Myth: Spirituality and Business Success are Mutually Exclusive

There is a story in the spiritual community that spirituality and business success are mutually exclusive.

The belief goes: the more you struggle, and the less you have, the more spiritual you must be. Therefore, it’s impossible to be both spiritual and successful in business.

The perceived split between spirituality and business success has deep historical roots, going back for centuries.

The harm this myth has caused- especially in a community of people offering meaningful, soul-led gifts to the world- has been ongoing and chronic.

The belief seeps into our mindset.

I live in an area of North Carolina blessed with an abundance of spiritual practitioners- healers, mediums, massage therapists, and even everyday business owners are spiritually led. When I walk among this community, I hear too many stories of businesses that aren’t thriving. I hear about people struggling to make ends meet.

And yet… no one seems concerned.

Coming from a corporate background- and now closely working with successful online marketers- I can’t help but feel saddened and even appalled. Why doesn’t this collective struggle raise alarm bells?

🌿 Where did the spirituality vs. business myth originate?

1.     Religion and Asceticism

Early religious teachings, particularly in Christianity and other monastic traditions, affirm poverty, sacrifice, and detachment from material wealth and money as the path to spiritual purity. Success, especially financial, was seen as worldly or corrupting. This ingrained the belief that to be truly spiritual, one must eschew money or ambition.

2.     Capitalism’s Masculine-Driven Model

Industrial capitalism emphasized logic, productivity, hustle, and hierarchy (still does!)- qualities labeled “masculine”. Spirituality is often aligned with intuition, receptivity, flow, and connection- qualities labeled “feminine.” Business, historically, has devalued feminine. This reinforced the idea that spiritual, heart-led people don’t thrive or belong there.

3.     The “Starving Healer” Archetype

Healers, coaches, and spiritual guides have been expected to serve from a place of martyrdom. The idea that “you shouldn’t charge for your gifts” comes from the false idea that service and abundance can’t coexist. This archetype has been passed through generations, especially among women.

4.     New Age vs. Corporate Extremes

Spirituality has been stereotyped as “woo”, “flighty”, or anti-structure. Meanwhile, business is labeled “cutthroat”, “strategic” and emotionally disconnected. The polarized stereotypes make it feel like you have to choose one side- soul or strategy. (Hint: you don’t have to choose.)

🔍 Additional Stereotypes that Reinforce the Myth

1.     Women aren’t built for business.

This age-old belief- that women are the “fairer self”, meant to be seen and not heard, has influenced generations. As many spiritual practitioners are women, it’s no surprise the myth has filtered into belief systems, consciously or not. Even if you’ve done mindset work, ancestral patterns may still whisper that your business or voice holds less value.

2.     Gifts are meant to be given freely.

See the “Starving Healer” Archetype above. My connection to my intuition and my ability to support others (those crossing to the other side) are gifts. And, like any skill, I’ve practiced, honed and strengthened them.  

For some, the idea that a “gift” is free is so deeply ingrained that charging for it feels wrong.

But think of it this way: if your gift was engineering or cooking, you’d be expected to charge for it.

Spiritual gifts have been devalued as we’ve drifted from reverence- for the Earth, for our energy bodies, and for our connection to something “greater.”

Calling them “gifts” isn’t about ego- it’s about reverence.

We call them gifts because they feel like something sacred we’ve been entrusted with.

We’re not claiming to be better.

We’re saying: our work is guided. We are in service.

My gift is a skill. Your gift is a skill. As such, it deserves energetic exchange, including payment.

3.     The spiritual community talks about- while blocking financial flow

Flow is the harmonious alignment of energy, purpose, It’s about moving with ease, grace, not resisting life but flowing with it.

But if your money mindset is rooted in scarcity… if you still believe charging for your work is wrong… then you’re unknowingly cutting off the flow of money.

To fully practice flow, you must allow money to be part of that movement. It doesn’t have to be the only form of energetic exchange but let’s be real: it helps pay the electric bill.

So now what?

You know the myth that spirituality and business are incompatible is not yours. It’s a construct- fed to us, generation after generation.  

What we’re reclaiming in communities like the Soulful Success Circle, is this:

🌟  Spirituality and business success are not only compatible- they amplify each other. 🌟 

Your intuition is your strategy.

Your alignment, your light is your magnetism.

Your sacred work deserves to be supported, seen, and well-resourced.

Your gifts are as valuable as any other skill set.

And in challenging times, they’re more valuable than ever.  

To invite business success, you must shift the belief that your skills- or your business- are less than simply because they are spiritual.

The world needs you.