I love this newsletter article by Roger James Hamilton of Wealth Dynamics, called The River of Wealth. It is so zen and poetic that I must share it as an alternative to our driver-based ways of thinking about prosperity.
The River of Wealth
“Be still like a mountain and flow like a great river.” ~ Lao Tse
Does the garden metaphor resonate with you? Are you busy chasing butterflies with a net or are you growing a garden? The garden is the first step. Here is the second. You can water your garden with a bucket, or you can water it with a permanent river.
We can all relate to the idea of growing a garden. But running our own river? Every great Wealth Creator has created their own river. When we grow our river, we grow our flow. As we grow our flow, we grow our attraction. At first glance, the two metaphors are similar: as with the butterflies, the water in the river is temporary; as with the garden, the river is permanent.
There are, however, four important additions:
1. Water
Water, like money, flows. Money is already flowing around this planet at an unprecedented rate. Great Wealth Creators have achieved their wealth not by ‘making money’ but by ‘creating flow’. They have learned how to redirect some of this money flow through themselves and their enterprises. Wealth then, is largely about good plumbing. There are rules to this plumbing, and the structure of Wealth Dynamics is based on these rules.
2. Flow
Flow is about more than cash flow. It is about life flow. Each of us creates our greatest wealth when we are in our own personal flow. Those of us who build a river around this flow attract all the resources, people and opportunities in the same way that a leaf thrown in a river will naturally be attracted to the central current. When we are creating the right river, it feels right for us. When you find your flow, you begin to love life and live life fully.
3. Path
There are different paths to running a river, and we each have a natural path of least resistance. Wealth Dynamics classifies these paths into eight profiles. Each is a different game with different players and different rules. Until you follow your natural path, life feels like a struggle and you will find little attraction. Many of us are operating at a fraction of our true potential. Focus on your natural path and life soon changes from hard-to-get to easy-to-give.
4. Purpose
In a river, flow assumes exit as well as entry. Giving more opens the way to receiving more. With flow, a bigger income goes hand-in-hand with a bigger outcome. In the limited time we have on this planet, we choose our power to create and our power to contribute. When you live in your flow you maximize this power. You attract the resources to leave a lasting legacy. Your path leads to your purpose.