How your origin money story impacts your career story

I’ve got money on my mind.

It’s been on my mind ever since I attended a Ladies Get Paid breakfast last week. The Founder, Claire Wasserman, told a story about how the community started. It was a spark that occurred after she asked this question to a room full of women: 

What does money mean to you? 

Intense feelings and emotions filled the room. 

One woman spoke about the stress it caused. 

One woman exclaimed how much she loves making money.

Others spoke about their path to money. About how having more of it can change their life. 

The story had a similar effect on the women attending the breakfast last week. It normalized a conversation about what money means to each of us individually. A conversation about women and money. 

The thing that’s been sitting with me when it comes to this topic is where it stems from. Our money origin story. And, how it impacts our career today.

I remember meeting a woman a couple of years ago, while networking, who said to me, “I want to connect with other women to build this company and make shit ton of money.” 

Just like that. 

A part of me felt admiration for the confidence she carried in saying those words and being so transparent about it. And another part of me felt uncomfortable with it. 

Why? 

Because my money origin story sounds more like this: 

· We can’t buy that. It’s too expensive. 

· We need to save more money. 

· That’s what rich people do. We’re not rich. We don’t have money for that. 

· Buy this one instead. It’s on sale. 

· Be thankful you have a job. Be quiet and work hard.

When you grow up in an immigrant family without a lot of money, all you do is talk about money. But it’s about how little you have. And, how much everyone else has. 

Unlike the woman who announced her intention to make a shit ton of money, my money origin story told me to find a stable job, save money, and don’t ever ask for more. Scarcity mindset ALL THE WAY.

That impacted when, or how often, I asked for certain things in my career. A promotion. A raise. A bigger job offer. A different career.

I bring this up because I don’t think there’s a career conversation that isn’t also a money conversation. 

It hasn’t been the case for me. 

It hasn’t been the case for my friends. 

It hasn’t been the case for my clients. 

Once I started to address my money origin story, I started to address what I wanted in my career and did something about it. Now I get to pass this knowledge onto my clients. 

So, what’s your money origin story?

In what way is it holding you back in your career?

What do you want to do about it? 

About the Author

Leang Chung (she/her) is the Founder & Career Coach at Pelora Stack. She helps people navigate their career “firsts”. She works with first time early-stage founders, career changers, people managers, and solopreneurs.

Interested in working with Leang? Email her at, hello@pelorastack.com to set up a FREE consultation call and to learn how she can help you navigate your career “first”.