The decision that took me from $15 an hour to six figures in one year
2025
2025
Mindset
Mindset
Sep 10
Sep 10
In one year, I went from making $15 an hour to earning six figures.
It didn’t happen because of luck, or some secret shortcut. It happened because I stopped living for immediate gratification and started making decisions with a date and a destination in mind.
The moment everything shifted
By 16, I was financially independent. I was used to constant financial struggle. When I finally started working in sales, I saw more money than I ever had before. But it came with a cost.
My first week in sales paid me more than I’d ever expected. I saw my future laid out in front of me. Yet there was a huge part of me doubting myself, my reality, and my vision. I wasn’t sure if it was imposter syndrome, self-sabotage, or fear of commitment. But eventually, I realized it was because the vision in front of me wasn’t mine.
On paper, it looked perfect: good income, stability, and growth potential. But deep down, it didn’t feel right. I wasn’t passionate about it, and I felt no sense of freedom.
For the first time in a long time, I asked God: What do I do?
An unexpected door
I found myself scrolling through Upwork and Fiverr, looking at every random role you could imagine, when I stumbled across a posting for a social media intern at a startup.
At first, I brushed it off. I was a business major with a concentration in entrepreneurship, not marketing. But something in me knew I should go for it. So I did.
Taking this (seemingly small) leap of faith was a pivotal moment in my life, and made me realize one of the best decisions 16-year-old me ever made was job hopping. It might sound reckless, but it built the muscle memory to leave when something no longer felt aligned and the confidence to say, “Getting jobs is easy.” That mindset has carried me further than I could have imagined. By the end of college, I realized how valuable this perspective was. It taught me to prioritize creativity and alignment over volume and “just getting by.”
Back to the startup, I made sure to paid attention to the company’s why. I created a deck of content, pitched myself with confidence, and showed up as the person I actually was — not who I thought they wanted me to be.
That made all the difference. If I had sent out 100 rushed applications, I probably would’ve ended up in a role that drained me. Instead, I went after four roles with intention, researched heavily, and prioritized quality over quantity.
The process
After getting the internship, I became obsessed. I'd be up until 12-1am just learning and practicing. Graphic design, editing, experimenting with content… it became my world.
It also became a huge learning lesson. Your work should never become your identity. Because when things shift, so does your brain. The way you see yourself, the way you see others. Your worth is equal to the success of something that can be taken away from you. That's a dangerous place to be in.
The transition
There came a point in time where I had to evaluate the thoughts in the back of my head telling me it was time. I was struggling so much yet feeling frozen. One day a friend came to me only to say, "just make more money".
The simplicity in her tone was amusing. Until I realized, that was literally the solution. I realized I was so caught up in identifying with struggle, my mind was automatically resorting to beliefs like, "I can't afford it." rather than driving my body to move. I had to look in the mirror, take responsibility for where I was at and stop sitting in shame for not moving faster.
These were all things I'd learned and knew while working at that job, under a self-made millionaire who legit built her life from scratch. But sometimes, it's not how or what is said. It's who says it. & for some reason at that very moment in time, I heard the right response at the right time. It's why environment, the people we surround ourselves with is so incredibly important.
That internship gave me the opportunity to understand a millionaire mindset up close. It gave me the opportunity to build high (market) value skills and a new confidence in faith I didn't know was possible. If I had stuck to sales, of course God would have found a way. But I didn't just gain a new life, I gained an irreplaceable mentor.
By the end of that year, I had crossed into six figures.
The Real Lessons
Looking back, the money is only part of the story. The bigger lessons were:
Show up as yourself. When you show up for who you are, not who you want to be seen as…you attract what drives you a million times more than any environment ever could.
That’s why you move faster, better, and with confidence. There’s no comparison when it’s authentic. No one can take that away from you.
Play the long game. Don’t chase quick wins. Make decisions with a date and a direction.
Surround yourself with people who push you. A friend once told me, “Just make more money.” That tiny phrase shifted my perspective more than any book.
Guard your thoughts. The way you think about yourself and your future matters as much as the work you do.
Faith is the foundation. I didn’t know much about God at the time, but asking Him for direction opened the very door I needed.
Closing Thought
If you’re stuck at $15 an hour, or even $50k a year, don’t underestimate how quickly things can change. The first step isn’t chasing more, it’s deciding where you’re headed, setting the date, and growing into the person who belongs there.
That’s the decision that took me from $15 an hour to six figures in one year.
If this resonated with you, I’m breaking down the exact steps, lessons, and faith shifts that took me from $15 an hour to six figures on both YouTube and TikTok. Subscribe and follow along…I’m sharing everything I wish I knew when I started.
In one year, I went from making $15 an hour to earning six figures.
It didn’t happen because of luck, or some secret shortcut. It happened because I stopped living for immediate gratification and started making decisions with a date and a destination in mind.
The moment everything shifted
By 16, I was financially independent. I was used to constant financial struggle. When I finally started working in sales, I saw more money than I ever had before. But it came with a cost.
My first week in sales paid me more than I’d ever expected. I saw my future laid out in front of me. Yet there was a huge part of me doubting myself, my reality, and my vision. I wasn’t sure if it was imposter syndrome, self-sabotage, or fear of commitment. But eventually, I realized it was because the vision in front of me wasn’t mine.
On paper, it looked perfect: good income, stability, and growth potential. But deep down, it didn’t feel right. I wasn’t passionate about it, and I felt no sense of freedom.
For the first time in a long time, I asked God: What do I do?
An unexpected door
I found myself scrolling through Upwork and Fiverr, looking at every random role you could imagine, when I stumbled across a posting for a social media intern at a startup.
At first, I brushed it off. I was a business major with a concentration in entrepreneurship, not marketing. But something in me knew I should go for it. So I did.
Taking this (seemingly small) leap of faith was a pivotal moment in my life, and made me realize one of the best decisions 16-year-old me ever made was job hopping. It might sound reckless, but it built the muscle memory to leave when something no longer felt aligned and the confidence to say, “Getting jobs is easy.” That mindset has carried me further than I could have imagined. By the end of college, I realized how valuable this perspective was. It taught me to prioritize creativity and alignment over volume and “just getting by.”
Back to the startup, I made sure to paid attention to the company’s why. I created a deck of content, pitched myself with confidence, and showed up as the person I actually was — not who I thought they wanted me to be.
That made all the difference. If I had sent out 100 rushed applications, I probably would’ve ended up in a role that drained me. Instead, I went after four roles with intention, researched heavily, and prioritized quality over quantity.
The process
After getting the internship, I became obsessed. I'd be up until 12-1am just learning and practicing. Graphic design, editing, experimenting with content… it became my world.
It also became a huge learning lesson. Your work should never become your identity. Because when things shift, so does your brain. The way you see yourself, the way you see others. Your worth is equal to the success of something that can be taken away from you. That's a dangerous place to be in.
The transition
There came a point in time where I had to evaluate the thoughts in the back of my head telling me it was time. I was struggling so much yet feeling frozen. One day a friend came to me only to say, "just make more money".
The simplicity in her tone was amusing. Until I realized, that was literally the solution. I realized I was so caught up in identifying with struggle, my mind was automatically resorting to beliefs like, "I can't afford it." rather than driving my body to move. I had to look in the mirror, take responsibility for where I was at and stop sitting in shame for not moving faster.
These were all things I'd learned and knew while working at that job, under a self-made millionaire who legit built her life from scratch. But sometimes, it's not how or what is said. It's who says it. & for some reason at that very moment in time, I heard the right response at the right time. It's why environment, the people we surround ourselves with is so incredibly important.
That internship gave me the opportunity to understand a millionaire mindset up close. It gave me the opportunity to build high (market) value skills and a new confidence in faith I didn't know was possible. If I had stuck to sales, of course God would have found a way. But I didn't just gain a new life, I gained an irreplaceable mentor.
By the end of that year, I had crossed into six figures.
The Real Lessons
Looking back, the money is only part of the story. The bigger lessons were:
Show up as yourself. When you show up for who you are, not who you want to be seen as…you attract what drives you a million times more than any environment ever could.
That’s why you move faster, better, and with confidence. There’s no comparison when it’s authentic. No one can take that away from you.
Play the long game. Don’t chase quick wins. Make decisions with a date and a direction.
Surround yourself with people who push you. A friend once told me, “Just make more money.” That tiny phrase shifted my perspective more than any book.
Guard your thoughts. The way you think about yourself and your future matters as much as the work you do.
Faith is the foundation. I didn’t know much about God at the time, but asking Him for direction opened the very door I needed.
Closing Thought
If you’re stuck at $15 an hour, or even $50k a year, don’t underestimate how quickly things can change. The first step isn’t chasing more, it’s deciding where you’re headed, setting the date, and growing into the person who belongs there.
That’s the decision that took me from $15 an hour to six figures in one year.
If this resonated with you, I’m breaking down the exact steps, lessons, and faith shifts that took me from $15 an hour to six figures on both YouTube and TikTok. Subscribe and follow along…I’m sharing everything I wish I knew when I started.