The Japanese Art of Becoming a Zen Millionaire

Photo by Kevin Anggrek on Unsplash

Do you feel anxiety about your money?

Do you fear that you are poor at handling money?

Do you know how your thoughts and attitudes affect your financial well being?

In his latest book Happy Money: The Japanese Art of Making Peace With Your Money Ken Honda describes the steps you need to take to heal your money wounds. The wounds caused by the experiences you had and saw in your childhood. He teaches you to transform and improve your perception of money from fear to peace and ease.

With 58 books and over 8 million copies in sales, his success lends credence to his teachings. His writing fuses a blend of finance and personal development. He illuminates the need to create personal wealth and happiness through self-analysis.

As a child, Ken grew up in a wealthy home. But his childhood lacked happiness and peace. Though his father was successful, he was frugal and stingy. An abusive and distant man, his father struggled with alcoholism and depression. He was the epitome of a Samurai warrior.

Those early experiences informed the man Ken would become. Ken sought to find ways to heal the trauma he experienced and alter his life in the process.

Here are five ways to improve your money mindset and become a Zen millionaire.

Heal your money wounds

What mindset do you have around money?

Do you believe money is unfair? Do you think rich people take advantage of others? Do you blame money for the breakdown of your parent’s marriage?

A 2013 study conducted by behaviour experts from Cambridge University shows that our beliefs around money are shaped by the age of seven. With no filter to determine what is true or not, we absorb our surroundings and take it as gospel truth.

You then go out into the world and use this knowledge to shape your decisions and actions around money. This subconscious mindset informs your money decisions and impacts your financial wellbeing.

You long to be secure but fear money at the same time.

You walk around thinking that wealth is built on the back of poor people. You hold the belief that money corrupts, money is scarce, money is filthy. You think that money is a win-lose game; my wealth means others will lack. You soothe yourself by projecting negative emotions onto money itself.

But none of these ideas is true, and holding on to these beliefs is limiting and unhealthy.

How To Apply It:

You can’t control what you heard, saw, and experienced in your childhood. To expect to do so is to give your power away.

Understand that no one sets out to hurt their children. A combination of factors affected their decisions. Unresolved mental pain, emotional immaturity, and life circumstances affected their decisions.

Your power lies in developing empathy for your caregivers. Consider the possibility that they had the best of intentions but didn’t know how to act.

It’s futile to wish the past was different. Letting go will release the hold that the trauma has on you. Once you claim this power back, determine the relationship you want with your money.

Develop an attitude of gratitude and appreciation towards your bills

What is your attitude towards your bills? Do you grumble each time you make a payment? Or do you give thanks for the services you received? Do you curse at the impossible work deadlines? Or are you grateful for the opportunity to earn money? Do you complain about the high cost of living? Or do you appreciate the freedoms you enjoy?

Ken Honda teaches the concept of giving thanks for each bill you have. From your mortgage, your grocery bills, to your gas payments. When you pay with gratitude, you create a cycle of plenty for all the parties involved. The energy you send out circulates to everyone you meet. You create more good for others.

How To Apply It:

You have many reasons to be thankful for your bills. For one, it’s an indicator of faith in your ability to honour your end of the agreement. Someone trusted you enough to provide a service to you. They had confidence that you would meet your end of the deal.

Second, the money chose you. It came to you at the exact time and space sequence. Be grateful for the circumstances which existed for it to find you. Be grateful for your ability to pay your bills.

This concept is called arigato in and arigato out. The idea of treating your bills as a friend and not an enemy. It requires you to examine your emotions as you pay your bills. Do you feel anger, fear, bitterness? Where are these emotions directed towards- is it the bills or yourself?

Next time you make a payment, try saying this mantra: “Money, money, money, money, go out and bless the world, and come back with your friends.”

I know, it sounds corny, but why not give it a try. See if it will improve your money mindset.

Forget about the money

No, this doesn’t mean foregoing your current lifestyle for a hippie one.

It means to first focus your attention on the value you can provide before asking for a payment. Focus on what you can give, not what you get; on the service, you can give to others.

Understand that you get compensated for the value you create. When you create value, the result is money.

How To Apply It

There is real utility in money. It is an important aspect of life. But the pursuit of money in and of itself will not lead to the creation of wealth.

I will admit that I found this an intriguing but confusing idea. The idea that money is the result of what I give. It is an effect, not a cause.

When you forget about money, it reorients your mindset and behaviour. It focuses your attention on adding value, which leads to wealth-generating actions.

Monetize the gifts you have

You were born with gifts that you can improve upon to help others. Though these gifts may appear minor and mediocre, they can bring value to those around you.

One gift alone will not differentiate you from the pack, but a combination of gifts will.

Certain individuals are fortunate to find their talents early in life. A discerning adult points out their skill and propels them to success. But others are not so fortunate.

Ken provides a way in which we can find our gifts and move from ideation to execution.

How To Apply It

Ken has 1,000 questions he asks his audience to help them identify their gifts. Take a few minutes to consider these questions:

1. What were your nicknames as a kid?

2. What were you scolded for as a child?

3. What did you like to do as a child?

4. What do you do during your idle time?

5. What do people turn to you for advice?

6. What do you do with ease, but you don’t think you can monetise?

7. What are you willing to pay money for; to forgo lunch or a night out to have?

Monetizing your gifts will need you to have an enormous amount of courage, faith, and trust. The process will need you to redefine the beliefs you hold about money, yourself, and how you spend your time.

The challenge lies in believing that we can turn our gifts into a source of income. It is about trusting that we can help others to transform their lives.

But it will be well worth the effort.

You will have a chance to get paid for doing something you care about, are good at, and enjoy doing.

Wealth Is An Attitude

What image comes to your mind when you think about money?

Is it an abusive, manipulative individual or a kind, gentle person? Do you feel money leaves faster than it comes in? Or that you have to struggle all the time? Do you feel ripped off, cheated, and duped by money?

For many people, money is a mystery. We long for it but fear it at the same time. A lot of us have a negative mindset towards money.

Ken challenges us to change our language and attitude towards money. If you are filled with fear, anger, and resentment, then you will be poor, regardless of how much you have.

In his time as a financial advisor, Ken has met billionaires and paupers. He realised that on both sides, there were happy and unhappy people.

This is in no way to negate the need for money. Money is important; it is a necessary component of life. It gives you the ability to do things. To make choices. Money is power.

If you can’t feel happy and content with what you have, then you are poor, regardless of how much you have. If money is tied to survival in your system, a lack of it means you are dead.

How To Apply It

The key step is to watch your language around money. Early childhood experiences shape our ideas and attitudes toward money. Getting scolded for spending too much money and denied experiences teach us that we are not worth it.

One way to overcome this mindset is to turn fear and anxiety into appreciation. Learn to give thanks for what you do have in your life. This will help change your narrative around money.

Appreciation melts anxiety.

This concept might be difficult to embrace if money has been scarce in your life. It might be a bitter pill to swallow. It might be hard to imagine that the creation of wealth first requires you to change your emotions.

But Ken teaches that this is the key step. You need to make a conscious effort each day to rewire your thoughts. These new thoughts will lead to different actions. In turn, they will bring different results.

You can’t think your way to success. You have to act in a new way.

To recap, here are five ways to become a Zen millionaire;

Heal Your money wounds

Develop an attitude of gratitude and appreciation towards your bills.

Forget about the money.

Monetize your gifts.

Wealth is an attitude.

As always, thanks for reading. Keep the comments and corrections coming.