In my well-established 2020 “Netflix and chill” routine, I was inspired recently to reflect on some movie characters and leading ladies who stand out to me as exemplifying the eight Sacred Money Archetypes (SMA).
What are Sacred Money Archetypes?
Money Breakthrough Business Coach, Kendall Summerhawk, developed this system to codify common behavior patterns, gifts, strengths and challenges when it comes to managing and thinking about money.
As a certified SMA coach myself, I continue to discover ways to both understand and explain the archetypes to my clients.
The more relatable and accessible these characters are, the more likely it is that the money mindset coaching clients that I talk with will grasp the ways that they can step out of old habits and embrace financial freedom.
I’ve watched most of these movies many times (thank you, pandemic), and have applied my own selective memory in ways that serve my narrative. I’m no movie critic or historian…just a money coach trying to get the word out.
And yes, there are a lot of holiday-themed movies. It’s November. Besides, holidays are as good a time as any to look at money, self-worth, family and other concerns.
While some of the characters don’t have money mindset issues per se, they do embody many of the characteristics that might describe their relationship to money.
As Kendall says, “How you do money is how you do everything.”
If you see a bit of yourself in these characters, I invite you to take a free SMA quiz to assess your top archetype and learn how to make the most of your money personality.
CLICK HERE FOR FREE QUIZ
1. Classic Accumulator
Georgia Byrd, portrayed by Queen Latifah in “Last Holiday”.
Accumulators are disciplined savers, thrifty spenders and cautious investors (if they invest at all). They are reluctant, like Georgia, to dip into their funds for…anything.
Georgia has a wake-up call when she receives a terminal diagnosis. She suddenly sees how small her life has been and how she has kept her “possibilities book” in the realm of “someday” by never taking the risk to go out and live a little.
Some of my favorite scenes in Last Holiday are when Georgia decides to liquidate her savings and spend some serious money. We soon see her upgrade to a first-class seat mid-flight to Czechoslovakia.
Upon arrival, she opts for a helicopter ride to the luxury hotel. Then, unwilling to waste precious minutes of her recently-shortened life, she upgrades again, this time to the Presidential suite at four grand per night.
Of course, in the end, the cosmic joke is on her (spoiler alert from 2006). The diagnosis is an error and she is going to live after all.
Now that she has tasted the good life and made some of her lifelong dreams a reality, she’s not going back to her old frugal ways.
Accumulator Inspiration: Excellent work building up that nest egg. Now, what dreams can it help you to realize?
2. Classic Maverick
Katniss Everdeen, portrayed by Jennifer Lawrence in “The Hunger Games” series.
Our heroine, Katniss, is a great example of the Maverick. She embodies the rebel with a cause.
She leads with her heart and refuses to play by the rules. Just when you think that she has been defeated, she rises like a Phoenix (or Mockingjay) from the ashes.
She aims her arrow high and far, taking big risks, willing to die trying.
At the end of her story though, we find her living a pastoral life, raising a family and resolutely choosing peace over bitter hatred.
After many hard-won victories and brutal losses, she has settled down, finding peace in the simple joys of life. She could have continued her maverick ways, but they were too costly. She values stability and comfort over rebellion and heartache.
Maverick Inspiration: Your courageous heart could use a break. What might that look like?
3. Classic Alchemist
Erin Brockovich, portrayed by Julia Roberts in “Erin Brockovich”.
Erin Brockovich is a champion of the underdog if ever there was one. This is a typical trait of the Alchemist, our inner idealist.
Ms. Brockovich never seems to have enough money though, and often teeters on the brink of financial disaster. She is more interested in the personal stories of suffering of hundreds of clients than in being perceived as a legal expert or following conventional work practices.
She perceives injustice and seeks to right those wrongs. Through her daring ways, she brings transformation to a community, ultimately birthing a movement.
The big surprise for this Alchemist comes at the end of the movie when she receives a 7-figure check, a handsome reward for her personal sacrifices.
This is the ideal shift for Alchemists because they will never be a slave to money and will generally seek to do even more good in the world with their expanded resources.
Alchemist Inspiration: Your compassionate heart deserves to be compensated well. Imagine the positive impact you could make as a wealthy woman.
4. Classic Celebrity
Melanie Smooter (Carmichael), portrayed by Reese Witherspoon in “Sweet Home Alabama”.
We meet the fabulous, up-and-coming fashion designer, Melanie “Carmichael” on the night of her engagement to the son of NYC’s mayor (“McDreamy” for Grey’s fans).
She hides her humble origins as Melanie Smooter from her future husband and sneaks away to close out some unfinished business down South. She clearly values status and appearances over old-fashioned family values.
She sees how her snobbery hurts some old friends and eventually opens her heart again to the places and the people that used to mean home. Proud of her heritage, and herself, she moves the wedding to Alabama as a cheaper venue, to spare her father’s pride.
We learn through conversations with her mother that she was groomed to abhor her country life and to seek better for herself. By the end of the movie, this former social climber learns that you can have both roots and wings.
Celebrity Inspiration: You are a confident leader, who naturally stands out in the crowd. When you love yourself for who you are, your net worth will increase effortlessly.
5. Classic Ruler
Daenerys Stormborn of House Targaryen, the First of Her Name, Queen of the Andals and the First Men, Protector of the Seven Kingdoms, the Mother of Dragons, the Khaleesi of the Great Grass Sea, the Unburnt, the Breaker of Chains, portrayed by Emilia Clarke in the “Game of Thrones” television series (technically not a movie, but each episode was like a movie unto itself so it gets a pass).
Daenerys is an extraordinary leader with eyes on the Iron Throne of Westeros. On her march to the Red Keep, she builds an empire where oppressors are vanquished and slaves are freed, forging enemies and loyal subjects with every conquest.
Her singular vision is to claim the dominion stolen from her family. Her passion and personal conviction make her unstoppable.
She is courageous and decisive, which ultimately erodes her support as she ruthlessly executes traitors rather than showing mercy. Inwardly, her confidence falters when she arrives as an outsider to the kingdom she plans to rule, and her paranoia drives a rift between herself and her lover (who also happens to be her uncle, threatening her claim to the throne).
Rather than bend the knee to Jon Snow, and enjoy a life of harmony and shared rulership, she demands his fealty. Nothing is enough unless she holds absolute power.
It doesn’t end well for this queen of many names. When she goes on a murderous rampage, the man that she loves sees that her inner emptiness will never be filled by her external victories.
Ruler Inspiration: Why not challenge yourself to focus your ambitious nature on the soul-work of finding your highest and truest source of self-worth?
6. Classic Connector
Kate (Katarina) Andrich, portrayed by Emilia Clarke in “Last Christmas” (yes, two Emilia Clarke characters…she will always be my queen).
Our protagonist presents herself as selfish and irresponsible, yet adorably witty and eccentric.
Kate shows up late and unprepared for auditions, forgets to lock the door in the Christmas shop where she works and generally wears out her welcome everywhere that she goes.
Deep down, she is running away from her pain, her family problems and her dream of singing in the theatre.
As her childlike charm gets old, she is forced back to her parents’ home while an angelic hottie offers unconditional — albeit platonic — love.
The big reveal (hinted in the title with the subtlety of a sledgehammer) heals her and makes her whole, so she can grow up and take responsibility for her life.
Connector Inspiration: Deepen your self-respect and self-worth by learning to take good care of yourself.
7. Classic Romantic
Rebecca Bloomwood, portrayed by Isla Fisher in “Confessions of a Shopaholic”.
It’s all in the title folks.
Rebecca maxes out her credit cards and generally takes a “fiddle-dee-dee” attitude towards money.
She buys for sensory pleasure, for gratification and for indulgence. She tells herself that she deserves it and must have it.
After her card is rejected, she tells a sob story to get money for a green scarf. The green scarf is incorporated into her byline in her accidental new job writing for a financial magazine.
Eventually her debts catch up with her in a public way and she is forced out of her writing gig. To pay off her debts, she sells her clothes, including the green scarf. She is tested one last time as she passes a designer store window, but she resists temptation, finally cured of her shopping addiction.
Her old boss hires her at his new company, and returns the green scarf secretly purchased by his agent.
Romantic Inspiration: What truly belongs to you can never be taken away. Look for low-cost ways to have pleasure and indulgence in your everyday life.
8. Classic Nurturer
Iris Simpkins, portrayed by Kate Winslet in “The Holiday”.
We meet London society columnist Iris at the holiday office party where the coworker that she used to date ambushes her by publicly announcing his engagement to someone else.
Nearly suicidal, she dissolves into tears and pines for the man who has strung her along for three years.
An impromptu home exchange inquiry sparks her escapist/adventurous side and she jets over to LA to get over him by New Year’s Eve. He keeps the connection alive, using her for the convenient ego boost and occasional book editing advice.
She is loyal to a fault and loves being needed by him. She is aware that she plays the martyr, yet can’t seem to help herself out of this pattern until a few good men come along to remind her that she deserves better (yes, a few good women would be more pc, but this was another 2006 movie).
She summons her inner “gumption” and kicks him to the curb, making space for reciprocal love.
Nurturer Inspiration: Seeing others as empowered serves both you and them. Strengthen your boundaries and give from a place of stability and wholeness.
©The Spiritual Biz Coach 2020.
