Financial
Freedom
by Suze Orman
 What do you
want from your money? College tuition for your kids? A bigger house and a new
car? Security when you retire? Wouldn't it be great simply to
have enough money so you don't have to worry?
The "enough money" part of that
equation is easy. The "so you don't have to worry" part is much more complex. It
actually has nothing to do with how much money you have or how little. You can
balance your checkbook until you're blue in the face, you can move money every
day between your mutual funds, you can double your life insurance, you can buy
lottery tickets -- and none of it will do you any good until you get beyond the
worry and fear. The fear of money, the fear of not having enough, the fear of
having enough, the fear of taking action, the fear of inaction.
There isn't a part of our lives
that money doesn't touch -- it affects our relationships, the way we go about
our everyday activities, our ability to make dreams reality, everything. Most of
us, I think, have a core of anxiety that we carry around with us, though we may
not admit it to ourselves. That is part of money's power over us.
From years as a financial planner
I have learned that true financial freedom doesn't depend on how much money you
have. Financial freedom is when you have power over your fears and anxieties
instead of the other way around.
Whatever their circumstances -- in
debt, working, downsized, afraid of becoming downsized, retired, having just
inherited money, having just lost money -- my clients invariably arrive with a
handful of financial papers and a heart full of anxieties. Like most certified
financial planners, I started my practice to help other people with their money,
but as time went on, I realized that it was far more than their money (or lack
of it) that needed attention. Today new clients arrive expecting me to ask to
see their papers. Instead I ask them first to share their fears.
When I was very young I had
already learned that the reason my parents seemed so unhappy wasn't that they
didn't love each other; it was that they never had quite enough money even to
pay the bills. In our house money meant tension, worry, and sorrow. When I was
about thirteen my dad owned his own business, a tiny chicken shack where he sold
take-out chicken, ribs, hamburgers, hot dogs, and fries. One day the oil that
the chicken was fried in caught fire. In a few minutes the whole place exploded
in flames. My dad bolted from the store before the flames could engulf him. This
was when my mom and I happened to arrive on the scene, and we all stood outside
watching the fire burn away my dad's business.
All of a sudden my dad realized
that he had left his money in the metal cash register inside the building, and I
watched in disbelief as he ran back into the inferno, in the split second before
anyone could stop him. He tried and tried to open the metal register, but the
intense heat had already sealed the drawer shut. Knowing that every penny he had
was locked in front of him, about to go up into flames, he literally picked up
the scalding metal box and carried it outside. When he threw the register on the
ground, the skin on his arms and chest came with it.
He had escaped the fire safely
once, untouched. Then he voluntarily risked his life and was severely injured.
The money was that important. That was when I learned that money is obviously
more important than life itself.
From that point on, earning money,
lots of money, not only became what drove me professionally, but also became my
emotional priority. Money became, for me, not the means to a life rich in all
kinds of ways; money became my singular goal.
Years later this kid from the
South Side of Chicago was a broker with a huge investment firm. I was rich,
richer than I could have imagined. And I realized I was profoundly unhappy; the
money hadn't bought or brought me happiness. So if money wasn't the key to
happiness, what was? It was then that I began a quest, which has taken me deep
into the meaning of life -- and the meaning of money.
I don't know if I have discovered
the meaning of life, but I have learned a great deal about what money can and
cannot do. And it can do a lot. Your money will work for you, and you will
always have enough -- more than enough -- when you give it energy, time, and
understanding. I have come to think that money is very much like a person, and
it will respond when you treat it as you would a cherished friend -- never
fearing it, pushing it away, pretending it doesn't exist, or turning away from
its needs, never clutching it so hard that it hurts. Sometimes it's fatter,
sometimes it's skinnier, sometimes it doesn't feel so good and needs special
nurturing. But if you tend it like the living entity it is, then it will
flourish, grow, take care of you for as long as you need it, and look after the
loved ones you leave behind.
Most of us already know at least
some of the steps we could take to free ourselves from money anxieties -- we
could manage our debt better, arrange for our children's education,
strategically plan now for later, protect what we've saved, save more. Yet most
of us are paralyzed, too, when it comes to actually taking these steps, however
wise they seem, however much we think we really want to take
control.
What good will it do you to know
what you should do, if you can't do it?
When it comes to money, freedom
starts to happen when what you do, think, and say are one. You'll never be free
if you say that you have more than enough, then act as if and think you don't.
You'll never be free if you think you don't have enough, then act as if and say
you do. You will have enough when you believe you will and take the actions to
express that belief.
And you'll have more than enough when you realize that you
can be rich at any income because you are more than your money, you are more
than your job or title, than the car you drive or the clothing you wear. Your
own power and worth are not judged by what money can sell and what money can
buy; true freedom cannot be bought or sold at any price. True freedom, true
wealth, is that which can never be lost.
This article excerpted from:
 The 9 Steps to Financial Freedom: Practical and Spiritual Steps So You Can Stop Worrying
by Suze Orman
Excerpted by permission of Crown, a division of Random House, Inc. All
rights reserved. ©1997. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Info/Order book (Revised, 3rd edition. 2006.)
About The
Author
Suze Orman is the author of The Courage To Be Rich (Riverhead Books; March 1999),
which debuted in the #1 spot on the New York Times bestseller list after just
one week on sale. A sought-after speaker, Suze Orman has lectured widely
throughout the United States, helping people change the way they think about
money. Excerpted by Suze
Orman.
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