Travel and Leisure

What a refreshing feeling it is when payday finally arrives. It's Friday and the weekend weather is going to be perfect. Your energy is high. You're feeling good and excited about your plans for tonight. Maybe you'll stop by your favorite store at the mall to buy that outfit you've promised yourself. Maybe you'll catch "Happy Hour' at your favorite restaurant with your friends or coworkers. Perhaps you'll decide to treat yourself to a manicure/pedicure or stop by the barber shop to get a fresh haircut. Life is good... because today is payday. The pressures of the past three days while stressing about money and the anxiety over how you would make it to the next payday has waned.

Someone once told me that "being broke is temporary, but poverty is a mindset that eventually leads to its manifestation". Why? Because the emotions you feel prior to getting paid are minimal to how it would feel if you were poor and there was no paycheck today. However, is there really a difference between poverty and being temporarily broke? Sure. Being poor is a lot easier. It's easier because there is no expectation of a future 'payday'. There are no pressures from stressing about maintaining your lifestyle because there is no lifestyle to support when someone is poor. Someone living in poverty cannot experience this type of anxiety because they have no expectations for something better.

However, when you go to work for 14 days you expect compensation for your efforts. Throughout these past two weeks you have budgeted and allocated your money to pay for things you find comfortable and enjoyable. Being compensated with money is a very rewarding experience. But how does it feel when the money runs out; when your paycheck is not enough? A successful MLM (Multi Level Marketing) friend of mine once told me that a J.O.B stands for "just over broke". In other words your job pays you just enough to keep you coming to work, and while you're at work you do just enough to keep from being fired.

The lifestyle that you live is subject to the amount of money you earn. Your residence. The car you drive. The food you eat and whether this food is healthy or unhealthy is determined by your job. The places you visit and travel. The clothes you wear. The neighborhood you live and the schools your children attend is all based upon how much money is written in the middle right part of your paycheck. Your employer even controls when you can go to lunch, and they can care less if you're hungry or not. And when you exchange your time for an amount of money that isn't enough you begin to resent your job. You begin to feel used, abused, and that what you bring to this job is unappreciated by your employer. The proof of such can be shown with the minimal raise you received during your last review. Now ask yourself is working a J.O.B that you hate worth the temporary thrill of the paycheck you receive every two weeks, 15th and 30th, or once a month? Perhaps a 'nominal' paycheck wouldn't be so bad if you were working a job that you were passionate about or a career that is part of your life's purpose.

Here are a few reasons why your employer does not pay you what you're actually worth:

1) Because employees are a company's largest cost. Although your place with the company is of great value to your employer, the company is always searching for ways to decrease this cost.

2) Many companies feel that they aren't getting what they pay you for. Poor performance, sick and vacation days, benefits and employee taxes are just a few of the expenses that your company incurs by employing you. So if the return on their investment in you is small then you become one of the first who's terminated during a downsize.

3) Your employer believes that they can find someone to do your job at a fraction of the cost. With the economy finally rebounding after a brutal recession there are thousands of people applying for your position. And they are willing to do the job for less than what it's costing the company to have you in this position.

Here are some suggestions of why you should pursue your passion versus finding another job and what to do before quitting.

1). Working in a field that you love benefits you mentally, emotionally and physically. The lack of stress from working in a career that you are passionate about will improve your health in many ways. You will feel refreshed each morning and excited about life. Your personal relationships will improve and other areas of your life will become better.

2). Prior to quitting the job you hate start a 'savings funds' that will help finance your current lifestyle during the famine period. Starting over is not always easy but the rewards are worth it. You want to have at least 3-6 months of your expenses saved if you haven't replaced your current income right away.

3). Draft a plan that also includes the emotional and/or financial support of your significant other and family if possible. When your family believes that the benefit of your new career and dream job also includes them they will be more apt to help you with your passion.

There are several other suggestions I recommend before starting a new career that I will share in next week's article. Instill this success principle in your psyche while enjoying your weekend: dream BIG, plan, get excited and take action now... for the world is waiting to cheer your success.