"I am paid because I'm effective."

Before 2009, I knew nothing about having a “money mindset.” At least not consciously.

Here’s what I knew:

“Money didn’t grow on trees.”

Money required “hard work.”

“Rich people” were evil, selfish, and assholes.

I didn’t realize I was being programmed, and that program was f’ing me up. It kept me in a cycle of burning myself out, always having just enough to live on, and enough debt to stress me out.

In high school, I reprogrammed myself in the “rich people are evil” category. I witnessed my best friend’s mom go from just enough to rich AF. She wasn’t evil; she was generous. And while I’m sure she worked hard to attain her financial status, it was clear she really enjoyed her work and had plenty of time for play.

She altered my sense of reality, and I liked it. Healing that money wound taught me that evil people come in all sorts of tax brackets; the money isn’t the main ingredient.

This breakthrough happened in the late 90s/ early 2000s. I had no idea I had shifted my “money mindset” because I’d never heard that term. It wasn’t until 2009, when I read the book ‘The Trick to Money is Having Some’ by Stuart Wilde, that my money mindset began to consciously shift.

A book and a breakthrough do not equate to a lifetime of money hang-ups being solved. Like any facet of mindset or spiritual work, it’s never one-and-done. We hit upper limits (read The Big Leap by Gay Hendricks) and realize not all money mindset blocks have been banished.

My lingering block has reared its ugly head through spiritual readings, Reiki sessions, and most recently, in my dreams.

A few nights ago, I had a crazy dream. In the final act, I was riding the elevator in my building up to the rooftop with my dog. When the elevator doors opened, the elevator was packed with people and with termites. Not just a couple of termites, a horror movie amount of termites. No one in the elevator was bothered but me.

But the kicker was a rat-sized termite going full cannibal on his homies.

The termites symbolized things I’ve been tolerating in my life that I’ve reached my limit on. The termite rat? That was the belief I needed to release the most. The belief that making money was hard.

Growing up, I earned money by doing my chores, getting good grades, and being the best and most available babysitter on the block.

I got my first job at 15. I wasn’t forced to, I wanted to work so I could make more money!

I’ve always had a side gig. Whether it was making and selling things at craft shows as a teen, or writing during off hours while I worked a 9-5.

Even after finding entrepreneurship, I didn’t slow down. I didn’t run one company, I ran two! I worked nights, weekends, and around the clock to make millions.

HARD. WORK.

Now, here I am a year and change postpartum, and baby, I’m tired. I don’t have the time or the energy for hard work. But my belief systems still tell me that hard work = money.

Full transparency, this past year has been stressful. Money mindset monsters popping up to mess with me. Financial obligations are increasing at a rapid rate. Industries changing, a baby to tend to, and, again, being exhausted from a lifetime of “hard work.”

That dream was the nudge I needed to get with God. The “hard work” programming needed to be dismantled, and a new belief system had to enter the chat.

Y’all, when I tell you the message came in loud and clear!

My old belief system: “Money comes from effort, time, hustle, and sacrifice. Money must be justified.”

My new belief system: “I make money because I’m effective.” No hard work, being busy, or working around the clock is required.

That mantra felt like freedom!

Postpartum, Lauren was forced to change my relationship with time, metrics, work, and money. Even though I changed the way I coach, when I coach, and where I coach - my subconscious (and pre-baby Lauren) was holding on to my old beliefs for dear life.

But when I said, “I am paid because I’m effective,” everything clicked.

I’m effective AF. I am more effective as a coach, stylist, and creator since having a baby. My clients (coaching and corporate) are getting next-level results and are more supported than ever.

My days are no longer spent sitting behind a desk or peering into a Zoom window. Right now, I am “working” at the Getty Villa and will soon be at a cute cafe in Malibu. In less than 3 hours, I have supported my coaching clients, completed and sent a deliverable to a corporate client, journaled, whipped up a social media post, this SubStack post, and decoded another sign from the universe (a yellow butterfly, they’ve been talking to me lately).

Struggle, strain, hustle, a desk ... none of those things are required for me to be effective for my clients.

I am effective because I’m the best at what I do. Legit. I’m a leader in the industry, and my clients make bank. I helped a corporate client make over a million dollars in a couple of weeks. I have thousands of students who have been positively impacted by my body of work.

I am paid because I’m effective AF.