Before I dive into today’s topic, I wanted to give you a little heads up to keep an eye out for something fun coming to your inboxes on Saturday. It’s worth opening, I promise.

Now, let me tell you a little bit about how my relationship with money changed over time.

As a kid, I was surrounded by people who didn’t have a ton of money, and what they did have, they saved. I grew up thinking you needed to put money away and never spend it because you never know when you’re going to need it. Money was scarce and needed to be rationed.

Rich people—the ones who had a lot of money and got to spend it—were “greedy” and “selfish.” Or so I thought, anyway.

Then, as a teenager, I began to notice my friends wasting money. My mindset changed to: Who cares about the future? I want nice clothes now. I lost track of the value of money.

Thankfully, I grew out of that mindset, but I still held onto the long-standing belief that having too much money somehow made you a bad person.

I held onto this conviction that money was scarce. I was afraid of money. I was afraid that I’d run out, that I’d get too much, and that I'd be selfish.

But I broke out of the scarcity mindset in the last several years. I finally realized that money is abundant—there’s an unlimited amount of it. And me having it doesn’t deprive others—quite the opposite, actually, because I use what I have to reach more and more people.

Money doesn’t scare me anymore. I’m not just someone who saves money (although I do that), and I’m not just someone who spends money (although I do that, too)—I’m someone who makes money. And the people I’m surrounded by are money makers, too.

How did I transform my relationship to money this way? By committing to five basic principles that I’ve outlined below.

My Five Principles of Money 

Here are the five principles that helped transform my relationship to money:

• Mindset

• Opportunity

• Never Accept Less

• Excellence Accelerates Earning

• Yes to Everything

Mindset. We have this idea that money is limited. Even if we don’t use those words, so many of us have that belief. But it’s unlimited. Literally, governments print more money all the time. Put another way: money is energy. And there’s no limit to that. Only when you believe in the abundance of the outside world will you be able to receive it. 

Opportunity. Think about it this way: you won't find anything if you’re not looking. A lot of us subconsciously believe that there’s a magical job fairy who will one day pick us out and give us the career of our dreams. But that’s a fantasy. We must constantly search and make ourselves available to new opportunities. That means keeping your LinkedIn up-to-date, even when you have a job. It means networking regularly. Remember that opportunity comes from your community. Is your community made up of money savers, money spenders or money makers? If you don’t know money makers, now’s a good time to go out and befriend some.

Never Accept Less. One of the key principles of financial independence is: know your worth. I’m taking it one step further—never take work that pays you a dime less than that. Because if your employer knows they can get away with paying you less, they will. And if you know you’re more valuable, find work that will pay you what you’re worth.

Excellence Accelerates Earning. If you know your worth and it’s not as high as you want or need it to be, then take that as an opportunity to sharpen your saw. Increase your value. Take a class. Learn some new skills. Find a mentor who can help you out. The more you know, the more skilled you are, the more you can earn.

Yes to Everything. When your friend reaches out to you and says, “Hey, are you looking for a little work on the side? I know somebody who needs somebody like you,” and you say no, guess what? That friend isn’t going to reach out to you again. Opportunity only comes to those who are willing to take them on. Especially when you’re at the beginning of accelerating or growing your money, you don’t have the luxury to say no (unless they refuse to pay you what you’re worth!)

Try This: What are some limiting beliefs you have about money? You may not even realize they’re limiting you at first until you write them down. When you’re done, write a belief you’d like to replace it with. Put that belief on a note and attach it to your workspace so you look at it each and every day.