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Man Explores Links Between Money and Joy

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By Cheryl  Bentley | The Suncoast News

Published: January 17, 2009

The bad news is Greg Yarmesch is in bankruptcy proceedings.

That's also the good news.

Yarmesch has used a rough three years financially to propel him into a search for the truth about money. These days, he says, he no longer regards the green stuff as a kind of fear-inspiring god that comes and goes at whim. The secret of having money, he says, is clearing up old belief systems of fear and powerlessness that surround dollars.

The Palm Harbor insurance agent and financial planner will share his understanding of money in "The Intersection of Joy and Money," a five-week class beginning Wednesday, Jan. 21, at Unity Truth Center, a church in Port Richey.

Spiritually, joy and money walk hand in hand, says the church's minister, the Rev. Barbara Williams.

"Money is God's energy," she says. "When you learn you can open a channel to express God energy through money, then you express joy."

Yarmesch is winding up the three-year financial rough patch. It has, he says, spurred his desire to help others. He is open about his seeking Bankruptcy Court protection. His problems began when he sold his share of a roofing business to his partner but was unable to refinance business loans he had personally guaranteed. When the business failed because of the collapse of the housing market, he was left with the responsibility for the loans. The bankruptcy filing followed.

His story had a familiar ring. A generation before, when Yarmesch was growing up in Cleveland, his dad lost his job of 30 years, and the family faced financial ruin.

The similarity of his situation to his father's was not lost on Yarmesch. He began to examine his feelings about money. "At an early age, I had a belief system that you could work hard for money and lose it at any time."

Yarmesch suppressed those beliefs while he earned a master of business administration degree and enjoyed early financial success, he says. They resurfaced with the failure of his former partner's business.

From the moment he sold his share in the business he feared just such a financial calamity would arise, Yarmesch says.

In the midst of parrying hounding phone calls from creditors, he decided to quit playing the role of victim, Yarmesch says. That involved "taking off that heavy jacket of pain and guilt" in all aspects of his life, including money, he says.

"I set out on a journey," he recalls. He sought teachers ranging from televangelist Joel Osteen to New Age writer Eckhart Tolle, author of the bestseller "A New Earth."

Yarmesch decided to remove money's negative power over him by remaining joyful even during what most would consider the difficult time of going through a bankruptcy. With that focus, money loses its power and becomes just another element in a life whose purpose is being happy, he says.

But for most people, with every call from creditors, the possibility of joy becomes even less, he notes. They have not learned to operate from a framework of freedom, rather than the one of being bound by the tyranny of dollars.

To those who doubt such an approach can work in real life, Yarmesch points out that at a time when many insurance businesses are foundering, his has grown.

In his course at Unity Truth Center, Yarmesch will explore identifying both conscious and unconscious beliefs about money and other feelings about money. The five-week course will begin this Wednesday, Jan. 21. Unity Truth Center is at 5844 Pine Hill Road, Port Richey. The course is free, but love offerings are accepted. To register, call 727-848-7702.

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