In our world of meaning, money means a lot. This is of course not true for everyone, but generally:

• If we don’t have much, we wish we had some and that all our money worries would go away.
• If we have a moderate amount of money, enough not to worry about bills and paying for vacations, we dream of having more, being able to drive a better car or live in a bigger house.
• If we are wealthy, we still tend to want more, to be financially independent, or to have a vacation home in a resort area.
• If we are stinking rich, we tend to worry that we could lose it in the next crash.

If we’re not rich, we tend to resent those who are: we judge those who flash money around, we think that “Money can’t make you happy,” we know that “They can’t take it with them,” we think it’s “indecent.”

If we’re rich we can be quite defensive about our money: it may be important to us that we “worked hard for it,” or that we’re not really that rich (not compared to really rich people) and we might deliberately not “flash it around” by buying a moderate car and not a flashy one.

So, whether you’re broke or loaded, money brings its issues. You probably have your issues and judgments around money. You may think that it’s OK to be “comfortable” but that having too much is immoral.

Well, F**k It. How about having no judgment around money, and accepting things just as they are?

Money is just an abstract means of exchange, after all. It’s the messenger boy in the exchange deal between you and the world. And you know what they say about the messenger: don’t kill him.

This is simply about exchange. If what you have to offer is worth enough to other people, then they’ll give you lots of things in return. So, for a moment, imagine that there wasn’t any money. If enough of you read my book F**k It, you’ll all offer me something for it. I’m in particular need of flowers for the garden at the moment. So you all give me some flowers. The more of you that read this, the more flowers I receive. By next summer my garden should be full of flowers and looking beautiful. And that’s all being rich is. I offer something you like and you give me something in return for it. I’m happy that I’ve given you something of value. And I’m happy that my previously barren garden is now full of flowers. That’s beautiful: there’s nothing dirty or immoral about that, is there?

See the same for what you do. When you work (or whatever you normally do for money), imagine that you’re simply offering something of value to the world, and the world values this and gives you something for it. The world values what you do by paying your bills, buying your clothes, taking you out for dinner, sending you on vacation, and turning up at your house with a new car.

You are simply in a constant process of exchange for value with the world. The more the world values what you do and what you are giving, the more it will give back.

What tends to happen is that the more you value yourself, the more the rest of the world will tend to agree and value you as well.

So start by valuing yourself. Listen to the corporate guru L’Oréal: Because You’re Worth It.

So lose your fear of losing your money. The world will still value what you have to offer and will lavish you with gifts once more. When we relax our hold on money, things tend to flow more naturally. That means that things tend to flow naturally in both directions. If you stop being so uptight about losing money, then you may well start to spend more, invest more and be more generous. And this gets the flow going.