Increasing Income – The First Time It Happened for Me – BIG!

Increasing income is the topic of the day. I’m a firm believer that any big life change begins in your mind first. I have a video here on how I landed a job in 30 days by saying affirmations out loud in the mirror morning and night. This is just one of the things I’ve spoken into existence.   

Here’s the Three Step Process I use to make any changes in my life, big and small, including increasing my income.

• The first step is to believe that this change is possible. 
• The second step is to take action
• The third step is to evaluate and adjust results as necessary.   

My first job out of college was as an Editorial Assistant at a publishing company. I remember opening the envelope of my offer letter, reading the salary – which was a good $10k less than offers my friends had received, and thinking “That’s it. I’m going to live a life of poverty.” Numbers did not come naturally to me. So I thought that I would never be able to make or keep a lot of money.

Fast forward ten years and my silent prophecy came true: I was not making much more than minimum wage. 

In those ten years, I got into and out of $17,000 in consumer loan debt. I also started on a different career path, moving from publishing into marketing. However, I was still making a pretty low salary. 

Why was my salary so low? 

I realized that I had thought of myself as only capable of earning a specific amount. Regardless of the amount of responsibility or work involved, I didn’t think that my skills warranted a higher salary or earning band and unconsciously I had proven myself right. 

In order to earn more money, I had to realize why I was stuck at my low salary. 

At the time, I was working as a recruiter for medical and pharmaceutical sales representatives. My goal was to make at least two placements within 90 days.

I wanted to succeed in this position. So I wrote out intentions every morning and said them out loud morning and night. I made all the calls to prospective candidates and kept all the records. As the days ticked by, I realized that it wasn’t for lack of trying. I just wasn’t the best at trying to convince people to do things they didn’t want to do. Gradually my motivation flagged and my productivity slumped. That was my own fault. 

I had been writing out affirmations and intentions for a good two years before I saw any sort of movement. Now looking back at those affirmations I realize how low I had set my sights. 

Here was my lightning moment: a friend had mentioned that her boss was looking for help. We exchanged information, and within two days an email plopped into my inbox from her boss’s assistant asking if I was free to meet for an interview the following day.

I was shocked that he responded so fast, but I rose to the challenge. I pulled out a musty, second hand “interview day” suit, a faded black Ferragamo skirt and blazer from a local thrift store, and I made sure my shoes were clean. 

The next morning, I printed out a few copies of my resume and stuck them into my black leather portfolio. I arrived at the office early and sat out in the parking lot for a good half hour before the meeting time.

The boss was a compact man with a personable easy going personality. He ran three companies and was very politically active. He was looking for someone to stay on top of his many businesses, juggle the demands of his political career, and negotiate the demands of his private life. 

The interview was more of a long conversation touching on his international interests, my experience working abroad, and local town interests. He asked me to come back the next day, which was a Saturday, and I readily agreed. I was ready to do what the job required. I showed up that afternoon, met the weekend crew, and after another two hour long conversation, he said “I’d like to offer you the job.” 

“Your salary will be $50,000.” 

I blinked in shock at the number and hoped I didn’t show my surprise. I had never made that much money in my life. But deep down I knew I was worth that much money. I drove home elated and started planning the transition into this new position. 

Here’s how you can replicate an income increase of your own. 

Return to the Three Key Steps:

• Believe
• Take Inspired Action
• Evaluate  

If you want to make the big bucks, you gotta do what the people who make the big bucks do. In my case, unconsciously, I had adopted these principles. I had a loose network of people whom I respected, that I could lean on for guidance and support. An opportunity opened and I was ready to take action. 

The “Take Inspired Action” part is the most difficult. The actual moment when I had to show up for the interview felt a little scary, but for the most part, it’s the daily moments and the in and out that’s more challenging for me. It was sitting through the group where I met that friend week in and week out, showing up when I didn’t feel like it, that was the real groundwork for that moment. 

I have learned this: It’s the tiny actions you take, day in and day out, that make the biggest difference in increasing your income. Increasing your income might happen in a short time, but the work that goes into becoming the type of person with skills that command that income is a process that happens every single day.