When my best friend was 10 years old, his mom washed his mouth out with soap.

It's not the act itself that made a lasting impression, though.

It's the fact that in the middle of his punishment, the phone rang. With a stern warning to my bestie not to move a muscle, she went to answer it.

My friend waited obediently, drool coursing down his chin onto his t-shirt, crying silent tears for five minutes. Then ten. Then twenty.

It took her other son tugging at her sleeve, eyes wide with pity for his little brother, to remind her what she had been doing before she got distracted--an hour and twenty minutes prior.

😱😱😱

And that was the last time anyone in that household got their mouth washed out with soap.

If you think it was the last time anyone cursed in that household, however, you'd be mistaken.

That's because sometimes the only word that's right for a situation is a bad one.

Last year was the worst on record for me financially. There were months when I made zero dollars. I refused to attend social events lest someone ask me "how work was going." Everything I touched caught fire or crumbled to dust. I felt like I was forever pushing boulders up hills.

Then, I came across a little mantra that changed everything.

"Fuck you, pay me."

Simple.

Empowering.

And likely to get my mouth washed out with soap.

Which I'm sure had everything to do with why it worked so well.

Because it wasn't backed by the anger that often propels that turn of phrase. It meant something else entirely.

It meant, "I'm worth it."

(Because I'd clearly spent too long doubting that).

It meant, "I'm no longer willing to discount my prices just to get your business."

(Because that was working so well, after all).

It meant, "I'm no longer going to hit send on my invoices and then sweat bullets that this is the one that will make my clients realize they're paying me too much and let me go."

(Because, seriously, WTF? 🤦🏻‍♀️)

If you've ever squirmed at the idea of selling or hesitated to raise your prices, or in any other way allowed fear to rule the day when it comes to asking for money, I invite you to look in the mirror and say:

Fuck you, pay me.

Say it before you send a proposal.

Say it before you hit publish.

Say it before you step out the door each morning, and I have no doubt you will conquer the world.

I wrote an article about 5 more weird ways to increase your income.

But it's only for fans of joy, ease and abundance. 😉