Articles and Additional Material
Show me the money!
By Koralia Timotheou
Talking with a bunch of business people the other day, we came to the conclusion that there is a tremendous, almost primitive, joy that is missed in today’s work model. Don't get too excited. It’s an almost primitive joy (not quite that old) and it is strictly professional: being paid in cash, for the day’s work.
Being employees (remunerated by the month) for our entire lives or even business men and women getting mostly paid through cheques, bank transfers and deposits or on line, rips us off the joy of getting handed the cash equivalent to a hard day’s work.
Even though it seems easier to spend money if you have it in cash, it is also easier to appreciate the effort, time, brain or muscle power that corresponds to each and every one of those euros. Being paid starts making sense.
Please note: getting paid in cash is by no means an excuse not to pay taxes.
College students and older teenagers are far more likely to appreciate the value of money in general and the sweat required to generate actual, visible income if they have this experience at least once in early life. Odd jobs or summer work paid in cash is a good way to do this.
It may also be exhilarating for adults who have been used to other means of remuneration in their typical work environment - at least for a brief period of time. Monthly payment has usually little to say about how often and for how long we switch off or otherwise are unproductive at work. In 1964, the Beatles sang “It’s been a hard day’s night. I should be sleeping like a log”. A lot of people indeed get tired at work. However it is so much more powerful for me to know that I made 200 dollars today because I worked for so many hours, knowing precisely what I delivered and for whom and that I am worth every single metal coin or paper note in my pocket. It’s the feeling of being alive through creating, producing, trading. It makes tiredness actually sweet.
Money attracts money
In the 1996 movie, sports agent Jerry Maguire repeatedly yells “show me the money” for his client, American football player, Rod Tidwell. I will abuse this legendary phrase to suggest that real money, in actual view, may be worth more than a figure on the computer screen or on a bank statement. It makes the association between input (energy, time, effort) and payment meaningful. It is a more tangible exchange - a reward for a job done.
Money feng shui dictates that we keep a large note in our wallet – not to be used. It may serve as backup. The reason is that this energetically attracts more of the same in our energy field. It is a way of inviting more money into our lives. Of course we have to take some action along with that: work, invest, sell goods or assets or exploit property.
Even though money is rarely satisfactory as an actual goal and it is rather a means to an end, there is no reason for not making some! Not only does it make our lives better but it may well make a difference to others if we choose to use it to their benefit.
So go make some real money for a while. It’s an experience in itself.