“You rich bastard. How dare you?!”
I’m not here to brag about my income or make you feel bad. I know you don’t care how much I make, and I was never great at bragging.
I manage to keep my income above 6 figures, even if I don’t work, with a few clever habits I stole off people much smarter than me.
Use them to increase your income and buy back more of your time.
Who you know determines your income
I’m as dumb as a plank of wood.
In high school I got bullied badly, so I was forced to become a people magnet to make up for it. I learned to make friends with the hardest to reach people and the so-called cool kids.
Now, later in life, that skill has determined my annual income.
If you take nothing else away from this article then know this: the better you get at networking the more money you’ll make.
I don’t apply for opportunities or wait to be chosen.
People I know give me opportunities and I decide if I want them or not. In my last job search back in 2019, I played the game. No one would hire me. Then I started having coffees with everyone I’d ever worked with.
And that’s how I got my dream job.
- Become a master of sending DMs
- Ask people about themselves and shut up about you
- Build relationships and ask for nothing for a long time
- Do interesting things in life to become interesting to others
Get paid based on an outcome, not time
Selling time is for chumps.
Author James Clear once said “The world rewards you for value provided, not time spent.”
I sell outcomes. How many hours I work is irrelevant. I take the time to understand a problem in detail then I charge to solve it. I choose big pain points people have because they pay the most.
For example, if I were to consult to a business about banking, which used to be my job, I wouldn’t charge them an hourly rate. I’d bill them for the outcome they wanted.
“That’ll be $100K please. Pleasure doing business, mate.”
Get out of the time-based world. It’s how you get ripped off and starve, as inflation destroys your purchasing power.
Make a few wild bets
To stay above 6 figures and even reach 7 figures, you’re going to need to take some risks.
You don’t need to gamble but you do need to invest. At any one time I have a few wild investments on the go. Anything from crypto, to Shopify or Amazon stock, to new freelancers who may help increase my leverage.
You never want to play it 100% safe. Otherwise innovation and technology will upend everything you’ve worked for.
Take off the floaties and swim by yourself
Alex Hormozi has buff arms and women say he’s sexier than a Ken doll.
He shared recently that one of his Youtube video editors wanted to run a new daily Vlog project for him. Other video editors wanted the gig too. Kids all over the world applied for the job.
Most applicants asked for the job or made a huge promise. “I won’t let you down Hormozi … you’re my daddy.”
One of his existing editors went home and decided to film his girlfriend for two days. He edited the video into a Vlog then sent Alex a one-sentence email:
“I can do this.”
He attached a link to the Vlog. No fluff, no nonsense. Just proof he could do it. Entrepreneur Naval Ravikant goes a step further.
If you want to be great, walk the rope without a boss and without a net.
The modern worker acts like an adult baby. They need their employer daycare to do everything for them. They never leave the nest or stop needing to suck mommy’s boobs.
But getting to the higher income brackets requires you to either start a business or become fully independent. No one wants to hear it but it’s true. If it doesn’t work out you can always get a job at a new daycare and recover.
Invest money in your skills, even when the expense feels scary
If you’re not growing, you’re dying — Tony Robbins
It’s easy for your skills to get stale.
Especially when AI is coming for everyone’s job with a hunting knife and Jason Bourne sniper skills. I’m petrified of becoming irrelevant, so I invest thousands of dollars every year to learn new skills.
A $10K bill can often feel scary.
But an email with a layoff notice in the middle of a recession is way scarier. Skills are likes stocks. You invest in them and they become assets that grow over time.
Self-education is the one area of life that should have an uncapped budget.
Take holidays even when it feels like you’re too busy
Holidays feel like a cancer scare to me.
Aghhhh what if I need to run a masterclass or pay some bills. Who’s gonna do it for me?
That’s my self-talk. I often feel like I’m too busy and can never escape. When I do take a holiday though, I come back a new man. My creativity goes up and my stress goes right down.
Only dumb-dumbs work to the bone like dogs and think it’s the way to get ahead.
Have a stupid amount of cash on hand
It pays to be a pessimistic scumbag with money.
I always assume a recession or world war could break out at any time. While I didn’t predict the naughty war caused by the soviet state, I did assume we were about due for a new conflict.
And I have the 2008 financial crisis glued to my forehead.
All this makes me keep way more cash on hand than is sensible. Yes, I get 0% interest on it and inflation further erodes it, but I get peace of mind. And when a crisis hits I don’t piss my pants and face bankruptcy.
That mental safe haven helps me stress less so I become more effective in business and can keep my overall income high.
Routinely add new income streams
One income stream is a nightmare.
Ya’ll know that. But a predictable income stream that you’ve had for years is just as dangerous. I see it with writers all the time.
Many have enjoyed the cash given out from the likes of platforms like News-Break-My-Balls. They never stop to think “Hey, all this clickbait politics content may go out of fashion in a year.”
They assume the income stream is bulletproof and over the years they allocate more and more of their time toward it.
Then when it blows up they’ve got bird poop on their face and an angry partner saying “who’s paying the mortgage this month moron?”
Always add new income streams to paper over the cracks of the dying ones.
Do more than what people expect
Keeping promises is almost as cute as my daughter’s 6 month old face.
What’s cuter is delivering more than you promise. “Surprise and delight them” as my old boss used to say.
Most people do the bare minimum. When you get in the habit of smashing expectations you take more of the cash. It’s just common sense.
So take a task, find another level that wasn’t asked for, and deliver it.
The best money habits are based on your beliefs. Change your beliefs, notice your money habits change, then watch your income increase. That’s how you stay above 6 figures and break into 7 figures.
This article is for informational purposes only, it should not be considered financial, tax or legal advice. Consult a financial professional before making any major financial decisions.
