How much you earn directly reflects what the market believes you're worth. Your income is based on the demand for your knowledge and skills, the quality and quantity of your work, and how well you market yourself to potential employers or customers.
If you want to earn more, you must be worth more.
What the market values might not seem fair to you but fair is irrelevant. Is it obscene that professional athletes are paid so much? Maybe. Should teachers be paid more? Perhaps. But it doesn't matter. These numbers are a product of supply and demand. If you want to increase your income you have to supply more of what employers demand.
Excercise:
Now it's time to act. Spend five minutes thinking about each of these questions:
- What's one thing you can do to increase your knowledge or skillset? What's one thing you can do to increase the quantity or quality of the work you do? What's one thing you can do to better market yourself to your employer or to other employers?
For each question, pick one best course of action. Now here's the tough part: Commit to yourself that over the course of the next six months, you'll actually do these three things. Then report back here to let everyone know the results!
