The Seven Pillars of Financial Success, Pillar 2: Grow Your Career

For those of you new to Free Money Finance, I post on The Bible and Money every Sunday. Here's why.

The Bible discusses the keys to personal finance success quite plainly. If you read the book of Proverbs in particular, you'll see that the path to financial success isn't that difficult or extensive. In fact, the wisdom to be prosperous can be found in a few simple steps.

Over the next few weeks, I'll be sharing what I consider to be the seven pillars of financial success from the Bible.  I picked up on the number seven from Proverbs 9:1 where it says:

Wisdom has built her house; she has hewn out its seven pillars.

Today we'll be discussing Pillar #2: Grow your career.

In Proverbs 22:29 (New Living Translation), the Bible says:

Do you see any truly competent workers? They will serve kings rather than working for ordinary people.

Here's what I take away from this verse:

• People who are competent at their jobs will advance (they will serve the top levels in their fields -- presidents, CEOs, etc.)
• I think we all know that the people who "serve kings" today make more money than those who work for "ordinary people." (BTW, I'm not saying that "regular people" can't/don't have successful businesses/people making a lot of money working for them. Certainly many small business operators are "below the radar" and yet are quite wealthy and have highly-paid employees. But I think the Bible is talking about average-earning/performing people/businesses when it says "ordinary people.")

Your career is your most valuable financial asset and what you do with it either makes it more or less valuable. If you do nothing, simply "go with the flow" at work, and are passive in managing your career, you won't make the most of it by any means. On the other hand, if you work your career to make the most of it, you could earn much, much more over the course of your working career. The difference between the two can be millions of dollars which can obviously make a gigantic difference in your overall financial situation. This is why growing your career is Pillar #2 of being successful financially.

So, what do you need to do to make the most of your career? Here are a few suggestions:

1. Work to over-deliver against expectations so that you deserve regular, above-average raises and promotions. Doing this can deliver steady pay growth throughout a career.

2. In addition to over-delivering, develop a long-term plan to increase your pay.

3. Ask for raises when you don't get the increase you deserve.

If you do these you can get regular pay increases in any economy.

Do you agree or disagree?

Come back next week as I discuss Pillar #3!

Comments

[Robert M]

I agree, and the book Linchpin would be applicable.

[bobsmith]

and don't always forget that fact that a woman's place is in the house. This is important.

[BD]

Even more important than growing your career is starting off on the right foot, and picking a good solid career that you CAN grow in. It doesn't matter if you are the hardest-working, most efficient, most diligent, most honorable and best worker in the world, if the jobs aren't there in your career field, there isn't much you can do, except go back to school to learn a better trade. Most people forget this one. "Doing what you love" isn't always a good option, especially if 'what you love' has no jobs in the field, or pays squat, no matter how good you are (unless you're lucky enough to have the vital connections for the .01% of the jobs in your field that happen to pay abnormally well).
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@bobsmith - Are you joking? Please tell me you're joking. If a woman's place was 'in the house' then how the hell are single women supposed to be able to afford food and shelter? Get real. Not everyone finds a spouse, you know. (And even then, what sort of backwards thinker would feel that a woman can't have a career, even if she is lucky enough to be married? Quit thinking so far inside the box, you sound like a backwards chauvinist.)

[Money Green Life]

This is a great reminder. I often find myself complaining about my job and it hinders my motivation and desire to work hard. You're right when you say our careers are our biggest financial asset. I should start giving my best and striving to achieve the top. Thanks for the reminder and encouragement.

[Squirrelers]

FMF- I completely agree. In concert with the expense side of things - living within one's means - its critical to actively manage your career. Your career is the engine that drives your finances. Your discipline in keeping spending habits to the point that income well exceeds expenses is the foundation.

You need both sides of the equation - without your career, there likely wouldn't be expenses to manage!

[Matt]

Beware of greed.

Balance your needs to succeed with your family.I could have been greedy and worked a heck of a lot more but at what cost? I was giving 105 to 110% to my company. They wanted a greedy 120%. What would that cost me? Missing out on some family activities and fun? I say it was not worth it. I do not regret where I am now because I have fully commited to raising my sons to be the best men that they can be and to me that is worth more than the extra thousands of dollars that I could have earned giving that 120%.

BTW I am a very ecellent asset to my firm and they value me.( Our CEO's last name is King so I guess I do work for a KING) I guess that is why I still have my job.

[Nate]

While I understand the sentiment that, “do what you love and then money will follow” isn’t always true; I believe it is truer than people give it credit. The problem lies in the execution. As an example, if you truly love being an artist, you can make a living at it. However, you should learn how to live on peanuts while you are developing your career. Understand your business and figure out the best way to monetize your creative developments. I think you can make an argument for, “doing what you love” if you have done serious research about how you plan on making money and devised a plan for developing your career. I simply LOVE people who are passionate about what they do (don’t you?!) – they are SO much fun to engage with.
I actually have another quick example. I work close to a Mexican restaurant where there is a young man who LOVES what he does (I mean he is passionate about his customers – he remembers their orders and greats everyone with smile!). People ask for him by name – and he takes great care of them (he always give me extra chips!). I eat at this restaurant probably 2-3 times a week because I LOVE to be around someone who is so passionate about his current careers (and serving others). This guy probably makes $8-$10 an hour. We have become rather close and the other day he told me that he receives close to $150 a day in tips DURING THE WEEK, and $200-$250 a day on the weekends. Are you KIDDING ME?!?! The money is well deserved. He loves what he does and he has learned how to monetize it very effectively.

[Stephan]

great post, and just goes to show again that a person who is willing to work hard will get rewarded. SOmeone who just goes with the flow wont necessarily be punished but they will certainly be left behind by their harder working peers.
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