Maybe you read “revolt against money” and immediately thought, “Hell yeah – let’s do this! Money is evil, and we need to get rid of it – it’s ruining people’s lives.”

Or maybe you read the headline and thought, “Revolt against money? That’s ridiculous – money is what makes the world go ’round! We need money to survive.”

There’s no doubt about it – people have very strong beliefs about money.

I’m no different.

And throughout my meanderings into the blogosphere, I come across many different opinions about wealth and money.

• Some sites about money are scams, playing on people’s desires, promising you fast, easy, and effortless cash.
• Some sites about money just criticize those who try to make an extra buck writing e-books or doing coaching.
• Some sites about money proclaim the virtues of minimalism and relinquishing our desires for material possessions.
• Some sites about money proclaim the virtues of consumerism and the luxurious lifestyle.

I believe all of these extremes can reflect unhealthy beliefs about money. Rarely do I find a perspective that seems properly balanced (but I’m sure they exist…somewhere).

And I’ve written about these concerns before. In my post Money on My Mind: Tips for Financial Wellness I cite a declaration made by certain psychologists saying that our attitude about money is an often neglected factor to our happiness and mental health.

There are people at both extremes: those who worship money, and those who run away from it.

Of course, not everyone is at one of these two extremes, but from my personal experience many people unhealthily favor one side over the other. Here are some ideas I have to help cultivate a more balanced viewpoint that I find is more sensible and practical.

Money isn’t everything – no #$%!

One of the most common criticisms against money is that it “isn’t everything.” This is so glaringly evident to me that I wish I (and many others) didn’t feel the need to always say it (yet, here I am writing about it).

Yes, money isn’t everything. But that doesn’t automatically mean it has no value. My legs aren’t everything, but if I had the choice to have legs vs. not have legs – I would damn sure choose the legs!

In the real world, people are the same way with money. Most people when presented the choice to have more money vs. less money (all things being equal) will choose to have more money. Why is this?

Money can fulfill some of your values.

Okay, money can’t by itself buy you love or happiness, but it can fulfill some values in your life and other people’s lives.

At the very least, we understand that money is often necessary to provide food, shelter, and clothing – basic necessities. Let’s get that point out of the way – it’s moot.

Regardless of how much our basic needs are already satisfied, people will almost always choose to have “more money” over “less money” (all things, time and work, being equal). This is because money continues to satisfy values for us even when our basic needs are already met.

Yes, I get it – now that we have more money we can buy a new Xbox, or iPod, or Corvette – but that’s not the kind of value I’m talking about either.

Wanting more money doesn’t have to be a purely selfish thing. Money can be used to help others. You can donate to charities, organize a community event, invent something, fund scientific research, start a business, lend to a friend, or buy something from a local business and help your city’s economy, etc.

Money is just a tool that facilitates an exchange in value, but it is up to you to define the values in life that you want to support.

So one individual having more money than someone else can still be a net gain for all of society – it all depends on how that money was spent or invested.

I’ve said it before on this blog that I have very clear plans for making money throughout my life. Not just through this site (which I am currently in the process of monetizing), but through many different endeavors that I hope provide value to others.

And once I have money and I’m comfortable, I don’t just plan on splurging my earnings all on myself. I want to be a philanthropist. I want to be very active with charities and volunteer work, because I think those kinds of activities fulfill the deepest values for me (but they are values that are not OUTSIDE the context of “money” – money helps make those other values happen).

Why you shouldn’t get upset when your favorite blogger starts selling a product.

I mentioned earlier how I’ve been meandering through the blogosphere. I came across two posts within the past 24 hours that really irked me. I’m not going to bother linking to either one, but both basically said how online writers and bloggers who try to make money off their sites are doing a disservice to society.

Information and words, I am told, should always be free.

This poses a problem in my opinion.

If you enjoy a blogger, and you are educated and inspired by their writings, why wouldn’t you want them to be able to make a living doing that? Why would you subject them to have to also maintain a day job on the side, which only detracts that person from devoting more time doing something you you enjoy and receive benefits from.

I think the root of that “shouldn’t make money!” attitude is destructive. Not just to the person who wants to make a profit, but also to the people who enjoy the work and service they receive from that individual.

Keep in mind, in any voluntary marketplace, online or offline, you don’t have to buy anything you don’t want. No one is forcing you to buy their e-book, or their webinar, or their coaching. But if other people want to pay money to receive these things (if they perceive them as “valuable” enough to spend money on), then who are you to call the exchange illegitimate or evil or immoral.

This doesn’t mean there should be a price on everything.

Look, I’ve made it clear that I have intentions for making money on this site. I’m very open about that to anyone who asks me. But that doesn’t mean that everything I do here is solely driven by a profit motive. I genuinely enjoy writing about the things I do and interacting with like-minded people. I would still write about these things even if I wasn’t making money (although I definitely wouldn’t be writing about them as often).

If there is any proof of my dedication, it is the fact that I’ve written over 300 articles on this site and I’ve never charged anyone a single cent to read any of them. I don’t believe that everything needs to have a price-tag. And from my own research and experience, I’m actually discovering that giving away value (with no strings attached) is actually a great business model in the long-term.

I think – as a general trend – most businesses (especially online) have the incentive to offer the most value to their audience at the lowest and most reasonable price. In the end, I see these exchanges as a win-win for all parties involved.

I just wanted to get that off my chest.

I just wanted to get these things off my chest. I know I’ve written about some of these ideas in the past, but I’ve seen a lot of criticism lately and I wanted to clarify my point-of-view one more time (although it probably won’t be the last).

No, I don’t have an affiliate link to share with you, a product to sell, or even a link to my newsletter in this post.

I just wanted to voice my opinion – and you listening is all the value I needed in return. I appreciate it.

Questions.

• What are some of your beliefs about money?
• Do you think money is a net gain or net loss for society?
• Are some of your beliefs about money affecting your own career choices and spending habits?

Please leave a comment below!

And none of this is a bad thing.

Big screen TVs, Droids, iPads, Xbox 360s, nice cars, underground pools, and summer vacations are all fun. If you can afford them, enjoy them. I recommend it.

This blog certainly isn’t about dismissing wealth. It also isn’t a minimalist blog.

However, I consider myself to have minimalist tendencies. I like thinking of things in the most simplest way possible, and I like to minimize my actions to only what really adds up. I also defend minimalist blogs when others poke fun and say: “If you are truly minimalist, you would get rid of your Macbook, Blackberry, and Wii Fit.”

Why would someone say that?

Because real minimalists don’t have a blog right? All they need is a mountain in Tibet and a good meditation routine. Oh, and all their nutrition comes from the sun!

If you believe this then please press this play button:
(this will only take 3 seconds):

If you don’t believe this then please press this play button:
(this will only take 3 seconds):

Minimalism isn’t a quantity, but an attitude.

You’re making a mistake if you think minimalism can be defined by how many possessions someone has. Here’s why:

• Your possessions don’t necessarily define your reasons for living
• Non-material values can still take precedence over material values, regardless of how much or how little you have.
• Person A may have little material luxury, but want a lot more.
• Person B may have a lot of material luxury, but still be happy if they had a lot less.

Often the more we desire the poorer we feel in comparison. But this is a subjective state of mind, and it can’t be observed based on how much stuff is around you. Instead it is about how you think of the stuff that is around you.

Therefore, minimalism is not a disregard for money. It is not a rejection of it or fear of it. Instead, it is a healthy relationship with money. It is an acceptance of money for what it really is – not evil or divine – but merely a means of exchange. A tool at our disposal.

Minimalists can still achieve simple-living and have material luxury. The key difference is that they don’t let their possessions rule over their lives. If they lost everything in a massive earthquake? So what, they know that life goes on and things will work out. If they keep making more money? That’s great too, but it still doesn’t define their happiness. It is up to you to set the correct pattern in motion whether you have a lot of money or not.

Simplify life by identifying your Ikigai

Ikigai is a Japanese term for “reasons for living.” When we narrow our focus to our core values we are engaging in a minimalist process by cutting out the fluff and leaving only the essentials.

When we align these core values with our career or business or finances, then we have achieved a true minimalist dream. Work is no longer distracting or tiresome or overbearing, but an effortless flow.

A few questions to help identify your Ikigai:

• What part of your day do you enjoy the most?
• What can you see yourself doing long-term and never getting bored of?
• What are your non-material values (knowledge, kindness, compassion, meaningful relationships, creativity…)

My 3-Step Minimalist Plan To Make Money

Arguably the most difficult part of life is trying to make money in accordance with our highest values. Many wrongly assume that making money might be a contradiction to a truly moral or dignified life. However, this doesn’t have to be the case. As we touched on before, money is only a means. It is up to us to choose where it takes us.

I grew up in a privileged community but I wasn’t able to find happiness through material luxury. This frustrated me. At times I wanted to just disown everything and run away. Moving to a mountain in Tibet was looking rather tempting!

A lot of this frustration is what fueled me to start this site. It became a way for me to relinquish selfish needs and begin to provide value to others. I got a natural high off of it, and discovered that this must be my passion.

However, if you look around you’ll notice this site hardly makes any money. There are zero ads and no products for sale. The only thing I have are a few affiliate links buried in old articles.

Now it is up to me to take this craft and learn how to make it profitable. It has been almost a year since I have graduated college and I have zero income. I can’t live with my parents forever, something has to change. Ever since I can remember I wanted to be a self-employed entrepreneur, but it had to be achieved doing what I love.

Here are the main frontiers of my plan:

STEP 1: Blogging and Relationships

No surprises here. I love writing and I love sharing advice. This stuff comes effortlessly to me to the point where I don’t consider it work at all – it’s only play. When you find yourself providing value to others and loving it, that is a good sign that you can maybe transform that activity into something that makes money and puts food on the table.

Therefore the first part of my business model is to continue writing quality articles and building up an audience. A big part of this will be building real relationships with my readers and connecting personally to everyone who visits the site. Help me accomplish this by sending me an email: contact@theemotionmachine.com.

STEP 2: Create Quality Products

This is a lot easier said than done. However, it’s a lot simpler to decide on a product or service after you have defined your Ikigai. I now have more than a solid two years of serious writing, and I’ve also built up a lot of knowledge and passion over those years. I don’t doubt that I will run into some obstacles along the way, but I have confidence that I can write a kick-ass e-book that people will truly value and want to purchase. My workflow will need some adjustments here and there, but I’m doing what I love so the struggle will be minimal.

STEP 3: Exercise More

To you this may seem like it has nothing to do with making money. But for me getting exercise is an integral part of my minimalist routine. It will help me deal with any stress I accumulate throughout the day, and it will also help me feel better and be more confident in myself. For most of my life I never took part in any kind of exercise and this really hurt me both physically and mentally. Without this balance I know I won’t be able to run the best business I want to run.

These are the three main things I feel I need to focus on to build success. They may not work for you, but I hope in a couple months from now I can point you to this article and say, “This simple way of looking at things really helped me to make money doing what I love.”

Questions for readers.

• Do you agree with my definition of minimalism? Can someone own a lot but still not cling to their possessions?
• How does money fit into your worldview? In what ways can billionaires like Bill Gates and Warren Buffet still be men of “moral integrity?”
• Do you make a living following a minimalist plan?
• How much do you compromise your Ikigai (“reasons for living”) for financial security?

I chose Rob White as my first guest to interview because he has had some real success stories in his life. He started at the age of 30 with over $50,000 of debt, and now he is a multi-millionaire after earning some serious bank doing real estate. Since then he has created MindAdventure.com to share his winning attitude with the whole world.

When I first discovered Mind Adventure, I was blown away by Rob’s ability to break down empowering concepts in such a down-to-earth way. He is a real teacher and a real motivator of the heart. His passion is contagious, even through a computer monitor, thus I wanted to share him with my readers.

1) When did you first start MindAdventure.com and what was your motivation?

“I began MindAdventure.com a few years back. My intention was to ‘give back’ to others marvelous tips that others have given to me. We never break free to innovative newness until we finally get fed up with stubborn oldness. BUT, to get fed up with stubborn oldness requires that we become conscious that we are slaves to 1,001 useless opinions, erroneous notions, and debilitating thought-habits. Thus, the reason for MindAdventure.com.”

2) Every week you are generous enough to give a free copy of your book 180 to whoever leaves the best comment on your site. What does your book aim to teach individuals?

“My book aims to help folks become cheerfully curious about themselves so that they will take an adventure in self-discovery. What they will find, as they journey through the days of the book, is that they already have the knowledge they need for transforming their lives. It is only a matter of practicing the little things daily, and the big things will take care of themselves.”

Editor’s Note: To find out more about the book please click here (not an affiliate).

3) What is your “heart-mind?”

“Your heart-mind is the level of thinking that occurs in the subconscious (where your emotions dwell). Without your heart-mind’s cooperation (without the participation of deep-level thinking) your dreams become nothing more than a shallow ‘wish list.’”

4) What role does philanthropy play in good business?

“Good business practices (sound business practices) are philanthropic in nature. When business gets greedy, things begin to fall apart. Take a look at big businesses today that have turned from philanthropic to greedy. You cannot worship god and mammon too. God is philanthropic. Mammon is greed.”

5) If you could change one thing about the economy to make it healthier and more prosperous, what would you change?

“I would remind big business that the ‘Law of Sowing and Reaping’ cannot be tampered with; either you live your life by this ‘Universal Law’ or you yield a sparse harvest.”

6) Fill in the blanks: If I was a college professor I would teach ______ because __________________.