Love makes the world go round but money makes it spin faster or slower.

Making oodles of cash enables you to quicken your energy so you can create the experiences you want in life. Wealthy people tend to be happier – up to a point – and being poor is not honourable as many would lead us to believe.

Lack of money, or the perception of lack of money, is one of the greatest causes of our anxiety. This is because it tends to restrict our freedom of choice, create uncertainty and slow our energy. This collective planetary anxiety permeates all facets of peoples lives, so getting our financial act together is an integral part of our wellbeing. But if you are reading this on your computer or phone or whatever, then I would presumptuously say that you probably have enough money for your immediate needs and that any anxiety you may feel about your lack of the green stuff is real but gratuitous.

Ok, so that’s easy for me to say as we all get stressed out about money – real or perceived. But having more of it probably won’t solve your problems – just deflect them for a time until you have to deal with them later. The key is not asking “do I have enough?” but “what can I do with what I have got? What are the creative things can I do with my wealth?”

The wealthiest people I have ever known are a family I have stayed with in Europe. They are like royalty who live in another dimension. The husband runs an inherited empire including a private business with over 5,000 employees. He is very sophisticated, charming and easy going. What is glaringly obvious about this family is the absence of anxiety around their finances. But also the absence of “stuff” in their home. There is no mindless clutter so their repose is not broken or distracted by superfluous things. Unlike most wealthy people I have met, they don’t feel weighed down by their affluence and they are certainly not embarrassed or feel uneasy about it.

What I learnt from my “royal family” friends is that despite their mind blowing wealth: the abodes dotted around the planet, the fine clothes, restaurants, balms, frankincense and myrrh – they deal with the same disquiet as I or anyone does – emotional insecurities, confusion, needing to be loved, health challenges and relationship frictions (yes all those). In fact having piles of cash at hand can cover up these natural foibles making them even harder to deal with or surmount.

Another dear friend, Stuart Wilde, years ago found himself between residences in London. He was often wealthy, and often not, depending on his mood and he loved expensive hotels and being waited on. As he had no place to plonk his head he decided to have a stint at The Ritz – for 30 days. Yes a whole month! I visited him and it was lovely. The pic is the famous Ritz afternoon tea which we shared (not the actual tea – I got this off their website).

Stuart revelled in the indulgence understanding it was all a bit of tosh and not to be taken seriously. Because he constantly travelled he was often bored with hotels and would notice all the crappy things they would provide or not provide. Soon after The Ritz satiation, a group of us shared a tent (actually a yurt) on a lake in the Wicklow mountains in Ireland. I think he had much more fun.

If we don’t constantly check our thoughts familiarity breeds dissatisfaction. So we live in incredible abundance but we complain about the internet dropping out on the train, or the croissant being a bit doughy, or the neighbours had a techno party and kept the gerbil up all night – horrendous! So we should take time to review our mindsets around our attitude to money. It’s very important to stop and appreciate the luxuries we have.

Years ago I travelled across the Bolivian Altiplano and ended up in a crappy little town called Uyuni. It was a desolate, cold place and I checked into a shitty little hostel. My room had an awful mattress so I slept on the floor. I hadn’t washed for many days and Uyuni was very, very cold high desert. There was no agua caliente so I braved a shower – it was so cold it was almost painful. The bonus I take home now is that when I shower I often think of Uyuni and give thanks for the glorious abundant hot water.

Wealth is only useful if we can pursue a life of value. Money is there to spend on experiences and to further life’s creative endeavours. Our drive for creating money should come from our passion for the people and things we love. We need to focus on creating money for our work/creativity – not work just to make money. It’s an important distinction.

I can understand that for some the core motivation is the actual money – you may be a stockbroker who loves looking at the numbers, making piles of cash and driving around in a soft top Porsche. That’s not for me – I couldn’t care less about the car I drive. But if I sell one of my audio recordings I am overjoyed. Overjoyed that someone, somewhere on the planet would think it’s worth the exchange in energy. I am very grateful.

Also many of us have so called “normal jobs” which keep us in cash and enable us to do the things we love and are not interested in making our hobbies or passions into a business venture. This is perfectly understandable. But if you really don’t like your job then you need to do something about it. That’s imperative.

I have written before about simplicity and fulfilment around life and money. So by all means get creative; earn some money; spread it around and keep the world spinning!

Explore money and wealth products at Quiet Earth