Scarcity is a zero-sum game. Find out why cultivating abundance thinking will make the things you want fall into your lap.

I had a very healthy conversation with my colleague JJ Virgin recently.  She’s in the same business space as myself. She’s a totally unstoppable force. JJ’s one of the most successful in our field, and a total inspiration. Do you think she held back with me? Do you think she was “scarce” in our conversation? Not even a little. We chatted about strategies for making the NYT best seller list, how to produce a PBS special, and online products that may be of value.  She could not have been more forthcoming.  When I heard that she had a mastermind for health professionals, I joined. Why?  Because I know the kind of doctors she’s going to attract just from that conversation we had.

No matter why you may be thinking scarcity, it’s ok. You can break that pattern.

I love Dan Sullivan’s theory on this topic. Dan is founder and president of The Strategic Coach Inc. He’s a visionary for sure, and has spent more than 35 years as a highly regarded consultant and strategic planner to entrepreneurial giants. His insights are unparalleled, and he’s helped many business leaders take their lives to the next level. If I were to describe Dan, I would call him “The Manhattan Monk.” He’s super savvy, in the know, and totally cool, yet has this deep-seated wisdom and depth that I imagine can only come from the big guy upstairs.

Dan has an Abundance Model he calls “The Abundance Spiral Progression.” The basic premise is about surrounding yourself with abundance relationships while eliminating scarcity ones.

Here’s what I learned from Dan:

Scarcity is a zero sum game. You deplete yourself when you go into scarcity thinking. In fact, you have a hugely negative impact on your finances and lifespan. When you think scarce, you believe that one person’s gain comes from another person’s loss, that this is just not how the universe works. It’s ridiculous and can hurt you.

Scarcity thinking is a set of emotions that actually form a “system.” Think of this system as a spiral, bringing about this cascade of emotions:

Depletion, unfairness, indignation, guilt, and my all-time fave … envy.

The bottom line is that as a scarcity thinker, you resent the successes and advantages of others.  And envy? ENVY IS THE EMOTION THAT KILLS ENERGY. In fact, Dan asserts, every one of these emotions KILLS ENERGY. Scarcity thinking will squash you like a bug.

Make a conscious effort to be aware and stop the scarcity pattern immediately. As you can see, the emotions it brings about are not attractive and will not draw the people into your life who are going to help you reach your purpose. The scarcity pattern will actually push whatever you want away from you — exactly the opposite of what you were trying to achieve in the first place, right?

Here’s what thinking abundance brings about:

Gratitude, creativity, cooperation, ingenuity and opportunity.

When you pull these elements into your life, everything you want will start falling from the sky. Really. Remember another point that Dan teaches his entrepreneurs: “The universe wants you to be energetic, or it wants its parts back.” Are you feeling what I’m saying here? Don’t pull anything or anyone into your life that’s going to drain your battery. That includes emotions.

One last tip from Dan:

“Don’t hold onto pain. Learn from the past. Do not re-write pain. Your brain holds onto pain until you give it a lesson. And if you didn’t get the lesson, your brain won’t let you move forward until you finally get it.”

So, if you are thinking in the scarcity system, learn the lesson and say … "next!"

 Keep thinking big and living bold!

-Dr. Kellyann