Maybe this article is more projection than anything else… maybe none of you reading this have ever made the mistakes I have in the hot pursuit of the almighty dollar. Whether you think you’ve been a sucker before or not, this is still an important article for you to read because you may be on the verge of becoming a sucker.
Some lessons are learned the hard way and others, the excruciating way. This, for me, has been a lesson of extreme excruciation that I would not wish on my worst enemy… I don’t think. J
Nothing good, impactful, beneficial, innovative, long-lasting and priceless can be created when your motivation is fueled by the desire to make more money. Usually, someone wins and others lose or the scheme immediately crumbles. Either way, it is a failure of enormous proportions when money is the compass that guides your thoughts and actions.
Don’t get me wrong, money is good for all the wonderful things it can do for you. It pays the bills, pays for your vacations, pays for your house and your car but still, money is just a byproduct of providing value. Money is a tangible reward but it is of far lesser value than intrinsic rewards.
The problem is that when money motivates your actions, you are basically doomed to eventually fail. No matter what you might think, if you do anything simply in the name of making more money, I guarantee you that you will FAIL. There is simply no question about it. Following is a list of the top 5 mistakes people make when their actions are motivated by money.
Mistake #1: Lose Focus
One of the first things that happen to you when money motivates your actions is that you lose your focus. Regardless of what you had in mind, it will go right out the window if more money leads someplace else. Since money is the main factor, you will begin to compromise your initial mission and change your direction in the pursuit of money.
It doesn’t matter where it leads as long as you believe more money will come at the end. Getting lost won’t be too hard when money is leading because it has no eyes nor value but what you give it.
For instance, let’s say that you are passionate about creating and selling original designs of organic cotton t-shirts and you endeavor to start a small business doing just that. In the process of setting up shop, you discover that it’s cheaper to buy your shirts in Cambodia but the trade off is that you won’t be able to guarantee that the cotton is organic or that the workers are treated fairly.
If your mission is based on your core principles and intrinsic values, this quandary is an easy one… you decide to buy your shirts elsewhere. If on the other hand money is the main driver, you might easily decide to still buy your shirts in Cambodia and simply hope that the cotton is organic and that the workers are treated fairly. You’re not in Cambodia so no one can blame you when it goes awry… right? WRONGO!
The fact is that your customers are likely not from Cambodia either and if they have to hold someone responsible for this deception, it will be your head on the chopping block… I guarantee it.
Mistake #2: Make Assumptions
This happens when you have little or no interest in what you’re doing except to make money. If you have no passion for your market, you tend to make a lot of assumptions about how they behave. This is a paramount mistake and the quickest way to lose your core customers.
If you don’t understand your customers, how can you serve them? Soon enough, they will tire of your wares and seek out your competition.
In order to generate success in any market, you have to know your customers; you have to know what they need and how they like it delivered. This requires in depth research which requires time which you won’t care to commit because it has nothing to do with money.
Assumptions are said to be “the mother of all you know what ups” and it’s easy to see why. When you constantly assume, you leave some important things to chance. The most important thing left to chance is whether or not your customers will be interested in what you are selling. In most cases, they won’t be because your focus is on making money which means you’ll sell anything if you think you’ll make money.
If you assume your customers’ behavior and what they like, they will assume that you don’t care about them. The few that may have some interest in your wares won’t be nearly enough to sustain your business and you will soon suffer a well-deserved demise.
Mistake #3: Provide Little Value and Expect Big Returns
This is why the money motivator is a scheme. When you are motivated by making money, you focus less on providing value and more on making money. Your actions eventually become deceptive because you lie to your customers about the value you offer knowing that your product or service will not live up to your claims.
You do expect them to buy and keep on buying but you continue to provide less and less value. In an effort to make money, you’ll rush to create something in the short-term just so you can sell now without any regard for future ramifications.
In most cases, it will be very difficult to provide any real value to your customers if you are not even interested in your market. You are only there to make money NOT to provide value. You will begin to believe that your main goal is simply to make the sale and that what happens after is not your responsibility. As long as people buy and you make money, you’ve succeeded.
Nothing could be further from the truth because sooner or later your customers will see that you are not providing value and they will not only refuse to patronize your business but will tell as many others as they can to boycott you as well. Your reputation will suffer severely and you will be hard-pressed to rebuild it in that market. You will eventually be seen as nothing more than another two-bit hustler.
Mistake #4: Fall for Quick Fixes
I don’t know how many times I’ve done this but I do know that it has been more times that I want to remember. This is what happens when you have no focus, you make assumptions and provide little value – you fall for the quick fix of the day.
If you don’t know what you stand for you will fall for almost anything. Quick fixes are just that – quick! They are short-lived band aids that we go around applying when we chase money. Quick fixes are the quintessential pitfalls of money chasing schemes where only the “Quick Fixer” makes out.
The Quick Fixer knows that when a person motivated by money sees his product, he’ll jump at it. The quick fix is loaded with lofty promises of riches and overnight millionaire dreams but they NEVER deliver. How could they, they provide no value to anyone? They are just empty promises that pray on the desperation of people. In your feverish desire to simply make money, quick fixes might look like a great way to go but it doesn’t take long for you to realize that you’ve just been duped.
The worst part of all is that not only do you get taken for a ride but quick fixes are inherently rigged to take everyone you tell about it for a ride. So while you thought it was a great idea and shared it with the world, others followed suit and now they become trapped in the web of false promises and deceit which you perpetuated. A very tangled web – is it not?
Mistake #5: Failure to Put Money in its Place
When money motivates your actions, it means you have not put money in its proper place. Instead of you controlling money, it controls you. This is definitely no way to live because when money is in control, you lose control of your most important asset – YOU.
As I said before, money has its uses and when money is used appropriately, it’s great to have it in abundance. The problem is that if you don’t put money in its proper place, you won’t be able to control it. You have to understand the purpose of money.
I can guarantee you that while it will be very hard for you to succeed at anything when money motivates your actions, you will undoubtedly have much greater chances at succeeding when your motivation comes from within. If you do what fulfills you; what drives you internally, success will come as long as you are truly committed to your mission.
When money is in its place you understand that it is by no means ever a deciding factor your choices and actions. Money falls outside the circle of decision and only comes in as a result of your actions. It is neither the mission nor the end that you should pursue because it will always lead you a stray. When money is in its place you enjoy it for all its great uses like paying your mortgage, providing for your family and taking vacations without financial worry BUT it is not what fulfills you; it is not the reason you get up in the morning. You get up for a higher purpose; one that matters most to you; one that adds value to other people’s lives.
You may drive money (into your account), but money must never drive you. J
And the Moral of the Story Is…
I like money – I like having it to provide for my family and do the things that I’ve always wanted to do. It pays the bills and keeps a roof over our heads but at the end of the day, it’s just not that important to me. It used to be but not anymore.
I’ve failed at every endeavor where money was the driving force. Conversely, I’ve succeeded more often than not when money was not a part of the decision equation.
I can say unequivocally that I no longer do anything that is motivated by making money. My mission in life is not to make money – it is to help others achieve their dreams and goals by creating and delivering value in any way I can. Yes, I expect to be paid for my services because I have to eat and my family has to eat but no decision includes money as a factor – EVER.
Take this article for instance…
…I don’t know how many people will even bother to read it let alone care about the content. The truth is I don’t really care about that. What I do care about is that the article has valuable information and if it helps just one person overcome the “money weakness” I am happy with that. It means I did what I set out to do. I don’t know if this article in and of itself will ever generate much income for me if any, but in the grand universe, it doesn’t much matter.
For me the equation is simple: CREATE VALUE + DELIVER VALUE = SUCCESS.
The real secret to making money is that when you focus on creating and delivering value, money always comes to you. That’s right – it just shows up without you ever having to think much about it.
Once you create value and deliver it to a group of interested parties, you don’t have to worry about money – it always comes.
The greatest disservice you can do to you is to rob yourself of your true destiny. Find your dream, your purpose and follow it all the way. It will always yield abundance beyond your imagination in more ways that you had thought or imagined.
By the gold standard…
…I can tell you that I am not rich… YET; however, by the standard of universal law, I can confidently say that I believe I live in abundance because I believe in what I am doing and it fulfills me 100% to know that what I create adds value to the lives of others. I work on living my
