Don’t worry, I’m not talking about the dessert. There’s still plenty of that to be had, and I can’t imagine what could cause any shortage in the near future.

I’m talking about the “pie” that everyone talks about wanting a piece of… sometimes it’s related to power, sometimes fame, but a lot of the time people are referring to money.

I will readily admit that money is not the most important thing in life. It is, however, a subject that occupies a lot of my time. 

I’m an accountant and a Profit First Professional, so I help people organize, administrate, sort, and reconcile money day in and day out. I teach about money too- how to manage it, how to view it, and how to find clarity in our dealings with it as business owners.

But…before action steps related to money can even be discussed or executed, we need to recognize and choose between two distinct ways of viewing everything we care about…philosophically speaking. 

Is there or isn’t there a pie?

Do you approach life from a mindset of scarcity or abundance? I wish I could claim credit for the naming of these two concepts, but they were first coined in a fantastic piece of literature entitled The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, by Stephen Covey. Approaching life from one of these two perspectives is nothing new to human beings, but we now have common terms to better enable the discussion. 

A scarcity mentality sees life and its resources as finite, as a pie, if you will. And every time someone uses some resource (i.e. money, power, promotions, knowledge, customers), it results in there being “less” of that resource to go around. It also means that the resource can eventually “run out.” There are many places in our society where this perspective is not only the norm but is deliberately promoted…such as some sport competition scenarios, employees hoarding information in response to a limited number of available promotions or raises, hoarding toilet paper (you know who you are)….

An abundance mindset sees life and its resources as something to be created. And if we are capable of creating, then there is always enough for everyone. That means that me acquiring 10,000 followers does not equate to you losing 10,000 followers- there’s enough influence out there to be shared by all. You being poorer does not make anyone else richer, and me being sad does not cause anyone else to be happy. There is always enough, and it is up to each individual to incorporate as much as they’d like…of happiness, money, love, influence, knowledge, etc. into their own life.

We could get into the studies, research, and writings that exist in support of Abundance, but I’ll leave that up to you to investigate if you find it of interest. From a business perspective, I cannot imagine approaching growth in sales, profit, or compensation in any other way! There is an incredible amount of freedom in realizing that just as no one is capable of taking from you, your decisions don’t negatively impact others… in realizing that you can create as much, or as little as you choose. 

“We don’t create abundance. Abundance is always present. We create limitations.” 

~Arnold Patent

So, let me say again and hope that it sounds a little clearer this time - There is no pie! 

Now, let’s go create something together!