I cannot remember a time when I haven’t worked or done something to earn money. As a kid growing up in Michigan gathering refundable bottles was a full time adventure and paying gig. I was always scouring places I went for that random bottle carrying the reward of change. From there it was of course babysitting, working in local shops and waiting tables. It seemed like a lot of money at the time, more than I ever had at least. As I moved out on my own at age 16 I furthered my creative ways of earning money in addition to simply working multiple jobs at times to support myself.
Maybe it was those early experiences with money that made me always look for an opportunity to diversify my income. It always seemed important to me that I have something in my back pocket that could help in times of need; a second job, way to earn extra money, a savings account with extra rent money or car repair funds. This approach has stuck with me all through my adult life. It challenges me to always think about opportunities for that extra way to see what I could do to offset the uncertainty with jobs. I don’t consider it hustling but rather surviving. Even now when we have a comfortable income from my primary job I know how quickly that can all go away with a layoff.
Our money health I think directly impacts our physical and emotional health too. When we are worried about money or where it is going to come from our decisions become more based on what we need for survival. We’re trying to think ahead to minimize that impact. As a result, there is higher stress in our life, we preserve our energy and everything we have to protect against the potential risk we face. Our bodies and minds carry this stress putting it in a constant mode of fight and flight. Everything becomes a risk we scrutinize and try to protect ourselves from.
It doesn’t take much for this mindset to trigger either, at least for me. Rumors of job layoffs, an upset boss taking it out on you, things not going well at work, just a feeling from years of experiencing bad breaks. I have often joked it is like a 6th sense. Take for instance the foresight I had about some changes happening in management over my current department. I knew it wouldn’t be positive so I started applying for new positions in the company, luckily landing one pretty quickly. Three months later over 70% of the team I was working on had left because of the new management they installed. I felt I had escaped a great mess that would have severely stressed me out at work and over money.
As I’ve tried to improve my life to live more naturally though it has been necessary I also look at how I heal my relationship with money. It has become important to me for that level of security so I can loosen the base survival focus and instead focus on longer term safeguarding. For me that has transpired into building Dragonspit Apothecary while I work full time. It has become a labor of love that not only offers the opportunity to meet needs but give me that true hope for longer term prosperity. It has changed the focus of money to one of investment and return rather than scraping by now.
In anything you choose to take on as a way to earn money it can take a while to start to see a return for your time investment and even money investment. It is an estimate for how long that may take. I don’t believe luck has a very big role in it but rather it usually comes down to our own grit, determination and skill. I believe most of us underestimate all of this too. We underestimate ourselves and the opportunity sometimes missing out on things that could truly change our lives. For me I realized I was short changing myself by thinking in a fear way that it wouldn’t pay off and there was something more immediate I could do instead.
For me I have also realized that our own needs play a big role in that way of thinking. When I’ve needed or wanted a more immediate payoff having your own business maybe isn’t the right opportunity for that demand. In my opinion that is where most fail or get frustrated with direct sales too. It is not that these rewards and results are not possible but in anything involving money I have found being realistic is more handy in decision making. There are times when we must focus on the survival and times for longer term planning. Direct sales based businesses definitely fall into the latter. Yes, there can be those big wins, early successes and more that paint the rags to riches story but most of the time it’s a much longer investment that is necessary to reach those goals.
This is where being clear on why you’re doing this and what gains you need and want from it are important to define upfront. Assessing your situation to align it with this opportunity and mapping out your approach is what gives you the map on how to do it. It is more than just hosting some parties and praying for sales. For true money health in direct sales you must have the map of where you want to go with it. That path has to be deeper than your friends and family sales too. Once you get to that point ,which for some of us is quick, that is where the real work begins in building a true customer base.
I think my success has been in large part to sticking with it as well as being smart about how I’ve done it. Years of being careful about money have helped me guide me but it has also been a retraining. I have had to relearn not to be afraid of money being scarce. It has become important for me to heal from lacking and scaping by, worrying about what could happen to thinking what is possible. I still safeguard against the risks I know but I’ve opened the door to being able to see beyond that too. It has not only reduced the money stress in my mind but supported feeling healthier overall.
I believe our relationship with money and its direct impact to our health is an important area to heal. Taking what we have learned and healing the fear we hold from those experiences creates ways for us to reconsider new ways to diversify our income into meaningful ventures with positive results. It has greatly helped me heal and live more naturally.
To find out if this is the right opportunity for you please visit my website at dragonspitapothecary.com