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colleagues, your salary, your work environment, opportunities for advancement, any successes or disappointments you have experienced, and how deeply you feel about the importance of the work. What is working and what is not working? Now imagine you have a job offer from another company. This other job may pay you more, be in a better location or offer more exciting projects. Imagine going to your supervisor’s office to give notice. Imagine that when you come out of your supervisor’s office you have decided to stay with your current company. Why? What did your supervisor offer you? A raise? A nicer office? A more flexible schedule? A new project? Circle these items on your list. By making adjustments in these few key areas, you could make your job more exciting and rewarding for yourself. Your job could become a positive influence in your life instead of a drain. By using good communication skills you can enlist the support of your coworkers and supervisor to try to make these improvements. Ask for a raise or for flex time, redecorate your office or request to join a new project. It is up to you to ask for what you need. You may be surprised by how easily you get it. For example, I think many of my students enroll at my school because they want to work in holistic health instead of their current jobs. They start seeing clients, enjoy the process, graduate, develop momentum to break through to a new career and go to their bosses to give notice. I can’t tell you how frequently they walk out with a pay raise. Usually when this happens, they realize they actually enjoy the stability of their full-time job, and choose to do counseling after work or on the weekends as a part-time supplementary career. Sometimes all you need is a 20% pay increase to have renewed appreciation for your job. If you desire a higher salary, and if you are a responsible, intelligent and hardworking employee, there’s a good chance you’ll get it if you ask. One of my students was working for a large brokerage firm for many years, and her working hours were just under the requirement for full-time employment because this allowed the company to avoid paying for her benefits and insurance. She was fed up with the way they were treating her, and after months of thinking it through, she decided to quit. She walked into the office and announced she was leaving in two weeks. They immediately gave her the extra hours, switched her to full-time staff and bumped up her