Wouldn’t it be great if you could make as much money as you want, whenever you want? To have the ability to simply wish upon a million dollars and make it so? Immediately.

Unfortunately, most of us are not there quite yet. But don’t despair! The key to improving our finances and any other way we are rewarded is to understand and correctly implement the Law of Compensation.

Ralph Waldo Emerson says in his famous Law of Compensation essay, “Every act rewards itself.” What this means is when we do our tasks the best we can, we bring out the best in ourselves. When we become too large for where we are right now, we will then draw something larger to us, which might be more money, more love, more confidence, etc. (The Law does not limit itself to money alone as compensation.)

What’s important to know about the Law of Compensation is that we cannot draw something bigger to ourselves until we first become larger. It is our responsibility to become larger and continue to grow. We can do this by using the Law of Cause and Effect and implementing “causes” in our life that will lead to the effect we seek.

It is the order of nature to grow.

Scientists tell us that the Universe and everything in it is growing and always has been. It is the order of nature to grow and expand. Each of us is designed for progress and growth because it is the nature of human beings to grow and expand. If we are not growing we are dying.

Just as a crab molts and sheds it outer shell, we must do the same as we grow. Yet we often resist this personal expansion! We hang on to old friends, jobs we don’t like, beliefs that are no longer true for us, and even our faith that no longer serves us. We resist releasing old friends. We idealize the old times, the old us, not believing we can recreate the amazing times of the past.

The truth is when we do this we don’t grow. In fact, we impair the Law of Compensation. We can’t make more if we don’t become more. We can’t become more if we are hanging on tightly to the old.

Here are three steps you can take to use the Law of Compensation more effectively:

1. Do you give more than we are paid for? Examples include going through the motions of projects and doing what’s required but not having enthusiasm or caring about the results. Doing what’s expected and nothing else. You can counter this by being fully present in the moment and completing tasks with intention for positive outcomes. These are just two ways to break through the monotony of repetition or boredom.
2. Implement causes in life that will lead to the desired effects. For example, if you desire to double your income, the possibility needs to be there that it can happen. If you are working the maximum number of hours a day at a fixed rate, the income has no opportunity to change. There needs to be a definite plan, along with the demand and expectation, to make more.
3. Evaluate what you are hanging on to that needs to be let go. You can use your intuition here and trust what comes up – even if you don’t like it! Go through friends, jobs, homes, foods, lifestyle, spiritual practices, religions. Anything that comes up is game.

The Law of Compensation is an obedient Law. It is important to remember that we cannot draw something bigger to ourselves until we first become larger. No one will do this for us, and it requires us to be self-motivated, maintain a sense of urgency, and take repeated action.