Your mindset is the set of beliefs and attitudes you hold about yourself, other people, and the world. It includes your outlook on life and your philosophies about the universe. While there are many different dimensions to a person’s mindset, each one falls into one of two categories: a fixed mindset or a growth mindset.

Fixed Mindset

A person with a fixed mindset believes that someone’s intrinsic qualities are set at birth and can’t change. Someone with a fixed mindset believes that intelligence, talent, and other attributes are determined by the genetic lottery at conception and can’t be improved upon even with training and practice. They believe themselves to be good or bad at something based on inherent talents. They also believe that people’s character is inborn. People are born good, bad, or something in between and can’t change.

People who have a fixed mindset tend to ignore things they aren’t immediately...

A limiting belief is something that your unconscious mind believes about yourself, other people, or the world. These beliefs hold you back from accomplishing your goals because you believe them, but guess what? They aren’t objectively true. That’s one of the hallmarks of a limiting belief.

Here’s an example. Let’s say you believe you’re bad at math, but you want to go to college and major in something that requires a lot of math. Are you bad at math? Probably not; most people can learn to do basic math well and the majority can also learn to do higher-order math if they apply themselves. But because you believe you’re bad at math, you have trouble mastering the math skills required for your program. This is a classic example of a limiting belief.

Other common examples abound. The fear of failure is a common limiting belief that leads people to avoid following their dreams because they don’t want to fail. Many people have the...

Reaching your goals is hard. When you don’t succeed, it can be hard to figure out why. Sometimes the circumstances or the situation are to blame. Other times, it’s not so easy to find the cause. Have you ever wondered if it might be YOU? Could you be holding yourself back from succeeding? It’s more common than you’d think for people to sabotage themselves in this way. What’s behind it? Something called limiting beliefs.

What’s a Limiting Belief?

The human brain thinks in stories. Your mind holds an almost infinite number of stories about the world around you and about the people that you know. It also holds many stories or beliefs about yourself, some of which are healthy and some of which aren’t. A limiting belief is one of the latter. It’s a story about yourself that you believe, specifically one that isn’t (or shouldn’t be) true.

Examples of limiting beliefs you might hold include things such as “I’m too old...

There are as many ways to budget and save as there are personalities. You may be a type-A, strict, and regimented sort of person or you may be a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants type. There is a budget plan for each and every type. The key is finding a style that fits with your natural tendencies.

One style of budgeting is the pay yourself method. This method takes into consideration all the real-world things people want and need to spend money on. Think vacations, a new car, clothing, etc. The pay yourself first method commits to paying for these items - or saving the money for them in a savings account - before designating money to bills and other fixed necessities.

The pay yourself first method calculates the financial commitments that are important to you and your family, sets that money aside, and uses the remainder income for the day-to-day budget. This is the opposite of traditional budgets that consider bill paying and fixed expenses the priority and setting aside...

One of the best ways to change your money mindset and learn new skills is to follow influencers. Whether you need to learn practical skills or be inspired and pumped up that you can and will change your patterns, influencers are key.

Having a cheerleader in your corner is never a bad thing, right?

Finding and following a money mindset influencer really isn’t hard. The key is to ask yourself these questions:

Q? What sort of personality do I resonate with most?

Q? What is the best way for me to consume new information?

Q? How often do I want to engage with money mindset information?

Personality matters- If you are a quiet and shy sort, you may not be influenced by loud and in-your-face influencers. Finding someone who you gel with will make learning new techniques easier and helps them transform the way you think.

Finding a means to learn matters- You may love a great podcast, or you might prefer to read a book you hold in your hand so you can mark...

When money is an issue, it may seem like having more creates happiness. The lack of financial problems certainly would lend itself towards being happier but having more money doesn’t increase long-term happiness. What money does create is choices.

The more money you have, the more choices you can make. This can be a great thing or an overwhelming thing depending on the skill sets you have. Let’s see why:

We already know that more money can equal more problems, especially knowing that money magnifies who you already are. If your day-to-day personality is high-strung and anxious, having more money is not going to stop that from happening- It is going to magnify it. If you are even-mannered and conscientious about your spending, you’ll likely be more so with more wealth.

As you work to earn more money, it is equally important to work to be the healthiest person you can be all the way around. This way, as your choices unfold, you can make the best...

Sports are a wonderful way to build a team. Coming together for the common good is rewarding and gives you people to celebrate the wins and losses with. Some sports rely on the entire team for the win, while others - like track and field - are individualized yet, still a part of a team. Your wealth mindset is also a team effort and works best when all the players are working towards a win.

Who is on your team?

Some ideas include:

• Your Spouse
• Your family
• Your financial planner
• Your banker

 Your team is made up of obvious players, from your spouse to your banker. Having the buy-in of your family is important so you are working towards a common goal. From spending, saving, to being generous, all the players help make your wealth a win/win situation.

Having a game plan and practicing your wealth management will ensure that your team is ready when adversity comes, and they need to buckle down for the greater good.

Who else might be on your team?

Some ideas include:

• Your debtors...

Creating a wealth mindset is a tool. Your mindset is a tool that you use to make better decisions and create long-lasting wealth. Why do you want wealth? There are many reasons that people want more resources:

• Status
• Options
• High-quality
• Freedom
• And more

If I were to poll 100 people, I might get 10 categories of answers as to why they want to be wealthy. One of those answers might be to have more options or to quit working for someone else - both super good reasons. One reason is very powerful though… to create a legacy.

Wealth isn’t just about spreadsheets and net worth. Wealth is a mindset and a way of living. Wealth is all about being generous and thinking outside of immediate and personal need to the needs and benefit to generations. There is little more satisfying than knowing your actions will impact your kids, their kids, and possibly their kids. That’s a lot of kids to share your legacy.

Creating a legacy with your wealth...

Making the decision to shift to a wealth mindset is the first step of many towards building a wealth legacy. Taking action is the second step. Both steps are very important but maybe not the most important. The most important step towards a long-lasting wealth mindset is not allowing a setback to undo all you have accomplished.

Sometimes making a change is easier when everything is going right. Let’s use weight management as an example: Everything is easy as long as the numbers on the scale keep going down and you can get out an exercise regularly... then BOOM! Life throws you a curveball. You twist your ankle and end up in a cast for six weeks. Suddenly, your success isn’t as easy. Being sedentary and feeling blue, the cakes are calling and there’s no way to burn up the calories. That setback can undo your weight loss success if you don’t modify your thoughts and actions. 

You may find that you are doing all the rights things....

Your family is always watching…  

It’s true. Most of what your family takes in about life and how to live it comes from what you say and the behaviors you have regarding what you say. Tiny humans are like sponges, and they make assumptions about life based on the modeling you do every day of their lives. Why not model a smart money mindset for your family?

 Parents are faced with some big decisions as their children grow. How much they can share about real-life situations and if they do share, how honest they should be about them. It is important to match a child’s development to the level of information they receive. Likewise, it is important to not place undo responsibility or expectations onto children who aren’t supposed to carry a parent’s burden.

This can make it really hard to share certain struggles that a family may face in the financial realm. Failing to be honest about financial issues can lead to fairytales where life...