Do you belong to the income growth camp or the income stagnation camp?
Ever asked yourself why you see some people around you earning more and have no trouble spending on anything they wish while some people can't seem to break out of their 'income ceiling'? Personally, I arrived at this theory that not everyone seriously wants to earn more. If money comes for free like our government hand-outs, everyone wants them. If it takes effort to earn it, then not everyone REALLY wants it.
Over the years I've worked and met a lot of people, I've spotted some common patterns among the haves and have nots. In this article, I endeavor to highlight my observations and hopefully help some people move from earning lesser to earning more.
Self Improvement
People who earn more overtime are constantly striving for self-improvement. Honestly, I've never met a person who have no desire to progress but is earning more progressively. One interesting and dangerous behavior that I'd suggest being careful to avoid is the trap of being a content junkie. For instance, reading is an activity which should rightfully help a person to become better. However, I've known people who owns more books than me and probably read a lot more than me whom I've wondered why their knowledge is so skin-deep.
After observation, I came to the conclusion that sometimes consuming content becomes a false psychological feel good factor that gives people the excuse to skip applying their knowledge or feel a need to internalize it. Afterall, if you have no intention to utilize what you know, why would you feel a need to remember the content?
Think about it, how many of you remember the content you learn from your textbooks in your poly or university days? Most of the time, we consume content to pass the exam and then conveniently forget it later. I majored in Sociology and I graduated with honors but can't quote a single Sociologist or popular theorist. In fact, the philosopher relevant to my field of study that interests me wasn't even taught during my university days - Niccolo Machiavelli.
So if you are serious about earning more, the first step is to take self improvement seriously. Consume content for knowledge with the intention to apply and internalize, not to delude yourself you are 'self improving'.
Take Action
This sounds very obvious as well. Too obvious, it is almost motherhood. People who earn more overtime simply bother to try. A lot of times, when people come to hear of an opportunity, the first consideration is always the difficulty. Logically, the easy jobs always pay the least and the harder jobs will pay more. This is common sense. Very often, many people give up or dismiss the opportunity without trying. Naturally, there will always be a small subset who tries and they will be the ones rewarded.
In Singapore, there's a culture that is pretty unforgiving towards failure. Hence the fear of being judged is very real. It's common for anyone trying something new or unorthodox to feel that everyone surrounding them can't wait to see hiccups happen so that they can gloat "I told you so". I think this observation is sound to a large extent having tried a number of ventures during my school days and also worked closely with entrepreneurs before. My advice is despite this being true, do it and dare to fail anyway. As long as one is trying new endeavors, you learn new things. The bigger your endeavors, the faster and more you learn.
Frankly, you only need to succeed once and all the failures would have been worth it. So who cares if the world is judging you for every time you fail? You just taught yourself new lessons and got closer to getting it right.
Find Solutions Instead Of Accepting Something Is Difficult
As mentioned, it's common knowledge that remunerations are priced according to the difficulty of the task or the willingness for people to do it. Instead of resigning to the fact that something is difficult, people who increase their incomes will look for solutions. In their heads, they are only thinking about 'how can I earn this money?' On the other hand, those who can't earn more are constantly thinking, 'this task is too difficult, forget it.'
See the difference? People who earn more take an interest in the pay-off then find ways to earn it rather than make the ease of task their first consideration. They know for a fact that life has no free lunch and the more you want to be paid, the more difficult the task should rightfully be.
The truth is, if I want an extra $1000 per month, I can always sacrifice sleep and sign up as a Grab driver or do food deliveries. If I work hard enough part-time, I can earn that extra $1K. Yet, it's probably not gonna motivate me to work and it's probably not the most optimal use of my time. Firstly, the intensive labourous activity deters me. I can't even find the discipline to exercise because to me exercise is tiring. Next, it'll probably be bad for my health as I'll need to work many many hours on top of my day job which is already time consuming. Such a method will probably bring down my per hour rate drastically as well.
If I wanted to earn extra money, I would prefer to look for side hustles with higher remunerations per hour and then figure out how to do it. For example, learning how to invest/trade or I might work with recruiters who offer good referral fees (maybe $1000-$2000 per head count) and find them suitable candidates since I meet people all the time. It's not in your face simple but it's really not rocket science either.
Think Like A Winner Not Like A Loser
A common observation I have is that people who end up increasing their income from time to time have a strong confidence in their abilities so they bother to try. As the saying goes, 'if you have confidence, half the battle is won.' Also many of these individuals take pride in their work.
Just recently, I had lunch with a friend whom I've known for many years. Throughout the years, she's been a go-getter and has been able to even afford a Condo right after university. We were discussing job opportunities and the remark came up, "I'm not worried where I go and work, I know I can definitely do decently well anyway." Personally, this remark resonated with me. Every financial institution I've been to, I've managed to earn some personal awards. Does this mean that my friend and I are especially smart people? I don't think so. My personal belief is that we simply have pride in our work and are willing to put in the effort to ensure our time spent building our careers in the firm is not in vain.
Likewise, have you encountered some people with multiple job experiences in many firms and nothing to show for all the firms they worked at? Why is that so? Speaking to such individuals, I assure you they look normal, can speak normally and don't appear that incapable. My interactions with those in HR told me that it's down to a person's work attitude. Do you want to simply 'pass up work' or 'earn praise from it'? Are you there to do the minimum and hit targets or outperform? According to my friends in HR, this will shed some light why some people do well everywhere they go and some people seem to have no talent working at all.
Sometimes, the mentality we have can either make or break us. Over the years, I've become a strong advocate of not compromising on life. I've seen so many people compromise their lives to extents I totally cannot fathom how they can ever be happy. When an opportunity comes along, people who earns more tend to ask more questions related to the reward and the tasks because they are serious about fulfilling the challenge. People who don't really wish to earn top dollars are quick to justify why the task is unattractive and have 1001 reasons why they shouldn't do it.
Be Adaptable
A lot of those with self-limiting beliefs have a one track mind. They live in a universe believing that working hard in their jobs should rightfully give them income growth and life-long stability. We are in a recession right now, people are worried about job stability so I guess it's fair to say this belief is a little naive. Those who tend to earn more and earn faster tend to be more enterprising. They know that opportunities need to be grabbed. Even at work, they can spot opportunities and seek out new challenges instead of waiting around and praying for a good appraisal.
People who are keen to grow their incomes are very open-minded to alternatives. Many have multiple income streams. Opportunities are ever present and sometimes we simply need to be on a look out for them to spot them. If you don't believe me, try thinking of a strange enough item (like a colourful caterpillar) and be actively on the lookout for it. You might just see it next month.
My point is simple, as long as one is constantly looking out for opportunities, it's impossible there're no opportunities coming their way at all. There'll at least be 1. That's why very often, the harder I work, the luckier I seem to get. I'm sure every person who has been increasing their income will concur with this sentiment.
I am currently on the look out for the right fit to expand my advisory team. If you feel that you would like to explore a career where your income is determined by your own effort, do drop me a message and I'll be in touch.
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Disclaimer: The content created are based on my personal opinions and may not be representative to everyone or any organisation. If you have any doubts or queries pertaining to insurance or investment, please seek professional advice from a trusted adviser in an official setting. You may also reach out to me if you do not have a present adviser using the message box under 'Let's Talk'.
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