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Entering My Opulent Era

This is slightly related to the subject of this blog so I figured I’d share.

Today is my birthday. I’m writing this ahead of time, since I’ll be overseas and practicing what I preach.

I’ve mentioned before how I’ve grown weary of the practical (boring) advice that is often offered by financial gurus. I am DONE with promoting austerity as the path to wealth, and I will no longer deny myself pleasure that adds depth and color to my existence. I believe it is possible to live luxuriously while also being wise with money. In fact, I’d argue that (for me) the only reason to be responsible with money is to enjoy the luxuries that money can buy. I may forgo ordering takeout to save up for a pair of Ralph and Russo shoes, or I may decide to stay home and read a book instead of blowing my quarterly massage budget on a night out with friends. Whatever the case is, I may opt for the responsible, “boring” choice, but only if it puts me in line for the luxury I really desire.

I have no interest in denying myself every pleasure, just so I can see a certain amount in my bank account. Yes, I believe in saving for rainy days and old age, but I also believe in leaving room for fun NOW! I don’t want a life where I’m not having fun: I want a life that is juicy, exquisite, and delightful from beginning to the very end. That is why I’m declaring this my Opulent Era. I require opulence in everything I do: my meals, my home, my hobbies, my travel, everything. If opulence means sacrificing the less interesting things, I’m happy to do it. I’m no longer interested in living a dull life JUST so I can have more money in an account. I want to LIVE (still responsibly, but not miserly!)

I’m committing to incorporating more opulence into my daily life. If that interests you, then stay tuned, because I’ll be sharing more of those opulent experiences here. I look forward to taking you all on this opulent adventure with me!

Posing at the Edinburgh Airport

Why Your Business is a Temple: The Sacred Systems that Scale Elegantly

The deeper truth of what you’re building

Most people think of their business as a machine: something to be optimized, automated, squeezed for efficiency and profit margins. They don’t think of their business as anything outside of a mechanism to accomplish a financial goal.

In the Sanctum, we see it differently.

Your business is a temple. It’s where your deepest gifts meet the world. It’s also where your ancestors’ sacrifices find new form. Their tears, their strides, their efforts – all of these energetic investments culminate into something new and powerful in your temple.

Your business is where your future lineage will one day trace their security and opportunity back to: all of the choices you’re making right now are part of your dazzling origin story.

This is why your systems — the structures that hold your offers, your money, your client relationships — must be more than transactional.

They must be sacred.

The Power of Spiritual & Strategic Infrastructure

True wealth isn’t just about how much money flows through your accounts. Money is just an indicator – a mirror – of previous decisions. However, true wealth is about how your business holds that money, circulates it, protects it, and grows it — without fracturing your nervous system in the process.

Here’s how we approach it in the Aureum Sanctum:

Systems that free time

Your time is your most precious non-renewable resource.

A sacred business honors it by building systems that operate gracefully even when you step away.

Seamless onboarding flows? These ensure that each new client feels cherished and initiated, without you scrambling behind the scenes. Automated payment structures? These trigger beautiful confirmations, not clunky invoices. Evergreen offers or passive products? These allow you to make money while you rest, travel, or simply luxuriate in your life.

Your business doesn’t require micromanagement. Trust the systems that you put in place.

Systems that regulate wealth

The goal is wealth without structure leaks.

Just like water that seeps through cracked jars, or the harvest that rots in the field, a business without proper storage in place will have spoilage and spillage.

Sacred financial systems are like consecrated vessels: Trusts that hold assets beyond your lifetime. Thoughtful tax architectures that transform liabilities into legacies. Elegant dashboards that show you your numbers at a glance, so you steward them with calm clarity.

When your money knows exactly where to go, it multiplies with grace — not chaos.

Systems that honor your nervous system

What good is scaling if your body is in a perpetual state of contraction?

Systems that support your calm can look like:

Calendars that include Sabbath days and silk afternoons — not just back-to-back calls. Automated reminders that replace mental clutter. Ritualized CEO days where you review metrics over tea and candles, so your wealth is tracked in a way that soothes your soul, not spikes your cortisol.

The right systems don’t just make you efficient: they make you feel profoundly safe.

Your temple deserves more than duct tape

Too many entrepreneurs slap together duct-tape solutions and wonder why their empire feels shaky. Temporary solutions rarely generate permanent positive results.

Your business deserves the same reverence you’d give to constructing a cathedral:

Solid foundations, intricate artistry, and space for spirit to move through.

So yes, let’s build the automations and hire the right team.

Let’s set up smart tax entities and invest in beauty-infused client portals.

Let’s do it not just for profit, but as an act of profound devotion to your future — and everyone who will walk these halls after you.

Create Your Business Temple

If you’re ready to treat your business as a temple that blesses you as much as it blesses the world — consider having a conversation with me. My door is open, and I’m excited to serve you as you create the business of your wildest dreams.

Scaling should feel sacred. Your business should feel like a beautiful sanctuary. Your nervous system deserves to thrive right alongside your bank accounts. Let’s build your beautiful vision – together.

From Idea to Launch – 4 Weeks To Low Energy Income Success

In my previous post, I discussed the quiet revolution happening amongst women entrepreneurs. These brilliant women are embracing a new way to deliver value and create income. By focusing on low-energy income streams, you can rest more while still working toward – and meeting! – income goals.

As previously explained, there are four basic income categories (active, leverage, passive and portfolio) and four types of low-energy income options (digital assets & products; affiliate & recommendation income; membership & community models; and automated or AI assisted services). But, instead of just listing out the options, let’s explore a framework for taking us from Idea to Launch, all in four weeks. The best part of this is that you DO NOT have to stick to a four week time frame: complete the tasks as you have the energy to do so. What good is a low-energy income stream that’s exhausting to set up? If you can do it in four weeks, great! But if not, be gentle with yourself and do what you can: any progress is better than staying still.

Implementation: The 4-Week Action Plan

Transforming these concepts into actual income requires intentional action. Here’s a simple four-week implementation plan:

Week 1 – Brainstorm + Belief Reset

  • Journal your current money-making beliefs. Unpack those limiting beliefs that keep you from feeling that it’s possible to generate the income you desire without exhausting yourself.
  • Review the 4 income categories. Understand what it takes to implement and maintain each one. Carefully weigh the pros and cons of each category.
  • Pick one idea per category that resonates with you. Focus on one at a time, to avoid burnout. If, later on, you find that a particular idea no longer resonates, you can always drop it and try another.

Week 2 – Design One Offer

  • Choose the income path that feels lightest. Whatever you select, make sure that it doesn’t feel exhausting before you start: that feeling rarely changes once you’ve begun the work. I’d even encourage you to pick the path that sounds “too easy”: that’s probably the perfect one to start with.
  • Outline your offer using the L.E.S.S. framework. Remember to ask yourself, Can it serve multiple people at once or be reused? Does it feel simple to deliver or maintain? Can you still earn from it while you’re resting? Can it grow without draining more of your time or too much of your energy?
  • Determine pricing and delivery method. Research similar offers and determine what the popular delivery method and going rate is or, if you’re feeling particularly aligned, choose the number and delivery method based on instinct (you can always adjust later).

Week 3 – Set Up the System

  • Create or collect the assets. This is usually the most fun: create whatever you’re desiring to bring into the world. Refine it until you’re pleased with the result.
  • Automate delivery. Consider using platforms like Gumroad, Podia, or ConvertKit or any others that interest you. I’m not endorsing any particular platform: they all have pros and cons. Do a little research, ask in entrepreneur Facebook groups, and try out different platforms until you find a good fit.
  • Draft simple promotional materials. These can be made easily using free AI tools, like ChatGPT and Claude.

Week 4 – Soft Launch

  • Share with a small group or on social media. This is your time to tell everyone what you’ve created. And if you’re hesitant to share it, ask yourself, did you give your creation your best effort? If so, then you should be proud to tell people about it.
  • Track what feels easy vs. draining. This is a crucial step for determining ways to make the income stream as easy as possible.
  • Reflect and revise as needed. These revisions should make the stream more efficient and less energy consuming.

The Integration Challenge

Ready to ease into low-energy income creation? Try one of these 7-day challenges:

  1. One Idea Per Day: Jot down a single income idea daily, no editing.
  2. Tech Trial: Test out an automation platform like Gumroad or ConvertKit.
  3. Ask & Align: Poll your audience or friends—what do they want from you?
  4. 90-Minute Build: Block off 1.5 hours to create a digital product MVP.
  5. Affiliate Setup: Register for one affiliate program and create your first link.

These challenges are designed to help you quickly find an income stream that is enjoyable and low-energy. After completing your chosen challenge, reflect: What surprised you about the process? What felt most joyful or light? What will you keep building on next month?

A Revolutionary Approach to Wealth

Low-energy income streams aren’t about eliminating effort entirely—they’re about strategic effort that creates ongoing returns without requiring constant energy expenditure. These approaches allow you to create value once and receive income multiple times, often while resting, healing, or focusing elsewhere.

This approach might seem radical in a culture that glorifies constant hustle. But what could be more practical than designing income that works with—rather than against—your body’s needs and natural rhythms?

The path to earning without exhaustion isn’t about forcing yourself to become someone else—it’s about becoming more fully yourself and allowing success to flow from that authentic expression.

What would become possible in your life if your income didn’t depend on your daily energy?

I’d love to hear your thoughts below: are you currently leveraging a low-energy income stream? Are you curious about a particular income category? Let me know!

Earn Without Exhaustion: The Revolutionary Guide to Low-Energy Income Streams

In a world that constantly celebrates hustle culture and equates success with 80+ hour workweeks, there’s a quiet revolution happening – and I’m happy to be part of it. Women entrepreneurs—especially those navigating chronic illness, neurodivergence, or fluctuating energy levels—are discovering that wealth creation doesn’t have to come at the expense of their wellbeing.

This revolutionary approach? Low-energy income streams that allow you to earn while you rest, recharge, and receive.

The Dangerous Myth of “No Pain, No Gain”

We’ve all absorbed toxic beliefs about money and success:

  • “Money only comes through hard work.”
  • “I have to grind to get ahead.”
  • “Resting means I’m not earning.”

These aren’t random thoughts—they’re programmed narratives from our culture, family systems, and economic structures. They’ve been reinforced through countless stories of success that emphasize struggle, sacrifice, and pushing beyond limits. The programming for these beliefs is so persistent that I often have to catch myself when I find myself repeating these refrains.

For women especially, these narratives intersect with additional messaging about worthiness, visibility, and the expectation to care for others before ourselves. This creates a perfect storm of permission to exhaust and deplete ourselves in pursuit of financial stability.

But what if these beliefs are simply outdated operating systems that no longer serve us? What if sustainable wealth comes not from pushing harder but from designing smarter?

The Aureum Sanctum Mindset Shift

The path to earning without exhaustion begins with a fundamental mindset shift:

  • Wealth is a result of strategy, alignment, and leverage—not struggle.
  • You can receive while resting when you design systems that work without your constant effort.
  • Your energy constraints aren’t limitations—they’re invitations to create more elegant solutions.
  • Financial success is about working smarter, not harder or longer.
  • Resting is a strategic business decision, not an indulgence or luxury.

This isn’t just positive thinking—it’s a practical approach to designing income streams that respect your body’s needs while creating sustainable financial results. This is the work that I love: designing sacred systems that build wealth without destroying my clients’ nervous systems or energy levels.

The Four Types of Income

Understanding different income types helps clarify how we can shift from active to more leveraged earning:

Active Income: Requires your direct, real-time involvement and energy (e.g., 1:1 client work, hourly services, wage earning jobs for those that are not yet 100% self employed)

Leveraged Income: Uses systems or technology to multiply your efforts and serve multiple people simultaneously (e.g., group programs, courses, templates)

Passive Income: Continues to generate revenue after initial creation with minimal ongoing maintenance (e.g., digital products, properly structured affiliate partnerships, certain forms of content)

Portfolio Income: Earnings from assets or investments that appreciate or provide returns without direct involvement (e.g., dividend stocks, revenue-generating intellectual property, royalties)

Most traditional careers and businesses focus exclusively on active income. The Aureum Sanctum approach intentionally shifts toward leveraged, passive, and portfolio income streams—not to eliminate active work entirely, but to create a more sustainable balance.

The 4 Low-Energy Income Categories

Let’s explore four specific approaches to creating income that doesn’t depend on your constant energy expenditure:

1. Digital Assets & Products

Definition: Downloadable or accessible digital items created once and sold repeatedly without additional effort per sale.

Examples: Ebooks, templates, prerecorded courses, design assets, printables, spreadsheets, digital art

Energy Investment Pattern:

  • Higher initial creation energy (typically 10-40 hours depending on complexity)
  • Very low maintenance energy (0-2 hours monthly for customer support)
  • Occasional refresh energy (updating content every 6-12 months)

Ideal For: Those who prefer focused work sessions followed by extended rest; creators with specialized knowledge; people whose energy fluctuates unpredictably day to day. This is one of the sources that I have employed with my self published ebooks (available here)

2. Affiliate & Recommendation Income

Definition: Earnings from commissions when people purchase products or services you authentically recommend.

Examples: Product recommendations with affiliate links, software referrals, course partnerships, resource libraries with embedded links

Energy Investment Pattern:

  • Low initial setup energy (2-10 hours to join programs and create systems)
  • Very low ongoing energy (integrating into content you’re already creating)
  • Periodic review energy (evaluating partnerships quarterly)

Ideal For: Natural recommenders who already share resources; those with established trust in their community; people who genuinely use and love specific tools. I used this when I regularly uploaded to my hobby YouTube channel (and yes, I still generate income from some of my more popular videos, despite the fact that I haven’t uploaded regularly in months.)

3. Membership & Community Models

Definition: Recurring income from groups of people who pay for ongoing access to content, support, or community.

Examples: Private communities, content libraries, monthly Q&A sessions, skill-building groups, subscription newsletters

Energy Investment Pattern:

  • Moderate initial setup energy (15-40 hours for structure and foundation)
  • Scheduled interaction energy (predetermined times for engagement)
  • Distributed maintenance (can often be shared with team or community leaders)

Ideal For: Those who enjoy connection but need it to be boundaried; people with expertise that benefits from ongoing implementation support; community builders who can establish clear engagement expectations. I’m a member of a couple of communities like this, and I happily pay for access to the information in those spaces.

4. Automated or AI-Assisted Services

Definition: Service offerings where technology handles significant portions of delivery, reducing your direct time involvement.

Examples: AI-augmented consulting, tech-supported coaching programs, automated assessment tools, self-guided audit systems

Energy Investment Pattern:

  • Higher initial system creation (20-60 hours depending on complexity)
  • Strategic oversight energy (focused high-value interventions)
  • Technical maintenance or partnership management

Ideal For: Those with expertise that can be partially systematized; people who enjoy creating systems and processes; professionals transitioning from one-to-one to more scalable models. This is a brilliant option that I have not yet explored yet.

Designing Rest-Compatible Offers

Creating truly rest-compatible offers requires intentional design from the beginning. The L.E.S.S. Framework provides a structured approach to designing offers that generate income while honoring your capacity and need for rest:

L = Leverage: Can it serve multiple people at once or be reused?

  • Does this offer allow you to create value once and deliver it multiple times?
  • Are you leveraging technology or systems to multiply your impact?
  • Can components be repurposed across multiple offerings?

E = Ease: Does it feel simple to deliver or maintain?

  • Is delivery naturally aligned with your strengths and preferences?
  • Have you eliminated unnecessary complexity in the process?
  • Does maintaining this offer feel sustainable, not draining?

S = Sustainability: Can you still earn from it while resting?

  • Will income continue if you need to step back temporarily?
  • Have you built in provisions for health fluctuations or energy dips?
  • Is ongoing maintenance minimal or able to be batched?

S = Scalability: Can it grow without draining more of your time or too much of your energy?

  • As sales increase, does your time involvement remain relatively stable?
  • Have you separated time-dependent and time-independent components?
  • Is pricing structured to reflect value rather than time?

Finding Your Aligned Path

With four different approaches to low-energy income, how do you determine your most aligned starting point? Consider your:

Personality Type: Your MBTI and Enneagram insights from personality assessments

Existing Skills: Capabilities you’ve already developed

Current Capacity: Your energy availability for initial creation

Audience Needs: What your market most wants and needs

Tech Comfort: Your willingness to learn or partner for technical aspects

Connection Preference: How much human interaction energizes vs. drains you

The most sustainable approach is to begin with one category that feels most aligned, then gradually expand to create a balanced portfolio of income streams that work together during different energy phases.

There Is A Better Way

If you’re tired of exhausting yourself, take heart: there is a better way to have the life you desire AND deserve. You can restructure your life for more ease, less struggle, and more abundance. For more information about setting up low energy income streams, make sure to subscribe to this blog (sign up by entering your email in the Follow Blog box on the right side of your screen) and watch out for my upcoming blog post discussing how to implement a 4 week action plan for setting up your low-energy income streams. I’ll talk to you all soon!

Can’t Be Disciplined? Try Being Devoted.

In exploring paths to prosperity, I’ve been diving deeper into the habits and practices that can contribute to sustainable riches and a delicious life. With the advent of AI and other automation tools and technology, there are more paths to wealth than ever before!

Of course, in the path to wealth, there are as many hinderances as there are opportunities. Knowledge gaps, lack of time, inadequate resources, and a number of other stumbling blocks present significant challenges to people attempting to reach their financial goals. But, even in the absence of barriers, some people still struggle with reaching their financial goals. What gives?

I suspect that the main issue that some people have is that they struggle with being “disciplined”. They aren’t able to commit to hard (or easy) actions on a regular, consistent basis. This is similar to the aversion some people have to the term “budget” (which I’ve discussed in a previous post). They find themselves easily discouraged when they are inconvenienced or misdirected from their path. Also, “discipline” as a concept may feel uncomfortable. It may trigger emotions like inferiority, shame, frustration, or inadequacy, especially in cases where the figures from their childhoods that embodied “discipline” were harsh, critical or not particularly nurturing (insert caregiver trauma here).

In the spirit of redefining personal finance, perhaps a new term is the best solution. Perhaps, instead of “discipline”, we can try framing this dedication as devotion. Much like religious adherents that love the sacrifice that comes with their service, we can view our consistent actions as an act of devotion to our future selves and the future reality that awaits us if we just stay the course.

When discussing wealth generation strategies, most of the conversations tend to glamorize quick wins over the long game. The myth of “Sudden Wealth” is a pervasive one, and, by focusing on fast money, anything that occurs in the inverse (such as quiet, incremental growth) is seen as boring, difficult and unsatisfying. Including the topic of “discipline” in these conversations just further highlights the disdain many people have towards consistent work. However, when reframed as devotion, the conversation takes on a very different energy. The quiet power that comes from incremental devotion isn’t boring, it’s mysterious; it isn’t difficult, it’s an exhilarating experiment. Incremental devotion isn’t unsatisfying: it’s a fire that grows from a flicker to an inferno. Like compound interest that grows over time, incremental steps rooted in devotion to our future selves are small at the beginning but become monumental over time. The route of incremental devotion eliminates the need for intensity, since consistency and time do most of the heavy lifting.

Speaking of the “boring” and unappealing nature of discipline . . . Discipline tends to be associated with rigidity, and most people are averse to anything too rigid. On the other hand, devotion can be fluid and even sensual: it’s easy to take a necessary task and add elements of beautiful rituals to it. One of my favorite ways to make my devotion feel more like a ritual is to set up my desk before working on anything related to business. I usually light a gorgeous scented candle, put on a piece of jewelry or an article of clothing that symbolizes what I’m working on (as I type this, I’m wearing a soft red top that always makes me feel divine and polished), and put on some music that matches the mood I want to invoke (rainforest sounds, gentle chimes, success subliminals, and classical music are great places to start). The most important part of connecting rituals to devotion is to treat the task as something sacred and nonnegotiable, which are terms that can also be used to describe (you guessed it) discipline.

At the heart of devotion is a positive feeling of self worth. Even the most perfect plans and the most disciplined person will abandon their work if their don’t believe they are truly worthy of the goal they desire. Staying devoted is easier to do when you feel worthy of the wealth, ease and abundance you’re creating. Daily affirmations, mirror work, journaling, and other self concept practices can help with identity shifting. From that newly shifted space, it is much easier to stay devoted and cultivate consistent practices that will create the life you desire.

When I began this conversation, I stated how there are more opportunities to build wealth than ever before. However, along with opportunity comes another issue. The same internet that provides wealth-building access also floods us with distractions, comparison traps, and “shiny object syndrome.” And, unfortunately, discipline “punishes” us for falling into distraction, instead of gently refocusing us and encouraging us. Devotion requires discernment — staying loyal to your path and not being seduced by every new tactic, course, or platform. While discernment may take some time and experience to develop, devotion doesn’t have the harshness of a stern disciplinarian: it warmly invites us to return to our goals sooner rather than later.

Following the path of devotion has been a sweeter experience than the road of discipline. I invite you all to try devotion instead of discipline, and let me know how it works for you. I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below!

The First Step To Earning More Money

It’s the first month of the year. You have a money goal (hopefully an attainable one), you have your steps outlined, and you’re ready to launch. You’re aiming for one thing: more money to fund your dreams. After all, it takes money to make [some of] our dreams come true.

There’s a crucial first step that you need to take in order to earn more money. Most people immediately look for a second job, start applying to new positions, or pick up additional hours at their current job. Others will start having yard sales, falling into MLMs, taking paid surveys, or running to the local plasma center to generate some extra cash.

If you thought that the first step to earning more money is to work more, then you’ve probably spent a lot of time spinning your wheels and making little progress. Yes, you can absolutely earn more money by working more or working harder, but that is rarely a sustainable solution. Your energy and time are finite, and using more of both can leave you depleted.

I propose a gentler – but still effective – way to start on the path to higher earnings. It’s an oft-mentioned step, but I don’t think anyone emphasizes it as the best step to take before taking additional action.

Start your money making journey with two things: a skills audit and a values assessment. Most of the missteps that happen with side hustles, second jobs, and increased work hours involve leaning upon weaker or nonexistent skills, or, even worse, in scenarios where there are value mismatches. Knowing your skills and your values will ensure that you won’t pursue money-making opportunities that leave you frustrated, exhausted, or unfulfilled.

Is making more money supposed to be a fulfilling experience? Yes, absolutely! If you are having a miserable or even a lackluster time, then it’s not the right money-making option for you! There are so many ways to make money that are fun, fulfilling and enjoyable: you DO NOT have to suffer through miserable jobs just to make extra cash.

So, before you start the job hunt, or sign up for extra shifts, write down all of your skills, and determine which ones you most enjoy using. Then, get clear on your values, write them down, and only accept jobs or opportunities that resonate with both of these lists. If you’re tired of suffering to make money, or if you need help with getting a clear understanding of your skills and values, check out this page for support.

Have you ever done a skills audit or values assessment? Let me know about your experience in the comments below!

5 Reasons Why We Don’t Earn Enough Money

Hi friends! I have a little bit of a surprise coming in a couple of days, but before I can unveil that, I have to cover a topic that I know has been on a lot of minds, and that seems to be discussed more and more in public forums as the economy goes through its ups and downs.

Many of us work hard, do a good job, and yet we still don’t seem to earn enough money. This is a problem that I had personally for years, until I made some crucial changes that helped me to turn this around (more about those changes in a minute). There are at least five common reasons why we don’t earn enough money, and I’d like to discuss these with you, as well as point you in the direction of some support for turning these reasons around.

  1. We didn’t do skill audits when needed. A skill audit is a deep dive into our knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs, for those that are familiar with federal job terminology). Listing our skills then having a deep appreciation for what we’ve mastered is critical to understanding our worth in tangible measurements. Without this knowing, it’s nearly impossible to be adequately compensated for our work. After all, if we aren’t clear about our value, how can we appropriately price our labor when interacting with clients and employers?
  2. We undervalued our skills. Even when we’re crystal clear about what’s in our skill set, we can still under-price ourselves. Many of us believe that timidity, and being the “lowest bidder”, will ensure that we get the clients or the jobs that we want. And it’s true that doing this may get us jobs and clients, however . . . We often find that undervaluing our labor means that we work harder, get burned out faster, and earn less over time. Please don’t let the current conversations about the desperation in the job market discourage you: there are enough positions available at every income level to satisfy your earning desires, and you don’t have to undervalue yourself just to secure employment.
  3. We have outdated money beliefs. Once upon a time, we believed that telecommuting and virtual work environments were only available to the few lucky people that happened to stumble upon progressive employers. Then 2020 happened, and we found out that a lot of employers that previously found telework to be “infeasible” and “unsustainable” could now operate with 100% virtual teams. I mention this example to illustrate that our money beliefs should be constantly shifting because our realities are always transforming. For that reason, we have to ask ourselves honestly whether we believe that we can actually earn more, that employers and clients are willing to pay what we ask, and that there are environments that will support the kind of work we wish to do. Only after considering these things can we remove this block in our earning potential.
  4. We accepted principle over profit. This is probably the only reason that may remain even after going through the other points. Sometimes, we choose work that is underpaid but rewarding (education and farming are two fields that come to mind immediately) because we’ve decided that the emotional rewards outweigh the financial gain. It is possible to have abundant income and deeply purposeful work all wrapped in one, but if our main motivation is principle, we may not seek out more lucrative opportunities. The goal should always be adequate or abundant income, coming from meaningful work. We should never have to choose between the two and, if our financial gain means that we have to compromise our values, then the opportunity isn’t worth it.
  5. We’re paralyzed by fear. This is probably the biggest one, because it’s the only thing that requires constant monitoring and addressing issues as they arise. It’s also the only point that can’t be easily corrected by introducing objective information. Our fears can convince us of monsters in teh shadows and can keep us from taking leaps of faith. However, it’s key to note that we are always larger than our fears, and we can always choose to be brave. Our future selves require us to be courageous and take one step forward, then another, even when we don’t know exactly where it will lead us.

I’ve personally gone through each of these reasons for underearning. I didn’t understand the breadth of my skillset, I did work where I was grossly underpaid, I believed that my dream salary wasn’t possible due to XYZ (insert lots of detrimental thinking here), I engaged in meaningful work that didn’t pay much, and I’ve been so scared that I wouldn’t even apply to certain jobs. I’ve tackled each of them one by one, in order to dismantle my money blocks and earn more money than ever. Now my work is simultaneously interesting, full of purpose, and well paid. I also got to tap into one of my core values – flexibility – since I now have a position where I can choose my work schedule based on my needs.

I’m here for you all if you need help with reason #1 – identifying your current skill set. I am currently offering a skills audit package on my Services page, so you can see my approach to quantifying your KSAs. It includes a telephone/zoom conversation with me, as well as a beautifully formatted document that you can use when seeking new earning opportunities, and you can customize it as you add new skills to your toolkit. It’s perfect for helping you get clear on your depth of expertise and how to position yourself to earn what you want and deserve. The skills audit will also help you overcome any of the five reasons that may be blocking you from earning more money, as well as any skills gaps, and recommend how to address these gaps in the most affordable and efficient way.

Those are my top five reasons why we may not be earning enough money. Look out for more insights in upcoming posts! Take care.