Estimated reading time: 5 minutes
Intuitive coach Patrice Washington shares her refreshing views on the interconnected relationships of wealth, joy and gratitude.
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Every now and then, we come across a fresh voice — a new take on a familiar theme — and it has the power to shift our entire paradigm. Such was my response when I learned of the work of Patrice Washington and her intuitive approach to manifesting…be it wealth, joy or anything else.
Patrice is an award-winning author and podcaster, transformational speaker, hope-restoring coach, and conscious media personality. In 2020, SUCCESS Magazine named her one of 12 Inspiring Black Voices in Personal Development.
Patrice is committed to teaching a holistic approach to life while redefining the term “wealth” back to its original meaning, “wellbeing.” She encourages individuals to chase purpose, not money.
Patrice helps lift clients from cycles of confusion by guiding them to peel back from surface level questions. From this conscious mindset, she implements a non-judgmental space for understanding what they are really hiding that is holding them back from their dreams. Although Patrice does not teach the law of attraction, her divine downloads have guided her to teach the principles of manifesting through joy and gratitude.
In this Q&A, Patrice responds to a few questions I put forth to inspire our Best Self community. I hope you enjoy and find your own inspiration within her words!
—Bill Miles, Co-Founder, Best Self Magazine
BM: How did you become interested in the subject of wealth, and particularly, its relationship to wellbeing? Did you have your own money blocks that you had to take down?
PW: I love that I’m answering this question for Best Self Magazine, because there’s actually a subtitle in my book called “Become Your Best Self” that answers it for me.
When I first started in real estate, my husband and I earned seven-figures and lived what most would consider a “wealthy” lifestyle. However, we ended up losing everything in the 2008 housing market crash and literally went from wealthy to welfare. We made a deal that we would not make the same mistake again and even in the midst of rebuilding my own life, I chose to focus on personal finance where my main goal was to help people build financial wealth and avoid making the same mistake I did.
When I actually looked up the definition of “wealth”, my interest grew after learning that the twelfth-century definition of wealth is “the overall condition of wellbeing or happiness.” Once I made that connection, the idea to redefine wealth for myself and help others do the same was inevitable.
I had to remove the money block that wealth tied to your net worth and realized that true wealth is so much more than money or material things. A “wealthy life” is actually one of sustained wellbeing that requires a strong foundation of physical, mental, and emotional fitness. It requires you to become the strongest, healthiest and best version of yourself so you can sustain and enjoy everything you build.
BM: You speak of creating wealth by chasing purpose, not money; can you explain what wealth and purpose each mean to you and how one can beget the other?
PW: When I came up with the tagline, “Chase purpose, not money,” a few years ago, I’d already lived this way for a long time. Since I started my first business, I’ve always used my gifts to do purposeful work in some way because for me, purpose is not only the work you use your gifts to do, but how you can serve others.
When you’re fired up to work in your purpose or when you’re working for more than a paycheck, you bring a spirit of enthusiasm to everything you do.
You naturally strive to operate in excellence, you end up attracting people and opportunities that would have otherwise passed you by and you can live every day knowing you’re answering the calling on your life.
I believe that by “chasing purpose, not money”, we can attain true wealth which benefits our overall wellbeing. If we ignore or neglect our mental, physical and emotional wellbeing while chasing money, we may fill our bank account, but we’ll only end up suffering along the way. Why make the journey harder than it has to be, when we can purposefully achieve the wealth that we desire?
BM: What is an intuitive approach to wealth and finances — and how can one develop that?
PW: As a coach, I teach the women in my programs that work is about living your life’s purpose. To live your purpose, you have to be obedient to whatever your intuition or the higher power you serve directs you to do. Obedience doesn’t care about your feelings, your convenience, or your comfort because obedience isn’t about you, it’s about how you can live a life of fulfillment and be of service to other people.
Wealth and finance function the same way. By approaching wealth with the mindset that it’s not about you, but rather the people you serve, you will be more willing to invest in yourself, your health, and your personal finances in order to create the time and financial freedom needed to help those you’re obediently called to help.
BM: How do experiencing joy and gratitude play into the manifestation of abundance?
PW: Joy and gratitude give our spirit the rich nourishment required to thrive. When we experience joy and practice gratitude, we become strong enough to let go of suffering and stop nursing old wounds. We develop the capacity to heal quickly and move on and we become strong enough to accept and sustain the abundance and the enlarged territory that we hope to receive.
A positive affirmation I like to use is, “The joy in my heart releases an abundance of good in my life.”
I believe that in every situation there is either a blessing or a lesson, but when we are grateful for either, our gratitude attracts abundance. What we verbalize, we magnetize, in our life and I our money.
BM: Lastly, what would be your first line of advice for someone who struggles with creating financial stability in their life?
PW: Building wealth and financial stability has 100% nothing to do with money. It has 100% everything to do with improving your thoughts and beliefs around money first.
You may also enjoy Podcast: Jim Brown | True Abundance: One Man’s Search for (Mindful Money) Meaning
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