January 18, 2024 • 30 mins
Have you ever felt that your wallet is more than just a place to store cash, but it's actually a reflection of your relationship with money?
Ken Honda, bestselling author, brings to us an enriching conversation about his principle called 'Happy Money'—which is a transformative concept that can turn every financial transaction into a moment of joy.
"Happy Money is just a refection of your good relationship with money."
-Ken Honda
We discuss how reshaping your relationship with money has the potential to improve not just your bank accounts, but also your work, family dynamics, and overall well-being.
You will learn how you can transform your financial narrative through the power of gratitude, with a simple yet profound practice that can usher in abundance and success. Ken share's a captivating tale of a single mother who harnessed appreciation to revolutionize her career to reveal how these principles of thankfulness, including ho'oponopono and arigato amplified success in her personal and professional life.
My conversation with Ken culminates in exploring what he learnt from his mentor the Japanese Warren Buffett' Wahei Takeda about how even smallest acts of kindness can create ripples of positivity in your financial and personal spheres.
Join us for an episode brimming with heartfelt stories and actionable insights that will inspire you to embrace a more contented, respectful, and prosperous approach to your money and life.
CONTACT -Ken Honda
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
In this episode I'm speaking to bestselling author
Ken Honda.
Ken has written several books,but his latest book is called
Happy Money and the Japanese Artof Making Peace with your Money
.
So if you're looking to createa life of abundance and change a
relationship with your money,then this is a must.
Listen Hello and welcome to theJames Grant from Podcast Super
(00:25):
Soul Model series, where I helppeople tune and tap in to their
natural state of well-being.
This week we have Ken Honda.
Ken teaches people how tocreate a life of abundance by
changing their relationship withmoney.
Ken is a bestselling financeand personal development author
in Japan with incredibly largebook sales, and now he's shown
(00:47):
his work with theEnglish-speaking readers across
the world, particularly in theUSA and Europe, and his latest
book is called Happy Money and Ihave to say I have read this
book and it is an absolute lifechanger.
I would just like to welcome tothis week's show Ken Honda.
Speaker 2 (01:05):
Thank you.
Thank you, james, for abeautiful introduction, and I
was so impressed that you couldspeak better Japanese than I do.
Speaker 1 (01:14):
No, not at all, ken.
I was just talking to Ken justoff camera beforehand.
I'd been modeling in Japan fora couple of years and I picked
up a little bit of Japanese, butnot enough to be completely
proud of, but enough to beappreciative of the culture and
how beautiful Japan is and whatwonderful wisdom that gets
(01:34):
passed down.
And I, having read Ken's bookwith Happy Money, which I all
encourage you to do, there is abeautiful way that some of the
Japanese culture manages to passdown, which I think Ken is a
wonderful ambassador to sharewith the world.
So, ken, can you just tell us alittle bit about how you got
the idea for this beautiful bookthat you've written, called
(01:56):
Happy Money?
Speaker 2 (01:58):
So Happy Money is the book that I wrote four years
ago.
Happy Money is money that makesyou smile when you receive it
and gives you joy when you spendit.
It's just a reflection of yourgood relationship with money.
Unfortunately, most of us arein the flow of unhappy money.
When we receive money, we feelirritated.
(02:21):
When we just pay bills, we getupset.
That's unhappy money.
So, unfortunately, 95% of usare living in the flow of
unhappy money.
So the people who have happymoney, those who appreciate
money coming in, money going out, they are in the flow of
(02:42):
appreciation.
That is a big difference.
Speaker 1 (02:45):
So how did you come into this understanding?
Because it's a differentconcept for people all over the
world to come to terms with thisflow and this energy.
How did you get into thatunderstanding?
What was that about?
Speaker 2 (03:02):
There's an interesting story.
About 10 or more years ago Imet a woman at the party and she
asked me if she could take alook at my wallet.
At the time there were magazinearticles and TV programs on
celebrities wallet, and wouldn'tshe be curious?
All the superstars andpresident and famous people,
(03:28):
what kind of wallet do they have?
Do they have a credit card?
Do they have lots of cash andthat kind of thing?
And I said, okay, I feel alittle flattered because only
they're interested incelebrities wallet.
As long as you give it back tome, it's okay.
So she said thank you, and shetook all the bills and she was
(03:49):
checking something.
She said this is good, this isgreat, this is fun.
And then she put them alltogether and just passed it back
to me and she said Ken, allyour money is good.
You passed the test.
And I said what?
What do you mean?
And she said your money wassmiling in your wallet.
That means that you must havemade a lot of people happy and,
(04:09):
as a result of good work, youreceived money.
And then, on the other hand,some people take advantage of
other people and they take moneyfrom other people, or you do
work to bring food on the tablegradually.
So that is unhappy money, sadmoney, angry money.
(04:32):
Your money is crying or angryin your wallet, so I can tell
people's lives by looking at thewallet.
Is what she said?
Like whoa really.
Speaker 1 (04:43):
That's incredible.
Did you ever see this lady?
Had you ever seen her before,or you know?
Speaker 2 (04:48):
No, no, no, no, no.
She attended my seminar, solike what and very interesting,
and she said sorry I forgot tointroduce myself.
I'm psychic, I see things thatother people don't see, but she
really gave me the inspirationto look at people and just
imagine okay, james, certainly alot of smiling money in his
(05:08):
wallet.
You know, like Jack I don'tknow you know like I can tell if
people are nice and genuine andseem to do a great work, their
money is smiling in the wallet.
On the other hand, even thoughyou're super wealthy, if you're
taking advantage of other people, your money is crying in your
wallet.
So it's a big deal.
Speaker 1 (05:30):
So when that happened , you received the blessing from
the lady who said, ken, yourmoney is happy or smiling.
So then what happened next?
Because you've already writtenquite a few books already, but
then happy money becameinternational Right.
So what was the lead up to this?
(05:52):
Because you know there's stilla lot more that can Doing and
you know the offset of this bookis changing millions of lives
across the world.
Can I read your book?
I was like, wow, this makes somuch sense and I am
understanding energy.
Because I've been meditatingfor a long time.
My audience understand wasbeginning to understand more
(06:14):
about energy.
But seeing money is an energy,is that perhaps a new concept
for people?
Speaker 2 (06:21):
Right, right, right.
And then, after meeting thiswoman, I started thinking you
know, I've In fact, for the pasttwenty years I realize I have
helped a lot of people transformthe relationship with money and
by changing your relationshipwith money you can change your
life.
(06:41):
So if you have a betterrelationship with money, you're
working situation improves, yourrelationship with your family
members, friendship Changes andalso your relationship with
customers and clients and bossesand you know you subordinate
and colleagues that would alsochange.
(07:01):
So Transforming yourrelationship with money has a
lot of key ingredients inhappiness.
Speaker 1 (07:10):
Sure so in the book you talk about your mentor.
You had a mentor that helpedyou on your way.
Yeah tell us a little aboutyour mentor and share it with
the audience, because he seemedlike a highly influential person
in your life.
Speaker 2 (07:27):
Indeed, his name is Wahe Takeda and he was one time
one of the richest men in Japan,and he used to be called Warren
Buffett of Japan and he was sogenerous to give away his gold
coins.
You know he, whenever he sees abeautiful smile, he
(07:50):
congratulates people and thengives a gold coin personally to
the lady or the waiting personwho is serving our table.
And I was surprised.
It's a genuine, solid gold coin.
Speaker 1 (08:05):
Yeah, and they're beautiful, you know.
Speaker 2 (08:07):
Yes, a thousand dollars.
And then why do you give it?
To that, to the perfectstranger.
And he said what would you feelif you receive a gold medal?
And the guy says the oldgrandpa says you have a most
beautiful smile.
And he said of course you'd behappy and of course she be
(08:27):
smiling more.
That is exactly it.
I bought the lifetime smile ofof hers for the rest of her life
.
That's a good bargain for onlya thousand dollars.
And then, wow, that'sinteresting.
And then, but you're losing acoin.
And he said, from a coin'sperspective, which is a happier
(08:52):
place, in her pocket or in mypocket, or safe, because I have
thousands of coins back home.
So just ignored sitting in thesafe, dark, safe.
But if the coin is in herpocket, she touches it, he
cherishes it, she respects it,she says hello every morning.
(09:12):
So for the gold coin's sake,her pocket is a better place to
be.
Speaker 1 (09:19):
Yeah, I really like that.
I'm fascinated that he had thatunderstanding in the feeling to
give yes and because he wantsto see someone happy with that.
So it's almost as if he'strying to encourage more
happiness and reward happiness.
(09:39):
Is that correct?
Speaker 2 (09:41):
Yes, so that's what he was telling me.
It's about the generosity andappreciation to money opens up.
So when you just say thank youor arigato to money, you just
open up a new channel forabundance.
That's what he taught me.
Speaker 1 (10:00):
Now.
So how did you start practicingthat?
Because you obviously were atthe dinner table or the lunch
table watching him do that.
So how did Ken put that intopractice and what did you notice
changed for you.
Speaker 2 (10:17):
That's a good question, james.
So he said you can just doarigato marathon.
If you just keep saying arigato, arigato, arigato every day,
3,000 times a day, it'll be aone million thank you at the end
of the year.
So I started saying arigato,arigato, arigato, so like
(10:40):
arigato is the way I walk, andwhen I take a walk I said I'm on
the arigato, arigato, arigato,arigato, arigato.
Speaker 1 (10:48):
So would you say, or would you think it, or a bit of
both.
Speaker 2 (10:53):
Both.
I think it, I say it and I gota little tired of arigato, so I
use thank you, thank you, thankyou, Thank you, thank you, thank
you.
The energy is the same.
So I started doing that for afew days and it felt so good.
So I'm addicted to saying whenI'm waiting for a train or a
(11:18):
plane or when I'm taking a walk,you know you have a few minutes
of washing dishes and then Isaid arigato, arigato, arigato.
It's almost like arigatomeditation.
So when I say arigato, it putsme into a very interesting high
vibration state.
So it's almost like ameditation for me.
Speaker 1 (11:40):
And so would you do.
You still do it to this day, doyou always are you.
Is it sort of going around inyour head?
Thank you the whole time.
Speaker 2 (11:48):
When I, when something you know like
upsetting from watching TV, orwhen something bad happens, I
just cleanse it, arigato,arigato, arigato, and so I can
take it in.
So I always do that, you know,not all the time, but just
almost like a part of my life.
Speaker 1 (12:09):
So when I just yeah.
I'm absolutely fascinated bythis because about 16 years ago,
I came across a book calledZero Limits and it's about the
Ho'opono Pono, which is theHawaiian way of saying four
phrases Thank you, I love you,please forgive me.
Thank you, I love you, pleaseforgive me, I'm sorry and I'm
(12:33):
sorry, yeah.
And I came across one personwho just said if you just said
thank you the whole time, well,arigato, as you were saying, it
really does cleanse you, itchanges your feeling.
And Einstein even said if youwere to say 100 times a day
thank you, you'd be gettingclose to what he was discovering
(12:55):
with his insights.
Right, and you know, that's howhe came up with the idea of
riding on the beam of light.
I mean to think of that wouldbe because I want to know what
riding on a beam of light, oflove, would be like.
And it's like well, how do youeven come across that?
Because, because I was sayingthank you the whole time, thank
you for this beautiful world welive in, and so I'm really
(13:18):
fascinated by this, thank you.
So then, what happened to yourfinances?
Because the people listening inthe audience will be tuning in
to going.
Well, if I were to say thankyou all day long for a few days,
just like what Ken waspracticing from his mental.
How's that actually going tochange my financial
circumstances?
So what that?
Yes, after that, because thepeople want results, but at the
(13:40):
same time, you know, we want toknow, because this relationship
is something you've got to build.
Speaker 2 (13:46):
Right the mantra Arigato itself doesn't bring
your money, but your attitudedoes.
I have a student who was asingle mom and she was
complaining about her low payingjob and I taught her the
importance of Arigato.
But she said no, you don'tunderstand me.
My boss never appreciates mefor like I've been working for
(14:08):
like five years and then henever gave me a raise and then
so I have no reason to thank him.
So I said is there any evenjust a single thing that you can
appreciate him for?
And she thought for 30 secondsnothing.
And think harder.
And she said oh okay, there'sone thing he hired me even
(14:31):
though I didn't have a collegedegree.
Here we go.
I know there's something thatyou can appreciate.
And then she realized, once hermind was shifted into
appreciation mode, she said afew more things about him and
then the next day she startedthanking him and in a matter of
weeks she got a big raise and abig bonus.
(14:54):
Her thank you attitude to herboss just reminded him how
important she was and how heforgot about appreciating her.
So she realized that she has totake a good, better care of her
.
So as a result, she got a bigraise and also a big bonus for
(15:16):
all the lost time.
And she was telling me.
You know what, ken?
He said thank you to me.
Can you believe that?
So your appreciation echoesback.
So and I did some experiments.
I divided my client groups intotwo.
One I brought a little thing,the other I did nothing, just
(15:38):
usual accounting consulting work.
Six months later, from thegroup one that I brought some
nice tea, a little gift, I gotso many referrals because I
showed them how I appreciatetheir business.
And the second group I got soso referrals, but I didn't get
so many.
So when we showed ourappreciation to our clients and
(16:01):
customers or the boss or whoeverwe're surrounded with, like
including your family members,we get thank you back.
So we can appreciate more.
It doesn't cost us anything,but our attitude to appreciate
more brings in happy people.
So we are more attractive, weattract more opportunities and
(16:26):
definitely that's how I made 9million copies of my book sales.
So in that Hopo O'Pono.
Actually, dr Joe Vitale is agood friend of mine.
I got to text him two days agofor my next book's endorsement.
He just had a chat with DrHurin, you know the author of a
(16:49):
hopo opono, and then he said youcan use it for your book
promotion.
And Dr Joe you know Joe.
Joe said oh too bad, you knowmy books are already out.
And Dr Hewlin said you can dohopo opono even though the books
(17:09):
are out there, becauseeverything is energy.
So Joe started doing hopo oponowith his books and it became
international bestseller.
I Do the same thing.
I do Arigato and hopo oponowith all my books.
Speaker 1 (17:23):
So that is why I'm saying this is really
interesting because this iswhere time is non-linear, right.
So time is infinite.
You know past, present andfuture.
I try not to wear a watchunless I'm at a nice gala or an
event, because I want to bepresent.
But when you are Saying hopo,opono or arigato to your books
(17:47):
or any of your products, yes,how are you?
How are you?
What's the actual process thatKen does for that?
Speaker 2 (17:55):
Say I have a book you know here, and then put a book
behind happy money there, behindthe Honey, yeah and I'll just
put the book cover and just Ialmost kiss my book and just say
thank you, thank you, thank you, arigato, arigato, arigato.
And then I just appreciate mybook for being there and if you
(18:17):
want to do hopo opono, you cansay I love you, I'm sorry,
please forgive me, thank you, soyou can do the whole thing and
then in your imagination andthat Will elevate the power of
all my books.
So when people come into abookstore, a lot of people have
said my books were shining inthe bookstore.
(18:38):
So I think it's because of that.
Speaker 1 (18:42):
Yeah, but but, ken, I'm a firm believer, you know,
in energy, like when I firststarted meditating, for instance
, I was like, wow, I feel somuch lighter and brighter and I
always happen to be in the rightplace at the right time.
I call it the green lights oflife, just being there at the
right time at the right place.
And I got inspired to startthis podcast years ago and I'm
(19:07):
hoping it's helping so manypeople.
I'm sure you do.
Yeah, thank you, and I lovewhat I do and I'm so
appreciative of of theinformation that I have and my
guests, such as your good self.
But I can tell when I'mspeaking to you that you have a
beautiful, calm, uplifting,positive energy and that is so
(19:30):
great to see and it's so nice toknow what you're doing under
the surface, to be able to, toshare your gift and talent with
the world, and I'm reallyintrigued to, and to encourage
to the audience what Ken's beensharing, because Ken is a living
example of you know what heteaches and you can really tell
(19:52):
it.
And I want to tell a story, ken, because you inspired me on yes
please, and I just want us tosay what Ken teaches really
works.
And Something happened to me alittle while ago, which was I
was just coming out of a grocerystore and I was getting in the
car with the bags and a guy cameover from a charity with a
(20:16):
little clipboard and he cameover and said, oh, could, could
you contribute to this charity?
Now, I didn't look at theclipboard, I didn't look at
anything.
I didn't see that he had abadge or anything like that.
I just went into my wallet andthe first note I pulled out was
a 20 and I didn't think twiceabout it and before I know, he'd
(20:37):
gone and he'd he'd gone away.
And At the moment, at that time, I thought, oh, have I given
too much?
Or did I check?
Did I actually think that thisperson was a credible source for
a charity or was it someonewho's just, you know,
potentially a scammer?
Now, that is what was going onin my head.
(20:59):
But I thought, listen, I'vejust been reading Ken's book
here.
I'm going to just go toappreciation.
So I got in the car and I'm sograteful and I really appreciate
my groceries.
I can do that.
I really appreciate thisbeautiful car that I have, a
really appreciate this beautifulenvironment that I have and I'm
really thankful that I couldgive this man some money that
(21:23):
may go to a really good source,and I bless that source wherever
it goes.
That's not for me to do, I'mjust grateful I have the money
that I can share.
And I kept on going on and onand on about this for about five
minutes until I felt thisfeeling inside my body and I got
home to Realize there were twofinancial blessings that came to
me within about two hours,mm-hmm.
(21:45):
And the first blessing was thatI didn't.
I came into 500 bucks.
And then another blessing was Icame into another 500 bucks
From a modeling job that I didages ago.
So literally just giving $20away, I came into about $1,000
(22:10):
within a really short amount oftime and I was just really
appreciative for what I had.
Now it's really nice to tellthat story, but it's also nice
to remind me that that's the wayto live, right, right, grateful
for you, ken, because yourstory just helped, reminds
people, particularly me withthis, that what you're sharing
(22:32):
really works.
Speaker 2 (22:34):
Right, and you don't have to believe it, you know,
just enjoy it.
If it's too scary, just putlike 10 cents in a, you know, in
a donation box also works too.
It gives you such a lighterfeeling.
So, whatever you feelcomfortable, you can start
sharing what you have, you canstart giving what you got and
(22:54):
then just do a little bit ofexperiment and then just enjoy
giving, because I think in thewhole world joy of the giver is
so big.
So if you just, I think that'sone of the great things about
being wealthy is that I get toenjoy so much joy of a giver and
(23:16):
at the same time I am alsoexperiencing a joy of a receiver
.
You know, when I just hearcompliments or the experiences
like yourself, james, you know,I feel so much joy of receiving
all the results of hard workthat I did Six, seven years ago.
(23:38):
You know it was a big deal forme to write in English.
I was in a self doubt.
I don't know if this book couldhelp even a single person.
You know, I felt like, oh, youknow my English, but I was
dealing with a lot of self doubt.
So, like talking with you, Iknow I can help one person,
(24:04):
which is such a big deal, sothank you for that.
Speaker 1 (24:07):
Oh, Ken, and thank you.
I mean, honestly, what you'redoing is really making a
beautiful difference and it'screating a large, beautiful,
positive ripple effect withpeople and their relationship
with money, which is soimportant because we deal with
this energy every single day.
So the better relationship thatwe have which was what you're
(24:28):
teaching you know the happierand more calm you can be,
because you're always having todeal with it in one kind of way.
Now I did want to ask yousomething for that you could
perhaps share with the audience,If there was one thing that you
could, you know, give to theaudience an idea.
I know you've talked about thegenerosity of maybe giving a 10
(24:51):
cents at a bare minimum, but isthere anything else that you
could think that they could helpbuild their relationship other
than just that thank you, orperhaps giving that 10 cents you
know in fact, yeah, there are.
Speaker 2 (25:05):
There are so many ways to give.
You know you can give kindwords, positive attention.
You can just text your friendafter just a few months of not
exchanging messages like how areyou, James?
You know what's going on mom,you know how how's it going, my
brother.
So just a simple, fun, kindmessage touches people's lives.
(25:30):
So and also you can give peopleby listening.
You know and also you can, youcan feel your friend, you know
you can be with your friend.
There are so many ways to shareyour love.
So it's not just think whateveryou have.
There are so many beautifulways to be choosing love.
(25:53):
So you can also.
It's your style, you know somepeople want to be more active.
Other people want to be moreinward.
So just praying for somebody'shappiness is also active love
too.
So my other fun of hopoponoactivity before I go to sleep is
(26:14):
just I keep blessing everybodyI met on that day.
So, James, you'll be in myprayer in my hopopono and saying
, like James, everything greatwill happen to him a lot, a lot
every day from here, you know.
So, like the next 30 days,he'll have lots of money, lots
of great fun opportunities forhim.
(26:36):
So I am the next person and thenext person.
So I just after by like 10 or11 friends and I just fall
asleep.
So that's a fun way of going tosleep.
Speaker 1 (26:48):
That's a lovely way of going to sleep.
That's a lovely way.
And what about when you wake up?
You know how, when you wake up,what's your, when you enter and
you just waking up, you knowit's a lovely way to go to sleep
, to bless the people in yourlife that you met or you know
you care about.
What about in the yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2 (27:05):
So I sort of know my next morning schedule right.
I started out by beinginterviewed by this beautiful
Indian podcaster.
You know it's a fun day.
You know, I started with anIndian woman and then I end with
a British man.
Speaker 1 (27:24):
So it's an international day.
I'm on the British by sound asBritish as you get, but there we
go.
Speaker 2 (27:28):
Right or Spanish, whoever you are Another
beautiful soul, right.
And then I am so happy that Icould do a few interviews.
I did a write a little bit, Imet a few people and I took some
of the YouTube videos for fornext few weeks.
(27:50):
So I've done a lot of fun stuff.
So I just start counting, like,okay, I'm going to meet this
woman, you know, this one, thisguy, that guy, this guy.
This day is going to be fun.
So, like, I'm full of joy andexcitement because you know, I
choose my activities carefully.
So I'm telling all my peoplewho are going to book me for
(28:14):
something you know, whoever isgenerous, whoever is fun, I'll
be there, you know.
So it doesn't really matter ifit brings me money or not.
Money party is already takencare of.
So for me, a meet, meeting newbeautiful souls, is what counts.
So, james, you're making my daythe last day.
Speaker 1 (28:35):
Can you make my day and I hope that into this
conversation to my, my belovedaudience, that they also get so
much love and appreciation fromour conversation today.
Ken, thank you so much forcoming on the show today.
It's been such a joy and such apleasure speaking with you and
(28:55):
I hope everybody can takesomething of a nugget of wisdom
away from this conversation thatI've had with Ken.
I'll have all the links thatyou can find Ken's material in
the video below or in thepodcast.
So please, I do encourage youto check out Ken's material,
because it is really lifechanging and very uplifting as
(29:16):
well.
And if you want to have an evenbetter relationship with money
than you've got, then do checkout Ken's happy money, because
it made me happy when I read itand that's what I'm really
thankful for.
Speaker 2 (29:27):
Thank you, thank you and tak, tak, right Tak tak,
yeah, tak, tak yeah.
Speaker 1 (29:30):
Plus fans going to say tak, tak, in Spanish Gracias
, and in Japan we will say yes,gracias, and I'd also like to
say in Japanese, we'd say it'svery nice being able to work
with you, which is yes, goodwork.
Speaker 2 (29:54):
Thank you so much.
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (29:57):
Thanks for tuning in, and if you've enjoyed this
transformational content andwould like more, please remember
to hit that subscribe buttonand share it with the people you
care about.
In this episode I'm speaking to bestselling author
Ken Honda.
Ken has written several books,but his latest book is called
Happy Money and the Japanese Artof Making Peace with your Money
.
So if you're looking to createa life of abundance and change a
relationship with your money,then this is a must.
Listen Hello and welcome to theJames Grant from Podcast Super
(00:25):
Soul Model series, where I helppeople tune and tap in to their
natural state of well-being.
This week we have Ken Honda.
Ken teaches people how tocreate a life of abundance by
changing their relationship withmoney.
Ken is a bestselling financeand personal development author
in Japan with incredibly largebook sales, and now he's shown
(00:47):
his work with theEnglish-speaking readers across
the world, particularly in theUSA and Europe, and his latest
book is called Happy Money and Ihave to say I have read this
book and it is an absolute lifechanger.
I would just like to welcome tothis week's show Ken Honda.
Speaker 2 (01:05):
Thank you.
Thank you, james, for abeautiful introduction, and I
was so impressed that you couldspeak better Japanese than I do.
Speaker 1 (01:14):
No, not at all, ken.
I was just talking to Ken justoff camera beforehand.
I'd been modeling in Japan fora couple of years and I picked
up a little bit of Japanese, butnot enough to be completely
proud of, but enough to beappreciative of the culture and
how beautiful Japan is and whatwonderful wisdom that gets
(01:34):
passed down.
And I, having read Ken's bookwith Happy Money, which I all
encourage you to do, there is abeautiful way that some of the
Japanese culture manages to passdown, which I think Ken is a
wonderful ambassador to sharewith the world.
So, ken, can you just tell us alittle bit about how you got
the idea for this beautiful bookthat you've written, called
(01:56):
Happy Money?
Speaker 2 (01:58):
So Happy Money is the book that I wrote four years
ago.
Happy Money is money that makesyou smile when you receive it
and gives you joy when you spendit.
It's just a reflection of yourgood relationship with money.
Unfortunately, most of us arein the flow of unhappy money.
When we receive money, we feelirritated.
(02:21):
When we just pay bills, we getupset.
That's unhappy money.
So, unfortunately, 95% of usare living in the flow of
unhappy money.
So the people who have happymoney, those who appreciate
money coming in, money going out, they are in the flow of
(02:42):
appreciation.
That is a big difference.
Speaker 1 (02:45):
So how did you come into this understanding?
Because it's a differentconcept for people all over the
world to come to terms with thisflow and this energy.
How did you get into thatunderstanding?
What was that about?
Speaker 2 (03:02):
There's an interesting story.
About 10 or more years ago Imet a woman at the party and she
asked me if she could take alook at my wallet.
At the time there were magazinearticles and TV programs on
celebrities wallet, and wouldn'tshe be curious?
All the superstars andpresident and famous people,
(03:28):
what kind of wallet do they have?
Do they have a credit card?
Do they have lots of cash andthat kind of thing?
And I said, okay, I feel alittle flattered because only
they're interested incelebrities wallet.
As long as you give it back tome, it's okay.
So she said thank you, and shetook all the bills and she was
(03:49):
checking something.
She said this is good, this isgreat, this is fun.
And then she put them alltogether and just passed it back
to me and she said Ken, allyour money is good.
You passed the test.
And I said what?
What do you mean?
And she said your money wassmiling in your wallet.
That means that you must havemade a lot of people happy and,
(04:09):
as a result of good work, youreceived money.
And then, on the other hand,some people take advantage of
other people and they take moneyfrom other people, or you do
work to bring food on the tablegradually.
So that is unhappy money, sadmoney, angry money.
(04:32):
Your money is crying or angryin your wallet, so I can tell
people's lives by looking at thewallet.
Is what she said?
Like whoa really.
Speaker 1 (04:43):
That's incredible.
Did you ever see this lady?
Had you ever seen her before,or you know?
Speaker 2 (04:48):
No, no, no, no, no.
She attended my seminar, solike what and very interesting,
and she said sorry I forgot tointroduce myself.
I'm psychic, I see things thatother people don't see, but she
really gave me the inspirationto look at people and just
imagine okay, james, certainly alot of smiling money in his
(05:08):
wallet.
You know, like Jack I don'tknow you know like I can tell if
people are nice and genuine andseem to do a great work, their
money is smiling in the wallet.
On the other hand, even thoughyou're super wealthy, if you're
taking advantage of other people, your money is crying in your
wallet.
So it's a big deal.
Speaker 1 (05:30):
So when that happened , you received the blessing from
the lady who said, ken, yourmoney is happy or smiling.
So then what happened next?
Because you've already writtenquite a few books already, but
then happy money becameinternational Right.
So what was the lead up to this?
(05:52):
Because you know there's stilla lot more that can Doing and
you know the offset of this bookis changing millions of lives
across the world.
Can I read your book?
I was like, wow, this makes somuch sense and I am
understanding energy.
Because I've been meditatingfor a long time.
My audience understand wasbeginning to understand more
(06:14):
about energy.
But seeing money is an energy,is that perhaps a new concept
for people?
Speaker 2 (06:21):
Right, right, right.
And then, after meeting thiswoman, I started thinking you
know, I've In fact, for the pasttwenty years I realize I have
helped a lot of people transformthe relationship with money and
by changing your relationshipwith money you can change your
life.
(06:41):
So if you have a betterrelationship with money, you're
working situation improves, yourrelationship with your family
members, friendship Changes andalso your relationship with
customers and clients and bossesand you know you subordinate
and colleagues that would alsochange.
(07:01):
So Transforming yourrelationship with money has a
lot of key ingredients inhappiness.
Speaker 1 (07:10):
Sure so in the book you talk about your mentor.
You had a mentor that helpedyou on your way.
Yeah tell us a little aboutyour mentor and share it with
the audience, because he seemedlike a highly influential person
in your life.
Speaker 2 (07:27):
Indeed, his name is Wahe Takeda and he was one time
one of the richest men in Japan,and he used to be called Warren
Buffett of Japan and he was sogenerous to give away his gold
coins.
You know he, whenever he sees abeautiful smile, he
(07:50):
congratulates people and thengives a gold coin personally to
the lady or the waiting personwho is serving our table.
And I was surprised.
It's a genuine, solid gold coin.
Speaker 1 (08:05):
Yeah, and they're beautiful, you know.
Speaker 2 (08:07):
Yes, a thousand dollars.
And then why do you give it?
To that, to the perfectstranger.
And he said what would you feelif you receive a gold medal?
And the guy says the oldgrandpa says you have a most
beautiful smile.
And he said of course you'd behappy and of course she be
(08:27):
smiling more.
That is exactly it.
I bought the lifetime smile ofof hers for the rest of her life
.
That's a good bargain for onlya thousand dollars.
And then, wow, that'sinteresting.
And then, but you're losing acoin.
And he said, from a coin'sperspective, which is a happier
(08:52):
place, in her pocket or in mypocket, or safe, because I have
thousands of coins back home.
So just ignored sitting in thesafe, dark, safe.
But if the coin is in herpocket, she touches it, he
cherishes it, she respects it,she says hello every morning.
(09:12):
So for the gold coin's sake,her pocket is a better place to
be.
Speaker 1 (09:19):
Yeah, I really like that.
I'm fascinated that he had thatunderstanding in the feeling to
give yes and because he wantsto see someone happy with that.
So it's almost as if he'strying to encourage more
happiness and reward happiness.
(09:39):
Is that correct?
Speaker 2 (09:41):
Yes, so that's what he was telling me.
It's about the generosity andappreciation to money opens up.
So when you just say thank youor arigato to money, you just
open up a new channel forabundance.
That's what he taught me.
Speaker 1 (10:00):
Now.
So how did you start practicingthat?
Because you obviously were atthe dinner table or the lunch
table watching him do that.
So how did Ken put that intopractice and what did you notice
changed for you.
Speaker 2 (10:17):
That's a good question, james.
So he said you can just doarigato marathon.
If you just keep saying arigato, arigato, arigato every day,
3,000 times a day, it'll be aone million thank you at the end
of the year.
So I started saying arigato,arigato, arigato, so like
(10:40):
arigato is the way I walk, andwhen I take a walk I said I'm on
the arigato, arigato, arigato,arigato, arigato.
Speaker 1 (10:48):
So would you say, or would you think it, or a bit of
both.
Speaker 2 (10:53):
Both.
I think it, I say it and I gota little tired of arigato, so I
use thank you, thank you, thankyou, Thank you, thank you, thank
you.
The energy is the same.
So I started doing that for afew days and it felt so good.
So I'm addicted to saying whenI'm waiting for a train or a
(11:18):
plane or when I'm taking a walk,you know you have a few minutes
of washing dishes and then Isaid arigato, arigato, arigato.
It's almost like arigatomeditation.
So when I say arigato, it putsme into a very interesting high
vibration state.
So it's almost like ameditation for me.
Speaker 1 (11:40):
And so would you do.
You still do it to this day, doyou always are you.
Is it sort of going around inyour head?
Thank you the whole time.
Speaker 2 (11:48):
When I, when something you know like
upsetting from watching TV, orwhen something bad happens, I
just cleanse it, arigato,arigato, arigato, and so I can
take it in.
So I always do that, you know,not all the time, but just
almost like a part of my life.
Speaker 1 (12:09):
So when I just yeah.
I'm absolutely fascinated bythis because about 16 years ago,
I came across a book calledZero Limits and it's about the
Ho'opono Pono, which is theHawaiian way of saying four
phrases Thank you, I love you,please forgive me.
Thank you, I love you, pleaseforgive me, I'm sorry and I'm
(12:33):
sorry, yeah.
And I came across one personwho just said if you just said
thank you the whole time, well,arigato, as you were saying, it
really does cleanse you, itchanges your feeling.
And Einstein even said if youwere to say 100 times a day
thank you, you'd be gettingclose to what he was discovering
(12:55):
with his insights.
Right, and you know, that's howhe came up with the idea of
riding on the beam of light.
I mean to think of that wouldbe because I want to know what
riding on a beam of light, oflove, would be like.
And it's like well, how do youeven come across that?
Because, because I was sayingthank you the whole time, thank
you for this beautiful world welive in, and so I'm really
(13:18):
fascinated by this, thank you.
So then, what happened to yourfinances?
Because the people listening inthe audience will be tuning in
to going.
Well, if I were to say thankyou all day long for a few days,
just like what Ken waspracticing from his mental.
How's that actually going tochange my financial
circumstances?
So what that?
Yes, after that, because thepeople want results, but at the
(13:40):
same time, you know, we want toknow, because this relationship
is something you've got to build.
Speaker 2 (13:46):
Right the mantra Arigato itself doesn't bring
your money, but your attitudedoes.
I have a student who was asingle mom and she was
complaining about her low payingjob and I taught her the
importance of Arigato.
But she said no, you don'tunderstand me.
My boss never appreciates mefor like I've been working for
(14:08):
like five years and then henever gave me a raise and then
so I have no reason to thank him.
So I said is there any evenjust a single thing that you can
appreciate him for?
And she thought for 30 secondsnothing.
And think harder.
And she said oh okay, there'sone thing he hired me even
(14:31):
though I didn't have a collegedegree.
Here we go.
I know there's something thatyou can appreciate.
And then she realized, once hermind was shifted into
appreciation mode, she said afew more things about him and
then the next day she startedthanking him and in a matter of
weeks she got a big raise and abig bonus.
(14:54):
Her thank you attitude to herboss just reminded him how
important she was and how heforgot about appreciating her.
So she realized that she has totake a good, better care of her
.
So as a result, she got a bigraise and also a big bonus for
(15:16):
all the lost time.
And she was telling me.
You know what, ken?
He said thank you to me.
Can you believe that?
So your appreciation echoesback.
So and I did some experiments.
I divided my client groups intotwo.
One I brought a little thing,the other I did nothing, just
(15:38):
usual accounting consulting work.
Six months later, from thegroup one that I brought some
nice tea, a little gift, I gotso many referrals because I
showed them how I appreciatetheir business.
And the second group I got soso referrals, but I didn't get
so many.
So when we showed ourappreciation to our clients and
(16:01):
customers or the boss or whoeverwe're surrounded with, like
including your family members,we get thank you back.
So we can appreciate more.
It doesn't cost us anything,but our attitude to appreciate
more brings in happy people.
So we are more attractive, weattract more opportunities and
(16:26):
definitely that's how I made 9million copies of my book sales.
So in that Hopo O'Pono.
Actually, dr Joe Vitale is agood friend of mine.
I got to text him two days agofor my next book's endorsement.
He just had a chat with DrHurin, you know the author of a
(16:49):
hopo opono, and then he said youcan use it for your book
promotion.
And Dr Joe you know Joe.
Joe said oh too bad, you knowmy books are already out.
And Dr Hewlin said you can dohopo opono even though the books
(17:09):
are out there, becauseeverything is energy.
So Joe started doing hopo oponowith his books and it became
international bestseller.
I Do the same thing.
I do Arigato and hopo oponowith all my books.
Speaker 1 (17:23):
So that is why I'm saying this is really
interesting because this iswhere time is non-linear, right.
So time is infinite.
You know past, present andfuture.
I try not to wear a watchunless I'm at a nice gala or an
event, because I want to bepresent.
But when you are Saying hopo,opono or arigato to your books
(17:47):
or any of your products, yes,how are you?
How are you?
What's the actual process thatKen does for that?
Speaker 2 (17:55):
Say I have a book you know here, and then put a book
behind happy money there, behindthe Honey, yeah and I'll just
put the book cover and just Ialmost kiss my book and just say
thank you, thank you, thank you, arigato, arigato, arigato.
And then I just appreciate mybook for being there and if you
(18:17):
want to do hopo opono, you cansay I love you, I'm sorry,
please forgive me, thank you, soyou can do the whole thing and
then in your imagination andthat Will elevate the power of
all my books.
So when people come into abookstore, a lot of people have
said my books were shining inthe bookstore.
(18:38):
So I think it's because of that.
Speaker 1 (18:42):
Yeah, but but, ken, I'm a firm believer, you know,
in energy, like when I firststarted meditating, for instance
, I was like, wow, I feel somuch lighter and brighter and I
always happen to be in the rightplace at the right time.
I call it the green lights oflife, just being there at the
right time at the right place.
And I got inspired to startthis podcast years ago and I'm
(19:07):
hoping it's helping so manypeople.
I'm sure you do.
Yeah, thank you, and I lovewhat I do and I'm so
appreciative of of theinformation that I have and my
guests, such as your good self.
But I can tell when I'mspeaking to you that you have a
beautiful, calm, uplifting,positive energy and that is so
(19:30):
great to see and it's so nice toknow what you're doing under
the surface, to be able to, toshare your gift and talent with
the world, and I'm reallyintrigued to, and to encourage
to the audience what Ken's beensharing, because Ken is a living
example of you know what heteaches and you can really tell
(19:52):
it.
And I want to tell a story, ken, because you inspired me on yes
please, and I just want us tosay what Ken teaches really
works.
And Something happened to me alittle while ago, which was I
was just coming out of a grocerystore and I was getting in the
car with the bags and a guy cameover from a charity with a
(20:16):
little clipboard and he cameover and said, oh, could, could
you contribute to this charity?
Now, I didn't look at theclipboard, I didn't look at
anything.
I didn't see that he had abadge or anything like that.
I just went into my wallet andthe first note I pulled out was
a 20 and I didn't think twiceabout it and before I know, he'd
(20:37):
gone and he'd he'd gone away.
And At the moment, at that time, I thought, oh, have I given
too much?
Or did I check?
Did I actually think that thisperson was a credible source for
a charity or was it someonewho's just, you know,
potentially a scammer?
Now, that is what was going onin my head.
(20:59):
But I thought, listen, I'vejust been reading Ken's book
here.
I'm going to just go toappreciation.
So I got in the car and I'm sograteful and I really appreciate
my groceries.
I can do that.
I really appreciate thisbeautiful car that I have, a
really appreciate this beautifulenvironment that I have and I'm
really thankful that I couldgive this man some money that
(21:23):
may go to a really good source,and I bless that source wherever
it goes.
That's not for me to do, I'mjust grateful I have the money
that I can share.
And I kept on going on and onand on about this for about five
minutes until I felt thisfeeling inside my body and I got
home to Realize there were twofinancial blessings that came to
me within about two hours,mm-hmm.
(21:45):
And the first blessing was thatI didn't.
I came into 500 bucks.
And then another blessing was Icame into another 500 bucks
From a modeling job that I didages ago.
So literally just giving $20away, I came into about $1,000
(22:10):
within a really short amount oftime and I was just really
appreciative for what I had.
Now it's really nice to tellthat story, but it's also nice
to remind me that that's the wayto live, right, right, grateful
for you, ken, because yourstory just helped, reminds
people, particularly me withthis, that what you're sharing
(22:32):
really works.
Speaker 2 (22:34):
Right, and you don't have to believe it, you know,
just enjoy it.
If it's too scary, just putlike 10 cents in a, you know, in
a donation box also works too.
It gives you such a lighterfeeling.
So, whatever you feelcomfortable, you can start
sharing what you have, you canstart giving what you got and
(22:54):
then just do a little bit ofexperiment and then just enjoy
giving, because I think in thewhole world joy of the giver is
so big.
So if you just, I think that'sone of the great things about
being wealthy is that I get toenjoy so much joy of a giver and
(23:16):
at the same time I am alsoexperiencing a joy of a receiver
.
You know, when I just hearcompliments or the experiences
like yourself, james, you know,I feel so much joy of receiving
all the results of hard workthat I did Six, seven years ago.
(23:38):
You know it was a big deal forme to write in English.
I was in a self doubt.
I don't know if this book couldhelp even a single person.
You know, I felt like, oh, youknow my English, but I was
dealing with a lot of self doubt.
So, like talking with you, Iknow I can help one person,
(24:04):
which is such a big deal, sothank you for that.
Speaker 1 (24:07):
Oh, Ken, and thank you.
I mean, honestly, what you'redoing is really making a
beautiful difference and it'screating a large, beautiful,
positive ripple effect withpeople and their relationship
with money, which is soimportant because we deal with
this energy every single day.
So the better relationship thatwe have which was what you're
(24:28):
teaching you know the happierand more calm you can be,
because you're always having todeal with it in one kind of way.
Now I did want to ask yousomething for that you could
perhaps share with the audience,If there was one thing that you
could, you know, give to theaudience an idea.
I know you've talked about thegenerosity of maybe giving a 10
(24:51):
cents at a bare minimum, but isthere anything else that you
could think that they could helpbuild their relationship other
than just that thank you, orperhaps giving that 10 cents you
know in fact, yeah, there are.
Speaker 2 (25:05):
There are so many ways to give.
You know you can give kindwords, positive attention.
You can just text your friendafter just a few months of not
exchanging messages like how areyou, James?
You know what's going on mom,you know how how's it going, my
brother.
So just a simple, fun, kindmessage touches people's lives.
(25:30):
So and also you can give peopleby listening.
You know and also you can, youcan feel your friend, you know
you can be with your friend.
There are so many ways to shareyour love.
So it's not just think whateveryou have.
There are so many beautifulways to be choosing love.
(25:53):
So you can also.
It's your style, you know somepeople want to be more active.
Other people want to be moreinward.
So just praying for somebody'shappiness is also active love
too.
So my other fun of hopoponoactivity before I go to sleep is
(26:14):
just I keep blessing everybodyI met on that day.
So, James, you'll be in myprayer in my hopopono and saying
, like James, everything greatwill happen to him a lot, a lot
every day from here, you know.
So, like the next 30 days,he'll have lots of money, lots
of great fun opportunities forhim.
(26:36):
So I am the next person and thenext person.
So I just after by like 10 or11 friends and I just fall
asleep.
So that's a fun way of going tosleep.
Speaker 1 (26:48):
That's a lovely way of going to sleep.
That's a lovely way.
And what about when you wake up?
You know how, when you wake up,what's your, when you enter and
you just waking up, you knowit's a lovely way to go to sleep
, to bless the people in yourlife that you met or you know
you care about.
What about in the yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2 (27:05):
So I sort of know my next morning schedule right.
I started out by beinginterviewed by this beautiful
Indian podcaster.
You know it's a fun day.
You know, I started with anIndian woman and then I end with
a British man.
Speaker 1 (27:24):
So it's an international day.
I'm on the British by sound asBritish as you get, but there we
go.
Speaker 2 (27:28):
Right or Spanish, whoever you are Another
beautiful soul, right.
And then I am so happy that Icould do a few interviews.
I did a write a little bit, Imet a few people and I took some
of the YouTube videos for fornext few weeks.
(27:50):
So I've done a lot of fun stuff.
So I just start counting, like,okay, I'm going to meet this
woman, you know, this one, thisguy, that guy, this guy.
This day is going to be fun.
So, like, I'm full of joy andexcitement because you know, I
choose my activities carefully.
So I'm telling all my peoplewho are going to book me for
(28:14):
something you know, whoever isgenerous, whoever is fun, I'll
be there, you know.
So it doesn't really matter ifit brings me money or not.
Money party is already takencare of.
So for me, a meet, meeting newbeautiful souls, is what counts.
So, james, you're making my daythe last day.
Speaker 1 (28:35):
Can you make my day and I hope that into this
conversation to my, my belovedaudience, that they also get so
much love and appreciation fromour conversation today.
Ken, thank you so much forcoming on the show today.
It's been such a joy and such apleasure speaking with you and
(28:55):
I hope everybody can takesomething of a nugget of wisdom
away from this conversation thatI've had with Ken.
I'll have all the links thatyou can find Ken's material in
the video below or in thepodcast.
So please, I do encourage youto check out Ken's material,
because it is really lifechanging and very uplifting as
(29:16):
well.
And if you want to have an evenbetter relationship with money
than you've got, then do checkout Ken's happy money, because
it made me happy when I read itand that's what I'm really
thankful for.
Speaker 2 (29:27):
Thank you, thank you and tak, tak, right Tak tak,
yeah, tak, tak yeah.
Speaker 1 (29:30):
Plus fans going to say tak, tak, in Spanish Gracias
, and in Japan we will say yes,gracias, and I'd also like to
say in Japanese, we'd say it'svery nice being able to work
with you, which is yes, goodwork.
Speaker 2 (29:54):
Thank you so much.
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (29:57):
Thanks for tuning in, and if you've enjoyed this
transformational content andwould like more, please remember
to hit that subscribe buttonand share it with the people you
care about.
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