You Are the Secret to Your Own Prosperity There is no need to ask for a raise when you increase the value of what you have to offer.

Your life is formed by the perspectives and philosophies you adapt, and changing your perspective can create an immediate shift in your life and business. To succeed as an Entrepreneur you must constantly look for ways to sharpen your perspective.

One of the greatest philosophies I've learned is from business philosopher, Jim Rohn. He stated in one of his early seminars, "You get paid for bringing value to the marketplace, and if you're not very valuable you don't make much money."

This principle goes against the mold of what schools teach, how most of us are raised and what media portrays to society. If you understand this powerful philosophy and implement it into your life, you will develop a substantial advantage over those who don't.

People often blame the economy, their job or the government for their lack of income but don't do much to improve their value or skills. The harsh reality we all must understand is you will always be paid exactly what you are worth, or expect you are worthy of.

If somebody is making minimum wage, that's the value they're bringing to the market place. Why does somebody make $500 an hour while many others make $15 an hour? It's quite simple. One has become more valuable to the marketplace than the others.

When you're more valuable to the marketplace, you make more money. As an entrepreneur, you must consistently find ways to become more valuable. The quicker you understand this the quicker you can advance in our fast paced economy.

The major problem. Time on a job, years at a specific occupation, does not increase the inherent value of the job being done or, in many cases after the first few years, the value of the employee, either.

You often hear people say "I have 20 years of experience, I should get paid more." If, in actuality, that person has one year of experience repeated 20 times, why would they expect more money? They aren't becoming more valuable unless they're sharpening their skills, learning better tools and constantly trying to better themselves.

Value guarantees a higher income, age doesn't. You don't get more valuable hanging around for years. Age isn't value. People who want more money earn it by delivering more value to their business and customers. As entrepreneurs, we have the ability to create much more income as long as we understand this.

What to focus on. "Learn to work harder on yourself than you do on your job. If you work hard on your job you can make a living, but if you work hard on yourself you'll make a fortune." Jim Rohn

You don't need to go to work on the economy, you don't need to change your company, the government, your boss or your circumstances. You need to go to work on yourself. When you change, everything changes for you. You're the constant. If you change companies, tactics, strategies or mentors, you're still the constant.

Strive to become a better person. Instead of comparing yourself to others, differentiate. The only person you need to be better than is the person you were yesterday.

How do you bring "value' to the marketplace? By becoming better at everything you do. You will quickly advance in the game of economics when you consistently build your character, skills and value to others.

Make growth a part of your daily agenda. Do something that increases the value you bring to your business, your work, your clients or customers. it's not very complicated to change your current income level. You simply need to offer more value to the marketplace.

Here are places where you will reliably find opportunities to increase your value and stand out against your competition.

Expertise. Study your industry, learn from your competitors.

Productivity. What and how much you get done

Efficiency. How you get done what you get done.

Organization/multiplication. How you get things done by means other than manual labor.

Influence. What you can persuade others to get done.

Celebrity status. How well you are known by your target audience.

Reputation. What others know and think about you.

Vision. What you see that others don't.

Personality. How you treat others and how well you connect.

Attitude. Your attitude towards yourself and towards others.

Awareness. Knowing your strengths and what you're the best at.

Masterminding. Surrounding yourself with those you can learn from.

There are no limits to your success as an entrepreneur when you commit to growing to a higher level. This is the greatest time in human history for those who make the decision not to tolerate mediocrity, and take 100 percent responsibility for their economic well being. Commit to becoming more valuable. You are always in control of your economy regardless of your outside circumstances.