Do you sometimes feel like you are a slave to money, and that in society today we've got our relationship with money the wrong way around?

Back in the stone age they were exchanging flint and volcanic glass (they didn't have matchsticks to trade in those days) - so there is evidence of the human race "trading throughout much of recorded history", as wiki says.

Yet somehow we lost track of what trading is all about - and I think it came about when we started to use paper and metal to represent the exchanges we were taking part in- and probably the industrial revolution played a role too. At some point though, whenever it was, we stopped seeing money as a means of exchange and started to see it as a means in itself- the be all and end all of it all. We stopped using money as a tool, a slave and instead we became the slaves to the Master we called Money.

I am under no illusions that money makes things much easier to trade- especially in our world today. However it does sadden me when we see how not having money (or our perception of not having ENOUGH money) then limits us from following our hearts desires. How not having money holds us back from doing what we truly want to do because we've forgotten money's role and lost sight of what it stands for.

And I'm not alone in feeling this. Adin van Ryneveld does too.

"Money isn't bad- we've just lost our way in relationship to it" he said in one of our many conversations. "Hearing that people think that you need money to do things breaks my heart. Abundance is about creation, not money. And we're participants in creation. So the question I'm trying to ask is what are we able to create without money?" And he's well on his way to answering this question.

"I believe that people have two main limiting beliefs about money: First, that we don’t have enough money to do what we want to do, and second, that we won't have enough money if we did that something that we really want to do."

"If I can create what I am intending to create with my No Money Required Project, and impact the world as I intend to do by living without money and giving away all the money I do create, then I hope to inspire others to do something to get to their dreams. There are other ways to get the stuff you want without using money."

Adin has been living without money for 9 months now. He doesn't even own a wallet, credit card or a bank account. He has moved passed working out how to survive without money, and is starting to really push people's boundaries and perceptions in relation to how they let money restrict them.

How is he doing this? Well, for example, he gives monthly talks at a company in exchange for petrol for his scooter. He plays the role of designated driver and drives his friends around to parties, so they can enjoy some drinks and in exchange he gets his dinner and a good time accompanying them to the parties. He washes dishes, mows lawns and coaches others in exchange for airtime, clothing and a roof over his head.

Where things get really exciting is in how Adin adds value to his friends by promoting them or their businesses in exchange for how they help him. For example he swops courses that are donated to him with others for what he needs. He trades by blogging and promoting services that he needed, that people offered him in exchange for the exposure he gives.

The most radical thing he has just started doing though, is giving his right arm to live without money. He is literally tattooing his people's brands on his right arm, in exchange for what he needs: The FairyGodMother Inc is now inked on his arm, for the many dream mapping & goal setting workshops Donna gave him for his cause. A Simple Guide to Making a Difference is there too for giving Adin his flip camera. And Consciousness Coaching Academy has a spot on his arm, they too have donated 5 of their 4 day personal development, consciousness realization and awareness training courses to trade with people who help him. Payfast is next to have a spot in his forearm for paying for air flights. I know Adin really wants a mac laptop. If you can give him one you will probably be next to get your brand tattood on his right arm.

Adin will do what it takes and find ways to provide value to those who are willing to participate in his experiment in abundance. As long as both parties believe it's a fair exchange money can be totally eliminated and both parties can get what they want. It's all about perceived value. And that's why I'm so excited to know Adin and participate in his adventure. Through my own trading story of one matchstick I've come to see the world in a radically different way, and I hope that by sharing more about Adins story here too, you too start to re-think how you can create that holiday you've been dreaming of, or get that new car that you need.

It's all about our perception of money, and whether that perception imprisons us or sets us free. Adin is showing us a different perspective- one that liberates and changes a whole lot of things, don't you think?

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