A young analyst once asked the CFO for a raise. He said no, flat out, but then, he did something strange.
For the next 90 days, he gave the kid more responsibility, more autonomy, more exposure. Finally, the analyst asked, “Why give me the work but not the money?”
The CFO smiled and said, “I was giving you the raise before you were paid it. If I’d doubled your paycheck before you doubled your value, I’d have ruined you.”
A year later, that analyst became the youngest VP in the company’s history.
Lesson: The world often pays you after you do the work, not before. If you want income to grow, grow first.