How To Improve Your Relationship with Your Numbers
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The other night while sitting around a campfire baking bread on a stick and sipping tequila, my friend told a story. Here are some of the highlights he shared:
Her name was Tilly.
She was a van.
He had a relationship with her.
In her all-knowing wisdom, she interrupted his musical tour by stranding him in Bar Harbor, Maine, for a summer.
He played guitar and sang one night a week in a local bar.
He was offered a job on a ship.
In addition to his duties on the ship, he entertained the passengers and sold a ton of CDs.
He had the summer of a lifetime, and Tilly helped guide his path.
He was meant to be there for sure.
When I said, "I love it that you named your van." He said, "when you have a relationship with something, it treats you better."
I wonder what his relationship with Tilly was like?
I’m sure he thought of her physical needs: gas, oil, maintenance, and care.
What about her emotional needs? I think she would love to know how much she mattered and the difference she made in his life.
What about her mental needs? She would like to know that all the mechanical systems are in order and where they are going.
What about her spiritual needs? Would she love to know, as an energetic being, that she was serving a purpose in this life that transcended getting him from one place to another?
"When you have a relationship with something, it treats you better."
I believe that too.
My clients deepen the relationship with their financial information through monthly financial forecasting meetings. They do this by taking care of the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual needs of the financial part of the business.
Let’s explore those.
Physical - Many physical things need to be taken care of in our business life–from invoicing customers, paying bills, depositing money, collecting customer payments, and recording everything in a bookkeeping system.
Mental - The forecasting process helps the business know exactly what is required to cover the needs of the company and the owner and reach their financial goals.
Emotional - They take time to confront the emotions that come up as they see what is happening in their business through the numbers. There are real people, decisions, and situations connected with the numbers, and taking time to sit with their feelings helps process them and give them the attention they need.
Spiritual - When we are anxious or in dis-ease around our numbers, we can make it about ourselves and lose touch with what is at stake–our businesses' impact on the world and the expression of our soul.
At Love Your Numbers Now, we LOVE ON our numbers, and as we shower them with time and attention, they love us back.
Our financial data can be a strong support, and I urge you not to be afraid of it.
One of the primary purposes of Love Your Numbers Now is to help heart-centered entrepreneurs improve this vital relationship.
What would happen if you had a relationship with your numbers like my friend did with Tilly the van? What is possible from this place of love and attention?
What comes up for you as you contemplate your relationship with your numbers?
Reply if you would like to share. I would love to know how you feel.
Love, Carol
Note: This photo is not Tilly but is another beloved van.
