By Bob Proctor June 6, 2008
Consider this – money will have a greater influence on your life than almost any other commodity you can think of. Indeed, the sudden loss or acquisition of money will affect your attitude to a tremendous extent. Therefore, you must agree that everyone should have a deep understanding of exactly what money is, and of the laws governing its attraction. Yet, the sad fact is that not one person in ten does. Ninety-five people out of a hundred settle for whatever they get, wishing they had more all the way from the cradle to the casket, never understanding that they could actually have had all they wanted.
Money Is Important
One of the most prevalent misconceptions concerning money relates to its importance. For example, how many times have you heard people say in conversation, “Money isn’t everything,” or “Money isn’t important,” or “I don’t care about money.” Well, the people who say these things might not care about money, but I’ll bet their car dealer cares about it; their grocer does; and so does the person who holds their mortgage. In truth, there can be no denial of the fact that money is important to any person living in a civilized society. Therefore, to argue that it is not as important as this or that is absurd. For nothing can take the place of money in the arena in which it is used.
Money Is a Servant
Now that I have affirmed the importance of money, let me backtrack to add this one word of caution – always remember, money is a servant; you are the master. Be very careful not to reverse that equation, because many people of high intelligence have already done so, to their great detriment. Unfortunately, many poor souls loved money and used people, which violated one of the most basic laws governing true financial success. You should always love people and use money, rather than the reverse. Another myth many people like to accept about money is that it only comes as a result of “luck” or “good for-tune.” For instance, whenever people gather to talk about someone they know who has been financially successful, there is always someone among them who will say, “Harry was just lucky,” or “Harry was just in the right place at the right time.” But I want to assure you in no uncertain terms that although luck obviously plays some part in financial success, it is never sufficient in and of itself. Money is an effect and it must always be earned. Believe me, there are no free rides in this life and the only people who are making money the easy way either work in the mint or are on their way to jail, if they have not already arrived there. Therefore, always bear in mind that while good fortune is a factor in financial success, it must always be coupled with effort and hard work.
Money Must Circulate
A third thing you should know about money is that it is valuable only as long as it is being used. Once it has been taken out of circulation, it becomes as worthless as the old newspapers or empty beer cans that have been stashed away in the attic. To understand the truth of this principle, consider the following story. On a bookshelf, in my home, I have a silver beer stein that was given to me as a gift for a speech I made. Now, whenever I go into my house, I take all the change from my pockets and put it into the cup. Then, when the cup is almost full, I give it to one of my children, or one of two young cousins. Each of them takes turns receiving the cup and, of course, they eagerly anticipate their turn. The point I want you to notice, however, is that while the cup is being filled, the money in it has absolutely no value whatsoever; it just sits there, serving no useful function and drawing no interest. However, as soon as the cup is filled and the money is turned over to one of the kids, it literally “flies into action.” No, there really isn’t any dispute about it; money is not meant to be taken out of circulation-rather, it is meant to be used, enjoyed and circulated.
Prosperity Consciousness Exercise
Now that we have touched upon some of the characteristics of money, let us turn briefly to a simple technique that you can begin using immediately to start attracting the amount of money you desire. The first thing that I want you to do is to picture yourself, in your mind’s eye, sitting in a room with several of your friends. Then, I want you to imagine yourself announcing to them your intention of becoming wealthy; at least, wealthy enough to live the way you choose to live. Now, imagine how that would make you feel. If you are like most people, you would probably feel very uncomfortable. Perhaps you would feel so uncomfortable, that you might even retract what you had said by informing your friends you were only joking. You should understand, however, that people who are wealthy never feel uncomfortable when the subject of money is brought up. “Why don’t they?” you ask. The most obvious answer would be because they already have lots of it. But that is not the correct answer. You should realize that people don’t feel comfortable about money because they have it; they have it because they feel comfortable about it. In other words, one of the reasons that wealthy people have money is that they have developed that state of consciousness we can refer to as a “prosperity consciousness.” Therefore, it follows, if we wish to attract money to ourselves, we must begin to foster a prosperity consciousness as well. The question you should now be asking yourself is this: “How do I go about developing this prosperity consciousness for myself?” Let me explain. The best way to develop a prosperity consciousness is to start seeing yourself, in your mind’s eye, already in possession of the amount of money that you desire. Since the subconscious mind cannot distinguish between the actual possession of money and mere visualization, you will soon become very comfortable with the “idea” of money. As a result, you will start attracting it to yourself. This may sound like a game you are playing, but let me assure you, it is one of the wisest things you can possibly do. For when you succeed in convincing your subconscious mind that you are wealthy and that it feels good to be wealthy, your subconscious mind will automatically seek ways of making your “imaginary” feelings of wealth manifest themselves in material form.
Fear Not
Now that I have touched upon a technique that will help you acquire wealth, let me offer this further word of warning. If you want to have money, one thing you should never, ever do is worry about whether or not you will get the money you desire, or whether you will keep it.
Wolfgang von Goethe once wrote, “To have more, you must first be more.” 
