10 reasons making money feels so hard (and how to change that!)

There are so many parts of life where success came naturally to me. Money was not one of them. 😑

I never made more than $35,000 a year working for someone else. Even in a management role, even when I had direct reports making more than I did. Frustrated doesn’t even begin to cover it.

But it wasn’t just about the numbers. My money block felt uniquely personal, like I was up against some kind of invisible force keeping me stuck.

And the truth is, I was.

We all have different programming. Some people move naturally with money, and it just flows for them. That was not my story. I had just about everything mis-wired that you could possibly mis-wire around money. At the deepest level, I believed (subconsciously) that making money meant I was a bad person.

No wonder it felt impossible. And shitty.

I don’t teach on things that came easy for me, because, frankly, I don’t know how. I go deep on the things I had to fight for because those took real learning and growth. And for me, money required unlearning, re-learning, and rewiring everything before I could step into overflow—or help others do the same.

And listen—I'm not saying I’ve got it all figured out now. I'm not tripping over suitcases of cash on my way to the bathroom. 😂 I’m still growing, I still have income goals I'm working toward. But I’ve gone from feeling stuck at $35k to creating a six-figure income on my terms, and that took a lot of learning and growth. Now, I want to share that with you.

Money doesn’t equal happiness, but it does buy options, freedom, and ease. And I want that for every ambitious woman willing to put in the work.

So, here are some things I've learned about money. 

It’s not the same recycled mindset fluff you see everywhere; it’s real, practical principles. People aren’t talking about these, or at least, not that I’m hearing, and not nearly enough. Because if you took just these principles and worked with them until they became your set point, your life—and your income—would shift massively.

Money isn’t random—it follows principles

If money isn’t showing up the way you want, one or more of these principles is in play. These are the real reasons women stay stuck in cycles of hard work without financial overflow. Ready? 

1. Money isn’t separate—it moves like everything else

• We treat money like it’s some rare, special thing—like it’s holy or untouchable. But when you put money on a pedestal, it confuses you. It feels like there’s some secret code you have to crack to get it. Money isn’t unique, it’s just part of the flow of life.
• Money moves the same way opportunities, relationships, and success do. You don’t force those things into place, you align with them, and they show up.
• Think about when clients, jobs, or the right people have come into your life effortlessly. That wasn’t just luck, it was alignment. Money works the same way.
• The more you grip and chase, the more elusive it becomes—just like when you try too hard in friendships, dating, or anything else. But when you trust, show up in your value, and move with purpose, money flows as a natural result.

2. Money is a byproduct—not the goal

• Money is the result, not the target. When you stop making it the main thing and start focusing on offering the unique value you're here to bring, money moves toward you naturally and effortlessly.
• When you focus on creating real value for real people, money follows as a natural side effect.
• The people who create real financial overflow aren’t hustling for money, they’re creating value and the money is following them. Not the other way around. 

3. You only get paid for the value you own

• Money comes when you get clear on what you bring to the table and own that contribution. The more you own the value you bring, the more others recognize and pay for it.
• There is value in how you think, the perspective you bring, and the transformation(s) you create.

• The people making the most aren’t frantically trying to prove their worth—to themselves, or anyone else. 

• When you move with confidence and own your contribution, money starts moving toward you.

4. Hard work doesn’t create money—value does

• Money doesn't respond to effort. 
• Just because something takes effort doesn’t mean it’s valuable. Just because something takes a lot of time, doesn't mean it's valuable. Just because something takes less time (or effort), doesn't mean it's not. 
• Some of the hardest-working people make the least money because effort alone does not create value, or wealth.
• The highest-paid people aren’t paid for how hard they work, they’re paid for the results they create and the value they offer.

5. Relying entirely on hard work as a strategy to earn money is a limited and exhausting model

• Hard work can and does generate money, but it will always have a low ceiling.

• If effort alone created wealth, the hardest-working people would be the richest. They’re not.

• Trading time and energy for money means there’s always a limit—you only have so many hours in a day and only so much to give.

• The highest earners don’t make money by working more hours or pushing harder—they make money by leveraging their value.

6. More money won’t fix the way you feel right now

• If life doesn’t feel the way you want it to right now, it’s not because you need more money. It’s because of the internal patterns controlling how you think, feel, and operate every day.

• If you’re constantly overwhelmed and maxed out—physically, mentally, or emotionally—chasing money isn’t solving your problems, it’s contributing to them. You’re relying on ways of working, earning and living that aren’t sustainable.

• Will more money make things easier? Only if you know how to let things feel easier. If you’re still wired for stress, hustle, and proving yourself (and you are, if that's what you're doing), you’ll keep recreating those same feelings, no matter how much you make.

• First, deal with the overwhelm, the stress, and the belief that more money will magically fix everything.

• Then, when money shows up, it can actually feel the way you thought it would.

7. You can’t make more until your brain believes it’s safe

• You might want more money, but until your brain believes that having more is safe, you’ll block it without realizing it.
• More money usually means more space, more freedom, and more ease. But if your brain is wired to believe you have to stay busy, prove yourself, or struggle for money, a spacious, easy life won’t feel “safe” to your brain.
• Your brain craves what’s familiar. Familiar = safe. 
  • More time? Unsafe. You’ll add more work. 
  • More money? Unsafe. You’ll spend it, or find a way to make things feel “normal” again—whatever your “normal” pattern is. 
• It’s not that you don’t want more, it’s that your brain doesn’t trust it, so it's doing everything it can to keep you from it. 
• Overflow happens when you teach your brain that it’s safe to have more; Safe to have extra time, money, and ease without guilt or the urge to hustle it all away. You do that through transformational identity work.

8. Money is hard to get if you think it is

• If you believe money is hard to get, your brain will make sure it stays that way.
• If you believe money only comes through hard work and sacrifice, you’ll keep running in circles, chasing hard work and sacrifice.
• Money isn’t inaccessible; it just doesn’t necessarily show up when you’re stuck chasing what you think creates it, like struggling, suffering, or overworking.
• Money flows when you stop chasing and start trusting—trusting the value you offer, believing it’s enough, and putting yourself in position to receive it.

9. Receiving is a skill that gets easier with practice—and when you own your value

• Receiving doesn’t feel hard because you don’t want more, it feels hard because:
  a.) It’s a new skill, and new skills take practice.
  b.) You’re still questioning your value.
• Receiving is a skill. It gets easier with practice—the more you let yourself have without guilt or over-explaining, the more normal it feels. It’s normal for it to feel like a stretch at first.
• When you doubt the value you bring, receiving feels uncomfortable. It feels like you’re asking for too much or doing something wrong.
• When you own your value, receiving more money feels like an obvious consequence of showing up. 
• Making more money happens when receiving feels natural—like an obvious, easy exchange for the value you know you bring.

10. Money works for you the way you're programmed for it to work

• Money will never surpass how you see yourself—your identity. You can’t outhustle, outwork, or out-strategize your internal settings.

• When you believe money is hard, you don’t just think it, you live it. You subconsciously create those conditions by:

  • Undercharging
  • Anxiously overdelivering
  • Hesitating to take bigger opportunities
  • Staying in familiar patterns that feel normal (AKA safe), even though they aren't effective 

• You’ll stay stuck in patterns where money feels hard, because your identity—your internal programming—is of someone for whom money is hard.

• People who make more money don’t objectively “deserve” it more, they just believe they do. They’re certain of the value they offer, so they show up and expect to be paid.

• Money shows up in line with how you’re programmed to receive it. If you want to change how you receive it, you have to change how you’re programmed. Period.

Which landed for you most? What shifted for you? DM me @alirpcier on IG—I'd love to hear! 

Things changed for me when I stopped chasing money and started becoming the version of myself who naturally made more. Also, it's a helluva lot more fun that way, just sayin'. 😅

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