Translator: Veronica Andrianatou Reviewer: Qing Sun
I am just going to say it:
Life
is stories
and stories
are life.
Furthermore,
one of the learned authors,
went as far as saying:
Humans
are story-telling animals.
In his amazing book,
Jonathan Gottschall talks about humans
as storytellers.
He goes further to say,
humans tell stories,
like flight simulators,
help pilots
navigate
uncertain territories.
Stories,
help us humans
navigate the complex social problems
that we face in life.
He goes even further,
and says
like other human behaviors,
storytelling
is developed as a way
to ensure the survival of humans.
Jonathan Gottschall is not alone
in having these views
on stories.
Another author Scot Turow,
asks a profound question.
He says:
"Who are we,
but the stories we tell ourselves
and believe".
As humans,
we tell ourselves stories all the time.
There are heroes,
there are villains in our stories.
They are fiction, they are nonfiction,
they are reality.
Dare I say
sometimes,
there are spies with dragons
that only we believe
and can make sense of.
Among these many stories,
that we tell ourselves
all the time,
one can go as far as to say:
Every aspect of our lives,
we tell it as a story.
These stories,
they not only tell
about what happened
they speak about why it is important to us,
what does it mean for us now,
and where our future lies.
Among these many stories,
are money stories,
yes, money stories.
These are stories,
about the longest relationship
that you will ever have,
A relationship,
we center life decisions on.
A relationship,
you cannot break-up with.
A relationship, that you cant divorce.
Money stories,
are not about income
and expenses,
they are not about assets
and liabilities.
The idea I want to spread this afternoon,
is that your relationship with money,
is your money story.
It is a relationship,
that you can not leave a page unwritten.
Every day,
we make decisions
around money
and we write our money stories.
Like all other stories,
it has been said
often
what cannot be seen,
is more important,
than what can be seen.
So it is, with our money stories.
From the money stories we see the results
of our money behavior.
But what is not seen,
is the underlying money story,
that drives those behaviors.
You might be wondering,
what is your money story
as you sit there.
Allow me,
to introduce to you,
some characters,
that may be in your money story
and their story lines:
The “Family Steward”.
The "Family Stewart" says:
"Looking well after money allows me
to look well after my family and others”.
The “Gambler”.
The “Gambler” says:
“I love trading in the equity market!
In fact, the odds in the equity market,
are better than the odds in the casino!”
The “Independent”.
The “Independent” simply says:
“I want to manage my money well,
because managing my money well
gives me freedom.”
The “Accumulator”.
Very simply:
“I never want to run out of money,
so I accumulate as much as I can.”
The “VIP”.
The “VIP” says:
“money,
gives me status.”
The “Mogul”.
The “Mogul” says :
“money,
gets me respect.”
That is the story line.
Now,each one of these
money stories,
has a story line,
has a plot
and their subplots,
in these stories are around money.
It has been said:
"too much of anything,
is not a good thing."
Whilst in many instances,
there are good sides
to these money stories,
they also have a shadow side.
So what must shift?
What part of these money stories needs to shift?
When these shift you change your life.
Let’s take the Accumulator.
The Accumulator will do well
to take a leaf
out of the book
of Mr. Ebenezer Scrooge,
in the “Christmas Carol”.
The “VIP”, will do well to learn
that irrespective
of the level of wealth,
everybody deserves respect.
The “Mogul”,
needs to learn and understand
that money doesn't bring status.
Status is about your passion, is about
your purpose, is about the impact you make
in communities.
Managing money well,
for me and my family,
is a good thing,
but one also needs to remember,
what we are constantly reminded
by flight attendants.
Before every flight, we are told:
“Put on your own oxygen mask,
before you help others”.
So many people,
with money start helping others,
find themselves
in deeper money problems
because they are helping others.
Your money story,
is written in chalk,
not in ink,
so you can change it,
you can shift it.
You are both
the narrator and the main character
in your money story.
Whilst there are many effective ways,
of changing your money story,
one effective one, that I found in my experience,
requires one
to shift their mindset.
Research shows,
that many people
run their lives,
with a scarcity mindset.
There is not enough of everything,
There is not enough money,
There is not enough time in a day,
There is not enough good things going on in this world.
Research shows that people,
who run their lives
with that mentality,
tend to have
negative money stories
that negatively affect their spending habits
and ultimately their lives.
So where must you shift your mindset?
Shift your mindset to abundance.
People who run their lives
with a mindset of abundance..
Yes there are problems in the world,
but there is also so much good that is going on.
I only need to open my eyes to see the good
that is amidst all these
challenges that you are facing.
Research shows,
that people who approach their lives,
with an abundance mindset,
tell themselves positive money stories.
Because of the positive money stories they tell themselves,
they manage their money better,
and that shows
not only in their financial behavior,
but in the results of how they manage their money.
Your money story, is not the fact
that 6% of South Africans, retire comfortably,
Your money story, is not the fact that
77% of South Africans
live from (one) paycheck to the next.
Your money story,
is your relationship with money.
Shift your money story,
change your life.
Thank you! (applause)