Guest Blog by Estelle Gibson
My story starts many years ago on a rainy fall morning when my husband of 5 years walked into the kitchen and blurted out, “I WANT A DIVORCE!”. And just like that, my life changed forever. Eight weeks later, my husband moved out, and I moved on, but I was left with a financial burden. I was left with a house I couldn’t afford and bills I couldn’t pay.
How does this happen to someone skilled and experienced in managing other people's money? By this time, I was already many years into my career as a CPA. I spent all day long working other people’s money, so I was relieved that my husband was good at and actually interested in managing ours. I did what I advised all of my clients not to do - I handed over my financial power without staying involved or knowing what was going on. And now I had to get it back.
After Divorce
After my divorce, I was left to rebuild my life financially AND emotionally. So, I did what every good student does - I took every self-development class and read every self-help book I could find! During this time, I realized that in my marriage, I had reverted to what I learned growing up - that one person manages all the money. I grew up in a family where my father managed all the money. This was a major belief system in my family that maybe you can relate to. Well, this belief system led me to hand over my financial power.
During my self-development phase, I learned many processes to help me move forward and rebuild my life. I still use many of these processes today to help my clients move past their money blocks and achieve their financial goals. One of those processes was to reveal and understand my money story. It was an eye-opener!
Your Money Story
Your money story is what you tell yourself about money, whether you're conscious of it. It’s filled with characters, plots, and storylines from the environments you grew up in, the experiences you’ve had, and the beliefs and habits you’ve created or adopted throughout your life.
One of my earliest money stories (most people have more than one) was that I would never have enough money. What I realized through this process was that I had a core belief that there isn’t enough- not enough time, money, love, energy, etc. Once you uncover your limiting money beliefs and the core beliefs underneath them, you’ll realize that they’re reflected in every area of your life. That’s the power of doing this work. I’ve taken hundreds of people through this money story process and what’s always revealed is how their money stories show up in every area of their lives.
Rewrite Your Money Story Guided Journal
I created the Rewrite Your Money Story Guided Journal to walk you through the process of understanding your money story, how it’s affecting you, and how you can rewrite it to be aligned with what you desire to create the Life and Business of Your Dreams!
The journal is divided into three sections:
Step 1 - Uncover Your Money Beliefs
Step 2 - Understand Your Money Story
Step 3 - Upgrade Your Money Story
Guided by prompts, you'll journal through each step. You can journal through one or more prompts each day or schedule your own mini-retreat or weekend to work through the whole journal.
Each step has pages for reflection, sketching, and affirmations. You'll be able to summarize your insights and awarenesses and begin to align and shift your thoughts and beliefs.
Whether you're just starting on your journey to create wealth or you're already on the path, you'll benefit from this process. Each change, transition, and challenge in our lives provides the opportunity to shift our beliefs and rewrite our story at a new level.
THE JOURNEY NEVER ENDS
As my journey continues, as a TED Speaker, Financial Educator, and Coach, I help women, couples, and change-making entrepreneurs go from financial overwhelm and dependency to financial freedom to achieve their Dreams!
What makes me different from other Financial Coaches and Financial Professionals is that I use a combined approach.
You can’t have Lasting financial freedom if you live in fear, worry about your money, and spend all of your time dealing with it. And You can’t be prosperous if you live by platitudes and understand your money story and your limiting belief. Still, you can’t pay your mortgage; you accumulate credit card debt or live from paycheck to paycheck.
You can’t have a successful business
...if you haven’t transformed your money stories, you are using the same unsuccessful money management that you use in your personal life, and you don't have plans and processes to achieve your desired results.
What I do is tailored to your individual needs.
This isn’t a one size fits all problem. Each of us has individual behaviors, beliefs, personalities, lifestyles, skills, experiences, and situations that dictate how we operate, see the world and deal with money, life, and business.
I’m so excited for you to start your journey, and I can’t wait to hear what you discover and the Big Dreams you're going to create as you Rewrite Your Money Story and envision your Financial Future.
STAY TUNED
I’m currently working on my next book Poor By Choice? Overcome the Lies and Create a New Financial Truth, where I share my personal journey from dependency to freedom and the steps you can take to reveal the lies, take back your power, and create your own financial destiny.
Estelle Gibson - CPA, ACC TED Speaker, Author, Coach
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