John Milton asks the question, “which do you prefer, bondage with ease, or strenuous liberty?” What does he mean? No, this isn´t anything sexual – promise. This is about creating an amazing life that is abundant and prosperous, free and fulfilling.

How do you do that? Most people will take bondage with ease. The majority of the population will remain in the 97% that is struggling and broke, that loves playing the victim and blames everybody else for their financial woes.

Will you be one of the 3% that attains financial freedom? Will you take strenuous liberty? What do you need to do to be one of the 3%.

The first thing you must do is decide unequivocally that you will be in the 3%. No ifs, ands, or buts about it. It´s not open to discussion, it´s not dependent on the economy, the boss or the government. Financial freedom is yours, period.

Once you know that in every cell and fibre of your being, then you can move ahead to acquire the financial freedom. Do you know how much financial freedom is for you? How will you benefit other people with your prosperity? How old will you be? You need to need about this as financial freedom doesn´t happen by accident. It happens by choice, decision and action.

How strenuous does your liberty need to be? That all depends on you. Some refuse to be coached or learn from others so they learn the hard and long way. Others model successful people and sidestep many of the challenges and delays.

I´m always looking at how people are creating their wealth and learning from them. It´s much easier than pioneering the way yourself.

Today, abundance abounds. Mentors that have become very successful financially are everywhere. Pick someone or a number of people who resonate with you and do what they did.

To be free financially is a gift everyone of us is offered in the 21st century. This is unprecedented. Never before can anyone, anywhere, at any age, regardless of gender, become financially free. However, it´s possible today. Is liberty in your near future?

“Dirty money”. “Rich bitch”. “Filthy lucre”. These are all negative expressions that we associate with money. I just received an email from someone who remembered her mother telling her to wash her hands after touching money because it was full of germs. She later hated working in a grocery store because she had to touch all that dirty money.

Did you hear negative sayings about money as you were growing up? Do you find yourself still saying some of them today? Perhaps you feel some very negative emotions around money such as fear, panic, terror, anger, resentment, judgment, criticism, hatred, or bitterness.

What if money was considered “a gift from God”, something sacred or spiritual? How would you feel about money then?

Money is an energy just like every other material thing on this planet. Scientists will tell you that everything, including the chair you are sitting on, the desk you work at, the food you eat and the money you touch, is simply energy in form. However, mankind has attached various programs or beliefs to money which affects our view of it.

It´s like me thinking about a zucchini and tomato dish I have prepared for years. When I was 18 years old in the south of France, I got food poisoning on this dish I had prepared for friends. Deathly ill in a foreign country, the memories are still very poignant, although it was three decades ago. So what is my program around zucchini and tomatoes? I know it can´t be left out in the heat for any length of time or I could become deathly ill. That reminder comes up every single time I make that dish.

What does cooking have to do with money? Lots. Exactly the same way that I have the files around that particular vegetable dish, we all have files around money. You actually have files around every single thought, smell, person, idea, etc. but the file on money is particularly large and especially emotional.

How can you know what is in your file on money? Begin to notice things in your life relative to money. Are you scrimping constantly? Do you hate opening the bills when they arrive? Is there an emotion of fear or panic every time you open your bank account? Is your money thrown into a drawer, bottom of your purse or scrunched up in your pocket? Do you say things like, “there´s never enough money”? How many times a day do you say, “we can´t afford that”?

Money is not dirty or something to be despised. It´s not unspiritual or greedy to have lots of money. And it certainly isn´t a tool of the Devil as many people have been led to believe by some religious leaders. Yes, the Bible has lots to say about money and the wise use of it. Having been raised on the scripture that “having sustenance and covering, you should be content with these things”, I can now see that this means that I should be full of gratitude for everything in my life, including the basics of food, clothing and shelter. That does not mean that´s all I should settle for or be happy with, as I was once taught.

Not at all! Everything in the Universe is overflowing and in abundance. God does not scrimp or hold back. That is a man-made program of fear, scarcity and poverty.

Are you open to seeing money as something useful, important, sacred, spiritual and actually mandatory in your lifetime? Yes, mandatory. If you are going to do the work you are here to do to make a difference in the world and contribute to a better home for everyone, then having money will allow you to do so much more.

Would you agree that as a human being living in a situation where you have the capacity and capability to read this newsletter; that privilege comes with the responsibility to use your God-given talents, resources, gifts and energy in service and to be contributing?

Then money is mandatory and is part of the provisions the Universe has made to help humans create a better Earth. Right now 1% of the population earns 96% of the money in the world. That´s not right. But what are the other 99% of the population doing about that? If you´re in the 99% that I´m talking about, then ask yourself that question. Are you complaining? Have you resigned yourself to the fact that you aren´t rich? Or are you ignoring it and become complacent about your situation as if it was out of your hands?

Let me assure you. There is NO Divine Power that is keeping you poor, tying your hands behind your back so you can´t change your financial situation or endorsing your financial plight. God, the Devil, the government, your employer, your clients, your business partner or marriage mate are NOT creating your financial situation. You are.

Bob Proctor, who supports a strong spiritual viewpoint on life in a most practical way, talks about creating a new economy. That´s a personal economy. This is between you and the Universe. No matter how bad things become over the next few years, and they very well will get worse before they get better, you have the opportunity to create financial success in your life.

Money is sacred. It is a valuable tool from the Universe that today, more than ever, is being given to every single human being on the planet. Never before in the history of the world has anyone, in any part of the globe, had the chance to make money and lots of it like we have today. This is not about social status, what part of the world you live in or what race, gender or age you are. Today, anyone and everyone can create financial freedom for themselves and you have a responsibility to do just that.

There is work to be done. Today, millions of children are dying a slow painful death of malnutrition because of a misappropriation of food and funds. Millions of children are going to bed cold, alone and frightened. Preventable diseases are not being cured because of the greed of the pharmaceutical companies. Women are being violently raped in unnecessary wars. This is the reality of today´s world.

It´s easy to feel overwhelmed by it all. It´s a typical response to shut our eyes and turn our heads. Of course no one wants to see or know about these horrors. But we can do something. Right now, today, we can determine that we will change our own financial situation, become financially free so that we can make a bigger difference. Time is of the essence. There aren´t years or decades to do the work we have come to do.

Make your commitment to wealth and abundance. Take a vow of prosperity, rather than poverty. Decide today that you will be part of the solution, not a victim of the economy. Let go of the beliefs that are holding you back.

Money is sacred, a vital tool the Universe has provided us. Let´s go use it to change the world. Now that excites me! What about you?

(This was published as my Jan Janzen Ministries monthly newsletter for April 2009. If you wish to receive my newsletter by email, please visit www.janjanzenministries.com to subscribe. I also offer you a free report on Does God Want You to Be Wealthy?)

One of my clients told me that she loved the idea of choosing where she was going to live, envisioning exactly what kind of life she would create and then she would feel worried that she´d end up with nothing like she envisioned. Perhaps you feel that way too? Why bother getting all excited about living on the lake, surrounded by trees and beauty, in the tranquility and serenity when you don´t really believe you´ll get there?

That is very common programming. I think many of our parents bought that program at the post-depression bargain store and handed it out freely to every one of their kids! The belief that you can´t have what you want is a popular lie. And it is a lie!

So let´s release this belief in every cell of your body that you can´t have what you want, that you can´t have your cake and eat it too, that you can´t manifest exactly what you want and that it is foolish or stupid to believe that you can create your amazing life.

The other day I was editing the ebook I´m offering on this blog: 10 Secrets to Living the Life of Your Dreams as it had been originally written in 2006 and updated in 2007. I burst out laughing when I read the paragraph about wanting to spend six months writing my next book while spending six months in Mexico, I wanted a silver jag, to spend time at a Bali retreat and diamond earrings. Who wrote her second book in Mexico while spending six months there? Moi! I just found out that my partner actually has a Jag that a friend uses but Greg really owns. It´s red but right now I think that´s pretty funny. We have an unexpected trip in the works to Thailand this year and we will include Bali on the adventure. So I just need to manifest the diamond earrings. And I also realize that I really don´t want to OWN the Jag as I travel too much to be tied down to a vehicle – but I would like to have access to one.

Just by having written down what I wanted, things began to manifest. Have you written down what you want? Do you talk about what you want? I highly recommend you do.

People forget very easily that they are creating every moment of every day. You have created the life you currently have. Guaranteed. Nobody else did. Not the government, your parents, the economy, your marriage mate or your kids. YOU did. So understand that if you created THIS life you are currently living, you can create THAT life. Seriously!

So let´s release at a DNA and cellular level that your dreams are too big, too grandiose, too expensive, too difficult to accomplish. Let´s let go of the programming and belief that life needs to be a struggle and that you can´t create a life of abundance, prosperity, ease, joy, beauty and grace.

And if you want to live on the lake for part of the year, in the desert for 3 months, travel for 6 months or do anything else, put it into your script for life. You can have it all. You do need to ask for it all though to get it all. It´s like if you don´t ask for the mashed potatoes instead of the French fries at the restaurant, you won´t get what you want.

This is a fundamental law of the Universe. Ask and you shall receive. You do have to ask and you do need to allow yourself to receive. If you need some help on the Law of Allowing, subscribe to my newsletter at www.janjanzen.com and you will receive a free report on the Law of Allowing. However, I am going to encourage you to go for the gusto!

Greg and I frequently speak about the magical, divine life we desire, far beyond what either of us is living right now and that´s pretty darn amazing! We talk about the countries and cities we will visit. We see ourselves having breakfasts at little street cafes throughout Europe, we talk about how long we want to spend in Machu Pichu, we discuss our plans for living in Sedona this year as if they are all real and possible. And of course, they are!

Grab hold of those dreams and make them reality. Something is going to be your reality, mark my words. What do you want that something to be? You decide! Then go for it! And have fun creating it.