If you don’t agree that what the headline of this piece says is possible, you are not alone. Even the author of the book with this title, Brian Tracy, was shocked and angry when he first heard of the idea.
He argued vigorously that it is not true. I can imagine some readers dismissing the concept as one of those wishful thinking of motivation speakers and authors.
Just like what many Nigerians currently going through hard times will think, Tracy said he blamed his low income on “my parents, my education, my boss, my company, my industry, my competition, and the economy.
“Then I looked around me, and realised that there were hundreds and even thousands of people who had the same problems and limitations I did but who were earning far more than I was and living much better lives,” Tracy, a high school dropout who has since become a world renowned consultant, trainer and personal development specialist, wrote.
At times like the kind we find ourselves in the country when promise of change is turning to despair; when the economy seems getting out of control of the government, everyone needs inspiration to make the best of the worrisome situation.
In my desperation to earn more income to meet, not only my personal and family needs, but numerous requests for assistance which I cannot cope with, the title of this book recently caught my attention and I have been trying to find out what the author has to say about why I am not earning what I think I am really worth after almost thirty years of graduating from the university.
One of the criticisms of foreign motivational books is that they are based on what obtains in the developed nations where “everything works.” What I have found out reading Earn What You’re Really Worth and many others is that the principles of success and prosperity are universal.
While we may have many limiting factors in our country, I am convinced that there are basic things everyone has to do not to remain poor or earn more than their present income. No matter how hard one tries, chances are that you may not achieve your goal, but you won’t remain where you used to be if you try hard enough.
Two quotes from Tracy’s book summarise how to maximise one’s income, no matter the circumstance in any market whether in an underdeveloped, developing and developed country.
“If you want to succeed and achieve everything possible that is possible for you, you are going to have to work smarter and more diligently than before. To move to the top of your field, you are going to have to start a little earlier, work a little harder, and stay a little later.”
“Successful people are not necessarily those who make the right decisions all the time. The world belongs to those who reach out and grab it with both hands. It belongs to those who do something rather than just wish and hope, and plan and pray, and intend to do something someday, when everything is just right.”
When the governments at various levels fail us like they always do, the option open to anyone who wants to earn what he or she is really worth is to decide to do what Tracy says: “Take complete control of your career and your income so you can survive and thrive in any economy.”
The executive and legislature can continue to argue about the 2016 budget and decide when to start to implement it, my decision is that their action and inaction will not decide how much I will earn this year. I will earn what I am really worth and even surpass it.
