Ramit Sethi

Founder of Earn1k and NY Times Bestselling Author of I Will Teach You To Be Rich.

What special skills do you have? Can you speak English? Do 8th-grade math? There’s someone who’ll pay you $15-$30/hour on Craigslist or in your local community.
Perspective: Teaching college students, young professionals, and everyone else how to automate their finances, find their professional passion, and make more money.

JOSH: How would YOU specifically double your income and your happiness in the next twelve months?

RAMIT: Most Americans can easily earn $1,000/month on the side using skills they already have.
For example, I have students who are earning thousands being music instructors, language and math tutors, marketing consultants, even Powerpoint designers.

Examples:
- Minneapolis-based woman earned $81,000 in 8 weeks teaching elite violin students
- California man is earning thousands more/month doing IT consulting — and leaving him more than enough time to work a full-time job with a wife and kids
- California man is earning hundreds tutoring accounting students

You can learn a step-by-step process for turning your skills into side income on my free email list at Earn1K.com.

JOSH: According to the 2010 annual job satisfaction survey published by The Conference Board, only 45 percent of Americans are satisfied with their work. The numbers are even worse for those under the age of 25, where 64 percent report being unhappy at work. Is it realistic to be “happy” at work or is this just some B.S. our “self-esteem” movement parents brainwashed us with?

RAMIT: Of course it’s realistic to be happy at work. Nobody taught us the skill of finding our Dream Job — not our schools, not our parents, nobody — but the blunt truth is, we didn’t take the time to learn it either. So when we complain about our jobs not making us happy, what are we doing about it?

If you haven’t read a good book on careers or taken someone you admire out to coffee in the last two weeks, you don’t get to complain.

There are lots of techniques you can use to negotiate your existing salary — or find an entirely new job.

JOSH: What’s the biggest career mistake you’ve made and what did you learn from it?

RAMIT: I stayed at a job too long. Even though I was unhappy, and I kept planning to leave, I couldn’t get the motivation or courage to leave for a long time.

I learned that it pays to be brutally honest with yourself about whether you’re realizing your full potential. Is changing this spreadsheet really going to make the biggest impact I can make?

Change is about triggering the right sequence of baby steps, what are the first three steps for someone who wants to make a full time living doing something they love?

It’s simple — but counter-intuitive. Most “experts” will tell you to identify your values, your passions, and what you love. This rarely works, and wastes endless months of pointless introspection.

There’s a much more effective way.

First, identify the job title you want. Use LinkedIn to research them.
Second, identify 10 companies you want to work for.
Third, take 10 people out to coffee to “validate” your ideas. Is your ideal job title realistic? Do they know anyone at those companies? I call this “Natural Networking” and it is a powerful way to find your Dream Job — jobs that are rarely advertised.