The Money Episode: Upgrade Your Money Mindset so You Can Make & Receive More $$$

Welcome to the money episode. I’m sure this is probably the first of many because money is a topic I love to talk about. 

I’m Makena Sage, and today I’m doing a solo episode. Gigi will be coming to you soon with a solo episode of her own. 

I wanted to talk about money because it’s a topic that comes up a lot in our coaching and in conversations.

I was just having this conversation with a woman at one of my local events. I host events in San Diego and sometimes in Austin called Women Empowering Women. They’re gatherings of women connecting, making new connections with growth-minded, open-hearted women. 

While I was there, this topic came up with one of the women, and it came up in a coaching session recently, so I thought, “I need to make an episode about this.” 

We’re calling today: The Money Episode: Upgrade Your Money Mindset So That You Can Make and Receive More Money.

That’s an important distinction—receiving. We’re not just going to talk about making money, which involves effort, but also receiving because we can receive money and prosperity in many different forms. It doesn’t always have to be connected to effort. 

This was a big learning for me over the years. I’m going to share many learnings I’ve had, so if you’ve worked on your money mindset, this will hopefully give you more tools to continue growing in this area. 

If this is brand new to you and you have no idea what I’m talking about when I say “money mindset,” this is going to be a great introduction.

Have you ever noticed that you’ve had times in your life when you were tight with money, and other times when money was more plentiful? How has the feeling been different? Of course, when you have more money in the bank or more to spend, you typically feel more relaxed.

What’s interesting is I often talk to women who say, “I’m making more money than I’ve ever made, but I still feel stressed about money all the time.” 

Have you ever had that experience? It almost doesn’t seem to matter how much you make. There’s more relaxation in one sense, but in another, you still feel stressed or anxious. When you go to pay your bills, you feel restricted, and it doesn’t feel good to pay them, or you look at your credit card bill and feel overwhelmed.

This is money mindset. 

This concept has become popular in the last decade or so, and it’s a powerful approach to thinking about money. 

Money is neutral. It doesn’t actually exist other than the fact that we make it exist. Originally, we bartered, and then we developed coins and bills. We assigned them value and used them to exchange for goods and services. 

So, we made up the value because what are those little pieces of paper really worth? And the coins—what are they really worth? Maybe they started out back in the olden days as gold or silver or whatever, and there was some worth to it, but even then, we assigned that worth to it. 

So, money is essentially made up. And especially these days, when we’re talking about numbers on a screen, and the computer is saying that number means something. It’s kind of crazy when you think about it.

Another word for money is “currency,” which is related to the word “current,” like a current of energy. Money is a current of energy, and the energy you bring to your money has an impact. 

Now, this is going to sound a little “woo,” a little out there for some of you. That’s okay. Hopefully, most of you listening to this podcast are a little “woo” like I am, but even if you’re not, bear with me.

Even if you want to think about this from a mindset perspective, our subconscious mind is powerful and makes up 95% of our brains or something like that. So, even if you just want to think about this as programming your subconscious mind to help you create a better result, you can take the “woo” completely out of it and think of this more scientifically.

But I like to think in terms of both science, of course, but also energy because that is really the frame that I come from.

Money is energy, it is currency, and its value is made up, yet we assign so much meaning to it. Money is one of the most charged words and topics in the English language, along with words like God and sex. We’re not going to delve into those other topics now, but we will talk a lot about money because I am passionate about this topic.

From a young age, I’ve enjoyed money for the fun and freedom it provides, but I’ve also gone through a lot regarding money. We’ve talked about this in previous episodes, so I won’t go deeply into my story here, but in my teens, my family went through a really difficult time with both my parents getting sick, moving frequently, and facing financial ups and downs. During those years, we struggled financially, and it was really tough.

I remember feeling the stress of that at 14, 15, 16—these pivotal ages as I was developing into adulthood. I made a decision at a very young age, although not consciously, that I never wanted to struggle financially again. That became my driving force in much of what I did, especially in my career.

I became very hardworking, focused, and determined. I decided to go to business school and studied international business. Originally, I was more interested in something like psychology, communications, or writing, but I chose business because I thought it would make me more money. It was a great choice in many ways, but part of me does wish I had followed my heart and soul’s desires. However, it all fits into the overall scheme of my journey.

I was making these decisions from a place of financial fear because I didn’t have much. We didn’t have much in those days. There were times when we experienced prosperity, and I have again since then, but at that time, I could barely afford to apply for schools. 

When I went to school, I had $200 for my first semester. I was paying for school with student loans, working a couple of jobs on campus, and mostly relying on loans and grants. I had to scrimp and save and work side jobs. With only $200 to spend, I had to buy clothes for a Rhode Island winter, even though I lived in Texas at the time and didn’t have a big coat, gloves, or any winter gear.

I took the $15 Peter Pan bus to New York City and visited my sister in Brooklyn. She took me shopping at Forever 21 and street stands where we got me a hat, scarves, gloves, and a cheap coat. That was how I made it through my first Rhode Island winter. 

Thankfully, I was never in a position where I couldn’t eat, and I know many people have struggled far more than I ever have, but I didn’t have extra money in those days. I went to school with people who were driving fancy cars, whose parents were paying for everything, and who were going on amazing trips. The difference in our realities was stark.

I went through years of feeling financially stretched. In my sophomore year, tuition increased, and I couldn’t cover it with my grants and loans. I had maxed out what I could get approved for, so I almost gave up and didn’t go back to school. There’s a whole story there, but my mom stepped in and helped me have the courage to appeal to the school. Initially, they told me they wouldn’t give me more aid, but after a whole process, they eventually did, and I was able to stay.

These were days of hustling. After school, I got a decent job for six months, which covered my basic needs, but I almost immediately had $1,000 a month in student loans to pay off because I had $60,000 in student loans. With interest, I was paying $700 to $900 a month. On top of my living expenses and moving out to California, I was immediately in a position where I had to earn at a high level.

I’m sharing these stories because I want you to understand that the place I was coming from was hustle, survival, and the belief that hard work is the way to make money. 

I believed money meant survival and maybe being able to pay for some things without feeling like I was just scraping by. I had this wound-up energy in me because I had no safety net and nothing to fall back on.

When I started my first business, an online marketing, and copywriting business, in late 2012, I worked a lot because I had a lot of expenses and drive. I worked so hard, and I was able to build that business to six figures fairly quickly. 

However, six figures in California with $1,000 a month in student loans and a frugal lifestyle weren’t lavish living. I didn’t even have a car for the first year, plus that I lived there, sharing an apartment with my boyfriend at the time and two other guys. Eventually, we moved into a tiny apartment.

I had a lot of dental work to do, but I started making more money, and there was some relief in that. 

However, even as my income increased, I still felt incredibly stressed about money. I was spending everything I was making, and there was never a surplus. It always felt like I was living month to month. 

My lifestyle improved; I was able to take better care of myself, travel a little, and have experiences, but I still felt stressed and in survival mode.

Maybe you can relate to some part of my story, maybe you don’t, but one of the first exercises I recommend around money mindset is to write your money story. 

Look back at your life and ask yourself, “What was modeled to me when I was young around money? What were the messages that I received?”

You can really think about that from when you were a kid. When I think about my teens or some of those years, there were times of feast and famine—times when things were going great and then times when things were really challenging because of many of the things we went through. I can even go further back into my childhood and look at other experiences around money, what those meant to me, and what I made them mean.

You might see that your dad said this about money, or your mom said that, or these were the messages you received. What were the positive messages, and what were the negative ones? What did you see modeled that you think was a good thing? What did you see modeled that maybe is holding you back in some way?

It could be what was modeled to you by your parents, by other people, or what you experienced in your early years of being an adult. 

Whatever that is, if you go back and write or at least think through, “What was my money experience? What is my money story that brought me to where I am today?” That can be really powerful.

For me, it was this kind of feast and famine when I was young—a lot of financial difficulties—and then going into a phase of survival and just getting by, then starting to, what some people would call, thrive with six figures plus, but still feeling inside like I was surviving.

This was true for many years, and I had this wound-up energy inside of me around money. Then I started to examine that. I started to really dive into my personal development journey, even though I’d grown up in personal development. My mom has been doing this work for nearly 40 years now. 

Even though I’d grown up around that, money mindset wasn’t really part of the conversation when I was young. She did other kinds of things—leadership, communication, business, relationship coaching. I was exposed to many topics, but money mindset wasn’t really one of them. I don’t even know if it existed back in those days.

As I got into my twenties, I was running my business in Southern California and being exposed to personal development as it is today. I started to examine my relationship with money. 

I’ll never forget one of my first experiences with this. I was attending, I think, a one-day or weekend workshop, and the woman leading it said these words: “If money were your lover—well, the exact words she used were—if money were your lover, would it want to sleep with you?”

That’s one way of putting it, but I’ve shifted that to, “If money were your lover, what would your relationship be like?” That’s essentially what she was saying: What’s your relationship like? If you imagine money was a person and you were in a relationship with that person, what is that dynamic like right now?

Please stop and think about that. 

Do you have a good relationship? Is it pretty strained? Are you always complaining about it? Do you never want to look at it, so you’re avoiding it? 

Really, if I ask most people this question, they respond, “Oh my goodness, we have a terrible relationship,” right?

Even if they have a lot of money, there are so many patterns we have wound up in—avoiding it or whatever this might be for you. So, if money were your lover, or if you were in a relationship with your money, how would that relationship be? What is the quality of that relationship right now?

This question will likely shine a big light on things for many of you. When I asked myself this question, I saw all the different ways I was stressed around money. I always spent it all, never taking the time to get to know it before it went right out the door again. I didn’t spend quality time with my money. I did the minimum, paid my bills, and tried not to think about it.

The main thing I saw was that the overall quality of my relationship with money was one of stress.

This introduced the idea of money as energy or money as a relationship to me. I continued to explore this over time and thought, “How do I start to shift my relationship with money?” 

I’ve done a lot of different courses and read a lot of different books, and a couple that I would recommend are Happy Money by Ken Honda and Rich as F*ck by Amanda Francis. 

Her work is some of the best out there on money mindset. These are books that will really walk you through a lot of exercises. Now, some people don’t resonate with Amanda, and I totally get that. Everybody’s got a different flavor. There’s also a book called You Are a Badass at Making Money by Jen Sincero.

Usually, I recommend one of those two: You Are a Badass at Making Money or Rich as F*ck to most of my clients and friends. 

Happy Money is great for learning about your energy around money and shifting that energy, but if you want to dive deeper into journaling exercises and reflections, those other two books are really great. 

If you resonate with either Amanda or Jen, you can check out their work online and see who you connect with because they have very different flavors and energies, but similar results.

My personal favorite, as I mentioned, is Amanda Francis, but there are a lot of great people out there. 

These books and other resources helped me dive into money mindset. I did journaling exercises, examined my relationship with money, and started treating it differently. 

One thing I did was schedule “money dates.” 

So I’ve shared this with a lot of my clients, and it really has shifted things for them. Instead of avoiding your money, what if you made it a date with yourself? You would actually put it on the calendar once a month or twice a month, or however often you need. You sit down for an hour, an hour and a half, and if you want, you can pour yourself a glass of wine, have a cup of tea, light a candle, and create a nice environment. Bring a positive energy to your money.

If you’re going to sit down and look at what you owe on your credit cards, pay bills, or review your investments and savings, then approach it with a spirit of fun and gratitude. 

Before you open any of your accounts, close your eyes, put your hands on your heart, and feel the gratitude for the money and opportunities you have and recognize what a blessing that is.

I recently did an exercise, self-prompted, where I wrote down all the ways that I am prosperous. 

I’ve really been enjoying the word “prosperous” lately. In fact, I’m going to ask ChatGPT here, “What’s the difference between the word ‘prosperous’ versus ‘abundant’?”

“Prosperous” typically refers to a state of success, wealth, or financial well-being. It implies thriving, flourishing, or being successful, particularly in material terms. 

So, the word “prosperous” often has a financial connotation, whereas “abundance” is a large quantity or plentiful supply of something. It implies having more than enough of something, whether it’s resources, opportunities, love, or happiness, and does not inherently imply financial success.

I love the word “abundance,” and this is the word you hear most often connected to money these days. 

Abundance on its own can mean an abundance of anything—love, pain, or truly anything—but typically, it’s used in a positive way. 

So, I love the word “abundance,” and I still use it, but when I’m talking about money, I’ve shifted to using the word “prosperous.” I believe it was my husband, Sunny—I want to give him credit for this—who really found this fine-tuned detail and shared it with me.

I want to talk about financial prosperity specifically sometimes. It’s not that I don’t want abundance and great things in other areas, but I don’t want to shy away from my money. I don’t want to shy away from money in general. I actually want to invite it. I want to have a great relationship with it, and I do have a great relationship with it these days. 

So, that’s something you might take on if it suits you—the word “prosperous.”

Here’s the cleaned-up version:

So, Money Dates are really about sitting down and bringing this energy of gratitude. I wrote a list of all the ways in which I am prosperous. 

Eventually, I also wrote down other ways in which I’m abundant in love and other things, but I started with financial prosperity. 

For example, if you live in a house that you love, whether you own it or rent it, that’s a way in which you’re prosperous. If you drive a car, if you can put enough food on the table—whatever that is for you—that is prosperity.

If you have a job, if you have a business, if you have any financial support from anywhere, if your partner helps provide, and maybe you don’t have any of that, and that’s okay. 

I often hear people say, “Well, I don’t have any of that support. My partner is not providing, or I didn’t have a family that supported me.” And nor did I for the longest time. Not that my parents didn’t want to, but we went through challenges. There were different phases—times when they were able to support much more. But for the most part, during those pivotal years, I was on my own.

So, it’s important to not let that story of “I didn’t have that support” define you. It’s true, but it’s what you make of it. 

I’ve made so much out of that experience. In fact, I look back now and I’ve really rewritten my story to one of, “Wow, I’m so grateful, truly, that I went through all of that.” It was hard, and I wouldn’t want to do it again, but it actually made me into the person that I am today.

I wouldn’t have been nearly as driven, focused, or hardworking. I’ve had to unwind certain things because I went too far to that end of the spectrum. But on the other hand, I know people who were given a lot when they were growing up, and they struggled with drive, determination, and follow-through.

I’ve never struggled with any of those things. I’m a great creator; I’m able to go out there, create things in the world, and make them happen. That’s given me a huge amount of confidence. So, as challenging as aspects of my story were, I see how it made me into the person I am today, and I am proud of that person.

Even in that, you can rewrite your story. Whatever area in your money story where you feel like a victim, you can start to turn it around. If you haven’t already, you can start to turn it around now. Three years from now, five years from now, you might be telling a very different story about why that made you who you are today, how that inspired you, and what you’re doing differently. It’s all in how you look at it.

Writing down all the ways that you’re prosperous is important. Coming back to the Money Date—even if it’s just to sit down and pay your bills or look at your numbers once or twice a month—is about making it fun and bringing an energy to it that’s more lighthearted. Get into a space of gratitude before you do it.

Look at the ways you’re prosperous. Maybe you write that list and read it every time before you sit down to look at your bills. First, focus on the ways in which you do have prosperity, and then also look at the realities of your bills or whatever else it might be.

Then the gratitude energy, and this is something I got from Ken Honda’s Happy Money book, is about saying thank you. 

So when you pay your bills, actually sit down and say thank you—thank you to these service providers for doing this for me, or thank you that I got to buy these products or have these experiences. 

Thank you, thank you, thank you. 

Thank you that this is going out and blessing other people’s families. 

It’s not just companies; we often think, “Oh, these companies, and we’re paying them all this money,” but there are people behind those companies. There are human beings, families, and people who are being positively impacted by you sending this money out into the world. 

Why not focus on that aspect of it, right? Really get yourself into a different mindset because that is a better energy to bring to your money.

Something I came to a while ago was starting to think of yourself as a great steward of money. A lot of times, we think, “I want more money,” and we start making more money, but then we have the same money habits—whether it’s spending it all or always having debt, or whatever it might be. 

By the way, I have nothing against debt. I’ve had debt for most of my life, to some degree or another—sometimes more, sometimes much less—but there are different ways you can utilize debt and be smart about it.

I’m not about debt shaming or any of that, but I am about having awareness, ownership, and making those choices consciously, not just unconsciously. So if you have debt, don’t worry about it. You can absolutely turn that around. There are also times where, for many people, you might choose to take on debt consciously to grow your business, carry you through a difficult time, or whatever that might be.

Becoming a great steward of money is important. This is why, they say, most people who win the lottery rarely keep it. They spend it all, and within a couple of years, it’s gone because they haven’t developed the skill set of becoming a great steward of money. They have the same money habits they’ve always had.

I started to think about it as, if I want more money, if I want more prosperity, and I’m committed to being a wealthy woman—which is one of my commitments in this lifetime, something I have always desired and feels very true for me—I know I’ll do a lot of good with that wealth. 

Money mindset is about owning that desire and not making money bad or thinking I’m bad because I want money. Of course, there are other things that are important in life. I prioritize my family, my relationships, my health—so many things. I prioritize them, and I have a rich life in so many areas. 

When we work with our clients, we are committed to helping them have not only financial prosperity—if that’s something they desire or if they’re growing a business and that’s why they’re coming to work with us, whether it’s a business, a project, or a career. That’s often why people come to work with us, and we are committed to that. We help them do that, but not at the expense of other areas of their life.

And it doesn’t have to be at the expense of other areas of your life. That’s the thing—people often think it’s one or the other, that you have to sacrifice your family life if you want to have money, or you have to sacrifice the quality of your relationship if you want to have money, or whatever those stories are.

The reality is that’s just not true. 

You can have richness in many areas of your life. I’d venture to say in all the areas of your life. Yes, it will ebb and flow, and there will be ups and downs, but you can have a rich life in many different areas. 

I’m not talking about money just for the sake of money, and I’m not talking about money at the expense of all other areas, or sacrificing in them. That’s not what we’re talking about here.

It is “and,” right? Instead of “either/or,” it is the “and.” It’s really about creating prosperity, which is that flow of money, and also wealth, which is building money, keeping money, and really expanding money over time. I am committed to all of the above, and I really own that.

I think that has been a huge evolution that has taken me time to reach a place where I can say that with confidence, knowing that some people aren’t going to like it, and some people are going to be judgmental and say, “Oh, well, she’s all about the money,” or whatever that might be.

And those are some of the fears we have when it comes to really upgrading our money mindset and owning some of these desires—the fear that other people are going to judge me or tear me down. That may very well be true, and it doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter to me.

Anyway, it’s up to you to decide what matters to you. But for me, what matters is living authentically and living in my truth. 

My truth is that I am all about living a rich life in all areas. I am all about service, and I am all about women, men, and people of all genders leading incredible lives. 

I’m also all about wealth, and wealth, prosperity, and money are all tools. They’re great gifts that allow us to do more and more.

One of the conversations I had the other day was about charging what you’re worth, which I don’t believe you can do because your worth is infinite—there is no such thing. 

But I do believe in worthiness, confidence, and being well-compensated for sharing your gifts or providing a service, or whatever it is that you do.

So, if you’re hesitating to own your value and charge what you’re worth, these are money mindset pieces you really want to start looking at. 

When it comes to owning your worth, it’s important that you can care for yourself. It’s important that you are provided for so you can show up for others in your life. 

I’m always astonished when people say, “I just want to give back, I just want to be of service,” and then they charge pennies or nothing at all. They work for free in whatever it is they’re doing, and then they’re struggling. 

They’re constantly thinking about money, they’re in this desperate energy because they can barely pay their bills, or they’re having to work a full-time job while doing this other thing because they’re too afraid to charge.

I get it—it’s scary to ask for money and be compensated in exchange for something you’re providing, especially when you’re a service provider and it feels like they’re paying you for “you” in some way. But the truth is, they’re not—they’re paying you for a service if you are a service provider. I’m just using this as an example. 

I’m always astonished that people think that charging very little or nothing is being more of service to others. My question is, how many people are you actually helping when you’re doing that? And what is the quality of that support?

For instance, if you’re coaching, and you’re coaching a bunch of people for free, or you have a couple of people you’re coaching for free, and then you’re working a full-time job, stressed about money, not seeing any way to make the leap, or you’re working a part-time job, and people are paying you very little—what is the quality of the support you’re able to provide when you’re in that energy?

Now, think about how many people you’re truly serving versus what would happen if you really learned how to get out there, share what you’re doing, market yourself, and, yes, also sell. 

People often think selling is a bad word, associating it with a used car salesman. But what about the best-selling experience you’ve ever had? Maybe you walked into an amazing luxury boutique or bought your first home, and it was an incredible experience where you felt good the entire time—that’s selling too. You were sold something, but it was a great experience.

So, selling is a neutral thing. It’s all about the energy that someone brings to it. When you learn these skills, go out there, own your value, and charge a price that fits the value you’re offering and is also fair for others, then think about how differently you could show up. 

If you were making six figures, multiple six figures, or whatever number you want to make doing the work you do, and you were really well-compensated, how would you show up differently for your clients?

How would you show up differently for your family and your loved ones? From a place of surplus, from a place of overflow? Just tune in right now to your body and your energy and notice—how does this feel different?

Do you think you could be of greater service from that energy, from that place?

I’m guessing the answer is yes. 

And if that’s true, then what is it that makes us think it’s of greater service not to charge people? Sure, maybe you help one or two people, but people value what they invest in. 

You can always offer free things or sliding scales for certain things, but you also need to really learn to stand in the value of what you’re providing. Women, especially in my experience, have a lot of stuff around this.

I could do ten episodes on the topic of owning your worth, charging prices that align with that, and the art of authentic sales. 

These are all things I teach in some of our courses. For example, in my Simplified Business Bootcamp program, we go deeply into money mindset and the art of authentic sales—how to make invitations in such a way that, for the right clients, it’s a hell yes. When it is a hell yes, both of you are all in, and then you provide amazing value, and both you and your clients are well provided for.

These are all things that I teach, and we’re almost at the end of this episode, so I can’t go deeper into them here, but just know that these resources are available.

Another resource I want to offer, which is free, is the Self-Doubt Switch. If you haven’t gotten that resource yet, it’s a freebie we offer, and it’s related to self-doubt, which is connected to owning your worth. It includes a process I lead you through, a PDF, and a short visualization process. You can grab it at https://wayofthemuse.com/doubt.

I’ve given you some books at the beginning of this episode, and now I’m giving you this freebie. If you’re interested in diving much deeper, especially if you’re building a business or have a dream business you’ve wanted to start—it doesn’t need to be coaching specifically, but typically most of the people that work with us are service-based entrepreneurs. Although I will say that in our masterminds and other programs, we have people in jobs and various careers.

I just wanted to offer all of those as resources to you if you want to go much deeper into some of these topics. 

Lastly, I want to talk about receiving. Receiving is this energy of—it doesn’t all have to come down to hard work. This was a big lesson for me—to learn how to unwind hard work from money because sometimes they are connected, but often they are not.

I like to use the example: if hard work and money were directly connected, if one created the other, then the hardest working people in the world would be the richest people in the world. 

But is that true? It’s not, right? The hardest working people are not necessarily the richest people in the world. So, we want to untangle these two ideas.

Now, do you need to be able to put in energy, effort, focus, and some degree of work? Of course. But hard work does not equal money. If it did, we’d have a very different world—it would be set up very differently. Instead, there’s so much more to this. It’s the energy you have with money. Of course, it’s the opportunities we’re provided, but it’s also about ingenuity, getting out there, and being strategic.

There are many different things that correlate with or correspond to the money you create.

But what I want to speak to here specifically is receiving. 

Receiving is an energy—it’s like this: When someone gives you a gift, if I handed you a beautifully wrapped box with a big bow on it, would you feel a full, open energy in your body? 

Like, “Oh my gosh, thank you!”—a sense of delight for this unexpected gift, and just be able to take it in fully, say thank you, and receive it?

Or would there be some part of you that thinks, “Oh my gosh, I barely even know this person. Why is she giving me this gift? Do I even deserve this? You shouldn’t have.” Do you ever say something like that? “You shouldn’t have. I don’t know if I can accept this.” All of that is deflecting; it’s not fully receiving. 

Notice that there’s an energetic block or a bit of blocked energy instead of open receiving and gratitude.

Receiving is a very important part of money mindset and the energetics of money because when money flows in, just like anything, it needs to have an open space to be received. 

You need to be open to receiving money. 

Otherwise, even if we bring this to the subconscious mind, if you’re not fully open to receiving money, you’ll have blind spots. You won’t even see opportunities because your mind won’t show them to you. This is how our mind works—it filters out anything it thinks is not aligned with our perspectives, views, or desires.

So, even if we’re saying we want money, if we have blocks around receiving, we won’t receive to the degree that we’re capable of. We won’t see those opportunities, and we won’t fully receive when others want to give to us, or when God or the universe wants to give to us. 

Notice the feelings you have around receiving—whether it’s receiving a compliment, a gift, or financial support. Do you receive fully?

It could even be time—when people want to give you their time or whatever it is. Can you receive that fully and just say, “Thank you,” or is there some resistance? 

I have to say that I struggled with receiving for a long time, but I have become a master receiver. I love to receive. Believe me, if you ever come and give me a gift, I will be just like, “Oh my gosh, thank you!” and I will receive it fully, without any hesitation or weirdness. I will take that gift, and I will love it, love you, and love everything about it. I won’t make it mean that I need to give you something in return. If I ever see something for you and feel inspired to give it to you, I hope you’ll do the same.

This is the free flow of receiving, and the more you can build the muscle of receiving—through practice, intention, and doing the money mindset exercises and so on—the more you will receive. 

I will tell you now, to close out this episode, that I have come to this place with money. 

First, I came to trust where I let go of the fear, and that took time and a lot of mindset work. It took earning at a higher level and having enough times where God or the universe came through and I didn’t fall flat on my face. I made it through, I survived, and I even thrived.

It took a lot for me to get to that place, and a lot of becoming a better steward of money. 

By the way, I don’t know if I ever finished that thought, but what I meant to say is that whatever your relationship to money is now, if you add more money, it’s just going to be the same relationship. So, practice how you think you want to be when you have millions of dollars. Practice that now.

That was the thought around being a great steward of money. Be the person you think you’re going to be, that you want to be, that you desire to be when you have millions of dollars. 

Start to practice that version of yourself now. Then, as you add more money, it will be more of what you actually desire it to be—not like, “Oh, wait, there’s money, but nothing else has really changed.”

I’ve come to a place where I first reached trust, realizing, “Okay, I’m going to be okay. I don’t need to be in stress or fear all the time.” Then it really became more of an expansive feeling, and I now have this peace around money. The receiving piece has grown more and more over the years—I feel like prosperity is streaming in from all directions. 

Even when there are times when things are tighter, up and down, or whatever it might be, it doesn’t matter because I have this foundation of peace with money, knowing that I am provided for, feeling prosperous, and knowing that more is coming. I am fully open to receiving that from many different places.

It is a beautiful place to be. I wanted to give you a preview of that because knowing where I came from—the story I told you at the beginning of this episode—and where I am now, hopefully, that inspires you and gives you some hope or a beacon of what’s ahead for you. 

I’m always available if you have questions. You can reach out to me via email or on social media. 

My email is makena@wayofthemuse.com. 

You can find me on Instagram @makenasage or on any of the platforms. 

Feel free to reach out if you have questions, want to explore something, or are curious about any of our programs. We’ll link some of those in the episode notes.

We have all kinds of things at all different levels—anywhere from free to higher investment—depending on what you desire and how much support you need. 

That’s the other thing: If you are a service provider, whether it’s coaching or offering some other kind of service, you don’t want to go out and do that for free all the time because you need to be provided for. 

But the more we’ve made, the more our business has generated, the more we’ve thrived, and the more we’ve been able to also provide free things and resources so that people can get value at every level. When they’re ready, and if they’re ready, they can take the next step to invest in something or invest in themselves at a higher level.

So, that is always an option—you can do that, but you need to have your needs met first. 

This was a 45-minute-plus ramble, I feel, because I wanted to fit so much in here, and this is just the beginning. 

It’s like opening Pandora’s box of so many things that we could talk about around money. I am going to be doing some other episodes around business and sales and things like that in the months to come. 

If there are any topics you want to hear about in particular, please reach out to us at any time. You can email me at that same address, makena@wayofthemuse.com, and let me know what topics you’d love to hear me talk about. 

Also, visit our website because we have all kinds of freebies and paid programs and support at all different levels. 

I hope this was valuable for you, and I look forward to seeing you in the next episode.

Bye-bye.