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I'd Rather be Rich,...A Road Map to Where You'd Rather Be

Sheila Leonard

Author Bio: 

Originally trained as an accountant, I designed my roadmap to freedom at the age of 29.  In only 8 years, I was free to leave the corporate world and study spiritual psychology.  After 5 years of leading healing workshops, I helped open the Oasis Spa and Wellness Centre.  Frustrated with being slotted back into accounting, I left the spa to become a financial planner.  Today I am a Certified Financial Planner and lead workshops in the design, implementation and achievement of participant's greatest dreams.

Book Synopsis:

Most people put more effort into planning a "road trip" than they do designing their lives. Working with the analogy of a road trip, the road map (work book) helps the reader explore their deepest desires. These desires are transformed into vision and then reality. More than an another goal setting book, it looks at why we don't set goals; why we don't follow through; why we so willingly settle for so little in our lives. And then we can make another choice.

Sample Selection: 

Just what is being rich?  It is different for everyone.  For some it is owning their own home, or providing for their children’s education.  For others it is the ability to travel in luxury.  Others would like to quit their current jobs and find a career that inspires them.  It could mean living in an exotic country.  It often contains a certain dollar figure.  What rich means to someone earning $30,000 per year, is very different from a person earning $500,000 per year.   As we keep creating more money, we keep raising the bar.  Being rich is not about the amount of money, but it is about how you use the money.  It is not about being rich, it is about feeling rich.  And for most of us, it does take some money to feel rich. To feel rich, I need to have a balance (underlying principle of this book) of security and freedom.  I want to know that I have the financial freedom to do whatever I want, whenever I want.  I want to make my decisions based on what I desire, not what I think I can afford. I also want to have financial security -- knowing that the financial freedom I have to day will be there throughout my life. 

Feeling rich is also about having a personally rewarding and full experience of life.  I want to live in peace, happiness and contentment.  I want to have my life full of passionate, loving, gentle and honest people.  I want to continually expand my knowledge and my experiences.  I love to try new things and explore new places.  I want to be surrounded with beauty.  I want to begin and end each day in gratitude.   

So you see, being rich is about the money and it is not about the money.  It is both.  Money cannot buy you happiness, but living without it is limits the experiences in your life.  I want it all!   

What does Rich look/feel like to you?

Pearl Bailey said “Honey, I’ve been rich, and I’ve been poor, and rich is better” 

The Importance of Having a Plan 

Whether you are conscious of your life plan, or not, you have one.  Having no plan, is also a plan.  It is a plan not to have one.  It is a plan to drift through life, pulled along by your unconscious mind.  What is unconscious is out of your awareness and out of your control.  You literally have no power over it, as long as you are unaware of it.  You are making decisions based on decisions you made about life, so long ago that you no longer remember.  You are making choices you are not conscious about.  Sometimes those choices work for you and sometimes they don’t.  Life can be a hard teacher.  In this book, we are going to clear up some of those decisions that are not working for you and build new beliefs that will move you to where you would rather be, with greater ease and grace.  

I can assure you that if you are not making new conscious choices, you will keep repeating the same life journey over and over again, until you do.  You will continue to drive down the same road, traveling in circles, until you choose a new direction. 

I once spent a short time with a man who was very clingy.  He would constantly do things that pushed my buttons, and I would push him away.  Then he would whine and complain.  You see, in his mind, he believed that his actions would bring me closer to him.  His belief was so strong that he could not see the opposite results he was creating.  And because he could not see it, he could do nothing about it.  After many discussions, he still could not stop the behavior.  We eventually agreed to end the romantic side of our relationship.  But I do love the way the cycle of life works.  Even though he did not “get it” in our relationship, his next girlfriend behaved towards him, as he did to me. And then, he got the lesson.  He changed directions.  And actually, the same thing happened to me.  The Universe keeps putting situations in front of us to help bring our unconscious to consciousness.  The quicker we can become conscious, the easier our lives become.  We may still hit the potholes of life, but they will not be so deep, they will not hurt so much, and the damage will be minimized. Eventually, we learn to drive around the potholes.

So let’s bring some consciousness to your money and your life situation. 

What is your greatest fear around money?

What is your earliest memory of money? What did it lead you to believe about money?  About life?

What money memories hold the strongest emotions for you? What did they lead you to believe about money?  About life?

What did your Mother (or other female figures) teach you about money?  About life? 

What did your Father (or other male figures) teach you about money?  About life?

Looking at your life, how have you been effected by your early memories and teachings? Is there anything you would like to change your mind about, right now?

Where will you be in 5 years, if you do not take control of your destination?

Where will you be in 10 years, if you do not take control of your destination?  

Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, chocolate in one hand, wine in the other, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and screaming………….

WOW, WHAT A RIDE!!!!!” 

Carrying Any Heavy Baggage? 

I often get the question, should I pay off my debts, or should I save?  The answer is always unique to a person’s situation, but I try encouraging a balance of both and here is why.  If you scrimp and save to pay off your debts, how do you feel?  Like you put out a lot of cash but got nothing in return?  This is sacrifice.  Whenever we allow ourselves to sacrifice, we simultaneously build the foundation for indulgence.  Early in my career, I met a couple who had just paid off their mortgage.  They were delighted.  Instead of then starting an investment program, they went on a spending spree.  They bought two new cars and a vacation property.  I have seen this happen time and time again.  Numbers may show that it is better to pay off your mortgage, but they do not build in the human factor, and that makes the biggest difference. 

When you decided to balance paying off your debt and also doing some investing, you start to expand your comfort zones.  You reduce the amount of debt you are comfortable with and you build the experience of actually having money.  As you get comfortable with saving money, you will see how it grows and you will be better able to nurture it.  I have found that in all areas of life, balance is the answer. 

If debt has been an issue for you, (it is an issue if you, or your spouse, is not happy with it) let’s look a little deeper into your unconscious.  I believe everything is a gift.  We may not like how it is wrapped, but there is always something in it for us.  How is debt a gift to you?  Debt is unconsciously held as a payback for something in your past. 

Who has hurt you the most?  What do you think they owe you for that?

Who do you think you owe, for something you did in the past?

How has it hurt to carry these debts with you?  If you don’t think it has, ask someone close to you.