Nelson Searcy - The Generosity Ladder: Your Next Step to Financial Peace

H ave you ever experienced a paradigm shift? You know, that moment of clarity when you realize theres an entirely different way of seeing things than the way youve always seen them?

The first step in experiencing a paradigm shift is to acknowledge that you currently see the world through a certain set of lenses. These lenses have been created by a number of factorsyour family, your upbringing, your education, and your social circle, to name a few. Based on your life experience, you understand the world in a specific way. Or as Shakespeare penned, Such as we are made of, such we be. I would take the liberty of adding and such we see to the great writers assertion.

The concept of a paradigm shift first came on the scene over half a century ago with Thomas Kuhns work The Structure of Scientific Revolutions . Kuhn exposed the reality that nearly every noteworthy advancement in science is, at its core, a break with an old way of seeing the world. His revelation proved that to make strides toward any kind of advancement, we must first recognize our current paradigms and then open ourselves up to the possibility of a new way of thinking.

Perhaps the best way to illustrate this phenomenon is with an actual illustration. Go ahead and take a look at the image on the next page.

Depending on your perspective, you may see a beautiful young woman shyly turning her face away from the artist, or you may see an old, hunched woman with a large nose and downcast gaze. Which woman do you see? Whichever one it is, another reality exists.

If you see the young woman in the picture, I have news for you: this is a picture of an old lady. But to see her, you have to shift your perspective. Here are some clues to help you see things a new way: the young womans ear is the older womans eye. The curve of her chin is the tip of the old womans nose. Do you see her yet? One more hint: the choker necklace around the younger subjects neck is the opening of the old womans mouth. (If you first saw the older woman, just work backward from these clues until you see the younger womans image.)

Pretty amazing, huh? I have seen people get angry with one another over this exercise. Sometimes those who see the old woman first are so convinced they are right that they think those seeing something else are crazy. And vice versa. We all tend to think we see things as they really are, but obviously thats not always the case. This image is a trivial example, but it illustrates a profound truth: when we are able to open our minds to a new reality, we give ourselves the opportunity to experience life-changing, growth-spurring paradigm shifts.

Money Matters

Most of us have grown up with a skewed understanding of money and possessions. Based on misinformation, poor examples, and our own desires, we have unconsciously developed a certain paradigm for understanding and managing our incomefrom the first five-dollar bill we were given in a birthday card to our first paycheck, and everything weve received since. Unfortunately, for most of us, our financial paradigm has led us into trouble. Our collective wrong perspective has landed us as a society in major debt and contributed to broken families and high levels of stress and anxiety.

Our intentions to handle our resources well may be good, but money in our culture has gone bad. Too many people feel they have to go into debt just to meet their basic needs. Every day is a struggle. Others simply want to go on a nice vacation or give their kids a good education. We want to take care of our aging parents or save for our retirement. But we cant get around to doing these things because we lack the funds.

The majority of usincredibly wealthy by the worlds standardsare locked in a battle with the constant desire for more. Dont think you are wealthy? If you make more than two dollars a day, you are among the top 2 percent of the wealthiest people in the world. Yet even in our abundance, we have internalized the buy now, pay later mantra of our culture. We live above our means.