Money and happiness expert Ken Honda is a best-selling self-development author in Japan. His financial expertise comes from owning and managing several businesses. In the latter half, he shared how to create and generate personal wealth and happiness through deeper self-honesty and understanding. “Unhappy money,” he said, is when spending or receiving is associated with resentment, misery, or anger, whereas when you appreciate your money going in and out, you feel happy. An attitude of being in a cycle of abundance can be cultivated, he suggested, if you adopt a sense of gratitude (by saying thank-you for instance) as you make purchases or receive funds.

For compulsive spenders, they lose interest in the objects or services right after they’re purchased, he reported, and interestingly they often marry compulsive moneymakers. Compulsive savers or stockpilers feel security in holding onto their bank accounts, and thus aren’t able to enjoy the happiness that purchases can bring, he added. Comparing American and Japanese cultures, Honda pointed out that in the US there is a “more is better” attitude, while in Japan people strive for a more Zen style, seeking to be satisfied with what they already have.

Listen to the show here: https://www.coasttocoastam.com/show/2019/06/20