I recently came across an article by Johnny Moneyseed entitled "You Need More Money? Do Something About It." I suggest you go and read that article first before you continue here.
The gist of the article is this: Johnny has tons of conversations with readers and even friends about how they don't make enough money. He goes on to suggest various solutions, such as decreasing one's expenses, cutting one's commute time, and even generating passive income streams. Next, he suggests calculating just how much more money you need each month, and he finishes off with specific ways to actually increase your income.
I'm not here to add to his list of suggestions - I think his list is sufficient.
I'm not here to disagree with him. In fact, I agree with him wholeheartedly.
I'm here to tell you to stop complaining.
"But... but... I really need the mo-" Stop.
"But... you don't know how diffi-" Stop.
Let me tell you a story.
I know someone who has told me plenty of times that he "needs a job". I've seen tons of signs on restaurant windows saying that they are looking for help, so I keep telling him about these opportunities. He responds by saying, "Oh... well, I don't want to work with food." I ask him why not, he says, "Well, I just know I'm not gonna like it, so why even try it?"
Now, I cringed at this. In college, I was a barista at a cafe on campus and I ended up being promoted to supervisor over there. The experience has taught me a lot, not just about how to make a latte, but about how to treat others and how to have a great work ethic. It was also a job that a lot of people on campus didn't want to work. Personally, I didn't necessarily want to work at a cafe, either. But I knew that I needed income, and this was the only opportunity that was right in front of me. So, I shut my mouth and applied and I never looked back since.
I'm not going to go into the full pros and cons of being in the food service, because that's not the point of this post. The point of this post is this: if you constantly complain about your situation, but choose not to do anything about it, even if the solution is right in front of your face, then stop complaining.
It's easy to talk about how you need more money, or how you'd like this, or how you want that. But it's 10x harder to actually do something about it.
I'm reminded of this acceptance speech by Ashton Kutcher at the 2013 Teen Choice Awards. If you haven't watched it yet, you should. I had to fight the urge to close the window because of all of the teen girl screams, but it's worth it, I promise.
In the video, Ashton says something that resonated with me: opportunity looks a lot like hard work. He goes on to mention all of the jobs he's ever had (carrying shingles, washing dishes, grocery store deli, etc.) and he says that he has never had a job that he was better than. Each job would help him with his next job and so on.
I don't mean to be harsh. But some of us don't have the luxury of choosing what kind of job we have, some of us just need the money to pay the bills at the end of the day. And who knows? Maybe the not-so-ideal job will teach you skills that will help you excel at your eventual dream job!
Also, I don't mean to ignore the economy or anything like that. But again, it's easy to complain about how the economy is the reason why you're jobless or not making enough. Instead, you should be looking inward and asking yourself, "Have I done all that I can (legally and ethically, of course) to earn more money?"
Naturally, I'm a Negative Nancy (not to say that all Nancy's are negative). I am one of the most negative people you will ever meet. I've grumbled and whined plenty of times that I don't make enough money. Starting now, I'm challenging myself to turn the complaints and the negativity into productivity.
So, I challenge you to do the same. The next time you complain about how little you make, be proactive and work towards/ask for a raise or look for a higher paying job. Look at the skills you have and look into how you can monetize them. Or you can take a second job. And if you are in absolute dire need of money, it's no time to be picky about what job you get - money is money and beggars can't be choosers.
Don't talk about it; be about it.
AMDG,
Lisa
