Hi Reader

In my last email, I shared about a survey reporting that 61% of people fear being broke more than they fear death.

What about you Reader, which one is your biggest fear?

Were you as shocked as I was to read it?

When I first came across this number, I could hardly believe it.

We value money and material possession more than we value our own life.

But then I thought, it explains why we don't put our health first. Because health is life.

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I am not one of the 61%.

Mostly because I have been broke so embarrassingly often in my life, that I know it's really not as scary as it seems.

In fact, I have found the greatest riches in times of financial struggles.

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I found new capacities

In 2012, I had packed my life in France and boarded on a plane to Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, with 12 euros to my name.

I had to borrow money to rent my first place. I gave it back with my first paycheck from the University of Alberta.

I was broke. But I made the biggest move of my life.

In this move, I found out more about who I was than I ever knew.

I found out about what I was capable of.

Leaving everyone that you know and love comes at a cost. I most definitely went through the loneliest time of my life.
And at the time I had the most unhealthy ways to cope with that.
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But on the upside, being away from people who saw me grow up liberated me from labels that were put on me.
It helped me break limiting beliefs I had about myself.

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I found meaning, faith and restored my health

Fast forward to 2017 when I was at the lowest point of my professional life.

I had lost a career in Research after dedicating 8 years to studying Biology, when most of my friends enjoyed their youth, and after having moved to a different continent by myself for an incredible opportunity for my post-doc.

Research was all I knew to do. And no longer an option for me.

I lost a sense of identity, a sense of self, and I felt completely useless.

For an insecure achiever like me, having my work taken away was the absolute worst possible scenario.

And because I was waiting for my Canadian permanent resident card, I was also unable to earn money.

I was lucky that Ryan and I had decided to build a life together.

But this situation was crushing.

I was broke, again.

And it humbled me. In the depth of this pit, I sought meaning.

What would bring my life meaning? What was I meant to be, to do?

I got clear on my core values. I found faith. And I found a way back to life.

In this stressful 6 months period, I made investments in my health that are still paying dividends today.

My permanent card finally got in the mail in December 2017.

I took a job in a bakery a fellow French artisan had started, selling the absolute best croissant in town, while trying to find my way as an entrepreneur.

Not exactly the prestigious research position, not exactly the same paycheck either.

But I was a new person.

My positive attitude going to work and my decision to learn from each and every interaction with a customer, have opened doors for me that brought me where I am today.

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I found happiness, fulfillment and flow

Then Ryan and I attempted something wild in 2018. We got rid of everything we had and went on an adventure.

There I was, with nothing to my name again.

We left for BC where we spent one month on the Trans Canada Trail, with the sole goal to walk as far as we could.

We ended up by the Okanagan lake in July. Forest fires were raging.
We stayed with friends at first, then found jobs and settled there for 6 months.

We had absolutely nothing, beside a tent and the content of our backpacks.

And I was intensely happy and fulfilled for the first time,... maybe ever.

I read so much, journaled so much, fasted, meditated, walked, drew, researched, planned, and became.

This is when I came across the idea of scheduling your day based on energy and focus instead of time. I applied the method I share in Better Day Blueprint.
I never went back.

I found my flow.

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I found purpose and generosity, took time for relationships

The last time I was out of money was at the beginning of the pandemic.
I was just starting my business, my first daughter was born just before everything shut down in Canada and Ryan had been laid off.

I took things very slowly on purpose since my first daughter was born, because we wanted to raise her.

It was very important for me to give her what a child most needs in the first years of their lives: their mother's attention.

So for 3 years I only worked a few hours per week, when she was asleep.

It was hard for our family to live on one steady income.

But I knew that what I built with my daughter in her first 3 years will have a lifetime impact for her.

We had to give up on many things that money could afford, and this came with some sacrifice.

But we have found purpose and are now richer for the investment in our relationships with each other.

In that time I have also become committed to better money management.

I took to heart the principle of being faithful with little, learned to budget and started giving away 10% of my income.

To this day I still do. I give away 10 to 20% of every dollar I make.

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I have been broke many times.

And each time I have found true riches:
meaning, health, faith, peace, flow, happiness, purpose, relationships, generosity.

I believe that it's not success if you're unfulfilled.
It's not success if you run yourself to the ground.
It's not success if you're constantly anxious.
It's not success if your spouse is disconnected and your kids barely talk to you.

And I can't help but notice that many of us are kept from life's true riches because of the fear of being broke, because of the pressure to make money.

I am not suggesting that you give everything away, and I would honestly not wish anyone to go through so many periods of scarcity.

Now that I have children, I would not want to go broke again.

But I also know that if it were to happen, I may find treasures and I will bounce back.

My sense of security is not in a paycheck.

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If you are with the 61% of people more scared to run out of money than to run out of life,

I want to share with you that sometimes, the greatest treasures hide in the place you're most afraid to find yourself.

What do you think? Hit reply and share your thoughts.

Jihane

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