The traditional way of generating income is by working for an employer at a company and earning a paycheck.

Of course, this is still the most common way of generating income.

However, it’s becoming a more and more outdated way of seeing income.

Plus, it unnecessarily limits your options for making a living.

Let’s discuss how we can change this…

There is a distinct lack of information provided about preparing for your financial future, especially for retirement.

This leads to young adults either not understanding how to prepare for retirement or not seeing it as something to worry about yet.

That’s why I endeavored to create a product to help young adults in this exact situation alongside the fantastic creators over at The Investing for Beginners Podcast and The Lion Within Us.

This powerful product is the Financial Birds & Bees bundle including an info-packed eBook, 12-day series to simplify the eBook’s topics, and monthly live Q&A with Dave & Andrew from The Investing for Beginners Podcast.

If you have younger loved ones such as children or relatives that could benefit from properly preparing for retirement, this product can also be given a a gift through the Financial Birds & Bees Gift Card.

The Issue With the Traditional View

This traditional view of working for an employer tells you that you have to be beholden to someone else to make a living.

The implication of this is:

I don’t know about you, but the idea of having to give up my time/location/creative freedom just to make money is a frustrated proposition.

What Generates Income?

Let’s get a very basic definition of how you can generate income.

This may sound obvious, but it is the key to unlocking your income-generating potential.

Providing value to a company as a hardworking employee generates income.

Providing value to an individual as a copywriting freelancer generates income.

Providing value to an individual through entertaining videos generates income.

Providing value to an individual through educational content generates income.

This explains why modern, seemingly silly jobs (like influencers, content creators, freelancers, etc.) can earn a living even when they’re not in a traditional role.

Why Is This Important?

This mindset shift is important because it can open up new doors for you that you didn’t even think were possible.

We often have limiting beliefs that tell us that we have to work for someone else to earn a living.

Realizing that income is generated when you provide value makes it clear that you can forge your own personal path highlighted by your personal interests and skills.

Take me, for example

I am a content creator focused on helping people better their finances and reach their goals.

To a traditional mindset, this is silly because I’m just creating content online instead of working for a company.

In reality, I am providing value to individuals through financial education and insights, which can be exchanged for income in myriad ways.

In fact, the longer I create content, the more ways I see to provide value to the people, and the more ways I see to make a living off of it without ripping anyone off.

Takeaway

Believing you need to work for someone else, play by someone else’s rules, and follow someone else’s interests is limiting both your income and your enjoyment of generating income.

Find things you enjoy doing that also provide value to the lives of others, and scale it up until it can generate income for you.

Your future self will thank you for it.

Until next time,

Evan

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