We all have it — that one thing we would do anything to avoid. That thing we’re sure we’ll never be any good at.

For me, it was finance. Basically anything having to do with numbers. My brain would literally shut down

any time the conversation

would come up. Or worse, I’d find myself nodding my head, pretending to understand. (Thank you for calling us all out on that one, Nicole Lapin!)

And I knew I couldn’t go on that way because, well, I have a family to watch out for and I’m also a business owner. Compound interest. 🙂

Complaining about this one day to a mentor and friend, the advice came back: “Instead of saying, ‘I want or need to,’ try ‘I am inspired to…’ and see how that feels.”

Whoa. That feels very different. So, I reframed: “I am inspired to LEARN about finances and to APPLY the lessons that resonate.”

That’s when folks such as Ray Dalio, Suze Orman, Robert Kiyosaki, and Anthony Robbins stepped in to demystify and inspire me even more. I could do this. I started small with tracking my spending. It didn’t take all that long to move on to areas that once seemed completely impossible, such as investing and creating a Giving Fund. And while Fortune magazine hasn’t named me Madame Templeton* (yet), I can now hold my own when it comes to money talk. And that feels great.

So, if you find yourself avoiding something you “need” to do, give these 3 steps a shot:

1. Reframe the “need to” with the thought, “I am inspired to…”.
2. Once you’ve set the inspiration, ask: what is the smallest step I can take to move in this direction?
3. Take it. Schedule time in your calendar that moment to just do it.

Then tell me: What’s inspiring you now? And what one step are you scheduling to make it real? Leave a comment. Share your story. We need it!

*Sir John Templeton was arguably the greatest investor of the 20th century and also a personal hero of mine. If you’re interested in learning what “true wealth” means, studying his legacy is a good start.

YOU MAY ALSO LIKE