Money as a Current: Rewriting Your Money Story Through Creative Adaptive Intelligence
TL;DR: Money moves like water—sometimes rushing, sometimes pooling, sometimes resting in stillness. When fear or shame dam the flow, scarcity grows. But when we let it circulate with clarity, adaptability, leadership, and momentum, money stops being proof of worth and starts becoming a rhythm of care, creativity, and community.
Currency is one of those words that belongs to both water and money. Currents in a river. Tides in the ocean. Paychecks, invoices, transfers. Same word, same truth: both are meant to move.
Flow isn’t the opposite of stillness; it includes it. There are quiet pools and slow bayous that hold water until it’s needed again. In the same way, money in motion nourishes communities, while money at rest nourishes peace of mind. Both belong to the rhythm of a healthy current.
What clogs the river isn’t stillness it’s fear. When we tighten our grip, guilt muddies the water. Scarcity stories start to swirl. They show up in ways that seem harmless: undercharging, apologizing, over-giving, avoiding the banking app, or hoarding a grant out of worry. Each moment asks the same question in disguise: What’s the story you’re telling about your flow?
I’ve asked that question of myself many times.
Years ago, I drove to the beach with almost nothing in my account just a pocket of client cash for gas. It wasn’t luxury; it was survival. But it moved.
That trip taught me that even survival counts as flow.
Later, through the Front Porch Project, the current widened. Community gave, I photographed, and together we poured more than a million dollars back into the Baton Rouge economy. That wasn’t luck, it was circulation. The same creative current, scaled and shared.
Each experience reminded me: money isn’t proof of your worth; it’s a living rhythm. When it circulates, it sustains you and the ecosystem around you. When it stalls in fear or guilt, it stagnates.
This is where Creative Adaptive Intelligence (CAI) meets money. CAI isn’t a strategy; it’s a way of reading the river. It’s noticing how you move through uncertainty—the bends, the pauses, the shifts. It’s awareness in motion.
You don’t have to label every rock or predict the next turn. You only need to keep the flow conscious:
to know when clarity clears the water,
when adaptability helps you bend,
when leadership shapes the banks,
and when momentum carries you toward expansion.
CAI isn’t about controlling the current; it’s about staying attuned to it. When you bring awareness to the way money moves through your life, you stop trying to “fix” the flow and start learning from it.
Because money, like water, wants to move—and it wants to move with you.
Creative Adaptive Intelligence (CAI) is the capacity to meet change with clarity, creativity, and values-driven action. This reflection invites you to notice where your own financial flow wants to move next.
Baton Rouge friends!
On October 9th (3–4 PM), I’ll be leading The Currency of Clarity: How Values Redefine Money + Creative Successat the Louisiana Arts Summit (River Center Branch Library).
This isn’t a quick-fix money talk. It’s a space to return to yourself. We’ll explore how values, boundaries, and creativity reshape the way money moves in your life and work. Think of it less like a lecture, more like a hands-on conversation.
Grab your ticket here and join me for an afternoon of clarity, connection, and a new way of seeing your relationship with money.
