Thirty Day LA

Goal of the Day: Stop playing it Safe

I worked at my job six weeks before I learned how to report my hours and get paid. It's not that I have no interest in money, its just that every week that passed I struggled more with the fact of how I could bring it up. My boss told me that she thinks money is probably the hardest thing for anyone to talk about at work, since people dont want to look like they are only concerned about money. Just to let you know, when it come to money I didnt really even have the courage to ask about how much I was going to make when I got the job in the first place. As much of a problem that was for me Its especially harder to talk about money when you are incompetent and have neglected to ask anyone how you are supposed to get paid. It took my six weeks before I realized that I was ready to deal with potential embarrasment and the thought of my boss believing I was incompetent.

Today I have the option of keeping my job when school starts again or just quiting. I have been inclined to quit because the job no longer challenges me and i have no desire to turn into a mindless worker drone. I decided if they need me to stay on to work they need to give me exactly what I want or am going to leave. To keep my my bosses would need to double my pay, agree to the terms of my employment, and allow me to do somethign that is somewhat intellectually stimulating or there would simply be no reason for me to stay [ Keep in mind I dont think I have ever demanded anything in my life before].

On the way to my bosses office I was ready to back out and ask for a much smaller and safer wage. I was going to abandon the terms of my employment completely. When the time came though I walked into my bosses office laid all my cards on the table. I told her what an asset I could be to the organization, how much they needed me to pay me, how much money I could be making somewhere else, and what exactly I needed to stay working there during the school year. Then surprisingly she told me that what i asked for sounded just fine. She agreed to the amount of hours I wanted to work, to give me a new computer, work some hours from home, pay me what I asked, and to even let me work on a project that I had been developing to challenge myself. It was the biggest WTF!?!? moment I have had in years. Things became stranger when she congratulated me because she thought I was able to approach the subject of money way better than most people. I left feeling that I should have asked for more.

While the raise and new job opportunity were amazing I think one of the best parts of my day was that it forced me to actively sit back and think what kind of contributions I make to the world around me in order to be able to sell myself. It helped me a lot to really sit there and think about what I had to offer. One of my goals for 30dayla has been to build a new sense of confidence self-worth, and im continually surprised by how much can be accomplished in an afternoon alone.

At the end of the day I was left ready to take more risks with my life, and to not be afraid to demand the things that I think I deserve (ironically though I have been typing this blog and chatting all day instead of actually doing work this week).

Day 3 Preview after the Jump