What Is Your Money Story? | Empowered Wealth
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Introduction
You're a capable entrepreneur. You've built something from nothing. You've navigated uncertainty, made tough decisions, and kept going when most people would have quit.
And yet.
When it comes to money - checking your account, setting your prices, asking for payment - something shifts. The confidence you bring to every other area of your business seems to disappear. You avoid. You delay. You tell yourself you'll deal with it later.
What if I told you this isn't about discipline or financial literacy? What if the real issue is a story you've been carrying since before you ever opened your first bank account?
Your money story - the collection of beliefs, messages, and emotional patterns you inherited about money - is running in the background of every financial decision you make. And until you uncover it, you'll keep hitting the same walls, no matter how many budgets you create or strategies you try.
What Is a Money Story?
A money story is the narrative you carry about money and your relationship with it. It's not facts - it's the meaning you've assigned to money based on your experiences, observations, and the messages you absorbed growing up.
Your money story answers questions like:
- Is money scarce or abundant?
- Is it safe to have money, or will I lose myself if I do?
- Do I deserve to earn well, or should I feel guilty for wanting more?
- Is money a tool for freedom, or a source of stress and shame?
These aren't conscious beliefs you chose. They're the invisible water you've been swimming in your entire life. And they shape everything - how you price your services, how you feel when you earn, whether you save or spend, and whether you avoid or engage with your finances.
Where Do Money Stories Come From?
1. Childhood Money Messages
The first and most powerful source of your money story is what you heard, saw, and felt about money as a child.
Did your parents fight about money? You might have learned that money creates conflict and should be avoided.
Did they say "money doesn't grow on trees" or "we can't afford that"? You might have internalized scarcity as truth.
Did they work constantly, sacrificing time for money? You might believe you have to choose between wealth and wellbeing.
Did they speak about money with shame or secrecy? You might feel uncomfortable discussing finances openly.
These messages weren't always explicit. Sometimes they were transmitted through tone, facial expressions, or the tension in the room when bills arrived.
2. Cultural and Societal Beliefs
Beyond your family, you absorbed money messages from your culture, religion, community, and society.
Some of these might include:
- "Money is the root of all evil" (misquoted, but deeply embedded)
- "Rich people are greedy or corrupt"
- "It's not polite to talk about money"
- "You have to work hard (i.e., suffer) to earn money"
- "Money can't buy happiness"
Even if you intellectually disagree with these beliefs, they may still be influencing you emotionally. Your conscious mind says one thing; your nervous system remembers another.
3. Your Own Financial Experiences
Your personal history with money - the first time you earned it, lost it, needed it, or felt shame around it - also shapes your story.
Maybe you once had plenty of money and lost it. Now you're afraid to feel secure again.
Maybe you grew up without much and swore you'd never struggle - but now you're afraid of becoming the "greedy" person you once resented.
Maybe you made a financial mistake that cost you, and now you don't trust yourself with money.
These experiences get woven into the narrative, creating patterns that repeat until you consciously interrupt them.
Why Your Money Story Matters for Your Business
As an entrepreneur, your money story isn't just a personal issue - it directly impacts your business.
Here's how:
Pricing: If your money story says "I don't deserve much" or "asking for money is selfish," you'll undercharge. You'll rationalize it as being "accessible" or "generous," but underneath, it's fear.
Visibility: If your money story says "rich people are bad," you'll unconsciously sabotage your success. You'll avoid marketing, hide your wins, or downplay your expertise because part of you doesn't want to be "that person."
Financial Management: If your money story says "money is stressful," you'll avoid looking at your numbers. You'll procrastinate on invoicing, delay reviewing your accounts, and create unnecessary financial chaos.
Decision-Making: If your money story says "I'm not good with money," you'll defer to others or freeze when it's time to make financial choices. You won't trust your own judgment.
Growth: If your money story says "more money means more problems," you'll unconsciously cap your income. You'll turn down opportunities, avoid scaling, or find ways to keep yourself small.
Your business can't grow beyond the limits of your money story.
How to Uncover Your Money Story
Uncovering your money story isn't about analysis - it's about awareness. You're not trying to "fix" anything yet. You're simply noticing.
Step 1: Reflect on Your Childhood Money Messages
Ask yourself:
- What did my parents say about money?
- How did they handle money? (openly, secretly, anxiously, confidently)
- What did I learn about people who had money? People who didn't?
- Was money discussed at all, or was it taboo?
- What was the emotional tone around money in my household?
Write down whatever comes up. Don't edit. Don't judge. Just observe.
Step 2: Notice Your Current Money Patterns
Look at your present-day relationship with money:
- When do you avoid dealing with money? (checking accounts, setting prices, asking for payment)
- When do you feel shame, guilt, or anxiety around money?
- When do you feel empowered or confident about money?
- How do you talk about money to others? (openly, reluctantly, not at all)
- What financial decisions feel easy? Which ones feel impossibly hard?
These patterns are clues. They're showing you where your money story is still running the show.
Step 3: Identify the Beliefs Underneath
Once you've noticed the patterns, look for the beliefs driving them.
For example:
-
Pattern: You avoid checking your bank account.
Belief: "If I look, I'll see something bad, and that will mean I'm failing." -
Pattern: You undercharge for your services.
Belief: "If I charge what I'm worth, people will think I'm greedy or out of touch." -
Pattern: You feel guilty when you earn well.
Belief: "If I have money while others struggle, I'm selfish."
Name the belief. Bring it into the light. That's half the work.
What Happens When You Uncover Your Money Story?
Awareness doesn't immediately change everything. But it does interrupt the autopilot.
When you can see your money story for what it is - a collection of old messages, not objective truth - you create space for something new.
You start to ask:
- Is this belief actually true, or is it just familiar?
- Who benefits from me believing this?
- What would change if I chose to believe something different?
You begin to separate your identity from your financial situation. You stop thinking "I'm bad with money" and start thinking "I learned certain patterns, and I can learn new ones."
You give yourself permission to question, to experiment, to choose differently.
Your Money Story Isn't Your Fault - But It Is Your Responsibility
You didn't choose the money story you inherited. It was handed to you long before you had the capacity to question it.
But now? Now you get to decide.
You can keep running the same patterns, or you can start rewriting the narrative.
This doesn't mean forcing yourself to "think positive" or pretending your struggles don't exist. It means meeting your money story with curiosity instead of judgment. It means recognizing that your financial behavior makes sense given what you learned - and that you're allowed to learn something new.
Ready to Transform Your Relationship with Money?
Uncovering your money story is just the beginning. The real transformation happens when you actively reframe your beliefs and build new patterns.
Empowered Wealth is a 7-module course designed specifically for entrepreneurs who want to build wealth that feels authentic and aligned - not copied from someone else's playbook.
Inside, you'll learn to:
- Identify and reframe limiting money beliefs
- Release financial shame and build self-trust
- Make values-aligned financial decisions
- Create a sustainable relationship with money
No formulas. No guarantees. Just honest, grounded work that meets you where you are.
👉 Enroll in Empowered Wealth - $197
Your money story doesn't have to be your forever story. But first, you have to know what it is.