Profit is not a dirty word: It's time to earn what you deserve

June 4, 2010 1:37 PM

I want to light a fire under you, and in the process I may irritate some of you off. My hope is that even if you're put off by this article, it will shake up your thinking about underearning and stimulate the willingness to make a profit.

Here's why.

I'm tired of seeing talented, committed Accidental Entrepreneurs earn less than than they deserve.

I'm frustrated by Accidental Entrepreneurs who say they want to earn more, but who act in a way that guarantees underearning. I've done it myself more than I like to admit, and it's not pretty.)

After all, you actually do earn what you deserve, because what you earn is a function of the beliefs you hold and the choices you make.

Deserving is not about entitlement
To deserve something doesn't mean you are entitled to it. According to the dictionary, deserving is a function of what you *do*. The word derives from the old French "deservir," meaning to serve well or zealously.

So the question is, what are you serving zealously in your efforts to earn a living?

Another way of putting it: Are you living up to your *responsibility* for prospering?

How zealous service can keep you underearning
Believe it or not, it is entirely possible to zealously serve the purpose of underearning even as you say you want to earn more. Here's how that might look.

Spending time on work that doesn't produce income or that produces an amount inadequate to meet your needs.

Turning away well paying work that you are qualified for because you may need to stretch to do it.

Not working during your work day, if you are self-employed. (Sure, design a flexible schedule. But make sure the total time you work adds up to what a reasonable employer would expect.)

Relying on debt to cover the difference between what you want and what you can afford.

Quitting a job without an adequate source of replacement income.

Colluding in any situation that keeps you from earning the right amount for you.

Believing that someone else has to suffer in order for you to thrive.

When you do these things (even just a few of them) you zealously serve the purpose of underearning.

Ouch!

Earn the right amount for your life
According to Jerrold Mundis, author of Earn What You Deserve, How to Stop Underearning and Start Thriving, "Freedom from underearning means regularly to gain income that is enough to meet your needs in a humane way."

"Humane" means adequate to your needs, which include self care, entertainment, vacations, wellness and healthcare, philanthropy, and savings. It means earning enough to make life enjoyable.

Now that amount will vary from person to person. Precise accounting for your expenses plus the cost of things you are deprived of as a result of underearning will show you the amount that is right for you. Of course, to come up with this amount you'll have to be honest about what you want, neither inflating it nor shrinking it to meet someone else's idea of enough.

Underearning is the result of beliefs and behaviors
You may already be clear that earning plenty of money is the result of certain beliefs and behaviors. You may even congratulate yourself on not sharing those beliefs and behaviors.

What underearners are not clear about is that underearning is also the result of beliefs and behaviors. And you are responsible for both.

This is so important. If you are an underearner, you are actually committed to underearning. And that is good news, because you are completely in charge of your commitments.

In fact, when you understand that you are the agent of underearning, you experience your own power. Look what you have manifested as a result of your beliefs and behaviors. Imagine what you can manifest when you change them.

It becomes clear that you are not at the mercy of the economy, of the culture, or of values you cannot embrace.

Change your behavior and your beliefs will follow
If you resonate with this, you feel a bit overwhelmed at the idea of changing your beliefs and behaviors. After all, you have a lifetime pattern of underearning, and it is no small thing to turn that around. Here's a tip to make the change more manageable.

Start by changing your behavior. Your past behavior has reinforced your beliefs, and the fastest way to challenge and change those beliefs is to build a foundation of new behavior. As your behavior changes your relationship to underearning, your beliefs will naturally follow.

How's that fire coming along?
Learning about the pattern of underearning shook me up in a big way, and I hope this article has done the same for you. I'm so grateful to have been awakened to my responsibility to earn enough to live an enjoyable life that I have to share it.

Because it is a responsibility, you know. We weren't put here to muddle through and make do. We are each responsible for tending to the creative fire that animates our work and funds our well being.

That means stepping up when it comes to earning what you deserve.

Photo by cobalt123 via Flickr
Under a Creative Commons License

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Comments

Thank you for this insightful - shall I say "in your face" - blog. I am going to print it and put it on my refrigerator. I have been inching towards this viewpoint for a long time and you captured it with absolute clarity.

Posted by: Sherris Cottier Shank at June 8, 2010 5:47 AM

Thank you for lighting a fire! I have been working on changing my beliefs, but you are so right, it is time to start changing my behaviors!

Posted by: Laurie Morin at June 8, 2010 6:12 AM

Huh? I just sent a comment, but got a message that said too many comments had been received from me in too short a time. I haven't sent ANY other comments!

Posted by: Carmel at June 8, 2010 6:18 AM

Thank you so much for this post. I have been leaning this way too and telling myself all kinds of stories about how impossible it is to get where I want to go. I needed this reminder that the energy spent in underearning thinking / behaviors can be redirected to thinking / behaviors that support my living in a more humane way. Thank you again, Molly.

Posted by: Trista at June 8, 2010 7:23 AM

Beautifully said, Molly. I love the phrase 'accidental entrepreneur.' It covers more of us than I think we'd care to admit.

It's common to undervalue what we offer because it comes so naturally to us. What we don't realize is that what we offer doesn't come that easily to others. That's why it has such great value. It's why we can charge premium prices and get them.

Keep up the good work!

Posted by: Dale Furtwengler at June 8, 2010 7:46 AM

Particularly love 1) the point on spending time on work that isn't producing (adequate) income - you remind me to FOCUS! - and 2)the point on being sure my "work day" adds up to an amount a reasonable employer would expect. Working from home, it's too easy to intermingle my business work with cooking, gardening, cleaning - instead of really sticking to my business and getting my family to pitch in on the other stuff. Thanks for a great reminder, Molly!

Posted by: Beth Speck at June 8, 2010 8:09 AM

Thanks for the great balance of pushing and pulling in this article. I have been tuned in to how I use my energies to earn what I want and this article was a timely reminder of the question I've been pondering: What will I do to have the resources to support my one, great, delicious life?

Posted by: Marti at June 8, 2010 8:37 AM

Thanks so much for taking on this tough but crucial subject. Us creative folk can paint murals, write books, and do a whole host of other remarkable things, yet once the subject of making the living we deserve comes up, we're so often filled with "I can'ts" and "I could nevers" and "but the economy is bads." I'm working hard to transform this in myself and spreading the word to others. We don't do our best work if we don't get paid enough to sustain that work!

Posted by: Suzanne Fox at June 8, 2010 9:53 AM

Ohhhh, this is brilliance: "Underearning is the result of beliefs and behaviors"

Thanks for the (gentle) much-needed butt kick!

Posted by: Square-Peg Karen at June 8, 2010 10:07 AM

Thank you all for your comments. I'd love to hear about specific actions (behaviors) you can adopt or change to start earning more.

Posted by: Molly Gordon, Self-Employment Coach at June 8, 2010 10:08 AM

Beautiful post. Powerful, too. So many gems. I love the clarity you've brought to "deserving" - a noble term that has been infected with a victim-virus over the past 30 years.
You're clarification puts the world on a level playing field - no victims or saviors, just passionate contributors.
Thanks
E

Posted by: Eric at June 8, 2010 3:41 PM

Great post, Molly. I definitely get stung by the first point frequently. So easy to get bogged down in busy work that doesn't lead to profit.

Your point about changing behaviors and beliefs reminded me of something else I read recently. It was about figuring out what you wanted, what you'd have to believe in order to get that goal, and then finding evidence to support that those beliefs were true.

Looking forward to more great posts.

Posted by: Joe at June 10, 2010 5:33 PM

@Eric: I love "victim-virus." That is such a great term for what has happened to the term "deserve"! And we can learn to be passionate contributors who are also good earners. Woohoo!

@Joe: Nice to "meet" you. Finding evidence to support the believes you'd have to have to get where you want to do is a great strategy. What would you have to believe in order to earn more?

Posted by: Molly Gordon, Self-Employment Coach at June 11, 2010 9:53 AM

This post woke me up Molly - I started to read it, felt uncomfortable then stopped, then forced myself a few days later to read it. Boy am I glad I did even though I was squirming as I read it! I haven't been able to stop thinking about it and what I am doing to myself.

My question is - how do I figure out what these behaviors are? Is there an exercise that you recommend or a class that you are going to be offering?

Posted by: Fiona Purdy at June 13, 2010 5:49 PM

Thanks for writing this. I really feel as though I know so much more about this than I did before. Your blog really brought some things to light that I never would have thought about before reading it. You should continue this, Im sure most people would agree youve got a gift.

Posted by: wizard 101 at August 18, 2010 10:35 PM