It boggles many a mind. We live in an abundant universe—really, we do. Look at the grains of sand on the beaches, the leaves on the trees, and the new ideas that keep showing up long past the days when you thought there couldn’t possibly be any more unique thoughts for the human brain to bring forward, inventions to be unveiled, or scientific discoveries to be made.

And yet, few people allow true abundance in their own lives. Most people struggle, living paycheck to paycheck, and never create enough money, joy, love, creativity, fun—the list goes on.

I’ve learned firsthand what creates abundance—and, more importantly, what stops it. It is commonly said that money is the easiest thing to create, and once I got the hang of it, I agreed. But before you’re able to understand the resonance and clarity required to allow unlimited wealth, it feels as if your consciousness is dotted with landmines that might blow up your dreams at any moment.

But remember: nothing happens by accident. If there is a reality, there is a reason for that reality, and a way to change it. Check out these top abundance killers—and look closely to see whether your dreams of abundance are being slowly snuffed out by one or more of them:

1.  Lack of imagination

The number one reason people don’t create abundance has nothing to do with their job, their education, their deservability, or their age. It has to do with being satisfied (or not) with the status quo. If you want to create abundance, real abundance, you have to begin to imagine your life as abundant. You have to dream it. You have to wholeheartedly desire it. And most of all, you have to imagine it.

Emotions are the causative factor in your reality. Whether you believe it or not, it’s true. So, the more you sit around lamenting your current financial situation, the more of the current situation you will attract. (They don’t call it the “law of attraction” for nothing!)

How do you overcome a lack of imagination?

You make consciously creating a conscious priority. Set a time every single day to imagine a delightfully abundant and prosperous life. Think of this creation time as something you have to do daily—like eating, taking a shower, or brushing your teeth. You can even do it while you’re eating, taking a shower, or brushing your teeth. It may actually be more important than any of those things—after all. If you’re willing to commit this time, it can change the entire course of your life—provided you let it.

When you do sit down to spend time creating, imagine! Imagine yourself with more money than you could spend, more love than you’ve ever thought possible, more joy than you’ve ever felt, and more freedom and fun than you’d ever imagined. Enjoy this time and really feel the emotions that would be there if this were your life.

Then, stretch it! Imagine enough money to buy a small country, so much joy that everyone stares (and smiles) at your never-ending grin, more love than you’ve ever heard of, and so much fun you jump out of bed every day at the first glimmer of consciousness.

The idea behind stretching your imagination is to become familiar with it so that when you move back to your “real” dream, it doesn’t seem like such a stretch any more. It’s literally s-t-r-e-t-c-h-i-n-g your ability to create.

But for some, the abundance killer is…

2. Too much fear

Money (or more specifically, the lack of money) can bring up all kinds of fears. Even if you have money now, you could still fear that the source of that money might dry up and you could become destitute, homeless, helpless, and powerless. It can be terrifying—if you let it.

You don’t have to be a prisoner of your fear. You can learn to work with your fear and no, I didn’t say you could eliminate it. Fear is a useful emotion. Fear tells you when you are in danger. Fear also points to your beliefs. Don’t fear fear. Deal with your fear so that you can move beyond it. How? Here’s one way:

a.  Feel it. Yeah, unfortunately covering up your fear with “positive thoughts” won’t get rid of it. To release it you have to feel it. How? Simply face your worst fear. Maybe it’s becoming homeless. Maybe it’s losing your home. Maybe it’s losing all your savings. Whatever it is, imagine it happening and feel the fear fully. You can set a time limit (you can even set a timer), but allow yourself to sink into the depths of whatever despair is haunting you.

b.  Let it go. Once you’ve imagined the worst-case scenario, imagine flowing any remaining fear into a bag, or a box, or a bubble. Call in your higher self, and give the fear to him or her. Your higher self will transform your fear into light-filled energy and hand it back to you. Open the bag, or box, or bubble, and breathe in the light and know that this will help you create more beautiful abundance.

c.  Examine it for hidden beliefs. Oftentimes our fears can be helpful clues to hidden subconscious beliefs.  For instance, the fears mentioned above might stem from beliefs such as:

I can’t create unlimited abundance.

I’m not in control over what happens to me financially.

Money is difficult to come by.

Money is necessary to survive.

I need to know where money is coming from in order to receive it.

And of course, change the beliefs!

d.  The next time fear creeps in… You don’t have to go through this whole exercise. Simply change your thought:

I am a powerful reality creator and I am creating unlimited abundance in my world.

e.  If fear is still present, read this blog post: In Case of Financial Emergency—Read This!

3.  Too little happiness

What does happiness have to do with creating abundance? Everything. Don’t wait until you create abundance to be happy. Abundance won’t make you happy anyway. Be happy now. The vibration of joy will draw abundance to you (if your beliefs are in alignment) and you’ll have a much better time before and after the money arrives!

4.  Those dang beliefs

I know, I know, you’re sick and tired of hearing about beliefs.  Sorry dude. Beliefs create your reality. Period. If you get good at one thing in your life, get good at discovering your beliefs. It’s a skill, it’s an art, but it’s necessary if you really want to create abundance.

Where to start? Sign up to receive the Top 25 Limiting Money Beliefs (And how to change them.)

5.  Talkin’ the talk but not walkin’ the walk

Lots of people want to create their own reality. They buy the books, take the seminars, profess to do the work—but they don’t actually do the work—not consistently, anyway. The work is simple: it’s the seven steps of The Map. But so many don’t go back to make certain they are writing out their desires, changing beliefs, flowing energy, taking action, looking for signs, staying in joy, and asking for help. Talking won’t change your world—doing the work will.  Do you want your life to change? Do. The. Work. Your reality never lies. If it hasn’t changed, you haven’t done the work.

These tips are great to keep in mind when your goal is to increase your ability to consciously create abundance, but humans are complex, and money is a heavily weighted issue in our society.

After I wrote The Map – To Our Responsive Universe, Where Dreams Really Do Come True, I thought the book on abundance would be just a small, add-on book that would look at the specifics of creating money and other forms of abundance.

Boy, was I surprised when I started delving into the issues and beliefs humans have around money and receiving. The Map to Abundance is nearly twice as long as The Map! If you are serious about creating abundance in your life, work with The Map to Abundance. It will teach you how to test for the beliefs that keep you mired in scarcity and struggle, how to change them, and how to allow more money, love, freedom, joy, and success into your life.

Wishing you unlimited abundance in every way!

Much love,