The ‘Invisible Currencies’ And Inner Strengths That Women Have In Droves

Post by Matt Jardine.  As an author, the most important people in my life are women.  It’s true! I’ve just gone over the numbers in my head.

90% of those who helped me in the production of my latest book, ‘How to be a Buddhist Millionaire’ are women: My editor, agent, PR manager, most of the team at the publishing house, my wife (of course), my mother (it all started with her!), my daughter (an inspiration), the top three interviewees in the book and even my dog who lay curled up fast asleep next to me while I wrote!

You may wonder why I’m telling you this?

Last night I received an email to ask if I would be interested in contributing an article to a website with mostly female visitors. The email went on to say that they believed my latest book would be a helpful read, particularly in light of the Corona virus. ‘Sure’, I replied, ‘More than happy to help where I can.’

I researched the site, of course, to see for myself if my book really would add value to its readership, and in doing so found this from Lou Kirby, the founder:

“Hi and welcome to Woman Ready.

Take a moment and ask yourself the following – do you overthink, doubt yourself, tell yourself you’re not good-enough, not like the way you look, put yourself way down your priority list?

Are you living the life that you want or have you put your wants and needs on the back burner?”

I knew then that I wanted to contribute.

The Doubt

As a man, it is somewhat of a mystery to me why so many women doubt themselves. Yet I know they often do, sometimes severely. Unfortunately, I watched the realities of it to extremis in my daughter through her teenage years.

I also know that in the aftermath of Covid-19 those doubts will more than likely be heightened.

For many of us, life will never be the same after Covid-19. But It could also be one the greatest things that has ever happened to us too.

Last week a memory popped up in my FB feed from a year ago to the day. I was typing the concluding sentence to ‘How to be a Buddhist Millionaire’. Clearly, a year ago, I wasn’t writing it with the Corona crisis in mind, but with the fallout from the ‘Rona’ looming ever closer, it is more relevant now than ever.

Sometimes it is necessary for the ground to shake beneath our feet to inspire us to action.

Every one of us knows the lure of routine that turns our heads from good intention: mindlessly flicking between social media sites in search of likes; an automatic glass of wine to forget the day; numbing out in front of yet another Netflix series that concludes much the same as the last.

Who of us has not, in one breath, promised ourselves to avoid the status quo and toppled headfirst with the next?

All Things Change

In 2007 I walked a Buddhist pilgrimage. 1,400 km of brutal Japanese terrain in 30 days. I learnt many things. One of them was that all things change. How we approach that change forms the rest of ‘How to be a Buddhist Millionaire.’

I interviewed eleven people for the book, people I refer to as ‘Buddhist Millionaires’. (For the record you neither have to be a Buddhist nor a Millionaire to be the aforementioned, although you can, it’s your choice.)

Three of the interviewees that most stood out were woman: Sheri Lennon, an early-years teaching specialist carving out a parallel career as a children’s book illustrator; Selina Lamy, a former Vice President charged with tackling financial crime who chose to become a life coach, and Cheree Strydom a South African country singing star who fulfils her dreams of song and stage while running a young and busy family.

These women had all taken the brave decision to put their passions at the heart of their lives and trust that it would work out financially, irrespective of the doubters who said they couldn’t do it. In doing so they qualify as ‘Buddhist Millionaires’.

If Given A Million Pounds

If given the gift of a million pounds, most people would not be doing the work or living the lives they currently have. Indeed, it appears that as many as seven out of ten of us are not leaping out of bed to embrace the work day ahead.

Try asking the million-pound question at the next social gathering you attend and test these numbers for yourself (after isolation of course!)  You’ll be surprised.

The three woman I mentioned are part of the thirty percent who would most certainly return to their work, albeit with pockets stuffed full of cash.

But please don’t worry if you are not yet one of them. With the help of Corona and ‘How to be a Buddhist Millionaire’ you can.

The Jaws Of Comfort

You see, the hardest parts in creating your ideal life are escaping the jaws of comfort that nip at our ankles, and overcoming the lack of self-belief that drags us back to the sofa, or to a job we’d rather leave. Most people fall at these crucial first hurdles.

But thanks to Corona, you’ll have your back thrown against the wall. You’ll find yourself in something of a pickle; life upturned, confidence eroded, fears heightened.

And this is where you’ll shine.

At the heart of Buddhist Millionaireship is not a fancy economic model or religious strategy, but something much more innate. With all superficial crutches removed you will be forced to dig deep and mine something that can never be taken from you: your ‘invisible currencies’ (that’s what I call them in the book.)

Women Have ‘Invisible Currencies’ In Droves

From the fall out of Corona, you’ll remember how naturally beautiful you are without the makeup you might be unable to afford. You’ll rekindle gorgeous relationships you’d been too busy at work to tend; you’ll find an inner resourcefulness you may never know you had but circumstance forced you to find.

You see, it is through adversity that we find our worth. It will be in the fires following Corona where you will find the inner steel to forge a sword of victory.

Let Covid-19 be a catalyst to live the life you want, to bring your needs from the back burner to the front.

In the silence following Corona you’ll be able to hear a wonderful voice that can at last be fully heard. A voice from deep within.

And when you hear it, you’ll know: you’ll know that you’ve always had what it takes to recreate yourself anew. You’ll know that you’ll never have to return to mediocrity, unless, of course, you want to. You’ll know that you are ‘enough’ in each and every way.

And when this happens, you’ll know that you have become a Buddhist Millionaire and that life, thankfully, will never be the same again.

You’ll also discover that it is neither money nor men that make the world go round, but women!

Bio

Matt Jardine is an author, martial artist, entrepreneur, public speaker, podcaster, teacher, and the founder of Jardine Karate School. His previous books include Mo and Lucy – Choices,  The Hardest Path, inspired by his 88 Temple pilgrimage of Japan, and his latest release, How to be a Buddhist Millionaire – 9 practical steps to being happy in a materialistic world (out now – published by Short Books £9.99). 

Matt has practiced meditation and other Eastern arts for over 25 years and now lives between London and the Hajar mountains of Oman with his wife and Jack Russell.