G’day gorgeous ones,

Can I just say:

I am feeling so so so damn good lately.

It’s a revelation to not be a tsunami of spew and nausea after nine months.

Yesterday me + my kinfolk went to the beach. Sat by the sea, made sandcastles, fed a sleepy sunset-haired baby, talked, but mostly just grinned.

Grinned because our “normal” life is returning to us. One where we can go out! And do things! And I can be vertical!

Guys, normal life is just so dang underrated… but so damn wonderful.

I am just rolling in my life lately.  I’m like a puppy dog rolling around in the dirt just for the joy of rolling around in the dirt! I am so, so blessed to have my little family growing, my little stardust baby growing, my bigger mermaid girl growing, my life growing before my eyes. It’s incredibly empowering and humbling at the same time!

And it’s been making me think a bit about this amazing biz that I’ve been able to grow here, and this stupendous community that has grown up around me and supported me and allowed me to build this life that I just adore and couldn’t be more grateful for!

It’s all very woo-woo and spiritual and Land of Hippy around here!  And yet.

AND YET.

There’s a big old elephant in this space that those of us who reside in the Land of Hippy don’t love to talk about, and that’s Money.  With a capital M.

And that’s where our question for this week’s Q + A comes in:

I started a nonprofit organization which exposes at risk youth to better choices for their life.

It was not created to make money, but to help the community while I earn a basic income.

Helping youth is my calling I know.

However, I am at a point of growth in my money mindset. I have three wonderful boys to raise and I know more abundance empowers my family to provide academic and social enrichment for their lives.

My question is about aligning money with my intentions for work and personal good so I can be a great custodian of money.

Ooooh I just LOOOOVE this question!  So, in other words:

How do I align my intentions for work and personal good with my money mindset so I can be a great custodian of money?

Let’s play a little what if-sies here:

• WHAT IF… you made a million dollars this year, free and clear?
• WHAT IF… someone handed you a gift/grant/paycheck that would cover every foreseeable expense for the next 10 years, and everything you earned yourself was gravy?
• WHAT IF… you created a business that supported your every physical and spiritual need and desire?

Basically, what would you do if all your money cares and worries were GONE tomorrow?

How does that feel?  Does it feel warm and fuzzy—or big and scary?

Would you run out and invest in a huge, soulless corporation that exploited the workers, used child labor, and ruined the environment? Would you buy a gigantic house that was totally out of line with your needs, just because you could, and a huge gas-guzzling vehicle to roam around aimlessly in? Would you suddenly decide that you could only eat endangered bird eggs and field greens from clear-cut rainforests in the Amazon????

Handy hint: I don’t think you would. I don’t think you would because that doesn’t actually align with who you are.

Money isn’t going to make you evil, or stupid.

Instead, if you had more money:

Would you continue to make choices in line with your beliefs? Would you support more local artisans and producers because you could afford to? Would you give more of your income to charity because you weren’t worried about paying the bills? Would you invest back into your business so you could reach and help more gorgeous souls with your brilliance?

I know exactly what you would do. You would use your moolah for good. You would use having more to become more.

Here’s the thing, darlinghearts: I don’t believe that money is the root of all evil.

Money just is.

The same way that the Earth is

or the sky is

or the sea is.

The same way that love is.

What we do with money is what colors it, what makes it good or bad.

I think our lovely questioner is worried that if she has money, it will change her.

And it will.

But only for the better. It will allow her to align all of her actions with her intentions.

Money is a tool; no more, no less.

“Money is only a tool. It will take you wherever you wish, but it will not replace you as the driver.” – Ayn Rand

Darling hearts, money is like a spade.  It can be used to cultivate a wonderful environment where good things grow, or it can be used to bonk somebody else over the head and take his wonderful things.

Either way, it’s not the spade’s fault.

I think a lot of my beautiful hippy dippy tribe worry that money will change them.

But what you don’t realize is:

You can change money into something that reflects your values and beliefs.

Now, you know I adore and support micro lending in developing nations through Kiva.  It’s just the most amazing thing to be able to see how an amount that you and I would consider relatively small can RADICALLY, magically, and fundamentally change the life of someone who has nothing!

(Our amazing Kiva team has actually lent more than $22 000! Incredible!!!!)

I believe in entrepreneurship changing ourselves, our families, our communities, our world.

I believe in Earth Angels helping each other out and teaching each other what they know.

I can change money into something that supports my values.  And I can do it over and over and over again.

The more money I have, the more change I can make.

(And I don’t mean coins!!)

Maybe it sounds crass, but it’s the absolute truth.  With money, I can affect my world.

• It might mean choosing to buy organic
• or sending your children to a better school
• or giving money to the neighborhood school to make it better
• or choosing to power your home with wind and solar instead of oil and nuclear power
• or empowering others to affect change in their world.

I get uber excited about money now.

Being financially free means:

• I can live anywhere I want
• I can choose any kind of housing I want
• I can give my kids the best education without being limited by money
• I can donate as much as I want

And I can do it all without fear or lack… just abundance. I know that I can make more money anytime! Money always comes to me. I know this now.

Money is just going to make you more of what you already are.

I believe you will make the right choices with your money.

Our questioner asked specifically how to be a good custodian of money.  And that can get a little—oooh, icky, SCARY!—investments and stocks and what should I do with it do I need an accountant sort of uncomfortable questions.

And yes, you may need to get yo’self some education (you KNOW how I feel about education!!) or hire an expert person whose soul lights up around numbers to help you figure out the details.

But the big picture is clear:

If you know your heart, everything else will follow.

• Don’t be afraid of earning money.

• Don’t be afraid of charging what you’re worth.

• Don’t be afraid that the people who need you won’t be able to afford you.

• Don’t be afraid that money will change you.

If you are blessed to be the custodian of money, then you will also be given the opportunities you need to handle it with grace.

Much love and abundance, my darlings!

You’ve got this!