You may be asking the question, what exactly is a Wealthy Woman on Purpose and how can you become one?

First, I will tell you that in coming up with this description, I was talking to women, serving them, and listening to what they needed. Becoming a wealthy woman on purpose came to life in my mind as a double entendre, a term or phrase that could have dual meanings.

In this instance, becoming a wealthy woman on purpose is deliberate in its duality. It is deliberate in looking at two sides of a coin because for so long, when it comes to women and wealth, it’s been “my way or the highway” of the male-dominated finance space. You either do it this way or prepare to not be considered, to not be served.

The first meaning is this: if you are a woman and you want to build wealth, it will have to be deliberate. It must be intentional. So, becoming a wealthy woman on purpose means that you are going to deliberately, intentionally and on purpose, take the action steps that help you become a wealthy woman.

Let's break that down a little bit.

Wealth building is no accident. Anyone who has acquired any degree of legacy and impact creating wealth did so deliberately.

So, let’s say that, even with the odds so steeply against you, you win the lottery. You would probably think, “Finally, I am wealthy now.” But are you? Perhaps you can get a big bonus at work, or you are the top salesperson or the highest achiever in your commission-based job and get big money. Sweet, right? Sure! But making money is one thing. Creating wealth is another. Earning mind-boggling commissions is fantastic but creating multiple income streams is true stability.

Now don’t get me wrong. I love a touch of serendipity as much as the next person but that can’t be the basis of my wealth strategy or yours. Get after it and leave nothing to chance. Specific, strategic actions are the building blocks of wealth creation.

The second meaning, which is dearest to my heart, is this: using your wealth to achieve your purpose. For women especially, becoming wealthy is often tightly woven with being on a mission of purpose—your purpose.

This definition of using your wealth to achieve your purpose is where a lot of the power lies. This is where you get the numbers to be worth the commitment it will take for you to create that wealthy life. By going deeper, you can find that place where both your head and your heart agree.

Before going further, let’s acknowledge that the world of financial services was not created with you in mind. Just by facing the world as a woman, you are at a disadvantage when it comes to creating wealth. But knowing what you’re up against is no reason not to proceed. That is the very reason you need to go a little bit deeper and a little bit further by becoming a wealthy woman who is “on purpose.”

I acknowledge that when I refer to women, I am painting in broad strokes. But if you face the world as female and the world sees you as female, they box you in and say, “Sit over there. This is how you are going to experience money.” That prescribed experience may be at odds with how you want to interact with money.

As women, we are often driven by different things than our male counterparts. We are moved to action by different criteria and metrics.

Consider that not many men think of money through the lens of violence against women. Well, I can tell you that money, the access to it, the ability to use it, is one of the deadliest weapons used to keep women in abusive relationships. Of course, the issue of abuse is much broader. But when financial oppression is a key ingredient to controlling women, it becomes imperative that women have the opportunity to build confidence and financial competence so they can make brave choices for themselves and their families.

You see, becoming a wealthy woman on purpose is acknowledging that,

1.   You have a purpose. You have a unique reason for being where you are, for doing what you are doing and for occupying this space you currently do in the world. And what happens is, once you can tap into that purpose, your success with money is certain. Because our drivers are powerful.

For example, a family may decide to maximize their education savings contribution for their daughter. The male contributor may be driven by the thought of accessing all the free grant money the government will add to their plan. The woman, however, also wants to access the grant money, but she is driven by the desire to give her little girl every educational advantage and opportunity she can to help her thrive. She, the mom, knows full well what it will take for her daughter to be seen, heard, and respected in a world that is all too ready to dismiss her.

Knowing your reason for implementing a plan will fuel the actions needed because you are passionately committed to doing them.

2.  Vision is magnetic. Michael Beckwith is credited with this quote that I love, “Pain pushes until vision pulls.” I relate it to my decision to work out and take care of my body. I counselled myself not to wait for the doctor to say, “get healthy or die” for me to pursue a healthier way of life. Being so averse to workouts and balanced meals was forgotten once I adopted a vision of my healthy life. The same can happen for your finances.

Your mortgage agent may not understand how you were able to save such a large down payment in such a short time, but you know. You saw your aging parents and your growing children that both needed you present. Your vision of a home large enough to comfortably house all the important people in your life in one space made it easy to save that money.

You get to decide how you want to experience wealth and how you want to interact with money. Do you want the pain of shame, anxiety, and stress? The pain of saying no to your children for things that you really would have wanted to give them? Do you want that pain to be what moves you to change?

Or do you want a vision? A vision of a life full of impact. Full of opportunities. Of freedom to do and to be.

Which do you prefer to be the thing that moves you? I invite you to choose vision. And the beauty about being a wealthy woman who is focused on purpose is that you get to do it your way!

While we all face the world in similar ways and have similar experiences,  our walk on this planet is unique. And the purpose that you have been placed here to embody is yours—no one else is going to do it.

That means that you need to become a wealthy woman on purpose your way. Your wealth journey will be unique to you. Do not try to adapt to a system that was never created for you.

Instead, create a system that is going to benefit and celebrate you—a system that embraces everything good and beautiful and challenging and purposeful and delightful about you. Understand the rules of the game, and then play to win.

Take, for example, Liz. She came to see me when she was having trouble making her large monthly mortgage payment. It wasn’t that she wasn’t earning enough. Having that lump sum available on the withdrawal date was a struggle. She couldn’t seem to keep the money around for long enough. So she decided to make weekly payments to her mortgage, totalling her monthly payment amount.

Great solution, right? Not so much, which she discovered when she got a delinquency notice.

I was able to share with her the rules of the mortgage payment game. Her weekly payments were considered extra! And while she was making all these weekly payments the bank was still looking for their large lump sum mortgage payment each month. She was deflated learning this, but we had a solution.

Instead of dealing with the bank and changing the terms of her mortgage, we simply created a separate account where she would pay her mortgage out of. Now, instead of making weekly deposits to the mortgage, she would make them to this new account. In doing so she removed the mortgage payments from her main activity account and was certain that the money would be available when it was time for the monthly payment. She created a system that celebrated how she wanted to manage her money but also met the requirements of her mortgage contract. She learned the rules and played to win!

Becoming wealthy on purpose provides many benefits.

1.   It permits you to create the life you want, the life you deserve, not by anyone else's standards but by the means that allow you to live your best life. 

2.  It gives you permission and the opportunity to fund change. I don’t know how many times I listen to people who say, oh, I just want enough money to get by. Nonsense. You know what? Let me tell it like it is. The change you want to see takes money. Don’t sit at home and complain about all the things society should be doing. Add some funding to that feeling of dissatisfaction and suddenly, you are seen and heard. Fund the creation of new and healthy ways of doing and being. Fund the change you want to see instead of sitting there and complaining about it. Oprah Winfrey’s Leadership Academy for Girls is a great example of how you can use your money to create change. She identified a challenge, looked into where and how she could make a difference, and she did it.

3.  It gives you permission to eliminate distractions. I often find that women who have wealth and no purpose attached to it are the ones who typically make the entertainment news or the “wow, did you see that!” Women with purposeless money are the biggest distractions, and they give wealth a bad name. On the flip side, the women in the world who use wealth purposefully, typically do not make the news. The Kardashians’ latest family drama drowns out Melinda Gates’ daily work in providing contraception to poor women around the world. And the Real Housewives get a steady viewership while the world may never hear about the work of Olajumoke Adenowo who is using her wealth and influence mentoring women and girls in becoming transformational leaders. They are quietly creating massive change and having a significant impact in their chosen fields because they are driven by purpose. No distractions, they just shut out the noise because they are working their wealth.

4.  And finally, it gives you permission to create wealth. And why do you need permission to create wealth? Because as women, we are often told that wealth is not for us. It is not the thing that we should be going after. The messaging is that we should be sacrificing to take care of everyone else, putting ourselves behind so others can shine. Incorporating purpose into your wealth journey gives you the freedom to create wealth confidently and without apology.

So, let’s celebrate your journey to becoming a wealthy woman on purpose. Permission granted.