“You Are a Badass at Making Money”
Jen Sincero

“Money loves me and I love money” – the affirmation which ended each chapter of the book. The reason for choosing this book was the struggle we had when our work in Proakatemia started: our money relations were difficult, we did not know how to ask for money for the work we do, we had difficulties to evaluate level of our competences. All this brought us to several discussions on our thoughts about money: how this topic makes us feel and we dived into everyone’s background because there was an answer why one or another has this perception of money, how was it built and developed over years.

This book is not a step by step instruction how to make millions, nobody will become rich in a day after reading the book, but it is a powerful source of energy, a guide showing the way to focusing on the topic of money and removing negative attitude towards it. This is all about self-development and psychology. The book is a collection of simple truths that everyone has heard or found out on the life path, but we never link them together.

The key feature of the book and one of the greatest advantages of it is the manner how the book is written: simple language, real-life examples and situations where anyone can recognize himself, outstanding humor and all this spiced with delicate provocation that works as a call to action. Also, it was highly appreciated that after each chapter an author gave exercises to analyze and proceed with what has been read in a better way.

This book indeed launched a new mindset towards money relationship. I faced my anxieties, feelings of shame or guilt about wealth and not only that, I got assistance at least in building a mindset that it is not a shame to want to be wealthy. In addition to that, I noted a few concepts that seemed the most significant to me.

1. It is important to have a clear vision of your financial goals

Jen Sincero states that the first step in increasing the capital is getting clear on the financial goals. And here the author is not talking about a concrete number on the bank account; J. Sincero suggests identifying the reason behind wanted wealth. It is crucial to understand what stays behind the need for money, how future capital will be allocated and emotions brought when it will be in one’s possession.

More specific details can be visualized, the better – it will help to break down the final goal into a chain of smaller steps what is something concrete to work on as well as a stimulus to life-changing improvements, even though it might feel difficult. Although Jen Sincero admits that it is hard to change beliefs we have, she states that having a clear vision of the goals, especially ones that worth sacrificing the comfort of old behavior patterns, supplies with exceptional power to overcome any obstacles on the way to success.

2. Willingness to change and accept the change

As everyone knows that it is impossible to change life without stepping out of the comfort zone; change begins at the end of it. It is important to have in mind that willingness to increase the capital leads to readiness to make changes in life. Jen Sincero believes that our current situation is a result of the behavior patterns people repeat over and over again. No matter how enormous the desire to get wealthy one might have, without proper prior mental preparation and calculated rational decision to change habits belonging to the old lifestyle, it is impossible to achieve.

3. Willingness to act

The main key to reaching the final goal is to start acting towards it as soon as possible. Of course, it is always good to have a detailed plan, but often ideas never become projects, dying on the stage of planning. The author recommends starting by creating a draft of the plan where the way of meeting the goal will be broken down to small steps how it was mentioned before. But also Jen Sincero notes that it is not necessary to have the whole plan ready, it is better to think through first steps and leave the rest of it open to different possibilities that may arise after completing the first tasks.

4. Spend money to make money and never give up

Nowadays, it is hard to make money without prior investing. Moreover, it is almost essential to invest into business to level it up. Often the fear of losing money holds people from putting them into something what will possibly bring major income in the future. But it is important to remember that before making a huge investment one has to investigate all possible risks and make sure that there is an eagerness to do everything possible to make it worth at the end. Nevertheless, Jen Sincero admits that it is difficult to change a financial situation, she believes that by staying focused on desired goal and by not giving up on attempting it is possible to achieve real and long-lasting life change.

Reference:

Sincero, J. (2017). You are a badass at making money: master the mindset of wealth