Some of you are reading that and thinking ‘there’s no way’ – ‘I’m just a newbie at biz!” – right? This is actually when you should begin this habit, of paying yourself first. Now is the time.
It’s important to begin that universal flow of money coming to you. And it all begins by shifting your thinking and developing a new habit. When I re-launched my business 5 years ago, just the thought of paying myself first was foreign. I was brought up to be a good citizen which, in my mind, meant that everyone else got paid first – my team, my vendors, my utility company, …..everyone else. I would go to events and be eating lunch in my room, which was a small can of tuna from the nearby convenience store because I didn’t have the cash to eat in the hotel restaurant. I skipped out of the networking because I didn’t have the money to buy a glass of wine with my colleagues!
That false thinking was getting me into trouble – and quickly! I also realized that with this kind of thought process, it was affecting me in many other ways – and that showed up in ways that surprised me. It showed me that I really didn’t value myself and that I put myself last. Yuk! That’s not how I wanted to show up in the world.
This bad habit, and poor way of thinking (pun intended) also caused me to attract less than ideal clients, charge less than what I was worth and so much more. I decided to take a really good look at all of this and make some significant changes. I was holding myself back when it came to dressing properly (I wouldn’t go out to buy new clothes), attend events that I needed to be at, …….so many different ways that I kept reinforcing the message, to myself, that I didn’t have any money.
That was a poverty mindset and I knew that for something to change, I had to change. One day I was watching TV and saw Gail Vaz-Oxlade explaining a payment system that just made so much sense. She was using glass canning jars and advising people to just start putting in $1.00 – just start the process of paying yourself. I started doing that immediately.
Here are 4 powerful outcomes from adopting that simple habit:
- I VALUED MYSELF AND MY WORK
I started by paying myself $1.00 each week and, as the business grew, so did the amount I put aside for me. I also started celebrating my successes – in little ways – by going to a $4.00 afternoon movie on the weekend! It wasn’t much but it all mattered. This habit shifted my whole way of seeing myself and it was huge.
- THE HABIT BECAME A WEEKLY RITUAL
I quickly started to get excited about this habit – I always paid myself first and it was not contingent on getting new business, or NOT paying any other bill – but, rather, it was a ‘celebration of ME” event. It raised my energy levels, my self-image and my bank account. It became fun.
- I MADE A COMMITMENT TO MYSELF
How many times do we, as human beings, start a new habit and then, before we know it, we revert to the people we know ourselves to be? We give up on ourselves at the first sign of adversity or a challenge. I made the commitment to myself – and didn’t give myself an ‘out’. The way you do anything is the way you do anything. The power of my word became my truth.
- I SET REGULAR PERSONAL GOALS
I no longer felt ‘poor’ or deprived because of my financial situation. Once I got into the weekly rhythm of paying myself, I started to get excited about my life again too. I began to set personal goals for travel, for wardrobe, for gifts and for hobbies (like ballroom dancing lessons!).
Having recently returned from an event in Phoenix, it was with great pride and joy that I actually did have dinner in the hotel restaurant and I DID have a few glasses of wine in the lounge with my colleagues – without ever thinking about the price of any of those items. I have totally shifted my thinking –and I have totally shifted the level of success I am having in my business.
A poverty mindset is not attractive. It causes you to act in ways that scream scarcity. The universal principle of paying yourself first just automatically sets you up for success. I highly recommend it and see the difference it makes in your life and in your business!
HAVE YOU DEVELOPED THE HABIT OF PAYING YOURSELF FIRST? TELL ME ABOUT IT……
