Vita's Tip In 10: Celebrating money is a learned skill

Hello, hello friend, and welcome to Vita’s Tip in 10!

Today I’m coming back to the topic of energy of money. I thought that I was done talking about it, and then I started receiving really great feedback from you all, So today, I am putting on a little bow on the package of this series, one that I have had so much fun sharing.

I’m sure that at some point in the future, I will talk about money again. I mean, this is a business podcast after all, and we are all in business to generate wealth!

Another reason to revisit this topic is that I have a great story about a package I received recently. It was a small package, and it was making a noticeable dinging noise, like a bell. I was very curious to open it, and it was, in fact, a bell. The gift was from a dear, dear friend, and a former LuAnn University student and a VIP Experience client, Elizabeth Gerdes. If you've been around the industry for a while, I'm sure you know Elizabeth because of her gregarious personality and infectious laugh, not to mention her incredibly beautiful and award-winning window treatment projects.

Elizabeth sent the bell to me because she heard on my podcast that I wanted to get a bell to celebrate our company's incoming business. I had been meaning to make the purchase for a while, and I had just never gotten to it. And, like the angel she is, Elizabeth went ahead and sent me the bell.

This is how you know that you have a really good friend! The one who knows the thing that you've been wanting to do for a while, and goes and does it for you as a surprise, and it just shows up at your doorstep.

So now, we both are proud owners of a bell - Elizabeth decided she wanted one, too! And yes, I have a rang it already. Every time we get a deposit, we ring our new bell to celebrate the incoming revenue.

I love hearing your “aha moments” from these episodes. Many of you actually have written to me, telling me how much these episodes resonated with you and how much they have inspired you. What you have shared is that you were not brought up with the idea that money was a good thing. As a matter of fact, money was considered a taboo subject. Many of you got messages from your parents that money is the root of all evil. Money is bad to talk about because it may bring bad luck if you’re constantly talking about it.

Many of you also shared with me that you didn't come from money, and it's really difficult for you to truly embrace having it because it may sound like you are bragging about it. I wanted to share with you that I did not come from money, either.

I was born, as many of you know, in Ukraine in 1975, which in American economic years, I might as well have been born in 1905. When you're brought up in a communist society, there is a notion of lack all around you. Think back to the time of COVID and going to the stores and seeing empty shelves. That's pretty much my childhood.

I'm not even talking about luxuries like bikes, clothing, and shoes - I mean essentials like food and toiletries were scarce. Eventually, when I came here to the US as an exchange student, not only was I the stereotypical broke college student, I was also that poor exchange student that just didn't have wealthy parents supporting me. I remember the very first semester of my freshman year, my total expenditures added up to $100 - which even by the economic standards of the time was very low.

Of course, I'm not talking about the regular expenses like books and room and board that was sort of wrapped into college tuition - you know, things outside of that. I wasn't the one ordering pizza or going out with friends. My expenditure for that whole semester were $100 and my biggest purchase was a $19.99 necklace from Claire's. If any of you remember Claire's at the mall, the necklace was for a homecoming dance - and a big splurge for me.

Fast-forward to me becoming an entrepreneur.

I decided to quit my corporate job, which at that point was pretty lucrative. 20 years ago, I made six figures, had an expense account, and a window office…and I decided to leave it all behind in search of happiness as an entrepreneur.

I still remember my very first order as a window treatment specialist. My very first order was a single woven wood shade for this wonderful, adorable old lady. It wasn't even on a window, it was for an opening in between the kitchen and dining room. For that, it was $348, and I was so excited that this new venture of me shlapping samples to people’s homes actually produced something dollar-worth. I will always remember that customer and that order.

That was my first introduction to the world of beautiful luxurious, very expensive, custom window treatments. To think that nowadays Vitalia Inc’s average sale is well into five figures - it's always good to know where you came from - it allows us to set context for where we are right now.

Recognizing the progress that you’ve made, by looking at your present reality from the context of where you’ve been, is so special. All the hard work, sacrifices, education, experience, mistakes, and the hardships that we've had to go through, in order to go from that little girl or little boy having very little and not allowed to talk about money at a dinner table, to where you are right now.

The point of my podcast today, as I wrap up this particular series on the energy of money, is to encourage you, and inspire you, to know that appreciation of money is not something that you necessarily have to be born with. I certainly wasn’t. As a matter of fact, having that lack in your childhood, has the potential to actually increases our appreciation for what we have right now.

What that childhood doesn't do, unfortunately, is it doesn't allow us to celebrate this abundance that we currently have, nor does it allow us to believe that the more we celebrate, the more of it we have.

This is an acquired skill. And yes, it is a skill to be developed over time, because it is something that you have to practice every day. It may not come easy, and it will only come after you have flexed that muscle on a regular basis.

That muscle that I’m talking about is a new mindset, the repetition of your own mantras inside your head that the more you appreciate the financial abundance, the more you celebrate it in everyday life, the more of it you will have.

Whether you celebrate it by ringing a bell, talking about it to your business bestie, by having some sort of physical form of appreciation on your desk, like a paperweight or bookend, or by keeping your cash organized vs scattered.

Why does it work that way? Only the universe knows. In my mind, it is like anything else: you get back what give. If you pass someone on the street, and you smile at them, they almost have no choice but to smile back at you. When you help a friend, they show their appreciation to you by ways of either a simple thank you or maybe something bigger. When you put out good energy, a good message, a good disposition, that energy, message, and disposition returns back to you.

I know that you have seen this concept in many other ways. All I am suggesting is that the same logic holds true with your financial abundance. When you show money that you like it, that you want it, that you appreciate it, it has no choice but to show up in that manner in your life. Just like that reciprocal smile from a bypasser.

One other thing I want to mention is the way we bring up our children to appreciate money. Many of you have said that, regardless of how you were raised, my podcast has inspired you to talk to your children differently about money. Whether you're at the age where you have young children, or maybe you're at the age where you have young grandchildren, take that message to heart and to give them the same message.

Instead of saying, ”Money is the root of all evil, we don't talk about it”, or “That’s not a subject for a proper lady or gentleman to discuss”, instill in them the opposite. Instill in them that if you put out positive thoughts and respect towards money, it will come back to them.

With that, my friends, if you're listening in real time, I hope that you have a wonderful long Labor Day weekend. I hope that you take these next few days to celebrate the fruits of all of your hard labor. Enjoy the break and get ready for the busy fall season that is to come.

If you're listening later on, I hope that these messages about the energy of money translates into your business practices.

That’s it for today, my friend! And if you are looking for more tips just like this, if you’re looking to take control of your business finances; if you’re looking for ways to enhance your productivity and workflows, if you’re looking for ways to start using a digital project management tool, if you are looking for ALL the systems to run your business like a well-oiled machine – you have two ways of working with me personally.

One is through LuAnn University, my Systems Driven Operations class. And the second is a two-day in-person intensive where I hand over all my systems for you to use and put to work immediately in your business. I want you to check out both tools because they are different and equally applicable depending on where you are in your business and how fast you want to achieve your goal. And in the meantime, I will be working on my next episode of Vita’s Tip in 10. See you next Thursday!