Do you do business coaching? Are you just as concerned with the happiness and well-being of your client as you are with his or her wealth? If so, read on…

As a life or business coach, you’ve no doubt run across clients whose attitudes are sabotaging either their abundance or their happiness… or both. I get people telling me all the time “I want to do what I love, but I really need the money first!” Their real dilemma is this: Is it really possible to earn a lot of money AND be happy… at the same time?

The short answer? Yes.

Recently, a client sent me an email informing me of some good news concerning his income breakthrough, and that he had “some things I need to do in this life and it requires a decent amount of money…I also feel it is my minimal entitlement.”

I wrote back the following:

Thanks for the good news [name withheld], but I would say be careful of “entitlement thinking.” When you build expectations that remain unfulfilled there is suddenly an “open loop” that is not closed, leading your subconscious to feel desperate or anxious. Even if you get what you feel “entitled” to, you can’t stay happy, simply because entitlement is an attitude, not a condition.

If you didn’t earn it, i.e., there is no equal exchange of value, then an entitlement attitude keeps you stuck because of a subconscious guilt that you are getting something you didn’t earn. This is why those on welfare have such a hard time just surviving, and why communism robs your soul of the joy of reaping the rewards of your efforts.

If you DID earn it – you sold something or performed a service – you normally get the money. To feel “entitled” to the money, however, is to assume the customer got value… something only the CUSTOMER can decide. So get paid, yes . . . you both entered into a contract. But also give thanks to the Divine who brought money to you because you satisfied the needs of your customer!

Cultivate an “attitude of gratitude” and notice that expectations begin to fall away… not all at once, but gradually as you get older.

Even before I had money, I learned to be grateful for a) an amazing wife, great friends, my health, a place to live, and a paid-for car. These days I’m grateful having the same amazing wife, friends and health, and also for work that I love, and a six-figure income earned without having to sell my soul to get it. The formula I use for attracting both wealth and happiness is this:

Added Value + Gratitude = Abundance + Happiness

Remember? You used that formula after our first session… and the results followed! As for me, I’m grateful for everything and everyone in my life… and my life works. When I’m 90 years old I’ll be grateful if I’m still alive and can eat without drooling on my shirt! It’s all relative, but the common happiness theme for all ages and circumstances is gratitude.