During a recent conversation, someone told me they were surprised by how much entrepreneurship had, “…caused them to face themselves.”
I wasn’t surprised at all. In fact, I was delighted to hear their insight.
I’ve been saying for a long time that money and entrepreneurship—whether individually or collectively—will take you on an intense personal development journey.
And what I wish more people understood is that the way they manage their finances and business (or career, as it may be) isn’t just about making profits or meeting goals.
It’s an underestimated vehicle for self-awareness and personal growth, shaping who you are along the way.
Mirror Mirror on The Wall
I have my clients do an exercise I call “5/5.” It is where they identify key (human) relationships in their life. And I then ask them to draw parallels between how what both energizes and depletes them, in those relationships, shows up in how they relate to money and their business.
People always find this mirroring exercise revelatory.
It is particularly eye-opening on the money front because we are often told that money is neutral. It isn’t!
How you manage money and how you respond to your financial successes and failures reflect your values, beliefs, and fears – including your insecurities.
And here’s the truth:
Both your money and business decisions are often driven by deeper, sometimes subconscious, factors.
So, even though the person didn’t share the specific details about what she was facing (and discovering) about herself. I’m fairly certain that it was the “subconscious factors” that surprised her most.
Call it the classic case of: Not knowing what you don’t know.
What have you discovered about yourself courtesy of a recent money or business related choice or experience?
How has this led to a deeper understanding of yourself?
Insight Equals Evolution
As you may know, I have an MBA in finance. I spent many years managing money for high-net-worth individuals and families. As a result, I am well versed in the exercise of and the importance of crunching numbers.
But one of the reasons I sunset the investment management arm of my business is that I got tired of having conversations that were based purely on the performance of a portfolio. Particularly since I learned very early on in my career that managing money is much more than just crunching numbers.
It’s why you’ll hear me frequently say how “financial success isn’t just about the numbers,” or that “you don’t manage money, you manage choices.”
As the hip kids say (or maybe said???): I’m not new to focusing on and talking about one’s relationship to money, I’m true to this. 😃
You see, I know from firsthand experience and firsthand observation just how much money is a daily practice of mindfulness (or intentionality), discipline, and resilience.
I also know how entrepreneurship intensifies this concatenation. Especially when you add on the financial pressure that comes with.
Money and entrepreneurship force you to face aspects of yourself that you might not confront otherwise. And, they both serve as channels for you to deal with fear—fear of failure, fear of success, fear of uncertainty.
With both, you’re constantly navigating highs and lows, making decisions that have ripple effects on your finances, your business, and your life.
When you’re in the thick of it, it is not fun…not fun at all!
Yet through it all, you end up learning more about your strengths, weaknesses, blindspots, and desires. You also end up coming face-to-face with your insecurities.
This is where your personal growth happens – when you use these insights to improve on all fronts.
Not All Growth is The Same
That said, it is important to make a distinction between reactive growth and intentional growth.
The former happens as you respond to challenges; the latter occurs when you consciously create space for it.
So, although growth will inevitably and eventually happen…
…growth on your own terms hits very differently than growth that feels thrust upon you.
And can you guess what plays a critical role in the type of growth you experience? Stability!
Reactive growth is what usually unfolds when you are in survival mode.
All of us have experienced times when things were a bit unsettled and on shaky ground. So, you know that when this is happening, it’s hard to focus on anything beyond the immediate needs of what’s in front of you. It’s hard to be visionary and ask, “What can I build or improve?,” when you’re consumed with thinking, “How can I get by – get by this day, this month, or this situation?”
The urgency and stress of survival mode makes it hard to think beyond the very next choice you must make. Hence, the connection between survival mode and reactive growth.
On the other hand, intentional growth isn’t accidental or forced by circumstances. It is nurtured as part of an ongoing process where you are actively engaged in investing time, effort, and energy reflecting, learning, and evolving.
Like I said, intentional growth happens because space has been created for it. And by space, I mean financial, mental, and emotional space.
This is Why
The connection between money, entrepreneurship (or career), and personal growth is deep and ongoing. Together, they are constant teachers, offering lessons in patience, discipline, resilience, self-awareness, and self-empowerment.
When you start to view your relationship with money and how you work as a mirror of your inner world, you’re better able to unlock the potential for immense personal transformation.
It’s how every financial decision you make, every business risk you take, and every success or failure you experience becomes the “thing” that helps you face the person you are…and shapes the person you will become.
