In this anchor video, we’re going to talk about money.
The Question
Money is an important thing in today’s society, and we are often asked the question: “What is your relationship with money?”
And it can be very difficult to find a singular answer to that, because in fact all three of your Crew Members can have a very different opinion about any topic. The same goes for the topic of money.
So when I asked my Crew: “What is my relationship with money?” I indeed got three distinct answers.
The Answers
First to speak up was Ben, the Deckhand, who said: “I need money to buy food and pay for a house. That’s all.”
Billy, the First Mate, immediately added: “Money is something I will never have enough of. We will always be dependent on someone else to pay for what we need, because I was taught I would never have enough of my own.”
Then James, the Captain, answered: “Money is an abstract concept. It is numbers on paper. Sure, there are the coins right here, and in the bank, and Ben can use that to pay for what he needs. But would it help if our bank statement said we had a million in the account?”
“That wouldn’t be enough,” said Billy, although according to Ben, a fraction of that sum would be more than enough to cover the needs of me and my family.
So I have a very practical Deckhand to whom money is a means to secure my basic needs, a nervous First Mate to whom no amount will ever be enough, for no particular reason than that this is what he learned, and a Captain who argues that as long as I can pay the bills, it doesn’t really matter how much money I have, because it’s just a random figure on a piece of paper.
Three very typical, very distinct answers to the same question. My relationship with money is defined by the mix of these.
The Lesson
Now James and Ben are of one mind that as long as there is enough money to buy all requirements, enough is enough.
I also learned from this short exercise that Billy is afraid of lacking money. Finding out why that is and how to change that mindset, that is something I can now work on!
