3 Proven Steps To Create Wealth And Financial Freedom

3 Proven Steps To Create Wealth And Financial Freedom.
Lorna Poole & Samia Bano

Tired of the #ratrace? Want to stop #tradingtimeformoney? Want to know how you can build #truewealth?

Listen now to this interview with Lorna Poole, #FinancialCoach, to learn the 3 proven steps to #createwealth and #financialfreedom with your business.

NOTE: Lorna's approach is particularly excellent for conscious, #heartcentred entrepreneurs!

ABOUT LORNA:

Lorna Poole is a money and freedom coach, supporting coaches and entrepreneurs to master their money, create wealth and financial freedom, so they can secure their financial future and live life on their terms. And giving women the confidence, knowledge and understanding of how to put their money to work.

Grab “The Wealth Checklist”, Lorna's FREE GIFT for you now!

https://lornapoole.systeme.io/wealthchecklist

Learn more and connect with Lorna at:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/wealthfinancialfreedomestablishedcoachentrepreneur

To Book your Free HAPPINESS 101 EXPLORATION CALL with Samia, click: https://my.timetrade.com/book/JX9XJ

#buildwealth #wealthbuilding #wealthbuildingtips #wealthbuildingstrategies #wealthbuilding101 #wealthbuildingjourney #financialeducation #financialliteracy #financialsuccess #financialindependence #FinancialHealth #financialindependenceforwomen #FreedomAndWealth #moneymanagement #MoneyManagementTips #MoneyManagement101 #liveyourbestlife #liveyourdreams #heartcenteredentrepreneur #heartcenteredbusiness

Here's the audio version of this episode:

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Full Video Transcript

SAMIA: Hello, Salaam, Shalom, Namaste, Sat Sri Akal, Aloha, Holah, Ciao, Bonjour, Buna, Privet, Mabuhay, and Dzień Dobry! I hope I said all of that correctly, and I'm so happy to have you all with us, and I know you will be so happy you have joined us because we have a very cool guest with us, and it's Lorna Poole, who is a Financial Coach. Lorna, welcome…

LORNA: Thank you. Thank you for having me. And great to be here.

SAMIA: Yes. And, Lorna, please tell us more about who you are and what you do…

LORNA: So I'm Lorna Poole. I'm a Financial Coach, and I support established coaches and service-based entrepreneurs to create true wealth and financial freedom. And what I mean by that is putting their money to work. So they can really live that freedom life.

SAMIA: Yes. I love it. I love it, because, you know, it's… working for money… I personally find that very depressing in the sense that, you know, money is obviously just a tool for us to achieve what we want in life, or get a little bit more of the things that we want in life… Money in itself brings no joy. Money in itself brings no happiness. And so it's really important to, you know, sort of maintain focus on that, that the money is just a tool, and you don't want to be working for money. And so when you can learn how to have money work for you, that's really, really amazing.

LORNA: Thank you. And, you know, how I came about this was I sat in a room, you know, wanting to create wealth and financial freedom. And my view of how to get there was income. And I realized in the room when she spoke that that's not the way... And because the room was full of entrepreneurs who are, you know, working on increasing their income, wanting to create this wealth and financial freedom and feeling like, I don't have the money, the time or the freedom… I started this business for all of these things. And he talked about putting your money to work, what your network number is, how to get there, and what you need in place to do so. And that was a real shift for me.

SAMIA: Yeah, you have to tell me more because, you know, for sure I agree with you. My concept was also just like you, that, you know, in order to have more money in my life, I have to have more income for which I have to do more work. So if that is not the pathway, then what is?

LORNA: Yeah, let's talk about what the pathway is... Income is only one piece of it, right. So there's kind of four quadrants to money, right. You have income, you have expenses, you have assets and liabilities. So your income is what's flowing in. And in order to create wealth, it's what you're doing with the money that flows out. So most people, as their money goes up, they suffer from lifestyle creep. They're creating more expenses. And one of the mistakes people make is they believe when I have more money than I can rate well in financial… well, you can actually do it now on whatever level of income you're in. And this was a big aha to me. So when money comes in, it's either going to your expenses or your liabilities, which are your debts and financing and things like that, or you're putting your money to work. And what you want to be doing is putting your money to work, because that's truly what creates freedom. Because when you build your networth big enough, you can quit what you're doing if you desire. Some of us want to keep working, and that money supports the lifestyle you desire. So that's what creates true wealth and financial freedom. And there's a really great quote from Harv Ecker... I could never say his name for the longest time. And it's called… I love it because I think it really gives a good definition of what financial freedom is... "It's the ability to live the lifestyle you desire without having to work or rely on anyone else for money." Like, that is true. And the more I teach financial freedom, it's about feeling free inside, no matter where my money's at.

SAMIA: Yes. Ah, yes, I... Oh, gosh… you know, when you were talking about how, you know, we can fall into lifestyle creep, I recently been dealing with this issue in the context of managing… or having taken over my uncle's finances. Actually, my uncle passed away last year. And then I found out that he had left me his trustee for his estate and trusts. And, you know, once I took charge of, you know, the trusts and started looking into the finances and so forth, you know, I found that, yes, he had like, a massive income. Like, he was a millionaire, multimillionaire, as a matter of fact. And I mean, like, truly, like, he had that level of income of multiple millions coming in. But the problem was his expenses were also really high and there was a lot of debt involved. And, you know, like, for me, I am of a different sort of mindset. I'm still very, in some ways, Indian and Pakistani and, you know, like a middle class Indian-Pakistani is how I was raised. And in our culture, you know, especially when it comes to debt, we have a very different attitude and mindset. And I was like, actually, at first, a little bit stressed out about how much debt there was, and it was just... It's really shocking, you know, the expenses that, like, how even though you have a huge income, because you have huge expenses, you can actually be left with very little money to actually do anything that you really want, because all the money is going to pay off the expenses and the liabilities…

LORNA: ...and nobody wants to talk about this… is that money management is such a big piece of wealth creation. Like, people want to know, Lorna, tell me how to invest. How do I put my money to work? How do I create assets that pay for my lifestyle? But how you take care of your money is huge... And, you know, some of the big things you can do is… It's exactly, I actually watched a Netflix program literally two days ago. It was... I just liked the title. I didn't know anything about it. And it was called The Footballer, the Wife, and the Crash. It's worth watching. And, like your story, he was a footballer. He came from a, you know, like, a poor background, housing place, and his way out of there was to get good at soccer. And his first getting employed was €100 per week. And then he went to 15,000 per week, and then he wasn't performing, and the money stopped. He had three kids and a wife. It's really worth watching how income alone just doesn't get you there. And I'm glad we're getting this across here, because I think that's really important to say… because a lot of people, when they're trying to make money in their business, they think, oh, when I make a million and so forth, that's going to solve all my money problems. No, your behaviors are your behaviors with money, and it was very much played out with this footballer. He had certain behaviors with money that no matter where he was with his money, he was burning it. So to what you said, it really is about how you take care of your money. And I always say this, we have only three habits with money. We're either at wealthy habits, breaking even, or we're overspending. And we go in, and we can go in and out of all three. Okay?

SAMIA: Yes.

LORNA: Especially us business owners.

SAMIA: Yes.

LORNA: You know, but even if you are in the overspending category, the way to get out of it is… it always comes back to the wealthy habits with money. You know, like a classic one that we've all heard of, but I don't know if everybody understands it, is pay yourself first, because that is the beginning of everything. And I always say, pay your assets first... That changed my life, putting my money to work, when at the time, I didn't think I was in the right place to be putting my money to work. Because you create wealth from focusing on an income. You create wealth on focusing on creating wealth and freedom, and your focus goes there. And then from there you say, okay, well, how can I diverse my income? How can I, you know… what am I doing with my money when it leaves my bank? Those kind of things make a difference.

SAMIA: Yes, yes. You know, you're so right. Like, a lot of times when we think about investing in assets, one of the biggest hurdles that I've also encountered with so many people, and myself in the past, was thinking that I didn't have enough to begin with. And then I remember one of the teachers that I was working with, she said, you know, at a very simple level, one thing you could, for example, do is create… open an account in a bank that pays interest on your money, as opposed to just having it sit in a different kind of account where you're not earning interest. And so, you know, and it's about the mindset shift, of course, also in terms of how do I get my money to work? But that was like an example of how no matter where you are at, even if the interest income is very small because you have a small amount, it's okay, because it's about the mindset and the awareness of… here is one way I can have my money working for me, and I can do it no matter how much or how little I have. And, you know, to have that mindset of, okay, I'm invest... I'm going to invest more. We need to put more in this account where my money is working harder for me than in other places where it's not.

LORNA: Yeah, like, I remember when I got serious about creating my wealth, I had known what to do many years beforehand, and I was telling myself all these stories. I made a decision. When you make the decision, you'll figure out… you just readjust your money, but if you don't even go there… And another thing that can come up for people is they don't believe they can actually hit financial freedom, so they don't do anything about it. And then understanding what creating assets actually means. So you want an asset that increases in value or increases in income or both, that will fund your lifestyle. And that when you invest in assets, the way you're going to do it is you keep… when you hit your networth number, you keep some of the money always working. And then you're drawing down certain amounts and it's forever. And I'm a big believer in long-term wealth practices, not go get rich quick things.

SAMIA: Yes, you made me think about another really important lesson is… if you're thinking about financial freedom as being in that stage where, you know, you are able to live the lifestyle that you want, you can also make conscious changes to the lifestyle that you are living and make it so that you are able to reach that place of financial freedom sooner, in the sense that you can lower your expenses. You can adjust your lifestyle in some respect so that, you know, you are able to have the income that you currently have, or that you are very soon able to achieve, support that lifestyle. And then you continue to focus on growing your income. And then, you know, as your income grows, you can continue to expand certain aspects of your lifestyle if you desire… but to, you know, take that proactive step… I think in our teacher actually made a distinction in this sense between… two different terms that he used. There was financial freedom and there was financial security... I think what he said he was, was making a distinction. He was like, first aim for financial security. And in that context, you know, that's where he was talking about…  even if you need to make some adjustments to your lifestyle so you can have more money to put towards, you know, investing in assets, etc... He was like, I encourage you to do that. And, you know, you'll get to a point where you'll have true financial freedom and you won't really have to think about… like, how much money you have relative to the lifestyle you want to live will no longer be a matter of concern. So... But, you know, sometimes you have to work your way up there and that's okay.

LORNA: Yeah. Usually the first step is when you get your net worth to zero. Where your expenses and income, you're not in a negative network, you're, you're at zero. And then you build to there to financial stability, financial security, and then where you want to go. But also when working with people is… financial freedom means different things to different people. And I found from working with people, the real freedom is my choice. I have my time, I can choose how I want to live... It's not necessarily the yacht in Morocco, for example. I was at formula one last week and I was like, you know, these big yachts and it's like, you know. So financial freedom to different people mean different things. But yes... And it really is about looking at where you are with your money now, focusing on, I want to create wealth and financial freedom. Okay. Who do I need to become to get there? What am I doing with my money to make this happen? And I'll say this as well… I think one of the barriers to creating wealth is income and debt, because typically with both of them, people can spend 10, 15, 20 years, even most of their life, figuring out how to increase their income or figuring out how to clear their debt, at the cost of creating wealth. But if you practice wealthy habits with money, I always pay myself first. I build my emergency fund. I put in my cash safety net. I protect my money from myself. I'm, you know, I'm understanding assets. What I'm, you know, I'm understanding how to build assets in a... So when you're doing this correctly, it's not about what to invest in. It's about having a robust structure to your money. So it's about the portfolio design that, you know, when there's inflation, the economy goes down, COVID happens, war happens… the economy is in a recession... If you're working it right, you're protected. And people don't know this because people come to me and they're like, oh, Lorna, I need to invest. And Joe down the road, he's in real estate and our property… depending where you are… And this happened to him. And this guy does really well with property, and therefore I want to do property. And I heard the stock market crashes, but they don't really understand how all of it worked together. And you got to have it working together. Just a little bit of personal story. Now, I don't know the ins and outs. My parents never shared anything with me, but my dad passed away. He was obsessed with money, securing your future, and there was nothing in place for my mom. And this is how I got into this work… because I realized a lot of women end up in this position because they don't take charge of their money… or they're even passing it off to financial advisors, not really knowing or understanding a little bit about themselves so they can converse with the financial advisor and get the best support there. So you can either self-invest, you can work with somebody, but know the lingo…

SAMIA: Yes, yes, you're so right about that. Both on the point about a lot of women, we don't learn to manage our own money. We don't learn about the financial world. We're not familiar with the lingo. And the fact that, you know, there's different kinds of financial advisors who can advise you on different things in different contexts. And if you don't understand… you know, there are people who are in that position of being financial advisors, but really they don't… a lot of them, they don't care about you. They don't... Their priority is nothing actually making you money. Their priority is more like… loyalty is to the company, to the this, to the that…

LORNA: I'm sure there's good ones out there, but a job of financial advisor is to sell a product. They're selling life insurance, they're selling pensions. They're asking you as a high, low, or risk… high, low, or medium risk you want. They're selling you a product and it is laced with ways to pay themselves. The industry is made out to be complicated. So people are ignorant. And when you're ignorant, you don't know what to ask or say to support your money the best.

SAMIA: Yeah.

LORNA: So why not give that power to yourself? And also, it's been generational that women didn't bring in their own income, didn't take care of the money. They set a home among the kids. And we have the knowledge, the power and the brains to do it ourselves. So let's do it.

SAMIA: Exactly. And you're so right about how the industry has deliberately made things more complex. They don't want people asking too many questions... But once you get into it, there are, you know, you can break through a lot of that complexity. And there are certain fundamentals like you have been mentioning, you know, understanding, like for example, the four basic things that happen to your money or categories that you mentioned in terms of there's income, there's expenses, there's assets, there's liabilities… So even if you understand those four basic distinctions, you can begin to have an awareness of where is my money going and where do I really want it to be most, etc... And I mean that for me, one of those… these kinds of lessons was such, I mean, that's so complicated to understand. You know, it's like, I remember one time... Oh, an example of like understanding the difference between an asset and a liability where you are breaking through all the legal complexity and things like that and just thinking at it a very common sense, practical level. And you know that... So my teacher, he said, if you have something and it's not making you money, it's a liability. So, you know, a lot of people, for example, you go to an accountant and your accountant might say your car is an asset, but actually for most people their car is a liability because it's sucking up money… in the context of insurance, you pay maintenance, you know, this and that, and it's not making you any money. So it's not a true asset. It's actually a liability…

LORNA: Yeah, it's not what we're talking about here. It has to be growing in value and growing in income and different assets play different roles in your portfolio and that's why you have to have certain ones in it.

SAMIA: Yes, exactly. And so to think that, oh, you know, I'll invest and buy myself a good car, that's actually not the right way to think.

LORNA: No. I have a 5000-pound car. I have no debt on it. It drives perfectly fine, gets me from A to B. And I create wealth. And that's the thing. Most people who create wealth live in ordinary houses, drive ordinary cars, because their priority is not another bill. Their priority is my time freedom, choice, being able to spend time with my family, being able to travel and do the things I love.

SAMIA: Exactly, exactly. So, like, again, you're cutting through a lot of fluff in terms of, like, people thinking about what it means to be wealthy, to have a wealthy mindset… That was such a great example. Thank you so much.

LORNA: Very welcome.

SAMIA: I know, you know, we don't have too much time with you... So one of the things that I would love for you to tell us more about that you mentioned, you know, several times actually… this idea of having a wealthy mindset. Can you share with us some, like a little bit in more detail? Like, maybe contrast a thought that a wealthy mindset versus a not wealthy mindset… just so people can learn more from those examples.

LORNA: Yeah. I work a lot with people on where their minds at with money because so much creating wealth boils down to this and your self worth and money. I always say you want to get to a place where you feel neutral about money. And I'll give you an example from a personal story... So I am… this is with love, but I'll share with money. In my twenties, I used to attract men that weren't very good for me. And in 2010, I had one bad boy too many and I hit rock bottom. And when I went to the therapist, I talked to her about my dad, my relationship with my dad. So if nothing to do, he was the catapult that caused it. And so I stayed there about nine months. And what happened is I had such a fear around if I got married to somebody they would leave me and I would like die, kind of thing, right. So I created the very thing I feared, rooted from childhood. So I'm in there talking about my dad. I emotionally let go of that. I came to a place of feeling neutral. Have a relationship, don't have a relationship, I'm fine... I'm in a relationship now with a great guy, and if he left me in the morning, I'm fine because I don't have that pain inside me anymore. It's the same with money. When you have an emotional fear to… I'm going to lose the money. I'm going to run out of money. I'm not going to have money… You recreate that fear over and over again. And when someone wants to increase their income or create wealth and financial freedom, you're not even open to figure out how when you're sitting over here in the fear. So you always got to let go of the emotional charge of what's bringing up that for you. And the best… I don't love either… Like someone says to you, you know, it's very popular in the coaching world to be positive. Now it's kind of going away, but it was really big… So they tell people when they're working with them, think abundant, which is the dead opposite. And what happens when you're carrying the fear, it creates inner conflict. So you want to get to a place where you feel neutral about money. When you feel neutral about money, you can make shifts… because you are coming from a grounded, centered place. And I learned that from my experience through my love life.

SAMIA: Yes. Yes, you're right…

LORNA: Want to be…

SAMIA: Yeah.

LORNA: ...I'll just finish it up this bit off here... Is you want to be… whether I have money or don't have money, I feel free inside. Because most things what people chase… the car, the house, the freedom, or whatever it all boils down to. And I've learned this myself from my own experience all by now, really, what we really want is to feel peace, loved… all those fundamental emotions… like feeling free inside, being ourselves, feeling loved, peace of mind… That's really what we want. That's what the freedom's giving us.

SAMIA: Yes, exactly.

LORNA: That's what the money's giving us. That's what the relationship's giving us... So you want to get to a place where you can then, no matter what situation you're in with money.

SAMIA: Yes. Yes... So, thinking about money… it's sort of like what I was sharing earlier, that, you know, to remember, for example, that it's a tool, it's not a goal in itself. It's not a thing to love for itself…

LORNA: But I want to say this…

SAMIA: …but it's more...

LORNA: Yeah, I want to say this as well… We need to stop making liking money wrong.

SAMIA: Yeah.

LORNA: I am... Like, it's funny, in my early days, I used to kind of search Google to find a good money quote, and they'd always be negative. It's okay to like money. It's okay to want money. It's okay to love money. Like, let's... It like… the shame you get when you say you like money is unreal. Like, it's okay… because money is so intertangeled with basic security, a roof over your head, food on the table, being able to provide for your family. So let's shout about it. I like money. I want to have money, and I'm okay with that.

SAMIA: Right, right. And again, just keeping that broader sense… or that more... I mean, when, again, when we're talking about money... Because, you know, like when you were saying, feel neutral about money, but then, you know, we're also talking about not shaming and etc when we think about liking money… And the way that I square those two things, because I agree with you on both points, is that, you know, again, it's to recognize that, you know, the things that I love… when I say, you know, when I say I love money and I love money, I'm happy to say I love money… that I'm... I know that what I really mean when I say I love money is, you know, I'm saying that I love the energy of abundance, the mindset of abundance, the knowing that, you know, I can reach out and get whatever I need, and knowing that I have access to that. I love that knowing, I love that mindset. I love that feeling. And money is just one tool or one way that can... that… through which I can, you know, function in that way. It's just one tool through which I can live out that mindset. But it's not the only way. It's not the end all or be all. Because, like, in the examples that you are giving Lorna, even if you don't have the money, you can still have that abundance in your life. You can still have that energy, that mindset, and, you know, access the resources that you need in other ways that, you know… for example, through collaboration, through working with other people, you know, you can totally gain so much of what you need even if you don't have the money in hand, but you have the right mindset.

LORNA: Yeah. And it's so much about your lived life and giving yourself permission now to live, because the money always shows up. Like, go on holidays, see the person, have an adventure. You know, I remember back in my early days when I traveled and I'd ask friends and they were like, oh, no, I can't go out... And I was like, I'm going, right, and like, you get to live your freedom life now and in the background be doing the right things to have your money there with you.

SAMIA: Yes. Oh, that's so, that's so wise... And I am keeping an eye on the clock for both of us. I know you're busy. You've got to go... So I'll resist asking you more questions, except to ask if you have any last thoughts, any last words you want to share… If you want to tell the audience how they can find you, how they can learn more from you…

LORNA: I'm going to leave the audience with… you can 100% build wealth. You can do it now. Put your focus there while you're increasing your income or whatever else’s going on with your money. That's available to all of us. Regards, getting to know me, there's the free wealth checklist that you're going to share and also you can come join me in my Facebook group, Financially Independent Females.

SAMIA: Awesome, awesome, awesome…

LORNA: ..chat with you guys there. Yeah. Thank you having me.

SAMIA: Oh, you're so welcome. I'm so happy we got to have this chat, Lorna. And my last reminder to our audience is simply to make sure you check the show notes because we will be dropping those links to Lorna in the show notes so you can connect with her. You can access that wealth checklist that she's giving to all of us in the audience for free. Thank you so much for that. That's such an awesome gift. And also, of course, the link to your Facebook, etcetera... So until we connect next time, I wish you lots and lots of peace and joy... :)