Hi, and welcome to this week's episode of money with Alpha. Um, we had a bit of a break last week, so getting back into it. School holidays always makes it a bit of a challenge to try juggle things. And, um, I think a lot of people are away as well.
So I thought we'll just have a little bit of a rest for one week and then we'll get right back into it. And, um, this week I wanted to talk about values. It's something that's come up quite a bit recently and I'm about to give a talk on it, um, for a women's group, and I thought I'd like to share some of the insights of how I work with women who are specifically business owners.
When it comes to values, I find that it's extremely important. And usually when I do private work with people, we start with values because it's really important to have that solid foundation as a base of understanding, because it's not something that we typically do where it's not. It's hard to teach.
Um, so we're not really taught it unless we're really deep into our personal development journey. It becomes something that we don't necessarily set aside time to do, and it's also something that takes, I suppose, the right kind of approach and guidance to get through it because it's very difficult to do it on your own.
Um, I remember when I first had my values done and I didn't really understand the importance of it until after the session. Um, but I actually spent an entire day with this lady and her business partner and my mum came along as well. And we each delved into what our values are and I was amazed at the power of it, looking back over my life and the things that had worked and the things that hadn't worked and the stuff when you know, like you're just pushing for something, it just doesn't work out.
And then something other things just magically happen. Just as a perfect example, when I first, uh, out of school and I studied business, this is before I even studied accounting. I did marketing and I don't know how many resumes I sent out, at least 50. I got no responses, like all no's.
So either no responses or nos, no interviews, nothing. And I found it really hard to get a job in that space. And thats actually why I went back to uni and studied accounting, because I thought, well, theres possibly more opportunities to get a job. And sure enough, I entered a grad program from one of the big four.
There were five at the time, accounting firms, uh, also because I was good with numbers and I was good at that sort of thing. But what I really enjoyed was helping the people behind the businesses and behind the money. Um, so when I did the values and then fast forward from that, my career kind of switched and turned a bit, and I ended up being offered a marketing manager position for a small consultancy that I was working for.
And I was just. I have to admit, I didn't realize the magnitude of that until I did my value session when I go. And I pushed so hard for that when I was in my early twenties, and, uh, by the time I got to my late twenties, it was just offered to me.
I thought, oh, my gosh. Because the timing was right. There were so many other things in alignment with my values and things as well. So it was. It was a really interesting process. So that's why I wanted to do an episode where we talk about what, uh, are values, and then how do you understand what.
Your personal values are then what your business values are, because they are two different things. Even if we are our business and we are the brand in our business, our business still has its own identity, like it has its own money. Um, the two are, from my perspective, completely separate.
But we have to figure out a way for them to work in alignment, and they have to be aligned. So it's then looking at your personal values, your business values, your personal money, your business money, and how to bring all that together and make sure that the money side of it and the decisions that you're making on your business model, how you earn the money, et cetera, all aligned with your values and your money.
So, first of all, I just talk a little bit about what values are, because it's a word that gets bandied around a lot, and depending on the context, it can mean different things. So when we talk about something, um, of value, we have. Trying to think if I've got anything around me but, um, something that's of tangible monetary value, um, then we've got something that's valuable, you know, like we have jewelry or, you know, we've got something, and then we've also got something has emotional value.
So there's so many different facets to the word and then how we interpret it, and then also our own experiences and how that comes out. So when people talk about values and our, uh, like, our personal values, they can mean different things. I talk about it in the context of core values, which are the things that actually make us tick.
And I'm not talking about the fact that we value peace. We value the planet, we value our family. And these are usually the answers I get when I. When I start this process with. With women in particular, the word family comes up a lot. And for some people, that is genuinely a core value.
But for the most part, it is something that we value. It's not a core value of us as a human, our, ah, individuality as a human. So the core values can be things like, there's so many, and we have words to. To describe them, to explain them, which is how we communicate as humans through words.
So it then becomes, well, what emphasis and what meaning do we place on those specific words? Just as an example, when I did my core value session many years ago, the first word I was like, oh, freedom. Freedom is one of my. I like to go where I want.
I like to do what I want. I like freedom. It has to be value. And I can still remember, uh, the person just going, okay, all right, well, let's let's just put that word there and let's just, let's investigate. Let's dig a little deeper and see what's behind that value.
If it is genuinely value, great. But I have a feeling there's something deeper. And this is where the person guiding the process is really good because they use their intuition and I'm always amazed when we dig. Um, I have values cards that I use when I do this process and almost always the first set of cards that are chosen aren't the ones that end up at the end.
There's other words that kind of come in because when you delve into it, like for instance, freedom for me was kind of the output. It wasn't actually the driver because that's what the, if you're, if you're faced with a real crisis or a real decision point in your life or you're, you're, you know, looking because we, we generally only really analyze stuff when things go wrong.
Don't tend to analyze things. We don't sit there, this euphoria of happiness, and go, why am I feeling so happy? We usually go, why am I feeling so bad? Or, why is this not working? That's usually when we ask, why. So we generally don't query or question when things are going well.
So when you think, okay, well, what's underneath this value? For me, it ended up, I won't go through the whole process, but for me, it ended up being creativity. And this has nothing to do with artistry. This is something I get a lot as well. People confuse, uh, creativity with artistry.
Totally different. Artistry can be a subset of creativity because you are being creative, because you're creating something. But to create is. Is a. Is a broader, bigger, uh, more powerful thing. So you can create something from nothing. You know, we create life as women. Um, we create all sorts of things.
You know, if you're creating a business or even even writing an article, you've created something that wasn't there before. You had a blank sheet of paper, and then now you have some words on it, quality becomes a different thing. But we're talking about just creating right now. So, for me, creativity ended up being the value instead of freedom, because when I create, I feel free, and I can get myself out.
I can use my creativity to get myself out of things. I can't use freedom to get me out of a situation where I'm feeling constrained. Um, so I had to use my creativity a lot during COVID like, all of us challenged us all in different ways. So. And I find there's three core values, um, that really, really drive a person.
So there's other words. There's, like, wisdom. There's discernment. There's integrity. There's inner peace. There's spirituality, joy. Um, I'm just looking at some. I've got so many cards here. There's compassion, adventure, acceptance, learning. There's so many different, um, words that you could use, and different ones will, like, impact people differently.
And when it starts to impact you, that's when. And it can be a good or a bad feeling as well. Like, we don't, you know, that we may. We may have a core value that's been challenged in the past, so we might initially have a negative response to it, but what we want is the response.
Something that gets you out of that placid sitting state and into a, uh oh. I can feel my energy rising. I can feel the blood entering my head and filling my body more. That's the sort of thing. We want a visceral response. We don't want to just sit there and go, oh, yeah, that's a nice word.
I. We want, oh, that means something to me. That's the sort of response we want. And then the value actually means something. And then you have to delve into the why. So personal values, then looking at your business values, like, I've done the values process for business, for myself and for clients as well.
Um, and they're. They're a different thing, like connection, integrity, trust. They're the ones I have in my business because it's really important to have, you know, there's a lot of vulnerability that people feel around money. There's a lot of shame, and there's a lot of trust that needs to be placed in someone like me to help them through.
Through whatever journey they're on with their money, especially in a business space. And it encompasses the personal side, too. So we have so much self worth attached to money and our ability to run, um, a business that sustains us as well. So, so your business will have its values.
And then me, as an individual, I have values that fulfill me. They need to also be fulfilled in my business, too. But my business itself has its own sort of identity, because eventually, down the track, if I have people working for me, they need to also be aligned to those values.
And it's really hard to hire the right people or to communicate to somebody what your business is about if you don't have those values. So that's where your business. So you have, you have a look at both of them. So you look at your personal values and you look at your business values, and if you do want to do this on your own, there are lists of words.
Literally, if you google it, you can just get a list of words and you can go through this process yourself. Like I said, it is easier if somebody else is there, because they're going to call you on things and question things and use their intuition, without filter, without bias, to help you kind of delve a bit deeper, but you can still attempt it on your own.
So have a look at what these things are in both your business and your personal life, and then you look at them independently and go, okay, well, I've got this, and I've got this. Do these two aligned? Quite often, you can make them align, but still you just need to understand what they both are.
Then looking at money, like, for instance, I think back now, and I was like, oh, my goodness. Finding out, uh, my values made so many things make sense because I went down the path of getting a financial planner, the financial planner, I realized they do things for you. They're not there to educate you.
They're not there to ask your opinion. They're not there to walk you through, so you can make choices on the different investments. They kind of like, it's like outsourcing it. And one of my other value, my other core values are, uh, discernment, which is choice and control. Um, and that's not controlling others.
I remember when that word first came up, I was like, oh, I don't like that word. I actually had a negative response to it. And then, like, we'll think of it. Control in terms of you being able to control your response to a situation. As long as you have the ability to control that, you also feel free.
So that's where the freedom kind of end. And then if I had the ability to choose, I feel free. So freedom still underlied, um, everything, but it wasn't the core value, it's the outcome. So. But then getting back to my I digress. So, but getting back to the, the money thing, when I look back and I thought, right, I had no freedom of choice, I had no ability to control, I had no creativity.
Neither of those three values were being met by having a financial planner. So even if that financial planner had been awesome, it probably still wouldn't have worked out anyway because I didn't have any of my core values being met by that whole situation of just how the industry operates.
So I looked back and went, oh, my gosh, that makes so much sense. So if money's not working for you and there's things in your life that just aren't happening, look at your core values and look at the decisions you're making. Look at how your money is set up.
If you're somebody who likes to have a freedom of choice, who likes to be able to understand, who wants to learn to outsourcing it is not going to work for you. You're going to have to take the time and the energy and the effort to take it back. Learn, get a system in place, understand how it's all going to work for you.
So this is where aligning your values, you have to understand your values first, and then you look at. Objectively, as much as possible. How all of your money systems are set up. Do you have any money systems? Um. And if you do, what's, where are your values coming into those?
If they're not, and even if you have one value that's not being met, it will still feel a bit hard, it'll feel a bit heavy and icky. It won't just flow. And this is like when we talk about money and flow and energy and energetics, all of that, it really comes back to, how is this aligning to my values?
And that's why that work is so important. And it goes beyond mindset. Like, I know we talk about mindset in relation to money a lot as well, but the values to me are a little bit more intrinsic than that. It's not just up here. It's not just in our minds, it's in our hearts and our souls.
And this is where all of this comes from. Because as humans, we are very heart centered, and we are very, as women in particular, we're very driven by what feels right, our intuition, our what's, how are we actually going to lead and impact the world? And it doesn't happen.
When I say world, I don't mean like globally. I just mean maybe within our own world, our own community, even our own families. And if we're not coming from a place of alignment with our values, it makes everything harder, trust me, because I've experienced this, and it really does make me chuckle now, when I look back over different situations in my life, like a few of the examples I've given, and I thought, mm mhm hmm, okay, yep, I get now why that didn't work.
But then, and that's retrospective. And then when it comes to making decisions, okay, is, is this going to align with my values? Yes. No. Like, I've come to decision points when it comes to things like having a va or, um, getting a business partner or, um, doing other things with other people, and I thought, okay, if my values are going to be met in the scenario, and then I can be open about that with the other person as well, I can say, look, these are the things that I need to feel fulfilled.
Um, and I don't want to step on your toes. Um, so if you tell me if you know your values and we can figure out how to make them, either make them aligned or see if they are aligned. Don't want to force anything either. So it really helps make decisions about all sorts of things.
The types of products you offer, the type of business that you run, the offers that you have. Like, I started to do a lot of things online when I started my business, and then probably about a year, and I was like, this is really not kind of going well.
And it's not really. I'm not feeling fulfilled either. And then I realized I actually like working with people. I don't want to just do it completely facelessly online. So I brought back one on one coaching. I brought back in person, in real life, like, physical people workshops. I brought back live programs where I'm actually running people through things, lives.
Like, I brought back the human touch and the human connection, because that's really important for me. Um, because I like to have that as part of my experience, too. So. And also, to be honest, when it comes to money, I really. I don't feel like it's something you can just give somebody and like, okay, off you go.
Have fun. Good luck. Like, it's. There's so much stuff that goes with it. I want to be there to be able to help people through that stuff. So that's where a lot of this comes in. It's very. Important to understand. So if you want to understand a bit more about the values, please reach out.
I do offer values discovery sessions. Um, however, I can kind of point you in the direction if you want to be able to do this yourself, too. Um, but it's. I highly recommend you at least setting aside some time, because unless you make the time, it's not going to happen.
Um, I'm, I've been, yeah, working on my schedule with this sort of thing, trying to build in time to meditate every day. And I, I'm getting there. Um, I'm doing meditation in my way because that was the other thing, too, the expectations that we place on ourselves. If I can't set aside 20 minutes of uninterrupted time where I sit there and try and make sure that my mind's not thinking of anything, well, that's not realistic.
But I can do five minutes, and I can do like a guided meditation for five minutes, or I can do like a bit of a journaling, you know, whatever kind of works. And in a way, for me, ironing is meditative because I'm just kind of doing my thing as long as my brain's only thinking of one thing at a time.
I consider that meditation, um, because my brain is usually going off in so many different directions, so many different ideas, which is why I have lists upon lists everywhere. And I have, you know, I use Trello and notion now as well, because I can't seem to let go of, um, one or the other.
So whatever, whatever works in that space. But then this is kind of the creativity side as well. Each of them gives me something different. So again, it's important to understand what your values are, and until you remember them through sort of like they're your own. I used to have them written in my phone, so I had the three of them in the, in the notes section, um, um.
Or the reminder section, actually, of my phone, just to remind myself of what they were. Because in the beginning, it's a, it's a, it's a bit of a different way of, of operating as well. It's like, you know, upgrading your operating system, and you're like, okay, some of these things are a little bit new.
They don't feel terribly comfortable yet. Um, um, but now it's so innate. I've been, I've known my values now for probably I 15 years, and they're just there. They're there with me everywhere. They're just, it's, it's, I've made so many decisions and I've done so much in my life that they've been part of.
Um. Um. That it's just there now. Sometimes I can park them, and then things start to go down. I'm like, oh, yeah, okay. And then sometimes I'll actually make the conscious decision to go, okay, you know what? For this particular result, I need to actually do something different. I need to make.
I know I'm not meeting all of my values here, but there's usually a bigger reason at hand or there's some. Something else going on that needs me to do that, but then I'll always come back to them. Um, but, yeah, it's very important. So, to recap, there's a little bit of a diatribe today, a little bit of monologue, but, um, so we're talking about values.
So understanding, first of all, what your personal values are, then delving into what your business values are, and then aligning both of those in terms of how you manage your personal money and also how you manage your business money and making sure that your values are aligned in all of that so that it makes sense for you and that it's actually flowing more effortlessly than it is probably right now.
So I'll leave you there. If you have any questions, please reach out and have a lovely week. Bye.
