It started with a pair of jeans.
They were designer jeans and my mom told me she could not afford them. Her exact words to me were “If you want to buy jeans like that you are going to have to find a way to make your own money to buy them.”
For a 12-year-old kid this is a dilemma that cannot go unsolved.
Looking cool and fitting in was important to me because truthfully – I was not a cool kid and often struggled to fit in because of my Crohn’s disease. When you spend a lot of time in and out of the hospital, kids find ways to tease you.
The jeans meant more than just fashion to me. They represented fitting in.
I decided to clean my room and gather up all my old toys and take them to the flea market. My aunt Sandra (who lived next door) donated all her used books and I brought them too. That Saturday, my mom watched in awe as I sold everything I had at my table. I left with enough cash to buy the jeans. I knew that this was how I was going to keep making money.
The flea market became my first job and I continued to fill my table with crafts, chocolates and anything that no longer served me and I continued to make my own money.
I didn’t realize at the time what I was doing was highly unusual for a twelve year old kid. Fast-forward thirty some years and selling has been part of my work ever since then.
One thing is clear to me – when you have a desired outcome, it becomes a lot easier to move towards that end result.
To celebrate the New Year three years ago, I posted a goal video and publicly declared my desire to buy a house in Florida. A year later, we bought a house in Florida.
Thirty some years ago, that desire was designer denim.
Here is the SECRET: It doesn’t matter what it is, it only matters that you have something in mind.
You may choose to pass on all of them because you are not really serious about what it is you want, or you are not clear.
For the person who is crystal clear, these opportunities are like gifts from the universe. As Oprah would say, “luck is preparation meeting opportunity.”
When you are prepared, and you know what you want, and you have the courage to take action, those opportunities are life changing.
This week I would like you to revisit my C.A.S.H Formula and really take some time to think about what your desired outcome is. Where do you want to be in the next five years and what do you need to do differently to get there.
If overcoming the fear of selling, or learning how to be more effective at selling is one of your barriers, I would like to invite you to join The Sales Pilot where I will be sharing my 30+ years of sales experience. You can learn more about that here –> https://lisalarter.com/salespilot
After you watch the video, I challenge you to be bold and leave a comment below and tell me, what is that “thing” that you desire that is going to fuel you on this journey?
3 thoughts on “How To Start Making Your Own Money”
I desire a morgage-free life! Before we moved to Ottawa almost two years ago we were mortgage free. After moving to the city (and buying our retirement condo in Florida) that is no longer the case. I want to pay off my mortgage in the next 7years! Oh, and visit my sister in Perth, Australia… and swim the 20km Rottnest channel with her!
Thanks Lisa! (hope your throat is better this morning:)
I have problems speaking to a large group of people and occasionally new people I meet at networking events. I am working very hard on the last point through my EWNetwork meetings. To overcome the problem with larger groups, I am looking into joining Toastmasters. Once I overcome this problem of public speaking, I know I can push ahead to make my business a success.
One thing that I would like to do more of is take on more public speaking gigs. I love doing it and people always give me good feedback about what they get out of it but I’ve been neglectful in jumping on opportunity to share my message and my knowledge with the world.