If there is one issue that seems to be a sticking point in doing business more consciously, it’s making money.

How can you claim to be ethical in business if you’re making a huge amount of money at the expense of others!?

That’s the common critique right? Well, I think it’s such a central issue to the growth of Conscious Business that I’ve decided to open the money can, and see how the worms are doing.

This blog is particularly written for you if…

• You are committed to doing good in the world through business, but you either struggle to make money, or you have ethical reservations about doing so.

But whatever your relationship to money, I hope you’re stimulated…

What’s the right way to think about money?

Read the liberal press these days, and your likely to find more and more vehement articles about the damage Wall Street and the corporations are doing to our world.

Read the conservative press, and you’ll probably find just as much vehemence, but instead about the suffocation that socialist policies are having on the growth of business and the economy.

Who’s right?

Well, I’m going to totally duck that rather loaded question, and try and answer a different one instead.

How can we define money so that it helps us to consciously evolve the business world, rather than dismantle it?

Because unless you’re going to try and extract yourself somehow from current society, you’re going to have to deal with money – it’s here to stay! And there are some pretty contradictory beliefs around money. In my opinion, some of them are pretty toxic!

Here’s one I grew up with…

Money is basically evil, and the root of most of the world’s problems. We need to abolish money and capitalism and just love each other more.

Nice sentiment, and one that’s served me and my bank balance very well for many years.

Money is not evil, it’s energy

OK, so time to put my cards on the table. Here’s my view…

The purpose of business is not to maximize profit. And neither is it to limit your potential profiteering because of some idea about money being the tool of the corrupt.

So how do we reconcile this?

For me, business is basically about idealism. It’s about recognizing that we have dreams of a different world, and using business as the most powerful vehicle around for manifesting those dreams.

A business is about building something that doesn’t yet exist, that you believe is needed, and that you care about.

Think of it like a car. Your starting from here, and you want to drive down the road to manifesting your visions of what is possible.

And money? Money is the thing that feeds that vehicle. It’s the energy. Or more specifically in this metaphor, the fuel.

The purpose of a car is not to have fuel, it’s to move from one place to another. But it better have some fuel otherwise it’s not going to get very far! A car without fuel is pretty close to totally and utterly useless.

Likewise, a business without money is a pretty impotent business. You’re not going to be able to build your dreams very far without money. But the purpose of the vehicle is not to have lots of fuel, it’s to make a journey.

Are you fueling your vehicle generously?

So, how’s your fuel source doing? Flowing abundantly or dribbling in fits and starts?

There’s no doubt that making money and doing good often make uneasy bedfellows. It’s a sticky topic with huge implications.

But putting aside that inconvenient fact for a second, I want to offer you an inquiry exercise that can help you to…

• Explore your own beliefs around money
• Check in on your own ethics in business
• Have a bit of fun

Ideally you would print out these questions and grab 10 minutes to sit quietly and write out your responses in a notebook. But cracking open a blank page on your word processor will work fine too.

OK, here you go, complete these sentences…

1. As I check in with my own integrity, the reason I genuinely believe my work makes the world a better place is…
2. If I had more fuel flowing into my work vehicle (more money), the things I would be able to do that I can’t do right now are…
3. If I think of a monthly earning figure that would feel fair and rewarding to me, it would be…
4. If I imagine earning triple that figure every month, I notice I feel…
5. Noticing those feelings, and as I read back over my response to question 1, I now notice…
6. One big belief I have about money is…
7. As I notice I have that belief I feel…
8. If there was a different way I’d love to see money instead, it would be…

Want to dive into this topic further?

There is a LOT of stuff out there on this topic of course. A few things I’d personally recommend…

• Curious to hear a high level and human description of economics that promotes Conscious Business? Check out this Fred Kofman podcast from Sounds True.
• Want really practical resources on money and the ethics of earning it? Take a look at the work of Brent Kessel.
• Interested in a spiritual and philosophical exploration of the ethics of money and dharma? Check out Integral theorist Ken Wilber’s Right Bucks article.

And as always, I’m interested to hear what’s helped you with your relationship to money. And what happened for you when you did the exercise?

Leave your comments below…