Are you lacking energy and tired of living from paycheck to paycheck? Maybe you’re tired of 60-hour workweeks, or your deadlines prevent you from having a happy, balanced home. Stefanie Hartman asks if a work life balance is just a pipe dream.
If you’re dragging your feet to work every day, it might be time to cash it all in for a better life. According to a survey by CareerBuilder.com, over 50 per cent of workers feel tremendous stress on the job, and 77 per cent say they feel burnout. If you can relate to this, then perhaps it’s time to re-examine life’s possibilities for you.
You can find a new way of working, earning money, and truly achieving a work life balance. It may require a complete shift in how you think about earning money. Most people trade time for money, but you should be trading your value for money. One major way to do this is to use your life experience to help transform other people’s lives in the areas of business, money, relationships, health or spirituality by becoming an “expert” and building a business around your expertise.
You could be like Dr. Dubynski, who decided to build a business beyond his medical practice and become a “Parenting Expert”. Or Dr. Scott Brown, who is becoming “The Wallet Doctor”, an expert breaking open the doors on Wall Street and teaching the little guy how to win big through savvy investment strategies. He went from a $65,000/year university professor’s salary to earning over $445,858 in his first year, simply by packaging up his knowledge. Ever heard of the V.P. of Internet Marketing, Bill Sweetman? At one of the largest advertising firms in the country, he is fast becoming a recognised as a “Blogging Expert” and even contributing as an expert to national TV shows.
If you could replace your income without having to clock in to work every day, why not do it? Selling your expertise allows you to get paid for your value – not your time. Here are the top five reasons to consider getting paid for your value and not your time:
You can’t shake the feeling you were meant for more. There are many professionals who’ve worked in the same business for 25 years and decide they want a different lifestyle. They’re tired of the nine-to-five grind and want a life where they can spend more time traveling or being at home with their families.
You are a vault of information and experience. You’ve spent years learning and observing. You can see people around you making mistakes that you would have avoided. What is common sense to you that is not for others. Stop selling yourself short!
Flexibility. Work from home or build your own office. Work five days a week or work three. Move to a new city or country every year and maintain your business from your laptop and phone. Take that six-month sabbatical you have been dreaming of.
Customisation. Experts can package their information in the form of books, speeches, DVDs, live group trainings, executive consulting, online programs and services, or creating a company that trains others to “do” what you “know”. Choose the combination that suits your strengths!
The Green! Finally! Can I say it? No more begging for vacation time or your next raise. You are in charge of how much you earn and when. You write your own paycheck, when you need or want it.