Money is nothing more than a symbol. As best I can tell, it can be a symbol for four things:

1. Power
2. Greed
3. Indebtedness
4. Value you created for others

Everyone’s heard the saying “money is power.” But the converse is true, too: “power grabs money.” If you are in a position of power, you have the ability to attract more money your way. The executives at Enron had a lot of power and were able to dupe millions of people into sending money their way.

Money can also represent greed. Some people can get addicted to money for its own sake. Maybe you’ve heard these people say that the amount of money they make is just a scorecard for how well they are playing the game.

Debt. If you are in debt your money is telling you that you have taken more than you have given. This isn’t a good place to be. This is the place where people take advantage of you. Creditors charge you money (high interest rates) simply for being here. As long as you are indebted, you are not free. Your life is reduced to making the next set of bills.

Ideally, money should represent value you have created for others.

Perhaps one of the easiest examples of this to understand is to pretend that you are an inventor. You have invented an engine that uses half the gas of a normal car engine. People who buy cars with your engine will save hundreds of dollars in fuel costs every year. The value of your invention is at least equal to the amount of money people save in gas over the life of their car. You would feel completely happy taking money from people to give them your engine because you know that it is helping them. Every sale you made would make you feel good because you know that you created something valuable. Wouldn’t this be a nice place to be in? The more money you made, the happier you would be because your income is a symbol for something valuable you created that people are enjoying the benefits of!

If you don’t like looking at your life critically, click on dear blog reader, because what I’m about to say will almost certainly be uncomfortable.

How would you feel if your boss talked to you today and said that effective immediately your salary was going to be doubled? Probably pretty good at first! But after a while, would you get worried? Would you feel that you would have to work twice as hard to deserve your new salary?

If not, congratulations! You might have a raise on the way. First, do some investigation. “Why am I not making as much money as I think I should be?” If you don’t find a good answer, go ask your boss for a raise! You feel that your work is being undervalued, and you will be resentful until you are earning what you feel you should.

But I think the other case is pretty common, too. A lot of people feel that money is dirty and that being rich is bad. You might not feel your work is valuable if this is the case.

Most of your life consists of work. If you feel your work is not valuable then it’s very easy for you to feel like you don’t deserve to be rich. And it’s also easy for you to feel that your life is less valuable than it could be. Is this the case for you? Then it’s time to take a long hard look at how you earn your living.

Maybe you feel your work is menial or pointless. You have a couple of options in this case. 1. Look hard and find the meaning in your work (Read The Five People You Meet In Heaven.)  2. Create meaning in your work (Ask others for help.)  3. Find new work that’s better aligned to your unique interests (Write down what your dream job would look like. Share it with others. See what happens.)

So, I’m not saying quit your job. You might decide that the work you’re doing is perfectly valuable but that some other factors in your work are missing. Maybe you’re not having fun at work. Then it’s time to figure out how to create some fun in your work. Maybe you feel that there are some different contributions you could be making that you aren’t. Then it’s time to start making those contributions. You will feel happier about your work and your life, and you’ll probably get a raise. And there’s nothing wrong with making lots of money!

If you have done something valuable for humanity, then you have every right to be richly rewarded.

Do something valuable! Enjoy your work! Go get rich! I want you to be!