“Why It’s Not Spiritual To Do Your Work For Free!” (Healers, take note!)

The other day, a woman in the healing arts posted a provocative series of thoughts on my FaceBook page about how she handles the money in her business.

Here are her points (as I understood them):

• She works with clients every day, making on average about $240/hour.
• She believes her business is growing organically because she gives without expecting.
• She feels distortion around money arises when people believe they must receive payment from the person they give to.
• When you release who money comes from and how much money will show up, you relinquish such matters to your higher source.
• The more she gives, the more she receives.
• Even if she eats a case due to non-payment, she will never turn someone away who needs treatment and can’t afford it.
• A belief in the need to be paid is also a belief in not enough.
• She poses this dilemma:
  Which one is more damaging: to give without expecting and be blessed unexpectedly or to be in ego and charge regardless of whether or not you hurt someone financially because they genuinely need service and they genuinely need healing and they genuinely need help but really cannot afford it. This is her personal opinion and she believes this is the reason she is financially blessed.

I was so inspired and overwhelmed by the rush of thoughts her opinions posed that I knew I wanted to write about it – writing about things helps me figure out what I actually think!

As you explore each point, perhaps make notes about what feelings come forth for you.

• She works with clients every day, making on average about $240/hour.

This healer is being paid for her work. This is the first thing she notes. I say, ‘Congratulations!’ She is busy with many clients and paid a healthy hourly rate. Unless I saw her business model and time structure, I wouldn’t know if she could charge more or offer her services in other ways.

Regardless, the first hurdle for many healers is to get PAID for their work, to acknowledge its value. Are you being paid?

• She believes her business is growing organically because she gives without expecting.

Releasing expectation is the action of a spiritual master. To set a goal and then release the attachment to its outcome allows you to be in the moment, resourceful and present. I think it is useful in all of life’s situations.

However, “giving” is not exactly the same as “exchanging.” A gift is given and that is the transaction. Ideally, the person receiving the gift is able to receive it, perhaps even say “thank you.” Business is about sharing a service in return for payment. There is an expectation that a person will pay for services rendered – unless those services are given as a gift, which is called “charity.”

So, when in your business are you conducting “exchange” and when are you conducting “charity?” How do you differentiate? This healer differentiate based upon need. Those who can pay do and those who can’t don’t. It all works out for her – and in this way, I think she has found a perfect system (for her business). It is certainly the system I would recommend: require payment from those who can afford to pay and help those in need as you are able.

The challenge I see ahead? She said her business is “growing organically.” Which means – her business is growing. She may not be able to help everyone who needs the help as her business grows. This is where setting up a charitable arm to your business as well as training healers in your modality to pick up the overflow can help you grow more gently, without becoming overwhelmed or feeling guilty that you are leaving clients behind who genuinely need and desire your services.

• She feels distortion around money arises when people believe they must receive payment from the person they give to.

In my business, we do require payment from the person we render service to. The ‘expectation’ is in the requirement. We offer products, programs and services for various prices. The client pays us first and then the service is rendered. No payment, no service. However, I don’t expect payment from anyone I give something to. A gift is a gift.

I have two charities I give to regularly and 5% percent of our product sales goes to fund schools forhttp://villageempowerment.org. Occasionally, I will give services at no charge when the person’s desire is expressed and authentic.

The challenge we sometimes encounter is that the request for ‘free’ from our offices is massive on a daily basis. And often, it isn’t even based upon ‘need.’ People just ask to see if they can get something for free before paying. Other prospective clients often can’t ask someone to pay them for their own services (why they are struggling financially) but have no trouble asking me to do work for them for free. This is where I set a boundary.

• When you release who money comes from and how much money will show up, you relinquish such matters to your higher source.

Now, this is where it gets juicy. You can see the high consciousness of this healer operating in this profound statement. Again, the releasing of expectation. Also, relinquishing to your higher source so you can, well, relax and breathe. It is a Zen statement of being present.

I would imagine this healer shows up fully, in gratitude, and simply does her work as service. She knows most will pay and so those that can’t will also be served. This is how a healthy family or community works. The strong help the weak so that the weak can become strong and join the strong! This is very different from enabling.

In an enabling dynamic, the ‘weak’ is never required to heal, just take due to ‘need.’ And this brings up a whole other discussion about who determines true need vs. false need. And how does the committed working person feel about the person who is ‘poor’ but has made no attempt to go to school, better their conditions, and improve (provided that ‘poor’ person had access to such opportunities)?

I am also frustrated when someone gets on their high horse about ‘pulling one’s self up by the bootstraps.’ 1 in 8 people on this planet live in slums due to political greed and mismanagement and many more do not have access to proper nutrition, health care, or education. Is it a child’s fault where they are born? So I want to be clear that there are people who have opportunities and choose not to exercise them and other people who would give their heart and soul for a chance at a better life.

On another note, it’s much easier to release who money comes from and how much money will show up when we address the practical, material aspects of business:

• You are an expert at what you do
• You are passionate and believe in what you do
• You know your target audience
• You have a clearly defined specialty (“niche”) in business
• You know what problems you solve for your clients
• You have a signature system to deliver your specialty
• You have effective marketing materials with a ‘core message’
• You consistently follow up with your prospects and clients
• You have an effective, finely-tuned sales process to attract clients, rather than having to chase them down
• You charge for your work in keeping with the transformational outcomes you create for your clients
• You have a business model that is clearly defined, written out, acted upon and profitable
• You are a leader in your field and sought after in the marketplace
• You are a recognizable brand

Now, our healer in this story either instinctively knew these aspects of business or learned them. Usually understanding the mechanics of business, linked with a service-consciousness and non-attachment as well as pro-active action and enthusiasm, is the difference between success and failure.

You require BOTH to truly flourish:

Spiritual Side of Business: Provide loving service to others openly and compassionately without expectation.
Practical Side of Business: Effective, Consistent Marketing and Productivity

• The more she gives, the more she receives.

This is this healer’s experience. To say “the more you give, the more you receive” is true – if you include yourself as someone you give to! It is my observation that many people do not know how to give to themselves. They are not yet skilled at practicing self-love and self-care.

I happen to believe that self-love and self-care are the hinge points to true lasting success. If you are overflowing with self-love and treat yourself with care, that you have an abundance to give.

Sadly, many ‘givers’ I know (and I am recovering ‘over giver’) are actually co-dependent enabling martyrs, giving from a place of lack, need, obligation, or ‘giving to get’ unconsciously. This is very different from feeling so blessed that you are overflowing with abundance to share. You know the difference. Are you giving as much to yourself as you give to others? If not, why not? If you burn out, who will take your place.

Remember, no one can ever love you as much as you can love yourself, they can only mirror the love you give yourself.

• Even if she eats a case due to non-payment, she will never turn someone away who needs treatment and can’t afford it.

This is laudable and kind. The challenge I see, which I stated earlier, is handling the need as her business grows. As long as she plans for growth, everyone can be served.

• A belief in the need to be paid is also a belief in not enough.

In business, you aren’t in business if you are not paid. Requiring (‘needing’) payment doesn’t mean a belief in not enough. I think it means you respect yourself enough to not give your work away for free. This healer is not giving her work away for free in all instances – only as need dictates.

I do grasp a deeper meaning here, however. ‘Needing to be paid’ has a desperate quality to it. And we all run from desperation.

When you TRUST there is enough and operate from that place of faith and serenity, you are magnetic to others and more is given.

A belief in not enough comes from thinking that people are your source when YOU are your source. Your capacity to develop your gifts, create a business, share those gifts and grow that business – that’s your true wealth. It’s inside you.

• She poses this dilemma:
  Which one is more damaging: to give without expecting and be blessed unexpectedly or to be in ego and charge regardless of whether or not you hurt someone financially because they genuinely need service and they genuinely need healing and they genuinely need help but really cannot afford it? This is her personal opinion and she believes this is the reason she is financially blessed.

My only quibble with this dilemma is the idea that you ‘hurt someone financially’ if you turn them away if they can’t pay. I think we hurt others financially only by lying, cheating and stealing.

However, choosing to give your services away for free is a personal choice and you need to know when and how it is appropriate. This healer has a clear demarcation for giving away her services.

Do you? Do you always make everyone pay? Do you give it all away for free? Or are you somewhere in the middle?

Oh, so much to ponder! In the end, I think if your decision makes you feel good – as it clearly does for this healer – then it is a good decision. If your choices leave you tired, resentful or in lack, than something requires shifting in your awareness.

Remember, today, as always, it’s YOUR Purpose – in YOUR hands – nobody else’s!

Carry on courageous healers and other service-oriented entrepreneurs, the best is yet to come!
Baeth
P.S. If you’d like support in moving through these money revelations, please consider joining us at Gifted 2012! You will move MUCH FASTER with group support. See you there! Just a few tickets remain!