How to Make More Money: 3 Ways Self-Love Can Make You Richer

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At the time of writing, we’re just on the other side of Valentine’s Day - a day many spend celebrating love between each other. I, too, celebrated the love I share with my husband, but every year I also like to remind you - and myself! - that outside of the love you share with others is the very special and important kind of love you share with yourself.

And, although I think self-love is important for so many reasons, I’d like to discuss a more practical reason self-love is important… specifically, how your confidence shows up in your bank account.

SELF-LOVE LEADS TO INCREASED CONFIDENCE

Self-love often leads to increased confidence. Whether you practice self-love through affirmations, exercise, healthy eating, journaling, intentional reading, therapy, massage, or something else… by taking the time to prioritize yourself and your well-being, you’re telling your subconscious: I am important and I am a priority in my life.

That alone is powerful. In a world where it’s easy to prioritize other people’s needs above your own (especially if you’re a natural people-pleaser or an introvert like me), making time in your busy schedule to put all those other people aside and allow the spotlight of your life to linger on YOU for awhile… that does something to your psyche.

It tells your psyche that you are just as important, if not MORE important, than all the other people you prioritize in your life (if you’re a mom, that includes your kids… and remember it is NOT selfish to think so because you can’t be the best mom possible unless you’re taking care of yourself too).

CONFIDENCE HELPS YOU MAKE MORE MONEY

So, again, the idea here is that self-care leads to increased confidence. And, in turn, increased confidence leads to higher levels of success, in different forms, yes, but here we’re talking about financial success.

One study* suggests that those with higher self-esteem make anywhere from $7,000 to $28,000 more than their less-confident peers per year. If you fall into the “less-confident” bucket, that means that over a 40-year career, you’d be looking at $280,000 to $1.12 million in lost earnings.

So let’s talk about WHY… here are 3 ways confidence can make you more money.

1) CONFIDENCE MAKES YOU SEEM COMPETENT AND TRUSTWORTHY

Have you ever snuck into someplace that you’re not supposed to be? There was always that one friend that said, “Just act like you’re supposed to be here.” This happened to my husband and me recently when we wanted to check out a hotel in Guatemala, of which we were not guests.

Instead of looking at our feet and meekly asking for permission to look around the hotel (in which case I’m sure they would have said it’s for guests only), we strolled in with our heads held high, made direct eye contact with the doormen and the front desk people, asked everyone how they were doing, and kept right on walking. We spent several hours just wandering around the hotel property.

If you’re confident, others are more likely to trust you. You appear to know what you’re doing, so they’re more likely to think you know what you’re doing, too.

Now, let me be clear: I’m not saying to lie at work. 1,000% do not do that.

But I am saying that if you give off an air like you know what you’re doing - make direct eye contact, be proactive, don’t hesitate or avoid, freely admit fault, speak up, etc. - even in the moments when you're not 100% sure, others will still view you as competent and trustworthy… they’ll have confidence in YOU to figure it out, and you’ll have their respect.

And people who are respected? Those are the kind of people who get promoted, pay increases, and other opportunities.

2) CONFIDENCE IS A LEADERSHIP TRAIT

Look around you - at your job, yes, but also around the world. Would you agree that most people in positions of power exude an air of confidence? I certainly would, I see it in my life every day and I saw it, too, when I was in corporate.

World leaders. Politicians. Celebrities. CEOs. The entire leadership team at work.

The vast majority of these people are either confident or they know how to fake confidence really, really well (and between you and me, it’s likely the former because typically success follows confidence, not the other way around).

What’s something else world leaders, politicians, celebrities, CEOs, and the entire leadership team have in common? Financial abundance.

Confidence is a leadership trait. It gets you noticed and it makes people in positions of power think of you whenever opportunities arise. Confidence can help you become a leader yourself and, usually with positions of leadership comes some form of financial gain, as well.

3) CONFIDENCE MAKES YOU MORE EFFECTIVE

According to hive.com* confidence and effectiveness go hand-in-hand. That’s great news because not only do you APPEAR more competent to others when you’re confident, but you actually become more so.

From less overthinking and better decision-making to more action and greater drive, confidence at work can produce a larger overall impact. It’s kind of like a snowball. You quit overthinking so you start taking more action which feels great so your drive increases.

As your drive increases, you experience more and more things, maybe you try new projects, your decision-making improves, and in the end, you become more effective overall. It’s a win-win across the board.

Now, can you imagine what happens to the type of person who is incredibly effective at work? Who is not only incredibly effective but makes great decisions, is quick because you don’t overthink, and has great drive to take action? Again, it’s that type of person who gets the promotion, who gets the raise, and who gets additional opportunities, financial and otherwise.

THE BIG PICTURE

Confidence not only FEELS incredible, but it can produce real-life tangible financial results like we’ve talked about here. But remember… where does confidence begin?

It all starts with prioritizing self-love. Making dedicated space in your schedule to take care of yourself and being proactive about investing time and money into yourself through things you know will increase your confidence.

This can be as simple as blocking your calendar to ensure you get an appropriate lunch break each day so you have time to let your mind rest and reflect on things that matter to YOU, and not your employer. Maybe listening to an empowering podcast or reading a self-help book.

There are tons of options - but before you do any of them you must first DECIDE that you’re going to make yourself a priority in your life. Everything stems from there.

NEXT STEPS

Not too long ago, I had a frantic corporate schedule where I had back-to-back meetings, a thousand emails, and pings from co-workers on the company chat every 5 minutes. My life felt out of control and there certainly didn’t seem to be any time left for me to prioritize myself.

So I made a change, and my life transformed as a result. As I look back on the biggest shifts that led me away from a life where I put everyone else’s needs before my own, to prioritizing my needs and growing my confidence, 5 key things helped me the most.

I’ve packaged them up for you inside my free guide, “5 Ways to Invest in Yourself (Actionable Things You Can Do to Prioritize YOU)”.

No matter how you feel about yourself in this moment. No matter what your life looks like and if it feels insane to imagine a future where you are this insanely confident person at work and in life. Remember: confidence is like a muscle. You work it little by little and slowly, over time, it grows until suddenly things look exactly as you like.

So decide how you’re going to invest in yourself and your self-care, remember WHY it’s so important for that to be a priority, and inch by inch, every single day, just keep going.