It's Not About The Money

In this episode, I'm delighted to chat with Jason Graystone, author of "Always Free" and investor who achieved financial freedom at just 30 years old. Jason and I actually met on a ski trip with Daniel Priestley earlier this year, and I couldn't resist having him on the show to discuss his remarkable journey from hiding behind the sofa as bailiffs knocked on the door in his childhood council estate, to building a half-million subscriber YouTube channel and living completely financially free on his West Sussex farm. We dive deep into why most people never achieve financial freedom, the psychology of money, trading strategies, and what true freedom really means when it's not about the money.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Financial Freedom

02:59 Jason's Early Influences and Money Mindset

05:47 The Journey to Financial Security

09:02 Understanding Freedom: Emotional vs. Financial

11:53 The Impact of Childhood Experiences on Financial Views

14:56 Work Ethic and Its Influence on Freedom

18:10 Sacrifices Made for Financial Freedom

21:07 Transitioning to Trading and Entrepreneurship

23:52 Building a Community and Sharing Knowledge

26:00 The Journey of Learning to Trade

28:58 Navigating Emotions in Trading

36:18 Key Skills for Successful Trading

40:11 Investment Strategies and Risk Management

48:36 Finding Freedom Beyond Money

Resources:

Get my FREE book 'It's Not About The Money'

Take the Money StoryTypes® Quiz

Sign up to my FREE Newsletter

Become a Certified Financial Coach

Join The Energy of Selling

Join Female Financial Foundations using discount code FFF47 (saving £750) for the first 500 people

In this comprehensive masterclass episode, I share everything I learned during my 15 years working inside banks as a trained financial adviser, watching thousands of intelligent people convinced they weren't good with money. After discovering that you don't need to be rich to get started, don't need financial qualifications, and definitely don't need to love numbers to build wealth like the top 1%, I'm pulling back the curtain on the complete system that's helped thousands break free from financial stress. This is your complete guide to transforming your relationship with money - covering both the practical strategies and the psychology that banks don't want you to know about - regardless of your starting point.

Chapters

00:00 Understanding Money and Wealth Building 12:31 Rewriting Your Money Story 19:31 Creating a Debt Freedom Plan 27:52 Setting Motivating Financial Goals 38:51 Establishing a Weekly Money Routine 45:33 Monthly Financial Focus and Adjustments 54:49 The Importance of Starting to Invest 01:01:06 Investment Strategies Across Life Stages 01:11:22 Psychology of Money and Saving Techniques 01:20:34 Transforming Your Relationship with Money 01:21:33 The Female Financial Foundations Course Overview 01:22:56 Exclusive Course Offer and Bonuses

Resources:

Get my FREE book 'It's Not About The Money'

Take the Money StoryTypes® Quiz Sign up to my FREE Newsletter

Become a Certified Financial Coach

Join The Energy of Selling

Join Female Financial Foundations using discount code FFF47 (saving £750) for the first 500 people

Episode Overview

In this episode, I'm delighted to chat with bestselling author and visibility expert Selena Soo about her incredible book "Rich Relationships." After following Selena's work for years and witnessing the transformative results her expertise creates, I dive deep into her revolutionary approach to building, nurturing, and activating your million-dollar network. We explore how rich relationships - those that massively enrich the quality of your life - are truly the fastest way to get from where you are to where you want to be, especially in today's economy where trust is at an all-time low and authentic connections can take you places that mass marketing simply cannot. Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Rich Relationships

04:27 Defining Rich Relationships

06:03 The Six Circles of Connection

10:59 Navigating Relationships and Self-Assessment

18:09 Breaking Unhealthy Relationships

23:25 Navigating Relationships and Personal Growth

29:14 Building Your Top 40 Relationships

35:42 The Art of Giving and Receiving in Relationships

Resources:

Get my FREE book 'It's Not About The Money'

Take the Money StoryTypes® Quiz

Sign up to my FREE Newsletter

Become a Certified Financial Coach

Join The Energy of Selling

Read Selena's Rich Relationships Scripts

Listen to The Future Of Money and AI With Natalie MacNeil podcast episode

Discover the the Linkedin Accelerator course I did

In this episode, I tackle one of the biggest challenges facing business owners today: working 50-70 hours a week but still lying awake wondering where all the money has gone. Through a real client case study and practical strategies, I reveal why being busy isn't the same as being profitable, and share the three fundamental ways to transform your hard work into actual profit that pays you properly.

Chapters

00:00 The Busy vs. Profitable Paradox

02:45 Understanding Profit Confusion

06:07 Designing Your Life for Profit

09:13 The Importance of Knowing Your Financial Needs

12:06 Time and Energy Management for Profit

14:55 The Power of Mindset in Profitability

17:46 Strategies to Increase Profit

21:04 Decreasing Costs Effectively

23:56 Mindset Shifts for Financial Success

Resources:

Get my FREE book 'It's Not About The Money'

Take the Money StoryTypes® Quiz

Sign up to my FREE Newsletter

Become a Certified Financial Coach

Join The Energy of Selling

In this episode, I chat with the incredible duo behind Bucket List Bombshells - Cassie and Shay - who met serendipitously in a Mexican coffee shop after both quitting their corporate jobs with one-way tickets. Together, they've built a freedom-based, service-based business generating over £4.5 million in revenue whilst serving thousands of women worldwide. We dive deep into their contrasting money relationships, the power of visionary-integrator partnerships, and the lessons learned from scaling sustainably.

Episode Highlights:

The Coffee Shop Origin Story - 2013

• How both women independently decided corporate wasn't their dream and quit their jobs for one-way tickets to Mexico
• Meeting in a Playa del Carmen coffee shop through a mutual friend
• The early question that shaped everything: "What does the dream life look like for us?"
• Building a business around the life they wanted to live, not the other way around
• How having a mentor with an online business provided a blueprint for possibility

The Contrasting Money Relationships in Partnership

Shay's Journey (The Integrator):

• Fast money growth creating challenges with holding wealth and abundance
• Spending money as quickly as it came in during early success phases
• Shiny object syndrome and following other successful entrepreneurs without understanding their mechanics
• Identity becoming tied to daily revenue numbers and success/failure cycles
• Learning to separate self-worth from business metrics
• Now finding joy in CEO dashboards and empowering clients with financial clarity

Cassie's Journey (The Visionary):

• "Ignore the numbers and work harder" mentality from early conditioning
• Type A personality believing harder work = more money
• Leading to burnout from constantly doing more: more offers, more team, more marketing
• Going from 25 different offers to just one at their simplification point
• Learning that scaling comes from amplifying what works, not adding complexity

Essential Financial Metrics Every Business Owner Should Track

1. Lead Generation Numbers: How many leads monthly from each source (word of mouth, Instagram, networking)
2. Lead to Sales Call Conversion: Aiming for baseline 50% conversion rate
3. Sales Call Conversion Rates: Most entrepreneurs guess these numbers rather than tracking accurately
4. Revenue vs. Profit Focus: Focusing on profit margins rather than just revenue figures
5. Paying Yourself First: Fixed salary approach rather than percentage-based payments to create stability

The Simplification Revolution - From 25 Offers to 3

• How complexity became the enemy of clarity and growth
• The realisation that confused minds don't buy and confused CEOs don't lead well
• Discovering that more offers don't equal more money
• Learning to say "not right now" to opportunities and creative ideas
• The power of channelling creativity outside the business through art classes and hobbies

Key Business Philosophy Shifts

Business as a Marathon, Not Sprint:

• Recognising different seasons in business and life
• Moving away from "always more" mentality toward sustainable growth
• Understanding that there's never enough when the goal is always more
• Finding peace through stepping back, scaling back, and simplifying

Creative Boundaries for Visionaries:

• Not asking the business to serve all creative needs
• Finding outlets for creativity outside revenue-generating activities
• Understanding the difference between one-time creative pursuits and sustainable business offers
• Focusing on refinement and consistency rather than constant new launches

Partnership Dynamics and Communication

• The importance of communicating when things don't feel aligned
• Learning to trust yourself again after perceived failures
• Not assuming your partner shares the same passion and vision at all times
• The breakthrough that comes from honest communication about misalignment
• How addressing issues strengthens both partnership and connection to vision

Practical Tools and Strategies

The Buyer Persona Deep Dive:

• Going beyond surface-level target audience work
• Understanding dream clients down to what car they drive and podcasts they listen to
• Using real client emails and call language to refine messaging
• Leveraging AI tools like ChatGPT with detailed buyer personas for better content creation
• Using sales call transcripts to analyse money mindset blocks and selling patterns

Financial Stability Creation:

• Creating business financial stability that supports desired lifestyle
• Implementing profit-first principles with fixed salaries
• Quarterly bonus structure similar to traditional employment
• Removing the emotional roller coaster of percentage-based payments

Final Thought

True freedom in business comes not from doing more, but from simplifying and amplifying what works whilst building around the life you actually want to live. Success is sustainable when you understand your natural strengths, communicate openly with partners, and create systems that support both financial growth and personal fulfilment.

Chapters

00:00 Celebrating Milestones and New Beginnings

00:55 The Journey to Entrepreneurship

02:19 The Coffee Shop Connection

05:55 Defining the Dream Life

10:40 Navigating Money Mindset

16:05 Data-Driven Decisions in Business

21:15 Understanding Key Financial Metrics

26:03 Balancing Vision and Numbers

32:49 Advice for Future Entrepreneurs

43:39 Communicating Needs in Partnerships

48:46 Free Resources for Entrepreneurs

Resources:

Get my FREE book 'It's Not About The Money'

Take the Money StoryTypes® Quiz

Sign up to my FREE Newsletter

Become a Certified Financial Coach

Join The Energy of Selling

Take the Bucketlist Bombshells Buyer Persona & Brand Messaging Questionnaire

Listen to The Future Of Money and AI With Natalie MacNeil podcast episode

In this vulnerable episode, I share the untold story behind hitting £50,000 months and how success nearly broke me mentally, emotionally, and physically. Rather than celebrating these income milestones, I reveal the shame, overwhelm, and toxicity that comes with scaling without boundaries - and the complete business transformation that saved my sanity.

The Moment That Changed Everything - Summer 2023

• How my mum discovering my £50K bank statement triggered intense money shame

• The guilt of making money "easily" when others, including my mum, had to struggle

• My immediate response: dismissing it as a "one-off" rather than owning my success

• The realisation that my nervous system was rejecting wealth because it felt dangerous to have more than people I love

The Reality Behind the Success - What Nobody Talks About

• Running 15 different courses and offerings simultaneously: mini courses, evergreen programmes, books, podcast, workshops, membership, certification, mastermind, pensions course, investing course, budgeting course

• The overwhelming complexity of multiple revenue streams running at once

• How my two biggest profit generators (12-month mastermind and signature money programme) required constant client acquisition

• The crushing responsibility of paying team wages on top of my own income

The Neurodivergent Entrepreneur's Dilemma

• How my 2023 ADHD diagnosis explained my love of creating and my overwhelm with complexity

• The creativity trap: what was joyful and easy became my kryptonite

• Why neurodivergent brains struggle with "more" - the million pieces of information running simultaneously

• The toxic scaling trap fuelled by online business gurus pushing "make more, hire bigger teams, create more products"

My Great Simplification Journey - What I Actually Did

• Taking August 2024 completely off (with a separate episode on how to do this)

• Pausing my podcast for five months - the first break in five years

• Closing my mastermind (biggest income generator) and stopping launches for my second biggest programme

• Letting go of a key team member and hibernating whilst travelling Canada with my family

• The breakthrough conversation with Richard Branson on Necker Island about his circle analogy

The Rule of Five Framework for Overwhelmed Entrepreneurs

1. One target market - you can't serve everybody without serving nobody

2. One problem solved - going deep rather than wide, partnering with others for different solutions

3. One offer - mastering one thing completely rather than multiple offerings

4. One platform - I chose LinkedIn and became top 30 money content creator in UK within 90 days

5. One year - committing to this focus for 12 months without wavering

My Personal Implementation Story

• Returning to my core: financial coach training for professionals wanting to help clients with money

• Focusing on my Money Narrative Clearing Framework as the one thing with biggest impact

• Investing in LinkedIn mastery course and achieving top 30 UK money creator status

• Four speaking opportunities in 90 days, including one at the O2

• Stripping back to part-time PA and couple of VAs only

The Financial Permission I Gave Myself

• Living off investments and savings for a year to remove financial pressure

• Paying myself from savings pots rather than staying in constant launch mode

• Overcoming stories about "wealth experts should be making loads of money consistently"

• Understanding my numerology: coming out of year 9 (completions/letting go) into year 1 (new beginnings) and now year 11 (spiritual teacher/volatile emotions)

The Success Lessons Nobody Teaches You

Success Can Be Lonely:

• How entrepreneurship isolates you from meaningful connections

• Making 2025 my "year of relationships" - every decision based on improving relationships with self, others, and business collaborations

Success Trauma Is Real:

• How your nervous system can interpret success as danger

• Generational money patterns affecting permission to hold wealth

• The need to heal success trauma before scaling

Complexity Is the Enemy of Clarity:

• More offers don't equal more money - confused minds don't buy

• Confused CEOs don't lead well

• The power of saying "not right now" to ideas and opportunities

Creativity Needs Boundaries:

• Visionaries need creative outlets outside their business

• The danger of relying solely on business for fulfilment and joy

• What happens when you want to sell or retire - preparation for life beyond business

Neurodivergent Entrepreneurs Have Different Rules:

• Traditional business models can be harmful to neurodivergent brains

• Building business around family priorities and personal energy patterns

• Working 9-3, no evening webinars, extended wind-down time for nervous system regulation

Where I Am Now - The Results of Simplification

• Significantly more space in my calendar and less stress

• Lower revenue but exponentially more joy and fulfilment

• Two focused businesses: UK financial coach training, Jersey personal brand with one container (Energy of Selling mini-mastermind)

• Smaller, happier, more focused team with better time freedom

• Dramatically improved mental health and expanded relationships

• Recognition that wealth is built on focus, not complexity

Practical Action Steps for Overwhelmed Entrepreneurs

1. Audit your offerings - what can you cut that's not bringing joy or revenue?

2. Check your nervous system - is success feeling safe? Address money stories holding you back

3. Apply the Rule of Five - where can you simplify across all five areas?

4. Honour your neurodivergence - what actually works for your brain and energy?

Redefine success - give yourself permission to prioritise wellbeing over revenue

Final Thought

This episode emphasises that real wealth isn't just about the money you make - it's about the life you get to live whilst making it. If your success is costing you your sanity, it's time to redefine what success looks like and feels like. My £50K months didn't make me happier; they just made me busier.

Chapters

00:00 - Introduction: The Reality of Financial Milestones

03:30 - The Shame of Success

08:00 - The Toxicity of Scaling

14:00 - The Great Simplification

20:00 - The Rule of Five Framework

26:00 - Honoring Neurodivergent Needs

32:00 - Redefining Success

Resources:

Get my FREE book 'It's Not About The Money'

Take the Money StoryTypes® Quiz

Sign up to my FREE Newsletter

Become a Certified Financial Coach

Join The Energy of Selling

Discover the the Linkedin Accelerator course I did

Listen to What I learnt from Sir Richard Branson

In this episode, I explore why we get stuck repeating the same frustrating money patterns despite reading books, listening to podcasts, and working on our mindset. Rather than blaming ourselves for being broken or lazy, I reveal the hidden psychology behind these behaviours - the secondary gains that keep us "stuck" because they're actually protecting us in some way.

Episode Highlights:

Understanding Secondary Gains - The Hidden Benefits

• How every financial behaviour, even destructive ones, serves a positive purpose
• Why our unconscious mind creates patterns to keep us safe based on old information
• The concept of secondary gains as "wrapping" around our biggest fears about money
• How protection mechanisms that once served us may no longer be appropriate at 43
• The difference between conscious desires and unconscious protective patterns

My Personal Examples: Undercharging and Protection

• How I stayed in undercharging patterns to avoid rejection and confrontation
• The realisation that "you're too expensive" is about the other person's values, not my worth
• My Thermomix story - how I value different things differently (£800 kitchen gadget vs. high-ticket mentoring)
• The first-class flight dilemma and the guilt around spending £1,500 on comfort

The Four Most Common Secondary Gains Around Money

1. Undercharging Pattern:

• Primary fear: rejection, confrontation, and loss of "nice person" identity
• Benefits: more people say yes, avoiding uncomfortable negotiations, staying accessible
• How it prevents claiming full power and owning your brilliance
• Applies to both business owners and employees negotiating pay rises

2. Chronic Saving Pattern:

• Primary fear: uncertainty and lack of control
• Benefits: feeling protected, being the "responsible one," avoiding buyer's remorse
• How it maintains identity as the sensible person while others are "frivolous"
• The trap of "never enough" despite growing bank balances

3. Money Avoidance Pattern:

• Primary fear: adult responsibility and making wrong decisions
• Benefits: maintaining childlike innocence, having others take responsibility
• How chaos becomes an excuse to avoid goal-setting and risk-taking
• Case study from my recent live coaching demonstration about staying in childlike patterns

4. Overspending/Impulse Pattern:

• Primary fear: making big decisions and planning ahead
• Benefits: instant emotional regulation, dopamine hits, maintaining victim identity
• How it helps avoid future planning (especially challenging for neurodivergent brains)
• My personal pattern of spending everything to avoid making financial decisions

The Identity and Relationship Dynamics

• How money patterns serve our relationships and keep peace
• Client examples: fear of out-earning mentors, maintaining marriage dynamics
• The "struggling artist" or "survivor" story identity
• How staying financially small can protect us from jealousy and judgment
• The secondary gain of maintaining harmony by not threatening others' positions

Spotting Your Own Secondary Gains - Key Questions

• What do you get to avoid when you stay stuck?
• What identity does this pattern allow you to maintain?
• How do your money patterns serve your relationships?
• What would you have to face if this pattern disappeared tomorrow?
• Does the possibility of change feel scary, and why?

Working With Secondary Gains, Not Against Them

• The importance of curiosity over judgment
• How these patterns developed for good reasons and have been trying to protect us
• My approach using Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) and Matrix Re-imprinting
• Combining somatic work with inherited family trauma modalities
• The goal: making your financial future more exciting than the secondary gain

Practical Steps for Change

• Honouring what the pattern has done for you with gratitude
• Speaking directly to the protective parts: "Thank you for keeping me safe"
• Working with the nervous system through gradual, sustainable changes
• Finding healthy ways to meet the same emotional needs differently
• Why incremental price increases work better than dramatic jumps

The Neurodivergent Perspective

• How ADHD and autism traits can make planning ahead feel unsafe
• Why spending everything now avoids future decision-making pressure
• Reference to previous episodes on managing money with ADHD
• protective mechanisms

Chapters

00:00 Understanding Money Patterns and Secondary Gains 09:52 The Impact of Undercharging and Self-Worth 18:33 Exploring Chronic Saving and Money Avoidance 26:03 Transforming Patterns and Embracing Change

Resources:

Get my FREE book 'It's Not About The Money'

Take the Money StoryTypes® Quiz

Sign up to my FREE Newsletter

Become a Certified Financial Coach

Get Investing with my course - Use code INVEST50OFF2024 for 50% off as a podcast listener.

Discover how to manage money when you have ADHD - watch a Live Money Clearing Financial Coaching demo video

My Personal Financial Adviser Paradox

• How I spent years giving brilliant financial advice whilst being unable to follow it myself
• Why excess money never felt safe to hold - everything above day-to-day needs felt dangerous
• The realisation that it wasn't about willpower, knowledge, or self-control
• How inherited beliefs about money scarcity and "dirty money" from family arguments shaped my nervous system responses

Understanding Borrowed Beliefs - The Father Christmas Analogy

• Borrowed beliefs as gifts in Father Christmas's sack - given with love but not all serving us today
• How these beliefs often hold secondary gains and serve us in some way (usually safety)
• The importance of returning unused "gifts" with love and gratitude to break generational patterns
• Why changing our money relationship impacts every future generation

Where Inherited Money Scripts Come From

• Family dynamics and early childhood experiences (my Warwick Castle story about my brother losing £20)
• Religious and cultural influences on money beliefs
• Specific historical events our families lived through
• Personal money experiences that create lasting impressions
• The crucial question: "In my family, money was..."

The Three Predictable Patterns of Borrowed Beliefs

Low Receiving Pattern:

• Difficulty allowing money, opportunities, or compliments to come in
• Common beliefs: "Rich people are greedy," "Money corrupts people," "I don't deserve money"
• Shows up as: undercharging, deflecting compliments, turning down opportunities, feeling guilty about success
• My personal example of struggling with praise and awards

Low Holding Pattern:

• Brilliant at making money but terrible at keeping it
• Common beliefs: "Money disappears anyway," "Something bad happens when I have too much"
• Shows up as: impulsive spending after earning well, self-sabotage when successful, anxiety about bank balances
• Case study of my student hitting six-figure months then immediately booking lavish holidays

Low Giving Pattern:

• Fear-based hoarding rather than conscious saving
• Common beliefs: "I can't afford to be generous," "If I give, there won't be enough for me"
• Shows up as: difficulty investing in yourself, anxiety about spending on others, perpetual "rainy day" saving

The Family Money Tree Exercise

• How to map out your family's money patterns across generations
• Questions to explore: Was money talked about openly? Was it a source of arguments? Who controlled money?
• Common inherited phrases and their impacts:
  • "Money doesn't grow on trees" = scarcity programming
  • "Money's the root of all evil" = spiritual guilt around wealth
  • "We can't afford it" = limitation mindset
  • "Money doesn't buy happiness" = pacifist money story

The Generational and Cultural Context

• How survival strategies from the Great Depression or wartime still influence us today
• Different cultural approaches to wealth - celebration vs. modesty
• Gender dynamics between maternal and paternal money influences
• The historical context that made these beliefs necessary for survival

Conscious Choice and Legacy Work

• Recognising which beliefs served our families but no longer serve us
• The power shift from unconscious inheritance to conscious choice
• How this work creates transformation for coaches, therapists, and financial professionals
• The ripple effect of changing generational money patterns

Final Thought

This episode emphasises that changing our relationship with money isn't just personal work - it's legacy work that impacts every future generation. When we consciously choose which inherited beliefs to keep and which to lovingly release, we're not just transforming our own financial reality, we're changing the money story for generations to come.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Money Beliefs

02:10 The Impact of Family Money Stories

05:25 Understanding Borrowed Beliefs

08:32 Identifying Personal Money Experiences

11:57 The Blueprint of Money in Families

17:00 Patterns of Money Behavior

22:24 Mapping Your Money Tree

29:44 Choosing New Money Beliefs

Resources:

Get my FREE book 'It's Not About The Money'

Take the Money StoryTypes® Quiz

Sign up to my FREE Newsletter

Become a Certified Financial Coach

Get Investing with my course - Use code INVEST50OFF2024 for 50% off as a podcast listener.

Listen to the previous podcast episode - The Future Of Money and AI With Natalie MacNeil

Listen to the previous podcast episode - How Digital Currency Is Rewiring Our Money Mindset

In this episode, I share insights from my recent interview with UK-based global company Agon about the crucial link between mental health and money. Rather than offering quick fixes, I explore the deeper emotional landscape beneath financial anxiety and provide six key questions to help you understand what's really driving your money worries

Episode Highlights:

Understanding the Root of Money Worries

• Money itself isn't usually what we're worried about - it's what money represents
• Common underlying fears: relationship security, business stability, lifestyle changes, and team obligations
• How financial anxiety often stems from deeper meanings we attach to money
• The difference between surface-level money concerns and their emotional foundations

The Emotional Spectrum of Money

• My ladder metaphor: low-vibrational emotions at the bottom (shame, guilt, stress, anger) vs high-vibrational emotions at the top (gratitude, joy, happiness)
• Why jumping straight to gratitude practices doesn't work when you're experiencing financial shame
• The crucial middle step: acceptance of past decisions, inherited beliefs, and trauma patterns
• How the nervous system creates fight-or-flight responses to protect us from perceived financial threats

The Complexity of Money Shame

• Why shame is the hardest emotion on the spectrum to shift
• How shame creates a freeze response in the nervous system, leading to financial avoidance
• Recognising shame through language: the "shoulds" we place on ourselves ("I should be good with money," "I should be further ahead")
• The importance of compassionate acknowledgement without judgement

Money and Neurodiversity

• How traditional financial advice assumes neurotypical learning styles
• Specific challenges for neurodivergent individuals: impulse control, budgeting, long-term planning
• My personal ADHD experience: visual presentations, movement during money conversations, shorter but more frequent meetings
• The correlation between depression, anxiety, and financial avoidance

Beyond Traditional Financial Solutions

• Why practical solutions (budgets, investment plans) don't work without addressing underlying emotions
• The problem with control-based planning when control doesn't feel safe
• How impulsive spending patterns can sabotage investment strategies if safety concerns aren't addressed
• The importance of understanding emotional patterns before implementing financial tools

Professional Development for Coaches

• How coaches can support clients with money conversations without being qualified financial advisers
• The power of holding space for psychological exploration around money decisions
• Tools and frameworks for understanding the patterns behind financial behaviours
• My financial coach certification programme and free 40-minute training

Final Thought

This episode emphasises that healing our relationship with money requires understanding the emotional spectrum beneath our financial behaviours. Rather than bypassing difficult emotions to reach gratitude and joy, lasting change comes through accepting where we are, understanding our protective patterns, and working with our individual psychological makeup.

Chapters

00:00 Understanding Money Worries and Emotions

06:11 The Emotional Spectrum of Money

12:43 Navigating Mental Health and Money Conversations

Resources:

Get my FREE book 'It's Not About The Money'

Take the Money StoryTypes® Quiz

Sign up to my FREE Newsletter

Come to our Wealth Awakening Retreat

Become a Certified Financial Coach

Get Investing with my course - Use code INVEST50OFF2024 for 50% off as a podcast listener.

Watch the FREE masterclass here

Listen to The best way to plan your finances if you have adult ADHD

Listen to How to Manage Money in Business When You Have ADHD

Listen to (Money StoryTypes®) Money Shame & Emotional Spending

listen to my 1 Way To Overcome Money Shame

Episode Overview

In this follow-up episode to last week's conversation with Natalie MacNeil, I explore the psychological and emotional shifts required as we move into the digital currency era. Rather than focusing on technical aspects, this episode addresses the deeper questions about trust, safety, and completely rewiring how our brains think about money.

Episode Highlights:

The Physical vs Digital Money Mindset

• Our brains are hardwired to equate real money with tangible things we can hold and count
• Why Brits love property investing: it's "bricks and mortar" compared to US generations who prefer renting
• Digital currencies ask us to place value in mathematics and community consensus rather than government
• The challenge of trusting numbers on a screen that exist in cloud-based systems
• How our nervous system was designed to equate safety with things we can physically control

Understanding Digital Currencies Simply

• Digital currencies as numbers stored on a huge shared computer network
• Unlike bank account numbers controlled by one institution, these are verified by thousands of computers worldwide
• Bitcoin as "digital gold" - limited in supply and designed to hold value
• Ethereum as a digital platform for building applications and communities
• The key difference: controlled by mathematics and community, not governments or banks

The Generational Divide

• Personal story of 11-year-old son naturally gravitating toward digital wallets
• How younger generations view money as naturally existing "on a phone"
• Older clients who still prefer printed bank statements
• The comfort level with digital currencies often depends on how one grew up with technology

The Great Trust Transfer

• Examining where we've been placing our trust: banks as the "safe option"
• The 2008 financial crisis and recent bank failures like Silicon Valley Bank
• COVID money printing diluting the value of every pound in bank accounts
• The psychological shift from "the bank will look after my money" to "I am my own bank"
• Why trusting ourselves feels riskier than trusting institutions that have failed us

The Pearl Analogy from Gene Keys

• Richard Rudd's symbolism of the pearl as feminine metaphor for prosperity
• How pearls form from pressure and irritation, not perfection
• Wealth coming from responding with grace to challenges rather than ease
• Digital currencies as the "pearl" - transforming financial friction into something beautiful
• Moving from hoarding for ourselves to community and shared values

Practical Steps for Building Confidence

• Using AI to create personalised learning courses about digital currencies
• Starting with 2-3% portfolio allocation to learn gradually
• The challenge of getting advice from traditional financial advisors due to regulatory constraints
• Beginning with small enough amounts to sleep at night but large enough to genuinely learn
• Treating it like learning any new skill - expecting a gradual comfort-building process

Educational Resources

• Creating AI prompts to build beginner's guides tailored to individual situations
• Recommendation for Natalie McNeil's AI Dream Team course for entrepreneurs
• Catherine's book "It's Not About the Money" as foundational mindset work
• The Get Investing Course for beginner investors with 50% discount code INVEST50OFF2024

Final Thought

This transformation is about trust, not technology. We're living through one of the biggest shifts in how humans relate to money since moving away from the gold standard. The key is giving yourself permission to start learning gradually and allowing your nervous system time to adjust, just as it did with online banking.

Chapters

00:00 Rewiring Our Money Mindset

04:21 Understanding Digital Currencies

10:03 Generational Perspectives on Money

11:59 Trust and Financial Institutions

15:19 The Pearl Analogy: Transformation in Wealth

21:30 Practical Steps for Building Confidence

28:19 Trust Over Technology: A New Approach

Resources:

Get my FREE book 'It's Not About The Money'

Take the Money StoryTypes® Quiz

Sign up to my FREE Newsletter

Come to our Wealth Awakening Retreat

Become a Certified Financial Coach

Discover how to screen your investment portfolio with an ethical lens

Explore the AI Dream Team Course (Please note we are an affiliate for this course which means we may earn an affiliate commission for any purchases) I have personally invested and completed this course to help me save hours of time in my business.

Download your AI Prompt Playbook

Sign up to Natalie's Weekly Newsletter

Listen to podcast episode: Understanding your deep resistance to success through the lens of Gene Keys

Get Investing with my course - Use code INVEST50OFF2024 for 50% off as a podcast listener.