The Seven Stages of Money Maturity

Book excerpt: Discover a powerful new way to look at your money and your life. Where do our attitudes about money come from--and how do they influence our lives? How can we approach financial issues with honesty and without fear? In this groundbreaking book, renowned Buddhist teacher George Kinder, a Harvard-trained certified financial planner, demonstrates how we can literally transform our lives emotionally and financially by achieving "money maturity"--a full understanding of the spiritual and psychological issues surrounding our money lives. Drawing on ancient Buddhist wisdom and his years of financial practice, Kinder has created a revolutionary program that guides us through the Seven Stages of a revolutionary journey--one designed to help us uncover the roots of our attitudes about money, and attain true peace, freedom, and security in our financial lives. Learn how to: Understand feelings that impact taking financial action Develop understanding and knowledge about money Eliminate stress and anxiety around money Let go of old patterns and painful habits Approach money tasks with energy and optimism Design a money life that is fulfilling both financially and spiritually Filled with practical information, market-tested, wealth-building skills, personal success stories, and spiritual guidance, The Seven Stages of Money Maturity is an invaluable guide to a rich--and richly lived--life. 1. Innocence--The childhood state we are born in, devoid of any concept of money 2. Pain--The discovery that we have more money than some and less than others, and that work is necessary to make a living 3. Knowledge--The intellectual task of learning financial techniques such as saving, budgeting, and investing 4. Understanding--The emotional work done in coming to terms with feelings around money, such as greed, envy, and resentment (which are rooted in Pain) 5. Vigor--The energy (physical, emotional, and spiritual) that must be expended to reach financial goals 6. Vision--The direction of Vigor outward toward the health and welfare of communities, with or without profit motive 7. Aloha--The compassionate goodwill that allows one to use money to perform acts of kindness without expecting anything in return Using THE SEVEN STAGES OF MONEY MATURITY, readers will understand each encounter with money as a step toward awakening; a lesson about the relationship they share with others as well as with the self. -->