What does wealth look and feel like to you?

Welcome to The Empowered Edupreneur Podcast. My name is Michelle Smit, and I am an ex-teacher turned online business coach for Edupreneurs, the owner of Digiteach and a six-figure entrepreneur. I am in love with empowering educators. Just like you to create freedom filled online businesses and lives they love.

If you are looking to up level your skills, your finances, your mindset, and change the trajectory of your life as an educator in business, then you are in the right place. Think of this podcast as your weekly dose of business and mindset development to help unlock the infinite potential within you. To play bigger with your life and go after your dreams. 

We are going to have so much fun together. So thank you so much for pushing play today. Now let's dive in. 

Hello. Hello. It's good to be chatting to you today. I hope you're having an amazing day before I dive into this episode and what we're going to be jamming on about. Just wanted to remind you that I'm hosting my free and live upcoming Quadruple Your Teaching Income Through Launching Courses, Masterclass, it is quite a mouthful, but I'm going to be sharing my four step method for launching and selling any offer that you want and filling it with dreamy students so that you can increase your income and impact and, create the freedom you desire without having to teach a gazillion hours a day.

This is going to be on the 30th of May. It's going to be live. There are a limited number of spots in the virtual room, 500 spots allowed. And we've already got over that amount of people who have signed up, but not everyone shows up. So, if you want to be involved, then please click the link wherever you see it under this episode.

Or on my Instagrizzle Instagram and sign up. It'll probably be over 60 minutes, but it's going to be very impactful, inspiring. Give you a lot of key information that is going to help you get your course out into the world and impacting people and making money. So I hope to see you there. 

And yeah, today, let's see, what am I going to chat to you about today? And I think the main thing is what does wealth look like to you? And that's a question that I just want to ask you in general is, what does wealth look like to you? Because we have been brought up in a society indoctrinated so much on what, wealth looks like, what money looks like, what being rich looks like.

And we are constantly being bombarded by these messages of what wealth looks like and a lot of it is material things, we just live in such a consumerist world and I find it very difficult living in this world and still being grounded into really knowing what wealth looks like for you. And truly is for you without being swayed or coerced or pressured by what everyone else thinks it looks like and what it should be and things like that.

And the reason I'm talking about this is because I watched this really good Instagram reel about a lady, she's got an online business. She makes great money, but she lives on a farm with like cows and stuff. And she gets a lot of hate in her comments. Like you can't be rich, la la la la la, you live on a farm with cows, or whatever.

And she just made this whole reel about that exact thing. And how rich looks different on me versus on you and wealth looks different for me versus for you. And it really just spoke to me and I made an Instagram post about it or a story or whatever and people resonated a lot with that. So it's top of mind at the moment and I thought, let me talk about it here. 

And I had a situation which was about two years ago where a close friend in my life at that time wanted me to do something that I wasn't comfortable doing financially. And I won't go into the details, but she asked me to do something with, a bunch of money of mine and put it in something that just didn't really make sense to me.

It wasn't a smart decision. Like it didn't feel aligned at all. It felt like a red flag. And I was like, no, I just basically drew my boundary and I was like, no, I don't want to do that. And there was just no way I was going to go and spend, I think it was like 2000 euros or so on this thing. Because it just was like, no. I don't feel comfortable doing that.

And that ended up triggering this whole thing in her. And it ended up being this argument and things like that. And it turned out to be very mean and vicious. And a lot of it was like if your business is doing so well, then how come you can't do this? And basically insinuating that I'm lying about making money. 

And kind of just being like you can't be making money. If you're not going to do this, or if you're not wanting to do this, or if you can't do this. It was a very shocking experience to say the least. And I look back on that and I'm like appalled, more appalled that I actually had to have that experience and that it was a friend of mine as well.

It was very, very traumatic at the time. I would have loved to go back in time and change how I responded and, had been a bit more assertive. But I had to learn my lesson the hard way and it took a while for me to realize that that simply wasn't a friend and if a friend is going to be judging you and attacking you about your money stuff, then it's just not really someone you want to be hanging out with, right?

Anyways, that friendship has unfortunately come to an end and a close. Which was not easy, but it was right thing for me. And so this whole topic has just been brought up again. And I've been thinking about it a lot and I really think we should talk about it because knowing what wealth is to you is so important and really knowing it and being grounded in it.

Just knowing yourself and knowing what is right to you that makes you happy. Is a huge thing in the world we live in, especially when you're building your business and things like that. There's going to be so many times in life where you are going to be coerced into spending money on things that you don't want to spend money on actually.

And you're going to be told that this is going to make you happy. And this is going to do this. And you're going to feel this. And rich people do this and rich people do that. And rich people wear designer brands. And if you're wealthy, then you got to buy the most expensive car. And if you're wealthy, then you got to live in a massive house.

If you're wealthy, then you've got to wear the certain type of clothing that makes you look rich. And it's this whole keeping up with the Joneses thing. And I just look at it and I think, are we in some kind of simulation that this is just absolute bullshit? Because I don't know about you, but when I go and I buy something, I'm happy.

It depends on the thing. But a lot of the time I'm happy for a day I'm like, ooh, look at my pretty dress for a day. And then I'm like, cool over it. Back to exactly how I felt. Nothing's changed. And you might not resonate with that. You might get a lot of joy from clothes and that's amazing.

But it's just like an example, right? I personally have never been into designer brands. I actually don't think they look nice at all. Like Gucci bags, Louis Vuitton bags. Like I personally don't like what they look like. I don't like it. And I don't care about shoes and bags.

Like I just don't care about things like that. Honestly, I've got one bag at the moment and I use it all the time and I'm very happy with that. I feel like the less bags and shoes I have, the better for myself. I don't care for cars and gadgets. They're nice. I don't find a lot of joy in them. Obviously, I'd like to drive a safe, nice car, but I don't need the fanciest car.

It just literally doesn't do anything for me. Yeah, with a lot of things like that, I just don't really see the point for myself because I just know that it doesn't light me up. And I don't see it as a good use of my money. Like the money that I make, I want to put in things that make me happy and feel aligned to me.

And I'm a straight up hippie, actually. I'm a hippie at heart. I don't think that'll ever change. And the things that make me happy are different things. I would love to spend my money on retreats and experiences and travel. I love going to music festivals and dancing and this and that.

And I look back five years ago and I didn't have much money before I started my business. I pretty much started Digiteach when I was broke and, just desperate to make a change in my life and I'm still that person. I just have more money now. But I'm not a different person. I'm not suddenly going to be like, oh, I want to go get designer brand stuff and I want to go do this and that. 

Because that's just not who I am and just because I have more money doesn't mean that's what I'm going to go and spend my money on because I know who I am and I know what makes me happy and I think that's the message of this podcast. Is being grounded in who you are and what makes you happy and light you up. And being able to ignore everyone else Is no easy feat. Because people are going to project their own shit onto you all the time. Their own money stories. Their own money beliefs. Their own money blocks, which is what happened with my friend.

That was a projection of her own stuff onto me. It had nothing to do with me. It had everything to do with her and her relationship with money. And people are going to do that with you all the time. And you're going to also be bombarded with advertisements about beauty and these perfect bodies and, all these fancy things. And all these material things.

And you're going to be sold to 24 seven all the time in the world we live in. And it is not easy to stay grounded sometimes. And so I thought this was just a reminder, just ask yourself that question. What does wealth feel like to me? What does wealth look like to me in detail? I get specific about it.

If wealth is organic farm foods and eating straight up organic, delicious food, and you only eat that and it's expensive or premium price, whatever. And living in like a little tiny what are those tiny houses in the middle of nowhere if that is what wealth looks like to you.

That is amazing, good for you. If wealth looks like working 25 hours a week, earning $5,000 a month and being completely happy at that level and not really needing more because you're living happily the way you're living and you're only working 25 hours a week. That is amazing.

That's awesome. If wealth looks like owning a few houses, owning a yacht, buying Louis Vuitton bags, shopping every weekend. Then that's amazing. If that makes you happy, and it really makes you happy, and you get a lot of joy and pride from your stuff, when you look at it, you feel happy, then damn, revel in it.

That is amazing. For me, I really believe wealth is actually being happy. It is having a regulated nervous system. It's sleeping well at night. It's being loved by the people around you. It's actually having deep connections with people, meaningful connections. It's having the freedom to choose how you spend your day.

It's being able to go on amazing holidays. It's being able to live your purpose on this planet. So what you came here to do and be on a soul level is to live that and be that and do work that is that. And so being in alignment with your work. For me, that is just so luxurious and just so good.

For me, wealth is freedom. And my biggest value is freedom. Everything I do in Digiteach stems from that value of freedom. I want to have freedom in my life. I want to choose who I work with, when I work, how I work. And I want to help people create freedom. That is like pretty much why I do the work that I do.

It is based on freedom and freedom is wealth to me. And I live a life of freedom now. I literally am my own boss. I do whatever I want with my time. I work with whoever I want. I charge whatever I want. I teach whatever I want. I go on holiday when I want. I take days off when I want. I pretty much do whatever I want all the time and that's freeing.

That is freedom for me. Like I get to go home to my family. I went home now for seven weeks. I just can go travel wherever I want and keep working. And that's freedom for me. That is what wealth is to me. And I am living that life and I don't really equate it to necessarily how much is in the bank account or what my house looks like or what my car looks like. 

I just, don't see that as a signpost of real wealth. Like so many people like driving really expensive cars or whatever. Lamborghinis or Aston Martins, absolutely beautiful cars. Don't get me wrong, but most of them are driving them on credit and on these balloon payments and are in some serious debt.

A lot of people are overspending and are just in debt. So they might have that fancy car, but they haven't even paid for it. Or they've got this really fancy, beautiful home, which I can totally appreciate. There's nothing wrong with having that. But if you are living beyond your means, for me, that isn't wealth.

For me, that's a rabbit hole that just keeps you trapped into having to work, work, work, pay off debt, pay off debt, work, pay off debt. And it's a really deep hole to pull yourself out of. I am debt free. I use my credit card and I pay it off every single month. I leverage my credit card. I just feel that's the way I want to spend my money.

I don't want to go and get myself in those kinds of situations for me. That doesn't feel abundant. It feels very constricting and limiting. And it's against what the world tells me all the time. And it's often where I get a bit of, oh, it's like a feeling of shame. It's like, oh, I'm not driving the nicest car.

Or I'm not living in the biggest city. Most beautiful house am I wealthy? And it's just that feeling of shame that I think a lot of people will experience just by nature of what the world has told them wealth looks like. And so I just wanted to speak today about how wealth is different for me.

That is different for you. And keep that in mind. Don't judge people on how they spend their money. Don't project your own money stories onto other people. Everyone gets to spend their money the way they want to spend their money. And some of the richest people in this world are the ones that look sometimes the poorest, not necessarily the poorest.

There's so many like billionaires that literally have two pairs of shorts and a couple of t shirts and they're all the same color and they're driving like an average down to earth car. They're so not flashy at all. And the funny thing is, they're millionaires or billionaires because they've used their money wisely.

They haven't put their money in stupid stuff. They've lightly invested their money. They're likely invested in their skills and that's what's led them to becoming super rich. Not from spending money on, designer stuff that just doesn't create more wealth ultimately. So yeah, I felt like that needed to be spoken about.

And if you've ever felt a bit of shame or whatever it is around how you are living and how you're choosing to live. With the money you've got and questioned, maybe I should have the nicer phone or the nicer, maybe my clothes aren't nice enough or whatever it may be.

As long as you're happy. Just check in with yourself and make sure that whatever you are doing with your money makes you happy, really happy, not happy for a second, but truly lights your soul on fire for me. I love investing in courses, programs, and developing myself. I spend most of my money investing in my skills.

I'm talking like most of it and travel. And that just really lights my soul on fire. I get a kick and an ongoing kick from expanding myself. Making myself wiser, more skilled more knowledgeable, better at business. A lot of my money goes into business investments, mentorship, coaches, courses, because I just get a lot of joy from becoming a badass at my business, that makes me really happy.

I get really energized from it and it keeps me energized. So that works for me. And I know what works for me and it might seem super boring to others and gross, like that doesn't make any sense. But it works for me and you just got to find out what works for you and you just got to own it, own it.

Own however you want to spend your money, revel in it. Don't let people project their stuff onto you. Be aware when people are projecting their stuff onto you, it's happening all the time. All the time. And just be grounded in who you are, what you want, what wealthy looks like to you. Get specific about it. And then live it, live in alignment live your truth, live how you want to live, and if anyone around you, whether they're friends or family judge you, criticize you, whatever, make you feel bad. 

You've got to question whether they are really your friend or whether you want to even spend time with them because ain't nobody got time for that. Your energy is your most precious currency. Don't spend it with people who are going to lower your frequency and make you feel crap because that's just not an option.

Not an option. All right, so that is my chat for you today. I hope this hit home. If you enjoyed it, let me know send me a message on Instagram. Tell me if it resonated with you. You can send me an email. Hopefully it has helped in some way. 

And another reminder to sign up for my upcoming live masterclass, which is where I share how you can launch any course or group program, any kind of scalable offer online and fill it with dreamy aligned students who can't wait to work with you and make a lot more money than you ever thought was possible.

So I'm excited to share it with you and I hope to see you there. Have a wonderful week and chat soon.

Bye.

 Thank you so much for listening to today's episode. I have some exciting news for those of you who are wanting to learn more about how you can launch a course or group program online and fill it with dreamy students. I'm hosting my free Quadruple Your Teaching Income Through Launching Courses Masterclass soon.

I'm going to share my four-step launch success system that will help you launch any offer online and fill it immediately. It is a life changing system that has helped me make hundreds of thousands of dollars online, as well as change the lives of many of my students. 

This masterclass is free. It's going to be live. There's just one session and there are limited spots in the virtual room. Click the link below to join us. 

I appreciate you so much. And I can't wait to connect with you in the next episode. In the meantime, go create a business and life you love.