How To Invest In Yourself By Leveraging Influence Instead of Hard Work
When you understand this one rule, it will lift the breaking point on your pay while you actually work a similar amount of hours (or even less).
The rule of doubling your pay is straightforward, yet it takes a change in outlook to completely comprehend and execute. Fortunately, when you understand this one rule, it will lift the breaking point on your pay while you actually work a similar amount of hours (or even less).
Why is it important to invest in yourself and how influence plays a role
This piece is not for folks looking to have multiple streams of income because the internet tries very hard to convince you that it’s the only way to financial freedom. Wrong. This is directed at those who prefer one job and would like to increase their pay in that same organization. Unfortunately, it is not one of those “quit your job” types of content. It’s the “leverage your network” type of content.
Say your present pay is $50,000 and you need to make twice that. How likely is it that you can go out and get a new line of work paying $100,000? Even if you own a business, it will be hard to get enough customers required to double your income or getting an inheritance from rich uncle Bob who loves you like family…etc., these things are highly unlikely.
But since we’re talking about what’s required for you right now; which includes staying in this same job but getting paid twice as much — Then all you have to do is follow this simple formula -
“Take half off.”
So instead of doubling your salary (going from $50K ->$100K), simply cut your salary in half (going from $50K ->$75K). Taking on a new position will only require accepting about 50% more pay ($75->$125). I’ll explain later.
All jobs are equal, but some jobs are more equal than others
You’re most likely exchanging your time for cash. That implies you work a specific measure of hours and get paid per those hours. So whether you’re the janitor or the HR employee, your pay depends on making an appearance at work.
Your salary is limited to:
- The number of hours you work
- The measure of significant worth you give (and will get paid for)
- The most effective method to increasing your value
Even if the janitor and the CEO work the same number of hours, you may observe that the CEO is regularly paid more. This is due to their greater value to the firm. Tending to work longer hours will simply wear you out… The solution is to enhance your worth.
For some individuals, this implies returning to class to get fancier degrees or doing additional preparation and this can help your pay. In any case, except if you’ve significantly changed your education level and experience, it will be difficult to come by a role that pays more than your last salary.
If you want to double your income, we should address a significant inquiry.
The principles of influence — why you should invest in your personal brand
This takes us back to the key rule that will lift the cutoff on your pay and that is:
Influence - The capacity to accomplish more with less. Both the CEO and the janitor get paid for their outcomes. Be that as it may, the CEO delivers a more important outcome given the influence they have. They control a whole organization and its outcomes, while the janitor just controls the aftereffects of their own diligent effort — a clean office space. Influence comes from both cash and individuals. The CEO can use the capital of the business (the cash) and its employees (individuals) to make a lot greater outcome than they ever could without help from anyone else.
…the CEO delivers a more important outcome given the influence they have. They control a whole organization and its outcomes, while the janitor just controls the aftereffects of their own diligent effort — a clean office space.
How This Applies to Your Income
If you want to double (or triple) your pay, then you need more influence. If we look at the hierarchy of an organization and how it is constructed, employees get paid the least while management gets paid more — this is because they have a greater impact on representatives than simply carrying out their work tasks.
Also, this stirs as far as possible up the organization structure.
- The Vice Presidents earn more because they influence a few center directors, and
- The Presidents earn more because they influence various Vice Presidents.
- At last, the CEO gets paid the most because they influence everybody.
One approach to increasing your income is to climb the corporate/organizational ladder not by turning out better at the errands you do but by taking the initiative and become an intrapreneur at work.
Treat yourself like a startup
Tips For Building Influence at Work
- Determine what kind of leader people think you are, and then find out where your strengths lie so it correlates with the type of leadership style they feel most comfortable following.
- Get people on your side early in the game; knowing who likes you and why they like you matters because these are the folks most likely going to be inclined towards supporting your projects later down the line.
- Treat yourself like a startup. The influence then becomes the investment. Why should they invest in you? what is the return on their investment?
- Have fun doing it. I think we can all agree we’re tired of miserable leaders at work.
There are two types of people in this world: Those who are being used for influence, and those who are making influence.
It’s a question of what you need to be.
PS: There are tons of ways of doubling your income that you are flooded with on the internet as it stands, I wrote this for folks who would rather make more in their current company instead of side hustles.
TL:DR
- Build influence at work and climb the ladder instead of spending more hours slaving away.
