The $1000 Project is designed to show you that you’re not a victim of your own situation, and that opportunities – even if they’re small ones – to find extra money and put it towards something important exist around you all the time. You just need to be open to these ideas, then get up and grab them and don’t look back. You’ll need to force yourself out of your comfort zone to make it happen, and keep happening, until you achieve your goal.

As you know, in the $1000 Project, there are two ways in which you can manifest your parcels: earning and saving. This chapter focuses on how to earn and create more money in your life. This is your time to hunt, so you must be ready. It’s about doing what you need to do to get what you want. And remember: it’s achievable, and while it may not always be easy, it’s most definitely worth it.

Sometimes this will mean working as a team with other people in your life, sometimes it will mean working by yourself. Sometimes you’ll get up super early, or work late into the night, or over the weekend. You may need to reach out to people you know, or work with new people you haven’t met yet, which can be daunting. But as you create each $1000 parcel, you get stronger, smarter and wiser, and you build a thirst to keep going as you see and feel your progress towards your goals. It’s exciting and addictive!

Stretching yourself will be so much easier when you have this attitude. It’ll give you that much-needed kick up the backside to make the shift, the change, the breakthrough actually happen – which will then pave the way to a much healthier and happier life, with so much more meaning and substance.

GET CREATIVE!

The first step to earning extra money is to brainstorm as many money-making ideas as possible. No idea is too silly or outrageous; in fact, the crazier the idea, the better. Through opening your mind and imagination, you’ll get brilliant light bulb moments. And you’ll realise how capable you really are, and that some of your ‘crazy’ ideas could actually be strokes of genius.

Grab paper and a pen, and brain-dump as many ideas as possible about things you can do to earn or create more cash in your life right now (which you will then deposit into your dedicated $1000 Project savings account). Fill your list with things that you can realistically do today. For example, if you’re studying, it’s great to know that you’ll be able to earn more money when you finish your studies and move into full-time employment, but if you aren’t graduating for another year, it’s not a solution right now.

Following is a list of ideas for making money that could inspire you. Some of these things are quick and easy, while others require a little bit of planning and preparation. However, they’re all reasonable ideas and you should find more than a few that you can do personally – or they might trigger new and interesting ideas of your own.

If you can come up with money-creating ideas that work with your strengths, values and loves, even better. It probably won’t even feel like work! I know that when I took on some extra projects on the weekend for cash, I found that I really loved the work and ended up strengthening my knowledge and experience. Look for things that can enrich your life and not only will you benefit financially, but you’ll gain other positive outcomes, connections and inspiration.

MONEY-CREATION IDEAS

REACH OUT TO OTHERS

Obviously only you know what you can do, and you do need to work around your existing lifestyle and commitments, but never stop looking for ideas. And remember to share what you’re working on with people in your life. You never know who might be able to help you or give you an amazing opportunity or suggestion.

For example, when I began doing market research after work hours, I initially had to turn many offers down, as I needed to look after my son, Rocco, or pay a babysitter, which would use up a lot of the money I earned. But when I mentioned this to my parents, they immediately offered to help me by looking after Rocco for the hour or two necessary – they wanted to support me as I did the $1000 Project. Suddenly, I could accept those market research opportunities.

A similar situation happened to one of my friends, who wanted to do a market stall but didn’t think she had enough items to sell. When she mentioned this to three of her friends, they asked to share the stall with her, splitting the cost between them, and it ended up being a very lucrative day for all four people.

I made my friends aware of my personal challenge, and they kept their ears to the ground for me and helped to spread the word that I was looking for extra work. I can’t tell you how many golden opportunities came to me this way. When people see you really having a crack at trying to do something challenging, different or brave, they often go out of their way to offer help, support, ideas or opportunities, inspired by your contagious positive attitude and determination.

A young women I spoke to was desperate to pay off her student debt and credit cards as quickly as possible. She wasn’t able to earn any extra money from her full-time job, so she decided to house-sit for people in her area and help look after their pets while they were on holiday. She absolutely loved this, as she was being paid cash to live in some amazing homes and enjoyed being around animals. Word got around that she was reliable and loved dogs, so more people approached her to look after their homes and pets. Accepting these opportunities helped her to achieve her goal, and didn’t affect her full-time job.

There’s something very powerful and inspiring about sharing with others that you’re trying to achieve something or are working towards a particular goal, and explaining the reasons behind it. People like seeing others having a go and helping them to succeed.

I saw a classic example of this when I spoke with a woman from Hervey Bay in Queensland, who was worried about not having enough cash to retire. She shared her concerns with her boss, and told him she was looking for ideas to help her come up with more money to put into her superannuation account. Her boss kindly explained that he couldn’t increase her hours – but to try and help her out, he offered her work cleaning his house. Through doing this, she discovered that he lived alone and didn’t know how to cook – and he was wasting lots of money buying takeaway every night, which wasn’t helping his health. So she started cooking him meals while cooking her own dinner at home, and earned even more cash doing so.

Sharing your goals – what you are doing and why – with people in your life may also end up inspiring them to join you and do the $1000 Project for themselves! Then you can keep each other in check, on track and motivated, just like exercise buddies. Energy is contagious, so if you’re both excited and inspired, your achievements will multiply.

KEEP MOVING

As you try to create and earn more money, inevitably you’ll be faced with obstacles, but you can’t just give up and walk away. You need to keep moving and find ways to overcome or rise above the challenges. I truly believe that when you really want something badly, and you keep trying, you’ll find a way to achieve it – or something even better.

Look to work around the brick walls; use them as an opportunity to get smarter and to keep growing. You never know what might be born from trying to think differently to overcome setbacks or challenges.

I remember speaking to a young advertising executive who worked long hours in her full-time job and only had the weekends spare. She wanted to save up a deposit for her first home, so she decided to do the $1000 Project to help achieve her goal sooner. Time was really tight for her, but after brainstorming, and thinking about her own talents and resources, she remembered that she was good at carpentry, and she started making giant Jenga sets and selling them on eBay. The sets were so popular that she was approached to rent them out for parties and special events. Not only was she making some extra cash in her small amount of spare time, but a rental business was also born!

As you progress through your $1000 Project, you need to think about your flow of success. Sometimes, for example, I worked in aggressive bursts of action (particularly when reviewing my progress against a looming deadline!). This would trigger the panic, adrenaline and new ideas, and killed any procrastination. However, you might be someone who works better with a routine or consistency, where you’re happy with your steady flow of financial parcels. It doesn’t matter at all, as long as it works for you and your situation and goals.

It’s important to constantly review your progress, however, and your deadlines. Track what money is coming in, when and from where. Write down exactly what you have earned from different jobs, tasks or projects, and how long they took you. What ideas and activities give you the quickest inflow of money? What’s giving you the easiest inflow of money? How can you dedicate more time to the project, if necessary? Writing these things down will help give you more clarity on where to focus your energy.

At times, you might need to push yourself out of your comfort zone to accept an opportunity. You may need to be flexible and adaptable to meet a situation, challenge or opportunity; you may even need to put on a brave face and grit your teeth. But if you know something will help you get a step closer to your goal, simply go for it and focus on the feeling of satisfaction, pride and achievement that will come from the hard work. Remember: what doesn’t kill you only makes you stronger.

Having said that, make sure you’re fair to yourself. Don’t punish or judge yourself if you genuinely don’t want to do a particular job, just because it would mean missing out on some money. The $1000 Project is supposed to be fun and inspiring, and to help build your self-worth, so you need to understand and respect your boundaries. Don’t let these moments set you back; just look for other ideas and opportunities that do sit within your value system.

So here’s the breakdown for this part of the $1000 Project, as you try as many ideas as possible to earn and create more money:

Got it? Then get moving!