Overcoming The Downer Of No Longer Making Maximum Money
Overcoming The Downer Of No Longer Making Maximum Money
06/18/2021 by Financial Samurai
Do you know what is really hard? Deciding to walk away from a whole lot of money in your prime. If you decide to retire early, you must accept the death of your maximum money potential.
At age 34, I was making a base salary of $250,000. Come year-end, my bonus would range between $0 to $500,000. Instead of suffering from the one more year syndrome for one more year, I decided to quit the money by negotiating a severance instead.
If I hadn’t left my job and averaged a realistic $500,000 a year in total compensation since 2012, I would have made $4.5 million by now. And if I had gotten regular raises and promotions, maybe I would have made more than $7 million after nine years. ** Perhaps I should have stayed in finance after all!
The more you make, the harder it is to walk away. I told myself back then that if I didn’t leave, I probably never would break free from the golden handcuffs. Many people who dislike working in finance, management consulting, and big tech after a while have this same problem. It’s hard to drop your maximum money potential.
However, if you’re unhappy with your current situation, you must find a solution to overcome the desire for more money.
Some call this desire greed. But greed is not the right term if you’re still trying to build your financial nut. You’re only greedy if you have enough but still work like mad doing something you don’t like or that has no benefit to society.
How To Be OK With No Longer Making Maximum Money
Everybody has the ability to make a certain amount of money. Income has a range that usually increases the older you get. Rational people are also realistic with how much money they can make. If you decide to work for the government, you know your pay will be within a very tight band. Alternatively, if you decide to become an entrepreneur, your income upside is unlimited.
Let me share with you the steps I took to be at peace with no longer trying to make maximum money. In the process of walking away, I also lost my title and became a nobody. For some, walking away from prestige is even more difficult than walking away from money.
1) Envision What Your Life Would Be Like Making More
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