5 Tips About Money for Women Who Want to be Spiritual Leaders And Run Successful Ministries and Practices
Tuesday, March 2nd, 2010Two weeks ago, I posted the article; “5 Actions for the Woman Spiritual Leader to Ensure Financial Success”. In the introduction, I addressed some of the issues women who are doing “spiritual work” seem to have around money. Here are some excerpts from that article:
“How many times have you stopped short of telling a client what you thought your services were worth? How often have you given your services away because it was considered to be the ‘spiritual’ thing to do? We who deal with services that are considered to be spiritual in nature, it seems to me, have mind-sets to deal with; those of the people we serve, and … our own! When we begin to deal with our own ideas, misconceptions, and beliefs around what our services are worth, we will then be able to better deal with those of the people we serve.”
Being women, we usually think about and handle money differently than men do. Men seem to have an easier time asking for what they think they’re worth. This likely is driven by a man’s need to provide and to ‘accumulate’. Women, on the other hand, have a need for security, their family, their home, and their community. Historically, women also have not been the ‘breadwinners’.
How much we have seen this change in the last few decades! While women are still not compensated at the rate that men in the same positions are, in many instances they have become the ‘breadwinner’; the main, or often, only source of income.
We women who are spiritual leaders doing “spiritual work”, it seems to me, have a double whammy to deal with. I think we would agree that as women our mindsets around money are different from the mindsets from men. And secondly, we have to deal with the mindsets we have brought to our work.
While much of this mindset has been borne of our culture’s view that anything of a ‘spiritual nature’ should not have monetary value (never the twain shall meet!! – Heaven forbid!) as women we have not been encouraged to change our own individual values around the services we provide.
In order to begin to build an awareness around any issues you may have around money and the services you provide, I invite you to take a notebook and respond to the following:
1. Identify your own mindset around money and what money means to you
View your “monetary history”. Take a look at your check register, credit card statements, investment records, and spending habits. It would also be helpful to look at records of your reimbursements from individual clients, work-shops, and other sources of income. What does this data have to do with your mind-set around money?
2. Write down some phrases, edicts, shoulds, etc. that you may remember from your childhood around the subject of money
We all have grown up with probably hundreds of those that now form the hodge-podge of the way we view money and how we value what we do. And so much of it is unconscious. And what is “unconscious” will begin to surface once you have set your intent around making it so, and commit to being aware. You may be surprised by what emerges…
3. Try to recall situations where you have been involved in conversations around money, and your emotional reactions to what was being discussed
This is also a good exercise to do in the present. Other people’s remarks, an article that you may read, or something you may view or listen to in the media, may trigger emotions in you that you may not have been aware of. It is helpful to have a small note book in your purse or small recorder to document your reactions.
4. Identify areas in your life where you would like to have more confidence
Building confidence in yourself and what you do is one of the key ingredients to becoming more financially successful. Write those down, and don’t be bashful… no-one is looking over your shoulder, and, after all, this is your life!
5. Seek support
It is not easy to roll back years of brain washing, acculturation, habit, and mindsets by yourself. Women, by nature, love relating. Find that group, person, program, or community that will best serve your needs.
To your financial success!
Ruth
Ruth Reiner, President and Co-Founder of the International Association of Women Spiritual Leaders is an ordained Interfaith Minister, Spiritual Counselor, Certified Life Coach, and successful business woman.
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