Introduction

Think back for a minute to the last time you had a restless night sleep. What was racing through your brain? Typically what keeps people up, tossing and turning, is worry about control—the control they have of their future. If you're lying awake at night, it's likely because you feel insecure about something. You're probably worried about taking care of your family, paying bills, advancing at your job, getting your kids through college, and on top of it all—saving for retirement!

These are all big nuts to crack and can all be huge points of anxiety. The pharmaceutical industry has made billions off of anxiety meds trying to help people calm down. The biggest stress that lies at the root of our security—or insecurity? Ownership! Ownership of your career, ownership of your job, ownership over the amount of money you make, and ownership over your future. Ownership over your career means more time and more money for the things that you want to do for yourself and your family. Have control and ownership at work—and your days filled with worry will be numbered.

I know a lot about worry. I work in financial planning, an industry at the mercy of the financial markets. My first few years on the job I saw the Standard and Poor's 500 Index drop 45 percent in two years. In those days I learned that worries about money and security can lead to more worries. Luckily, early on I read Dale Carnegie's How to Stop Worrying and Start Living and noticed how worry perpetuates itself. That's because when we worry we undermine our inner security and feel more insecure; and, when we're insecure, we're not likely to take ownership of our own lives and careers. So we end up in a cycle of worry and indecision that undercuts our ability to get the most out of life. The cure for indecision is clarity, which I found with help from some great mentors. This book is full of examples of people who overcame indecision and worry, took ownership of their careers, and found more security. They can be great mentors for you.

Make More

The people in this book are each very different, but what they all have in common is that they didn't sit back and have promotions fall in their laps. They're normal people like you and me. They drive themselves to work; they pick up diapers or fast food on the way home; they watch television at night just like you and me. None of these people had anything handed to them, and they're not going to be featured on the front of Fortune Magazine. They didn't go to Ivy League schools. These are everyday people we can relate to who all had to start from scratch in the corporate world.

What's remarkable about these people is that they found the secret to security and benefitted financially—something that we can all learn from and stand to do better. This is a group of people who sleep well at night. The key is they wrangled control away from employers and placed it their own hands; they brought the control back to their side of the table. And the good news is that their strategy of bringing control back to their side of the table—and out of their employers' hands—is a strategy that can be copied.

Worry Less

The first thing that the people in this book did was reverse the worry cycle. They bit the bullet and went out on a limb in their careers—in little ways and in big ways. Gradually, as they took more responsibility, they started earning more money. As they made more money, their confidence grew; as their confidence grew, they took more responsibility and gradually made even more money. That's the kind of cycle we all want to enact in our own lives.

So instead of complaining about your stagnant income, you can learn another way from the folks in this book. They can help inspire you to get out of the worry cycle and get into a success cycle where you see your income and confidence grow. If we're able to implement some of these simple worry-less tips that we talk about throughout the book, then we're more likely to be productive business people. Instead of always looking over our shoulder, we're able to look forward and be productive.

HUNT

My first book was about people who were fed up with corporate jobs and started their own companies. I described their entrepreneurial mindset with the acronym HUNT: H, Harness what you have; U, Underestimate obstacles; N, Notice your network; and T, Take the next step. We admire entrepreneurs because the vast majority of us want to start our own business. But what that really means is, we want the control over our own lives that a business seemingly gives us. The harsh reality is that most people will never take this step. More than half of business owners (I don't subscribe to research that says 95 percent of small businesses fail) decide their business is too much to handle and go back to working a job.

Happy Medium

Of course, there's always the headline entrepreneurs who show up in the local business chronicle as success stories—and that's fantastic. You can find a few hundred of these people each year in the average metropolitan area. For my first book, I met with dozens of entrepreneurs, and they are proud of their success. They've made it through the obstacle course. But for every person who has been successful, there are ten people who wish they could make that leap—but at the end of the day, they just can't do it. That's the reality of America. The long-term benefit of starting your own company is you have a tangible asset to sell. Building and then exiting a business may take years of toil. Many people find that instead of starting their own businesses, it's worth it for them to find a happy medium: using an entrepreneurial mindset even if they're in a corporate environment.

The very thing that made these entrepreneurs successful—their entrepreneurial mindset—can be practiced at our jobs. We can learn to think and act with an attitude of ownership over our careers at any size company—large or small—so that we take back the control. Control equals freedom, and freedom equals choice. When you feel like you have choices—instead of letting your employer call the shots—you can live a life with less worry. The HUNT methodologies can apply to your corporate job as well. This book is full of examples from people whose stories are proof that the entrepreneurial mindset can help you find security and independence while still working for someone else. I wrote this book because for every person I meet that has a successful business, I meet ten more people who say they feel like they are entrepreneurs working inside of a company. That second group has found the middle ground by leveraging their employer's resources.

The people in this book share the stories of how they took ownership of their careers, how they grew to feel more in control, earned and asked for a bigger slice of the pie, and ultimately built wealth. They ran their careers as if they were their own companies. That's what made them sleep well at night. And as a financial planner working under the auspices of a large wealth management firm, I feel like I fit in with this group as well.

Best of Both Worlds

Even though I had my own business in college, in the world of finance, it's difficult to start out without a larger organization. Here I was, barely drinking age, expecting people to trust me with their money. I realized I needed some kind of big company to add credibility, so I interviewed with all the big investment firms looking for a career in financial planning. Ultimately, I picked a company that I had some familiarity with—the one my uncle worked for. He said, "If you're going to go to one of these firms, you might as well come here. I can tell you these are good people." My uncle also told me something else—that I was on my own and there was no talk of a partnership with him. I had to go out and find my own clients, but at least I had the credibility of a well-known investment firm on my business cards, a nice cubicle, and some great teachers. Over the years, I've found the best of both worlds.

No matter where you are in your career and regardless of your financial health, you can find more control over your job and add to your sense of security. One of the important things is to avoid living paycheck to paycheck with no cushion—which is how most Americans live. This is the root of all stagnation. If you're truly living paycheck to paycheck and in debt, it's difficult to take any career risks. If you're in that position, work at being your own cushion. In Chapter 4, "Sell from the Heart," you'll meet Buddy Newell, who got through his hard times by working a couple jobs and a huge amount of hours; in the end, though, he found a career that provided financial security. It may take time, but everyone can find more financial and career security.

The key is the entrepreneurial mindset; it's the road to the best of both worlds. The entrepreneurial mindset is one of leadership, ambition, and drive—it works when you have your own company, and it works when you're an employee within someone else's company. The entrepreneurial mindset is like the law of gravity: It works wherever you are—whether you have your own business or a job. The entrepreneurial mindset works wherever you go.

The more of these qualities you have, the more your company will look at you as a partner than just an employee, which is the key to freedom and earning power.

Partner with Your Employer

Following is a checklist of qualities that define a person who has ownership of his or her career. See how many you can check off; it doesn't matter if you possess some or all of these qualities right now, reading this book can help you improve your situation, whatever it may be.

• Do you get a share in the profits? A profit-sharing plan means the company puts a percent of profits into your plan account, tax deferred, every year that it's profitable.
• Do you have a stock purchase plan? Is it favorable to employees? Many publicly traded companies will let you put up to 30 percent of your salary into company stock; you get to buy at a discount, and they match it with stock options.
• Are you eligible for performance bonuses? Companies can give you quantifiable goals to receive bonuses. Even if you're not in sales, if you reach a goal by a certain date, you and your whole department get a cash bonus.
• Do you get 401(k) matching? Look for the standard. Companies routinely give at least 50 percent of up to the first 6 percent of your salary deferral.
• Is your performance measured and reviewed? Ask for a schedule of regular quarterly reviews to monitor your progress toward a promotion or raise.