The start of a year is usually a time for us to make our resolutions and set goals, whether it’s exercising and having a better diet, taking up a new hobby, or increasing our income. But as with any goal, reaching them takes time, including those that are concerned with our finances.
At a time when technology has made a lot of things convenient and instant, there may be a misconception that the same applies for earning money. But that is far from the case. According to registered financial planner and business anchor Edric Mendoza, it is important for us to embrace hard work in the way we earn money. Aside from the income we earn from our regular jobs, some of us have part-time jobs on the side to help boost our earnings and meet our financial goals.
But Mendoza reminds us to be careful in the things that we are doing to avoid disrupting what he calls the Golden Goose. The Golden Goose Principle comes from a story about a goose that lays golden eggs. If you have multiple income streams, it is important for you to identify your golden goose or the job that provides you with the most income. Even if you have other part-time work that boosts your earnings, you should always take care of your golden goose and make sure that you perform well in your main job.
Working and earning has become more challenging due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but it has also given us new ways to earn. Mendoza advises that the essence of hard work is not just putting in the hours but also about the quality of the hours that we put. There is working hard, but there is also working smart, and professionals need to be able to do smart work, which focuses on the quality of the work instead of the hours you put. When working and trying to earn, it is also important that we are not stretched thin from doing too many things at once so that our main jobs and the quality of our work will suffer.
Aside from working smart, another thing we can consider in order to earn more is whether our golden goose can produce more eggs. If you are only focused on your main job, you can also devote your extra time to learn and develop yourself. Mendoza says that the people who achieved success in their fields spend more of their extra time educating themselves instead of simply entertaining themselves. If we have that time and we want to develop ourselves more, we can spend that time learning and educating ourselves.
Even if we work hard and work smart, the benefits of our work and the fruits of our labor might take time to manifest. But for Mendoza, it is important to continue developing ourselves, grow, and build our own skills. Once we do this, we can not just protect our golden goose, but also make sure that it keeps on producing golden eggs and earning more as we look to meet our financial goals.
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