Why Six Figures Shouldn't Be Your Goal...Here's What Should Be!
Let’s have another conversation that I believe is long overdue. The notion that six figures is the end all and be all of the success. If you’ve been on Instagram, YouTube, Pinterest, and especially now, Clubhouse, you’ll find conversations all about how to make six figures. It has become the career gold standard. But guys, we need to talk. We need to talk about why making six figures shouldn’t be the goal. There are so many other things I want you to consider when making career goals and we are going to talk about those in this article.
So, this topic may feel a little controversial for some of you but this is a topic that needs to be addressed. There are things within our society that take a life of their own and this “six-figure chick” mentality is one of them. Social media is flooded with 100,000 ways to make six figures. Don’t believe me, go on YouTube and type in “how to make six figures” and see what you get. Go on Pinterest and see how many pins there are linked to blog articles that tell you how to make six figures. And then go on Clubhouse and search for “six-figure groups” and you’ll see so many groups where “experts” and “influencers” are talking about how to make six figures. The belief they are projecting is that you aren’t a “boss”, you aren’t successful, and you haven’t made it if you don’t make six figures.
Listen, making six figures is nice. It can lead to a good quality of life depending on where you live. I understand why income is important. What I’m not ok with is making a number the number one factor for why you do what you do. This mentality is harmful because I don’t want the next generation to grow up thinking that this should be their ultimate goal and that they shouldn’t expect happiness and joy if they don’t achieve six figures.
There are business and career coaches whose whole marketing spill is based on the belief that they can make you six figures. Anytime a goal is set based on a number you are swimming in dangerous territory because a lot of very important factors tend to go out of the window. Yes, you may be making six figures, but are you happy? Is what you’re doing impactful? How does it impact your quality of life? There are people out there who are living very unhappy and unhealthy lives because they are trying to maintain six figures and I don’t want that to be you if it does not have to be you. There are many people who don’t feel successful because they are not meeting these very popular standards, even though the work they are doing is absolutely amazing! That’s very unfortunate. Stop listening to others and to focus on what matters. Yes, I want you to make a lot of money! Yes, I want you to be very successful! Yes, if you aspire to make six figures I hope and pray that you make it one day. But I would be remiss if I let you believe that it is all that you need in your life in order to be satisfied because I know that is not true. There are so many other things that you should consider in your life when you are setting your goals. So, let’s talk about those things right now.
Here are three things that are way more important than making six figures.
Your Why
Your why is the foundation of what you are doing. If your why is screwed up, then everything else will be screwed up. If your why doesn’t come from a positive place, then you will see that reflected in your business eventually. Anytime you set a goal you need to be clear on why you’re doing it. If money is your why you really need to reconsider your goals. If making six figures is why you are considering doing whatever that “it” is, you really need to reconsider. Having financial goals is fine. In life and in your career you need financial goals because we live in a society where money is necessary. However, when you are choosing what you do with your life you don’t want to make money the foundation. When you’re considering your next job or your next business or your next venture I want to ask yourself “Why am I doing this?” Be honest with yourself. If what you’re doing is coming from a selfish and self-glorifying place, then be honest with yourself and see what adjustments need to be made to that goal.
Your Impact
This is what I hope your “why” is all about! Not the money, but the impact. This is way more important than six figures. Who will be touched by what you do? How will the world change because of what you do? Who needs what you have? These are the questions I want you to ask yourself and these are the questions that truly matter, not “Will I make six figures?” The people who make things that truly last in our society don’t ask themselves how much can they make. They ask themselves “Who needs what I have?” And if enough people need what you have to offer, believe me, six, seven, and eight figures will come! I think about the billionaire, Sarah Blakely, who created Spanx. I love to use her as an example because she really took nothing and made it into something based on a need. She wanted to wear a white dress to a party and could not find anything to go under her dress that other people wouldn’t see. So, she got some tights, cut the feet off, and she wore it under the dress. And it looked amazing! She thought to herself, “How many women need this?” How many women have the same problem that I have? How many women would love this product? I don’t think she asked herself “How much money can I make off of this?” She saw a need so she made a product. By fulfilling the need and having a major impact on women’s wear, she’s now a billionaire. Six figures are nothing to her. Impact matters more than money. If you make the impact the money will come. So, please focus on your impact.
How You Feel
Taking jobs for money can be devastating in the long run. Think about how many people you know (or maybe it’s you) who have a job that makes a lot of money but hates your job. It doesn’t make you feel good. And I’m sure some people will say the money is not even worth it. For some people having a better quality of life and doing something that makes them feel good matters way more than if they’re going to make six figures or not. Doing something that you enjoy, that you like, where you can have the impact you want, and that makes you feel good is more important than six figures. The career that comes to mind immediately is teaching. Teachers hardly ever make six figures (they deserve more). Yet what they do is so impactful and so rewarding. Teachers don’t do the job for the money, they do it because they absolutely love it. There are so many career fields that won’t produce six figures. Six figures is not an option for them in their field, but they do it because they love it and they don’t miss six figures. Ask them how they feel and I’m sure they will go on and on and on about why they love what they do. So, the next time that you begin to feel some kind of way because of the amount of money you make ask yourself “Do I love what I do?” If the answer is a resounding yes, then be grateful. There are so many people going to jobs that are killing them and making them miserable. Being able to do something that you love, I believe, is a luxury it is way more important than the six figures.
Those are the three things that I hope you put before how much money do you make. Your why. Your impact. How you feel. They all truly matter. Some of you are really selling yourself short at six figures. You could go way beyond that but, you don’t know it because you’re not focused on the things that don’t matter. You’re caught up on a number. So, take some time to: stop listening to people who are feeding you this nonsense; and ask yourself questions that really matter. I would hate for you to miss your destiny. I would hate for you to miss out on doing something that you truly love all because it won’t make you six figures. If you absolutely love art and you feel it in your soul, but you are denying yourself doing it because it won’t make you six figures, I need to rethink some things. If you love working with kids, but you aren’t doing it because it won’t make you the money you want to make, I need you to reconsider some things. So, ask yourself, what is your goal? What are you being lead to do? Are you being lead to make six figures or to change the world? Whatever you decide to do I want you to do it with a holistic view, considering your impact and knowing that a number doesn’t define your success.
LaShawnda McLaurin is a licensed clinical mental health counselor offering counseling and coaching services to women, exclusively online. She specialized in anxiety counseling, anxiety, fear, and worry coaching, trauma, and relationship issues. To learn more about LaShawnda’s services click here.