You don't need money

Wednesday, April 04, 2007
By Walt F.J. Goodridge
Special to the Saipan Tribune


The only way to take control of your life, raise your standard of living and move beyond merely surviving is to create your own unique product or service that you offer to increasing numbers of people in exchange for the things of value that you desire. This simple formula applies to countries as well as people. A self-sufficient economy has its own products or services of value to export to the world. Similarly, a self-sufficient individual has something of value to exchange in the global marketplace. That thing of value is based on your natural talent, skill, or interest—in other words, your passion!

Perhaps this is the strangest concept most will ever hear
I offer it to you today so henceforth you’ll be clear
For most suspend their actions thinking money’s what they need
And put their dreams on hold and wait for cash so they’ll succeed

But think, my friend, on this for lease on life by truth is gained:
This universe is perfect, ordered well and self-contained
And even in societies based on the quest for gold
the principles of life remain and thus, my friend, still hold

For nothing can exist without the means for its arrival
and all have been endowed with what they need for their survival
Like birds have wings and eyes and instincts all that serve them well
You too have skills and talents once recognized that you can sell

The artisan and healer, farmer, too and natural scholar
all managed to survive before the advent of the dollar
For money’s just one means we’ve all agreed for an exchange
But what we trade’s our value from which most are now estranged

By printed piece of paper people’s power’s been purloined
and yet no fish or fowl needs cash, or credit, check or coin
You don’t need cash (it’s true), despite how critical it seems
the value in your passion is the currency of your dreams!

At the beginning of my Passion Profit workshops, I often ask people what they believe is preventing them from turning their passions into profit. Many cite "lack of contacts," some say a "lack of information", others say "fear", and some say "money."

To those who say information or contacts, I offer resources, perspectives and philosophies to help all of them, including contacts for loans, grants and investors.

However, I often challenge those participants who cite money as the obstacle to be open to the following “radical” concept: You don’t need money to start a business!

To help them accept this idea, I recount the successes of clients I’ve coached who leveraged their talents to provide value to companies who then provided the donations, sponsorship, supplies, equipment, operating space and/or facilities my clients needed in order to move forward. Here are two examples:

“Mary M,” recognizing that her passion for pets put her in regular contact with pet owners in her city, created a proposal to a national pet food manufacturer to provide her with the means to get operating space for her pet clinic. She got this in exchange for allowing the company to advertise their products directly to her customers.

Another client, “John B” a counselor in the prison system, recognizing that the inmates he wanted to counsel were already "walking ads" for specific clothing companies, approached sneaker companies and clothing manufacturers to sponsor his speaking tour and program within correctional facilities.

In nature, no life appears where the means for its survival does not exist. And once there, all life has inherently been endowed with the skills, instinct, adaptations necessary to survive. We, as humans are also thusly endowed. And even in our capitalistic society, which many see as being as far removed from the natural order as one can get, is still subject to basic universal and natural principles. Nature has not abandoned us even in the big cities.

The reason you don’t necessarily need money to launch a business is that the basis of survival and success in any society is really "exchange." People exchange the things of value they have for the things of value they need. Money is just one means for doing this. Therefore, if you recognize, honor and embrace the value in the passions and talents that you’ve been born with, you will have a thing of value that you can use to survive. You can then choose to trade it directly for money, or trade it directly for the things of value that you need. So it may not really be money at all that’s holding you back from pursuing your dream. It may simply be the ability to recognize the value in it!

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Until next week, remember, success is a journey, not a destination!


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