It’s the 4th of July and you’ll be out and lovin’ on America and hot dogs here shortly, but before you do take a few seconds and read this awesome essay (?) I stumbled upon while looking for pics the other day for Rockstar Finance…
I usually don’t read the descriptions of them when scanning Flickr, but for some reason I decided to on this one and was pleasantly surprised when I did :) Maybe you’ll enjoy it too?
It’s called “The Penny” from a guy named Louis, and looks to be one entry of the 365 days he was snapping pics. Who knew Flickr could be so inspirational!
“The Penny”
I saw this penny, created in 1977, two years before I was born and the year my wife was born. It made me think about what kind of journey its been on, how many hands had held it, etc. It was a fascinating thought. It had probably been with people that had much and with people that had very little.
One thing I realized however is that no one owns that penny. It’s had several users, but no owner, including myself. Someday, it will move on again. Currency is meant to be active, to move and that is a secret to wealth.
So often we think about acquiring money, so that we can survive, pay the bills, get out of debt, etc. but I could give this penny away and set it in motion and more would come. I’ve seen this happen several times and it is an awesome process! One of my favorite verses is: “Give and it will come back to you, pressed down, shaken together and running over” (Luke 6:38).I have been practicing that by faith and wow, its been an incredible experience!
It’s just a penny? no, not at all. I know people who can take a penny and make millions. I’ve known people who have done it. A penny is something, it’s a start. What I do with it is what determines what I receive as a result of that action.
The journey of a thousand miles begins with one single step. The journey to prosperity and financial freedom starts with one penny.
Most people see a penny and think about lack. I look at this penny and think about prosperity. My hope is that this penny will be a blessing to someone else and add much to another life. :)
Happy birthday, America! Here’s to (Financial) Independence!
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Refreshing words (and photo) by Louis – a piano teacher, photographer, writer, and life coach according to Flickr. He can also be found on his blogs @ louismcollins.blogspot.com and amomentinfashion.blogspot.com. Thanks for sharing it, man!
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Just to add a little Canadian twist to the Penny.
Nothing lasts forever. Step outside your piggy bank and grow, enjoy life and learn. Sooner or later the end eventually comes.
RIP Canuck Penny.
Here here. I second that thought. Our picture would have to feature the Cdn nickel.
HAH! Good one.
I always bend over to pick up a found penny. I call them pennies from Heaven and consider myself to be richer after I pick it up than before.
“pennies from Heaven” – i like that :) I found one of those just this morning on my walk!
Happy Independence day! Here’s to financial independence and to think it can start with a single penny!
When I find pennies on the sidewalk I get very excited. I have a mantra any time I come across found money… “I AM A MONEY MAGNET!”
Yeah you are! Shake that money maker!
(see what I did there?)
And remember the “Thank you thank you thank you!” that goes with it.
Thanks to the Millionaire Mind for that gem.
I do it too, and it does seem to work. The more I thank the universe for bringing wealth and happiness to my life, the more it seems to give me.
Truth.
What a great find. I love how the best of what we read often comes to us unexpectedly, especially online.
This post makes me think of the book The Richest Man In Babylon. No matter how little we start with, we can build prosperity for ourselves and those we hold dear.
Thanks for sharing Louis’s thought. Happy 4th of July!
Great book! One of my top 3 favorites :) (the other two being Millionaire Next Door and I Will Teach You To Be Rich by Ramit)
In the life of that penny I wonder how many times it may have turned into one of those ass pennies you taught me about on Rockstar…….
http://rockstarfinance.com/ass-pennies-video/
Haha.. I hope that stays with you for the rest of your life as it has mine too ;)
Oh it has, and I wonder how long it will take for my pennies to reach your pockets :)
I’m pretty sure they already have – you should seen these pennies in my pocket right now, yuck! :)
Just the other day I saw someone that was cleaning out an apartment pick up two or three pennies and throw them away. And this guy is always crying about money, and he is dead broke.
Go figure. About the pennies journey, for paper money there is a site that you can track bills. I have seen my bills go all over the worlds.
WheresGeorge.com right? I have a few floating around too – killer idea :)
What’s even more interesting about your broke friend is that he TOOK THE TIME TO PICK THEM UP! That’s usually the biggest obstacle and reason people just keep on walking – they “can’t be bothered” to bend over and spend a few seconds to grab ’em. But to do that, and THEN walk them over to the trash? What a crazy! Haha… pure definition of wasting both time and money ;)
My view of my husband’s on a penny: Penny wise and pound foolish.
My view on a penny: A penny saved is a penny earned
What I want to know from others on the internet for free: A penny for your thoughts
Thanks for the dough! ;-)
haha…
just so you know though, a penny saved is actually TWO pennies earned!
http://micawberprinciple.com/the-power-of-thrift-a-penny-saved-is-537/
That gave me chills! A great way to look at a penny and at the world! Thanks for sharing!
that’s how you know something’s good :) I got chills too!
What a great post. My mom’s name is Penny, so I think pennies are special. :) This piece of writing reminds me that we all start somewhere and everything has worth.
Awwww, love that.
That’s a really cool take. I think there’s some danger in the “letting money flow through my hands” approach, especially if I let that mean “I will give all my spare money to the good folks at Amazon and get rich later”. But the opposite extreme, when I’m so worried about losing my money that I hoard it in a savings account or ultra-low-risk investments, can also slow our progress towards financial independence.
Great post! I love the essay. Agreed that we don’t own any money. We may have it but we still pass it on. Currency is a long way process. When I was child, I really enjoyed saving up my pennies. I put it in the piggy bank and with just saving up penny, I was able to help my family to have something to eat during the day when we had nothing. I was so grateful at that moment.
Oh wow, good for you! That’s damn proof right there that pennies add up, jeez.
Love this post. A penny is indeed a start. Thank you for breaking it down so simply.
Never looked at pennies in this way. Great reflection!
Great one J. Money! We should be thankful how our pennies help us. I really hate it when some people didn’t even recognize the value of the penny. We should always remember this,1 million wouldn’t be complete if it’s lacking one penny.
Hah! There you go… hadn’t thought about it that way before :)
Pick up one penny…then another…and another…and soon I’ll have a dollar. Easy money!
Hopefully you’ll find a dime or quarter in there too to help speed up to that dollar ;)