© Pat McHenry Sullivan - SpiritWorkAndMoney.com
Feb
24
Economic problems cause major stress (I hear you saying “no duh!”) Job loss, cut in pay, cut in hours, or failure at a business can put pressure on a people. Financial stress mars the spirit and makes even the healthiest person forget good relational skills. Too often these external pressures erode relationships inside and outside of work.
So, how do you safeguard all your relationships in these economically trying times?
Feb
2
Many workplaces are run with less consciousness than a fifth-grade playground or an eight-grade lunchroom — but with way more power for the bullies and harassers. At the least this can create havoc for employees and everyone they impact, from their families, to and anyone the employees happen to encounter on the highway after work.
Jan
12
After 20 years of studying how people either block or shape visions for work and life, I’ve concluded that
1) the potential to be visionary is in all of us, though visionary potentials like instincts, imagination and intuition are more likely to be quashed than developed;
2) the worlds of work and money and everything else that affects us are in sore need of real vision, not just same-old strategies or the newest shiny thing; and
3) being the visionaries we were born to be is a lot simpler than trying to live without vision. Continue reading this post »
Jan
7
In a week where the news was dominated by yet another terrorist attempt and by a study showing widespread employee unhappiness, it was a treat to discover a world-wide sing-out of John Lennon and Paul McCartney’s “All You Need is Love.” Sponsored by Starbucks, this expertly sliced video montage from singers around the world offers an instant lift for any dreary day.
Imagine, to use another John Lennon pet phrase, that it’s true. Love IS all you need to bring more integrity, more purpose, more joy, more peace in the world through the ways we work and deal with money. Actually, I’m far from the first person to pose this idea. One of the best discussions of love, business and money was Tim Sanders’ wonderful article, “Love is the Killer App” in Fast Company Magazine. Continue reading this post »
Oct
16
Every decision has a cost, which is usually more than just the published cost of an item or service. Sometimes, while trying to save money in the short run, we actually spend more in the long run. Sometimes, “free” things cost a lot. And sometimes inaction has a cost, spiritually and emotionally as well as financially.
While we are accustomed to thinking about expenditures only as spending money, there are also such costs and potential benefits as impact on time, health, relationships, and ability to live purposefully. Thus, the wise choice considers more than just money in calculating ROI (return on investment). Continue reading this post »
Sep
30
In a recent post, guest blogger Tricia Malloy wrote: “To me, a spiritual practice is any routine or ritual that connects you to your inner wisdom and helps you be less stressed and fearful and more positive, focused and productive. It’s often how you communicate with your subconscious mind. It may or may not relate to any religion or belief.”
Over the years, I’ve integrated many spiritual practices into my life and work: meditating, taking a moment of silence, being grateful, walking, visualizing, spending time in nature, or journaling. Some of these practices I learned from others; some I invented or adapted. All have led to rich and sometimes surprising insights for work, money and the rest of life — provided they fit my life, not some idealized notion of what the spiritual life ought to be. Continue reading this post »
Sep
10
Whatever your problem around money, work (or anything else for that matter), six simple questions can help you discover a satisfying solution. The solution may not always come quickly, but it will be rich. Here are the questions: Continue reading this post »
Sep
9
“The love of money is the root of all evil.” What if that ubiquitous saying is flat-out wrong? What if, instead, true love of money returns many benefits spiritual and material, including a more sane, kind and profitable economy for everyone? What if you love money according to the definition in Paul’s 1 Corinthians 13, where love is defined as patient, kind and many more wondrous things?
Aug
20
Do you ever feel called to say something and don’t know exactly what it is? Or wish someone else would say that something that could cut through anything from confusion and fear-mongering or overwhelm to a quiet truth? A truth that could get you and others, just for a moment, to stop? To listen? To find clear wisdom for whatever ails or calls you?
I really want that right now, not just around the ever-present health care financing issue, but around everything else that’s dominating the news today, like how hard it is for many of us to make a living right now. Like how many people we know are stuck in painful jobs they hate but don’t dare leave. Or for those of us who are entrepreneurs, where the next clients are coming from in a time when so many are still cutting back. Continue reading this post »
Aug
17
A Wharton School of Business that finds “tightwads” and “spendthrifts” tend to attract one another, even though they both consciously felt they’d be more comfortable with mates of similar spending habits. So much for the limited power of the conscious mind!
The subconscious, which is where all behavior comes from, is much more powerful than the conscious mind. This can be really great news, if you know how to work it. Continue reading this post »