One day, I was on my way to the fire station at about 7:30 a.m., and I overheard the clerk complaining about how tired he was.

He said, “I got off from my main job yesterday at 5 p.m. I went home and showered and had to be here at 10:00 p.m. When I get off in 15 minutes, I have an hour before I have to head back to my main job.”

I thought to myself, he does not make enough hourly, so he must work many hours. The situation made me sad, as; he is not living a quality life. He doesn’t have time or money set aside to enjoy life. He probably doesn’t have vacation or sick pay—when he doesn’t go to work, he doesn’t get paid. I left thinking that the smart thing to do would be to improve his skills to get a better job and increase his hourly wage to make more money for the same amount of time.

It is possible for you to work for the same number of hours and make more money!

The person who makes $10 an hour must work double the hours to make $1,000 as the person who makes $20 an hour.

The person who makes $10 an hour must work 100 hours to make $1000.

The person who makes $20 an hour only has to work 50 hours for the same $1000.

The person who earns $500 an hour only has to work 2 hours to earn $1000.

The person who makes $1000 an hour only has to work 1 hour to earn $1000.

The difference in $10 an hour vs. $1000 an hour is huge. The person who earns $1000 an hour has 99 hours left to balance and enjoy life with. Guess who gets to decide what they are worth an hour. You!

Look for ways and create a plan to consistently increase your earning power and reduce your energy and presence to earn money.