The media give us wildly exaggerated images of wealth and consumption. And even if we recognize that a tv show or an Instagram account is more fantasy than reality, those images impact what we believe we should be earning and buying. MoneyZen author Manisha Thakor calls the result Counterfeit Financial Culture and argues that it's one of the reasons we end up feeling like we're never quite enough.

In this episode, Manisha details Counterfeit Financial Culture, and I offer the mimetic theory of desire as additional context for understanding the situation.

Footnotes:

• Find out more about Manisha Thakor
• MoneyZen: The Secret to Finding Your Enough by Manisha Thakor
• Wanting: The Power of Mimetic Desire in Everyday Life by Luke Burgis
• Psychopolitics: Neoliberalism and the New Technologies of Power by Byung-Chul Han
• Capitalism and Desire by Todd McGowan

NEW: I’m teaching a 12-week training program for coaches, managers, consultants, and guides of all kinds starting in September. The program is called Work In Practice, and it’s a deep dive into the social, political, and economic systems that impact what we believe about work.

Every episode of What Works is also published in essay form and delivered in my newsletter: whatworks.fyi

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