life coach | Total Wealth

The Gift of Ten Broken Hearts

Kate Phillips — Tue, 15 Feb 2011 06:54:10 +0000

The Gift of Ten Broken Hearts - a story about finding true love and abundance.

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“Too Busy” and the Sufficiency of Time

Kate Phillips — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 00:04:41 +0000

What a round with "the crud" is teaching me about time, scarity, and sufficiency.

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Chauncey Gardiner and the Audacity of Hope

Kate Phillips — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 08:18:56 +0000

(A tale of two political figures – one fictional as well as accidental, one real and very intentional.) As long as the roots are not severed, all is well. This week I re-watched the brilliantly constructed satire, “Being There.” (A 1979 film directed by Hal Ashby, adapted from the 1971 novel written by Jerzy Kosiński.) Peter Sellers plays a simple-minded gardner with no social or intellectual skills, being essentially raised by television sets and the plants he tended. When forced into new situations such as befriending a billionaire and meeting the president, he is mistaken for a genius of sorts. “Chance the Gardner” becomes “Chauncey Gardiner,” his simple sentences interpreted as deep metaphors about the state of the nation. Here are some lines from the “meeting the president” scene: President “Bobby”: Mr. Gardner, do you agree with Ben, or do you think that we can stimulate growth through temporary incentives? [Long pause] Chance the Gardner: As long as the roots are not severed, all is well. And all will be well in the garden. President “Bobby”: In the garden. Chance the Gardner: Yes. In the garden, growth has it seasons. First comes spring and summer, but then we have fall and winter. And then we get spring and summer again. President “Bobby”: Spring, and summer. Chance the Gardener: Yes. President “Bobby”: Then fall and… winter. Chance the Gardener: Yes. Benjamin Rand: I think what our insightful young friend is saying is that we welcome the inevitable seasons of nature, but we’re upset by the seasons of our economy. Chance the Gardener: Yes! There will be growth in the spring! Benjamin Rand: Hmm! Chance the Gardener: Hmm! President “Bobby” Hmm. Well, Mr. Gardner, I must admit that is one of the most refreshing and optimistic statements I’ve heard in a very, very long time. [Benjamin Rand applauds] The metaphors remind of my own “Autumn Contemplations”…

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“Financial Therapy”

Kate Phillips — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 09:19:31 +0000

“What do you do?” It’s the simplest, most basic question, one we might be asked on a daily basis. I know exactly what I do, but I’m still trying to figure out how to answer that question in a way that people can understand. In a nutshell, I help people think and feel differently about money. I help people create wealth, but not with stocks, bonds, real estate and budgets with built-in automatic saving plans. (Yes, one must have a plan, but it’s the wrong starting place.) I help people create wealth from the inside out, through transforming beliefs, attitudes, and emotions. But what am I? Sometimes I define it by describing what I’m not. We all probably know what a Financial Planner is, or perhaps we have had experience with a Financial Advisor, Financial Services Representative, or similar animal. Some work on commission, some work for fees. All have tools to help you assess your current financial situation and panic properly as you grasp the enormity of the canyon over which you must leap in order to one day retire. Most sell financial products (investments, insurance, etc.) that might assist you in reaching your goals. I took a CFP course once. I got my life insurance license. I interviewed in the financial services field. I was well on my way to a life of using tools and charts and calculators to help people plan their financial futures. But I wasn’t sleeping well. It wasn’t my calling. I knew the world didn’t need another financial planner (with all due respect to the thousands of fine financial planners who serve a genuine need to their grateful clients). I knew what I was. I couldn’t deny it. I had been one for years. It was time to just admit it. I was… A Financial Therapist. Since no self-respecting therapist would ever call themselves…

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The Cure for the Recession (article)

Kate Phillips — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 05:39:54 +0000

“The quality of our life is the quality of our emotions.” Gas is over $4 a gallon, meanwhile foreclosures are up, workers are being laid off, and business owners are tightening their belts. The word “recession” is bandied about, sometimes in whispers (as if we’re afraid the economy might hear us), other times in not-so-soft complaints. I’m a prosperity coach, not an all-powerful genie who can cure this country of what ails it. However, I may have some “cures” that may help our individual suffering in a measurable way. We all have feelings about the current economic climate. Maybe we feel fear, frustration, worry, or resignation. Perhaps we feel relief that our job is safe, and guilt that our neighbor’s was not. Typically, the more we are personally and physically affected, the more intense our negative emotions are likely to be. And from a sheer “happiness” perspective, I would suggest that these emotions, and not the recession itself, are the cause of any pain we might feel. Understandably, when unemployment, foreclosure, illness or death comes to your household, it presents challenges, often challenges we have not yet learned to face. But who has not known or heard of a person with incurable cancer who was as peaceful as the Dalai Lama? Illness is not a reliable predictor of negative emotions (though much research indicates that laughter and optimism aid in healing). Being wronged does not preclude forgiveness and inner peace. Bad traffic doesn’t necessitate road rage. And call me crazy, but I don’t think a recession (whether personal or national) means we must succumb to gloom, doom, and fearful fretting. I once heard an intriguing statement: “The quality of our life is the quality of our emotions.” In other words, whatever we are feeling…

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