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Show me the Money

How do I find a job I love and pays well?

It’s the #1 question I hear from young adults. Do you wonder about it too, even now?

Finding a Job You Love

I finished my first draft of my eBook for young adults, Career Advice: Things I Wish I Knew When I Was 24, this week. Many of you submitted your advice – thank you! – which I have included without identifying names, as requested.

I sorted the advice into three categories: Figuring It Out, Soft Skills, and Thriving. Then I added a chapter to bring it all together, Leadership.

In Figuring it Out, I talk about identifying your values, shining your light, visualizing your career dream, and handling Imposter Syndrome.

Soft Skills explores how team-based work requires integrating multiple viewpoints, how using your curiosity fuels your career growth, and the importance of taking rest so you can remain focused.

Thriving examines why you should ask for advice not feedback, how to find new perspectives when you’re stuck on a topic, identifying healthy boundaries so you can maintain long-term work-life balance, and adapting the Doughnut Economics model in both your workplace and your life.

Lastly, I outline a plan to apply it in a Leadership context, which is about creating a vision.

All of this is familiar to regular readers of Life fully loved.

In sum, the eBook talks about how to find a job you love.

Getting Paid Well

But what about the second part of the question: getting paid well. How do you do it?

Shift your mindset from scarcity to abundance.

If you can adopt this mindset, you will experience the happiness that comes from doing a job you love and earning a great income.

Feeling a sense of abundance is less about a dollar amount and more about feeling good. When you feel comfortable in your own skin, you’re happy. In contrast, comparing yourself to others introduces a lack/scarcity mentality. It never feels good to feel “in lack.”

The Comparison Game

There will always be someone richer, more successful, more [insert comparator here]. So, if you feel better than Joe because you earn more than Joe, then you’d better believe that there’s another person down the pipeline – Jane – who earns more than you. Comparison is a never-ending cycle that only perpetuates scarcity.

Abundance not Scarcity

Abundance is the opposite of scarcity. You change your mindset by changing your thoughts. In other words, when you adopt an abundance mentality you see there is enough for you and everyone else. There is no shortage.

Think of an apple pie. With an abundance mentality, pie slices don’t get smaller with more pieces getting cut. In fact, the pie gets bigger to accommodate more slices.

Shifting to an Abundance Mindset

Affirmations focused on abundance help with changing your mindset. You can find lots of those online. So does playing the “yes … and” game whereby you take any situation and, instead of inserting a “but”, which introduces the scarcity mentality, you replace the thought with “and.”

For example, instead of saying, “This pie is delicious but too many people want a slice so my slice is too small” try saying, “This pie is delicious and I can’t wait to bake more pies.”

Feeling Good

In the end, happiness isn’t about money. It’s about feeling good. We believe money will make us feel good which is why we conflate money with happiness. Happiness comes from within, from loving yourself.

Header Photo by Mateus Campos Felipe on Unsplash, Photo by micheile dot com on Unsplash, Photo by Dietmar Becker on Unsplash

The ironic thing is, when we truly love ourselves, abundance comes easily … and that’s when the money flows in.

You have to be open minded in order to grow. The coaching that Laura gave me opened my eyes to what and how I was doing things and allowed me to see the bigger picture. I am not done yet but I already see the changes in my everyday life.

MM

I think coaching is a great way to help you clear your mind when you get stuck with overwhelming situations or when stepping into changes in your life.

MO

Coaching is life changing. It pushes you outside your comfort zone and challenges your perspectives.  It is highly motivating and the exercises and techniques used are both fun and informative.  I think the main benefits of coaching are to see yourself, others and the world more clearly.  I think coaching is valuable to anyone regardless of where you are in your life or career.

LE

I honestly never thought I’d need a coach. I thought coaching was for CEOs and industry VIPs. I didn’t think it was for the “little guys” (i.e. me). Now, I’m of the belief that everyone – yes, EVERYONE – needs a coach. Coaching has really benefitted me and I’m so grateful to have had that time with Laura. It’s changed my life!

VB

Laura is very patient. She took the time to understand what was causing me to be stuck where I am today and help me build a better vision so I can continue to grow.

MM

I think Laura’s coaching was what I had been waiting for. Laura was so approachable, kind, and open. Her willingness to help and support made a difference for me. I found in her coaching new strategies, ideas, and perspectives that I could incorporate into my goals and objectives that I didn’t see before.

MO

Laura is an incredibly intuitive, positive and caring coach. Her techniques helped me recognize both my strengths and areas I might want to explore as I embark on the next chapter of my career. The exercises she employed were instrumental in providing self perspective and challenging my frames of reference.

LE

Laura is a natural coach. Her probing and compassionate questions helped me learn about myself: my value system, interests, goals and strengths.

LM

Coaching sessions with Laura gave me new perspectives on how to process specific feelings and situations in life.  She showed me how to sit with my emotions, acknowledge them, and then use visualization strategies to move through them.  I now feel more confident and in control of how I choose to walk through life.

CP

From the beginning, Laura put me at ease, creating a safe, open space for me to talk and share freely without fear of judgement. I loved the variety of approaches she used depending on the topic we were working on and it was fun being able to try out things I wouldn’t have considered before! With Laura’s coaching, I substantially grew my confidence in the workplace, overcame fears, dealt with issues I’d been carrying around for many years and, most importantly, learned to value myself and define a path forward into the future.

AG

Laura’s coaching was a breath of fresh air and EXACTLY what I needed at that point of my life. I didn’t realize how impactful coaching was going to be, but by the end of the sessions together, I left feeling refreshed, inspired and genuinely curious about what my future held for me. Because of Laura and her coaching, I believe I became a better person – someone who is more open-minded, someone with a clearer focus, and someone who is willing to explore opportunities and possibilities far more than I ever did before.

VB

I engaged Laura for coaching as I took on an expanded role leading an asset management company in Canada. As a female, I knew I would be a role model and had high expectations of myself. I was feeling overwhelmed and anxious.

In our first few coaching sessions we worked through exercises that allowed me to reflect on my purpose, leadership style and what mattered most to me. I continue to be grounded by the clarity I achieve in my coaching sessions – allowing me to be resilient and confident when challenges came my way.

OS