Reframing Relationship with Money

New Release: Vincent Fournier, a strategic advisor and trainer, launches the 4th season of his podcast “Boost Your Business” in partnership with Isarta. And for the 1st episode, he hosts Swiss speaker Christian Junod, who describes himself as a peacemaker in his relationship with money. Summary.

Christian Junod worked as a banker for UBS in Switzerland for over 20 years. However, in 2009, following the subprime crisis, he was laid off. This event provided him with the opportunity to embark on a new career path as a coach, focusing on a topic that was still largely taboo: the relationship with money.

It should be noted that Junod, who has become a successful speaker and author (“What Money Says About You” is his reference work), was greatly influenced by researcher Peter Koenig, a pioneer in this field. Koenig, an Englishman living in Zurich, realized that the issue of money was a hindrance for many executives… yet very few studies focused on this issue.

This theme resonates particularly with Christian Junod because he himself, in the past, suffered from the famous fear of not having enough money – despite earning a very good living as a banker. While he now acknowledges having a pacified relationship, he points out this common inner struggle experienced by many by quoting the French comedian Coluche:

“The rich are mean, the poor are kind, but everyone wants to become mean!”

This discomfort is explained in part by a strong cultural influence of the Catholic religion, in which being poor was seen as honorable, while the rich had to buy their place in heaven. For him, the fear of lacking money is largely the number one problem when it comes to money.

“I’ve even seen it in clients I had who were multi-millionaires,” he remarks. Proof that there is no direct link with people’s financial situation.

Achieving Inner Peace

According to Christian Junod, this fear is not actually related to money but to internal factors, often associated with family history. The problem is: there will never be enough money to fill this fear. In other words, seeking an external solution to an internal problem is futile!

Concrete illustration: when he started his own business, without income, Christian Junod did not feel particularly stressed, whereas he was anxious when he had comfortable income before!

“It is important to be able to identify your fears. Because when you act out of fear, you generally don’t make the right choices. It’s human to be afraid, but you have to work on it,” he explains.

According to him, the link between money and success or prosperity is often too quick. This is evidenced by the number of entrepreneurs who have success (financially) but whose success comes at the cost of health or family problems.

“We are marathoners in business. It is important to ensure continuity. Taking care of oneself is also taking care of one’s business,” he continues.

Christian Junod provides some tips to start pacifying your relationship with money. Firstly, he reminds us that we often give too much power to money… power it doesn’t have! This fantasized power can be positive (it will make me free, secure me…) as well as negative (it creates injustice, generates conflicts…). However, for him, money is simply a tool created to facilitate transactions and establish a standard of value. Nothing more.

Also, he reminds us that what truly makes a difference in life is the quality of the relationships maintained. With oneself, clients, employees, suppliers, partners, etc.

“That’s why I advocate for a vision where the company is there to honor the trust of its clients and seek above all mutual satisfaction,” he concludes.

Watch the full episode: