I have recently been preparing an application for a new opportunity that has opened before me. As I have been updating my details, I was reminded of the keys in creating what I want, rather than chasing someones ideal.
It takes a bigger person to make $20,000 in a month than it does to make $20,000 in a year. Not a better person, but a
bigger one: a bigger risk taker, a bigger thinker, someone with bigger willingness and creativity. In the same way that creating any kind of measurable success requires more from us—as in a long, happy marriage or a satisfying and meaningful career or a fit and healthy body—earning the bigger dollar amount requires a bigger person.
And many of us want to be that bigger version of ourselves, to expand our consciousness to include all the riches life has to offer, including money. Yet many of us are held back.If I didn't submit my interest I would still be in the same place. We have to do different things to get different results.
Before we go any further, let me be clear: I don’t believe money solves all of life’s woes. On the contrary, I see money as a magnifier, both in lack and abundance. Any time you move outside your comfort zones with money, it magnifies the circumstances of your life. If you have a great relationship, if you’re spiritually connected and you’re healthy, then an abundance or shortfall of money will make that seem even greater. (The high life with extra cash will be fun and joyful; the tough times will make you appreciate what you have in other areas of your life.) If you’re in the converse, money will magnify that, as well. (Life will seem bleaker and more lonely at the top and more impossible and desperate at the bottom.)
A Couple of Bad Ideas
The most common problem in this area of wealth is based on two beliefs:
I’m not worthy
or
Money is bad (or will make me bad).
People may not articulate those two beliefs so clearly, either to themselves or to others, but of the unconscious limitations that hold people back from the wealth they consciously desire, these two are the most likely psychological roadblocks.
Where do these ideas come from?
They are usually the result of early conditioning. I’m not worthy can stem from any number of childhood events or issues that wind up leaving us feeling as if we don’t deserve more than anybody else. As an adult, it looks something like this: I’m not good enough to earn that much money, or I’m not any better than anyone else, so why should I expect to earn more money? But who among us would say to a friend, “You know, you’re smart enough. Stop learning because you’re bound to make someone else feel stupid,” or “You’re already very healthy. Don’t you feel bad that you can bench press 220 pounds when there are those who can’t do 40?” or “Your daughter is quite well adjusted. Maybe you should back off on encouraging her self-esteem or she will be more confident than her peers”?
The I’m not worthy idea about money is on pretty shaky ground when you put it in the context of other accomplishments, isn’t it? How about the other one, Money is bad? More often than not, this equally insidious idea comes from a misinterpretation of religious principles about wealth. Although according to John 10:10, Jesus Christ announced he had come to earth to give us life more abundant, many of his followers today have somehow decided that lack was Christ’s legacy, that abundance of any kind, and particularly monetary wealth, is sinful. So many of the scriptures have been misquoted or taken out of context to support this idea. For example, “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God,” (Matthew 19:24). The point here was not that there’s something wrong with being rich, as it’s often interpreted. Instead, according to Paul Pilzer, economist, biblical scholar, and author of God Wants You to Be Rich, Jesus was explaining what God expects of us if we are to go to heaven, and pointing out that for those of us who acquire material wealth, we are called to do even more.
We bump up against some interesting beliefs when we start talking about giving, too. What most of us need to remember is that giving is an integral part of receiving. Wealth is something like a teeter-totter, requiring balance on many levels. One of those levels is giving-receiving. Many of us say, “Oh, I’ll give money away when . . .”. When we make “enough.” Or when we make “extra.” But giving is a habit that’s easiest developed with less money instead of more. Do you think it’s easier to give $1 out of $10, or $100 out of $1,000, or $10,000 out of $1 million?
A great example of this is income, which has two balancing elements: psychic rewards and monetary rewards. Monetary rewards are the paycheck; that’s obvious. The psychic rewards come from doing something in alignment with your purpose, from doing something that meaning for you. In any profession or career, the ideal is to balance both types of rewards. If one is insufficient for you—either your pay is great but the job stinks, or you love the job but can barely cover the mortgage—then you will ultimately be unhappy in that role. The mistake most of us make is thinking that if we just hang on long enough, the income will balance itself: in time, the sacrifices we make will be noticed by management and compensated, or the money will come to be fulfilling in and of itself. Sorry, it just doesn’t work that way.
Then how can we increase our income, both in terms of psychic and material rewards? It all comes down to mindset. Remember these keys:
You are compensated based on three factors: 1) perceived value, 2) the actual value you deliver, and 3) the ease with which you can be replaced. Improve one or all of these areas to increase your income.
Remember, money is a magnifier, both in your life in general and in the workplace in particular. What you do well will be magnified with an increase in pay, and what you need to improve will also come into sharper focus. Be the first one to notice and take action.
So as I continue to refine my application I am keeping those key ideas of the reward in the fore front of my mind...
What about you? What are you doing to ignite the fire within you? Are you taking steps to make the most of this day?
Ignite the fire within.
www.fraserstirling.co.nz
