The best way to earn money is through honest contribution. Do what you feel is best for everyone, not just yourself. Align your financial results with the highest good of all. Ask yourself: Would anyone be deeply saddened if I stopped contributing? Would anyone cry if I went out of business? If the answer is no, it’s a safe bet you’re one the wrong path.
Contributing social value is the primary strategy for making money consciously, but by itself it isn’t enough to guarantee success. The problem with focusing on social value is that your personal values may not be aligned with the social consensus. When you attempt to provide social value without achieving congruence with your personal values, your motivation will be weak. You won’t be inspired because you’ll be doing what you feel you should do, not what you want to do. Alternatively, when you attempt to satisfy your personal values without providing any real social value, you get the starving-artist syndrome: you may be inspired by work you love doing, but it won’t pay the bills.
The solution is to work within the area of overlap between your personal values and social values. This will enable you to do what you love while creating something that others treasure as well. Don’t force yourself to choose between your integrity and your income—demand that both be satisfied.
Social and personal values will fluctuate over time, so be prepared to adapt. During the first few years I (Steve Pavlina) ran my computer-games business, it aligned perfectly with my personal values but not with social values. I loved the work, but I wasn’t making any money. After several years, I reached a point of balance, where I was enjoying the work and making a nice living from it. Farther down the road, my personal values shifted: creating games no longer inspired me even though the work still had social value. Eventually I changed careers.
Personal development work currently has high social value, and it also aligns beautifully with my personal values. Consequently, I can generate substantial income in this field and be very fulfilled at the same time. Don’t underestimate the importance of alignment between personal and social values. Both are essential if you want to make money consciously.
Unless you’re really inflexible, it shouldn’t be exceedingly difficult to envision a way for you to contribute that also aligns with your personal beliefs. This is a problem that can be solved if you put some thought into it. Often the simplest way to create value for others is by sharing what you love to do. I love working on my own growth, but that doesn’t do much for others. However, when I share what I’m doing and teach people what I’ve learned, that does create social value. And when I do so via the Internet and share my work with millions of people around the world, the value I can provide is massively multiplied. Once you have a solution that works for you, you’ll be in a position to generate abundant income while serving the greater good. Don’t expect this to be easy, but it is certainly worth the effort.
* Source: Personal Development for Smart People by Steve Pavlina