of value for the amount of effort provided. Our society is built on this concept. “I will give you money for something that I see the value in, and I expect to receive a product or service in return.” 

 

Often, Equal Exchange comes into play when you expect something in return for what you do. The problem occurs when expectations are not communicated. This is where passive-aggressiveness lives. It is easy to think of Equal Exchange as the smart way to protect yourself and to avoid being taken advantage of.

 

Most people think this wealth identity makes sense. “If I am going to do something, then I have certain levels of expectation around what I should get in return. I do this, then you do that.”  We often operate out of equal exchange in relationships. “If I cook, you will clean the dishes.” There can be a level of frustration that comes with this approach because you are giving to get something, and you wait until you get something to feel okay about giving.

 

Think of a time you invested from Equal Exchange. When do you most often invest at that level? What was the outcome of that level of investment?

 

The third and recommended wealth identity is Standard or Gift. With a Standard wealth identity, you act from a place of consistent gratitude and care for others, giving without expecting anything in return. 

 

The beauty of this identity is that if you are genuinely operating from a standard of giving without expecting anything in return, like giving a great gift, you end up getting even more joy and fulfillment from the act of giving. When there is no need to receive anything in return, you are less likely to be in emotional pain. You are in control of the giving because it is your standard and it makes you better and stronger in the long run. 

 

Many people are fearful of this wealth identity because they think it makes you weak or a pushover, when in reality, you are growing and becoming more. Nothing hurts you because you are not dependent on the reaction or return of service from someone else. People cannot take advantage of someone with a Standard wealth identity because a standard is for you, not for others. 

 

The law of mutual exchange says that everything and anything you give to the world and universe will come back to you. The important part is that you will not always know how or when it will come back to you. Know that it will come back in some way. 

 

Let your Standard shine. If you do not think others are giving up to your standards, do not lower your standards; continue to lead with your standard. Start working on your financial standard and watch what you attract. That is what attraction means; to become attractive. When you are attracted to what you want, you become what you want.

 

Think of a time you have invested from the Standard identity. When are you most often in a Standard identity? Describe it. What does the outcome look and feel like when you are operating from a Standard or Gift wealth identity?

 

The fourth and final wealth identity is Contribution. When you are at the level of Contribution, you give no matter what the consequence. You contribute all that you have for others regardless of the cost, even contributing to people, causes, products, or services who are at odds with you. You contribute despite their disposition and you continue to grow.

 

Contribution is the highest wealth identity level because you are sacrificing. There are incredible examples of people who have mastered a contribution identity. These are people who will give everything despite, and sometimes in spite of themselves, for what they believe to be the greater good. Examples of people with a contribution identity are Mother Teresa, Gandhi, Jesus Christ, and Martin Luther King Jr. 

 

Think of a time that you invested from a Contribution identity. When do you most often invest at this level? What does the outcome look and feel like when you invest at that level?

 

Remember, the strongest force in human nature is to stay consistent with the identity you hold of yourself. As you intentionally build your wealth identity, consider the level you’re most comfortable with and explore weather that aligns with the identity you are building. Examine your “I am” statements when it comes to finances and wealth. 

To learn more about building your wealth identity and making the most of your wealth strategies, visit nasp.com and join the elite group participating in The Advanced Sales Influence program.