Dan Miller, author of 48 Days to the Work You Love, among other bestsellers, agrees. “I don’t encourage anybody, ‘Hey, just quit your job,’” he told me. “But capture those ideas that you’ve had that have been recurring. A lot of what’s happened right now, where people are in this state of insecurity and uncertainty, it’s brought back to the surface ideas that have been dormant for twenty years. Man, when I was eighteen years old I had this idea—I never did anything with it. I just got caught up in the expected, and here I am twenty years later. This is a time to go back and revisit those ideas. I’m not talking about being some radical inventor who, you’re gonna come up with the next Hula-Hoop or Frisbee. That may be the case, but it may be something more ordinary than that, that you just do in a really, really excellent way.”
Dan breaks our working life into decades. “There are predictable kinds of patterns that we go through,” he explains. “In our twenties, essentially, we’re learning—that’s a learning decade. Thirties is usually experimenting—you’re kind of sorting things out, what fits you. Forties we call mastering. This is the decade when you focus on those things that you hung on to, where you’re really developing your skills, becoming an expert. Fifties are reaping. You’re really maximizing the benefits of where you are at that point. Sixties are usually guiding, seventies, you’re leaving a legacy. And we can go on from there. I like to go all the way up to like, where somebody’s a sage, where you’re respected just for the wisdom, reflection on life that you offer.”
Dan’s point is if someone is in their forties and realizes they may have made a mistake and may want to choose something different, they don’t need to go back to when they were a teenager and start thinking about all those same possibilities. Now they have the wisdom of experience to guide them toward making a good decision for moving forward much more quickly. At the same time, someone in their sixties may decide they want to learn a musical instrument, or a new way of investing. No matter your age, the possibilities are endless—but it’s time to make some changes now.
Tell yourself that in the next thirty days, you’re going to make three courageous money moves:
- I’m going to talk to my boss and ask him point blank, “What would it take to have my salary increased?”
- I’m going to take on more responsibility.
- I’m going to sign up for additional training that will help me advance in my career.
You’ll see that just writing all this down or saying it aloud will begin to stem the tide of money negativity and unleash the ability to earn more, save more, and ultimately give more. Gradually, you’ll begin to take small risks and build true money momentum. Give yourself a deadline of thirty days. A self-imposed sense of urgency will lead to quicker results. Then delve a little further with a few other questions. Can you move out of your current role but remain in your place of employment? Are you able to take on more responsibility to boost your pay? Or maybe it’s time to start a side gig to determine whether you have a viable alternative.
If the answer is no, then ask yourself if it’s time to jump ship. You make more money based on the value you create—and it might be time to look for other opportunities.
But wait just a minute. What about those who feel stuck in a fixed-salary job, or find themselves squarely in the middle of an increasingly “nontraditional” economy? If you’re not employed in a conventional professional environment, you may feel you’re not in a position to ask for more money. That’s understandable. If you’re working in a field solely based on seniority or a set pay-range, or you’re working part-time, developing a side gig in a field in which you have an expertise, or changing jobs or even professions, asking for a raise might not seem particularly relevant.
