Like blood in your body, it’s often better to have a small amount of money flowing well than a large amount that isn’t flowing at all.

I used to set financial goals. Over the years, we’ve achieved nearly all of them. But each time we hit one target, it felt like we were immediately scrambling to set the next. I looked forward to the day when we wouldn't have to chase after the next paycheck.

And then, one day, we were blessed to confront a hard truth: our reserves were gone. I say "blessed" because that moment changed our perspective completely.

It was an eye-opening realization.

We had previously experienced what it was like to have plenty of money in the bank, but on that day, we faced the opposite: having little to no money left. In the first scenario, we had a large reserve, but no cash flow. The issue was, we hadn’t set up enough income streams to replenish what we were spending quickly enough.

Now, we weren’t spending recklessly; it was just the reality of living expenses and investing in our education that drained our reserves. Our goal was to get those income streams flowing before the money ran out.

But in the back of our minds, we feared what would happen if the money ran out before those streams were up and running.

And then, on that day, we faced our fear: the money was gone, the resources were drained, but we had several income streams in place that we’d spent a long time developing. These streams weren’t guaranteed, and they weren’t always predictable, but at least they were cash flow.

And trust me: we felt far more financially secure with no money in the bank, but a small, fluctuating income coming in, than we ever did with a big pile of cash and little to no income flow.

I think the "flow" way is actually more aligned with how things are meant to work. Money is currency—current—it needs to flow. If it’s not circulating, it loses its value. Net worth is just a number on paper. As my co-author for Portal to Genius, Garrett B. Gunderson says, "It's just dots on a paper."

True wealth and value come from exchange. Whether or not money is involved, wealth exists only when resources are in circulation.

Think of it like this: would you rather have a healthy 10 pints of blood flowing through your body, or 40 gallons of blood sitting unused in a refrigerator, with no blood flow in your body?

(That’s a visual, right?)

Make peace with what you have, and with some wisdom, let it flow.

About charitable donations

Our bodies naturally replenish blood when we donate some—without us even knowing how we do it. The same goes for money. Even if you have only a little, don’t be afraid to let some of it flow to good causes. Nature has ways of replenishing you.

Have a goal to get a million dollars?

I assure you, a pile of money doesn’t bring peace of mind. In fact, it can create more anxiety because it’s easy to worry about it dwindling or being mismanaged.

Most people who want a million dollars see it as a resource to spend or a cushion to sit on. That’s how I used to think. I didn’t know any different.

But truly wealthy people don’t think like that. They look at a million dollars not as something to consume, but as a vehicle to generate FLOW. They save a million, but they don’t touch it. They live off the interest, which is made possible by putting it into institutions that will lend it out. That’s the money they spend. And barring a major economic collapse, that’s the money that keeps flowing.

Peace of mind comes from having healthy flow, even if what’s flowing isn’t much.

Where there’s flow, things grow. It’s the difference between the Dead Sea and the Sea of Galilee. It’s the difference between 10 pints of blood circulating through your body and 40 gallons sitting in a fridge.

So, if earning a million is your goal, don’t think of it as something to hoard or consume. It’s about circulating that money, putting it to work where it will flow. Just like blood in a blood bank. If you were to hook yourself up to an IV and take a few pints of blood, you wouldn’t leave it under your pillow, would you? It only serves a purpose when it’s circulating—not when it’s stagnant.

Things grow where there is flow.

So, whether you have a little or a lot, let it circulate. Don’t fear running out if you're putting it toward investing in your soul's purpose—the thing that makes you come alive, the thing you feel born to do. The laws of success support you best when you're doing what your heart tells you to do. Don’t be afraid to invest in things that help create income streams. As Bob Proctor taught me years ago, the cure for fear is not courage—it’s knowledge.

_________________

•   To discover how to start choosing more effectively now, read The Jackrabbit Factor (FREE!)  
•   If you want more step-by-step guidance on creating the life you really want, join me in the Mindset Mastery program.
•   If you want my help overcoming that giant obstacle right in front of you, learn more and sign up for Genius Bootcamp.