The thing with money management is that most of the messages are about saving for a rainy day or retirement. You know, long-term planning to ensure that your money works for you. Yet, not many financial planners talk to their clients about financial confidence. And not about confidence in the stock market or the financial sector; I mean confidence in yourself.

And if you want the perfect role model of a public display of confidence, despite what many other people may say about the situation, you need look no further than President Trump.I am not advocating the Trump politics of calling out fake news and other such behaviour. I am really thinking that his strategy of self-belief, not giving up, and being flexible enough to anything that came up, even if that flexibility was considered weird or even offensive.Now I am not suggesting that you go around and offend your financial advisor or tell the bank manager that your credit card statement is fake news. What I am suggesting is that all of us, including yours truly, consider the confidence required to improve how our money is feeling.So how can we all take the best of self-confidence to improve our financial situation?This is where Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP) comes in. NLP is the study of modelling successful behaviour to get the outcome that you want. And there are really five guiding principles to consider, offered by Michael Carroll, British-based NLP coach. 

1. KNOW YOUR OUTCOMEStep one in the five principles for success is to really know what it is that you want to achieve or what you want your outcome to be. Recognising the outcome as the ‘start’ place, you give it your hundred per cent.It’s important to put your attention on what you want and stay focused on the goal, as it’s often the high-level focus on the goal that gets you through the challenges you face as you progress on the journey. As Henry Ford famously said: ‘Obstacles are only obstacles when you lose sight of your goals.’ 

2. TAKE ACTIONIn everyday behaviour, such as goal setting, this translates to taking action right now, no matter how small, and then continuing to take those actions towards your goal.Action and more action is the route to success. So take immediate action when you set your goal, no matter how small that action may be. It gets you committed and gets the ball rolling. 

3. USE YOUR SENSES WITH PRECISIONMany people are oblivious to what is going on around them, and are therefore missing important feedback regarding their goals.This means they are walking around with their eyes and ears closed to the signals in their immediate environment and are unaware of their gut feeling which is giving unconscious feedback on what is being absorbed in the other senses.

4. HAVE BEHAVIOURAL FLEXIBILITYSo what does this mean? Many people set a goal and think there may be only one route to achieve that goal, or maybe don’t recognise when it’s time to take a different approach or modify the goal. 

5. OPERATE FROM A PHYSIOLOGY AND PSYCHOLOGY OF EXCELLENCEHow you stand, how you breathe and how you carry yourself creates a physiology and psychology of excellence. States of excellence are communicated in your body and voice tone as well as the words you use.Adornments such as the clothes you wear also communicate powerful messages. Have you ever heard someone say: “There’s something about that man/woman that makes them different and stand out.” Such sayings are usually attributed to posture and walk.So to borrow from The Donald, no matter the current state of your finances, you have to 100% believe that your money is feeling great, and more than likely you will attract greatness. 

Dennise Williams, MBA (Banking & Finance) is a journalist, TV producer, certified practitioner NLP coach, and has 15 years’ experience in the financial services industry. You can see more of her work at www.youtube.com/financiallyfocused nd contact her at financiallyfocusedtv@gmail.com.