This was my second time reading this book. I like Lynne Twist's point that in our culture we start each day thinking we have a deficit of Time and money. this book explores rethinking your relationship with money-- making it fluid, recognizing your own abundance and working towards using your money where it will do the most good. ( )

What is money and, more importantly, what is our emotional attachment to it? Does it bind us, free us, hinder us? Twist brings a new lens on how we think about scarcity and sufficiency, how we can apply it in our own lives and how we can change our decision-making. Despite the Polly-Anna style which has a hint of saccharine, it is a worthwhile read to recast our assumptions about wealth and riches, and how to redefine resources.
An easy and inspring read. ( )

Not a book I really needed. I am on three non-profit boards and have invested a substantial portion of my wealth in nonprofits and particularly in Torrey House Press. I was hoping for something about encouraging people to see the rewards of giving. But this is personal and oversteps the boundary of woo for my taste. ( )

Summary: Money has soul. While it’s a human creation, money has amazing properties to heal and transform. And if we want peace in our lives (and in the world), we must transform our relationship with money. That’s the theme of The Soul of Money by Lynne Twist.

Lynn Twist is a global activist and professional fundraiser for the non-profit organization, The Hunger Project. Her experiences “asking people for money,” coupled with her travels around the world, give her a unique perspective on money.

In addition to her perspective, Twist is an amazing storyteller (similar to Brene’ Brown). Her stories teach life-changing money lessons – from a group of men in Bangladesh who cleared acres of brambled land so their village could begin farming, to the CEO of a food company who donated $50,000 to The Hunger Project – only for Twist to return it because the money didn’t have good energy.

Scarcity is another theme in The Soul of Money. Twist categorizes scarcity into three toxic myths:

1. There’s not enough.
2. More is better.
3. That’s just the way it is.

(How many times have you embraced one of these myths? I know I have.)

This isn’t a Law of Attraction book, though Twist’s lessons line up with Law of Attraction principles. It’s also not a “get rich now” book. Instead, it’s a manifesto on:

• How abundance is everywhere,
• The dangers of a scarcity mindset,
• How to focus on sufficiency versus wealth, and
• How we (as a global society) must change our relationship with money now. If we don’t, there will be grave consequences for Earth and all its inhabitants.

My big takeaways:

#1: Money has energy – positive and negative.

When you infuse positive energy into your money, it multiplies. It does good things. Even paying your electric bill can become a positive experience!

#2: People with money are not happier.

In fact, wealthy people can be more depressed (often becoming addicts, abusers, and criminals). However, if you find a purpose to your wealth, you will be happy (no matter how much money you have in the bank).

#3: We need a worldwide money mindset revolution.

The collective scarcity mindset of accumulation and fear of change is killing our environment, depleting our resources, and making us unhappy.

We must change our mindset about money. Our world truly depends on it.

How The Soul of Money relates to entrepreneurs:

Entrepreneurs have an amazing opportunity to earn lots of money. We are not capped by employers’ wages.

And our money (whatever we earn) can allow us to take a stand – to make the world a better place.

Check out this quote from page 194:

“We can wish for better schools, a clean environment, and world peace; we can even volunteer, but when we also put our money behind those intentions, we become really serious about them.”

Twist further explains that through money and taking a stand, we are opening up our hearts – and the hearts of those around us – and building momentum to clear obstacles away from our intentions. What we take a stand for becomes a reality, thanks to our money.

Remember, money is energy. Wrap it in positivity, use it for the highest good, and you’ll always be wealthy. ( )

Our social justice book club (JustReads) chose this text because a member said that it had changed her entire attitude toward money. I can't say that - yet - but I am reflecting more carefully about how I use money, how I think about money. I particularly liked her analogy of water - that money is like water and we are blessed when it flows through us to the common good. The stories were great. Some of our group thought they were over the top - but I don't think so. Part of telling a true story is to trim to make a point. The story is still true.
The fact that the author is a motivational speaker is reflected in the tone of the book, and I was bothered by a certain rah-rah feel to it at first, but slowly I became convinced that the author is sincere, and that this is just a matter of style influenced by our culture. We all agreed
1. it got better and better as it progressed
2. we are all moved to examine our relationship with money.
3. we will not forget her stories. ( )