Early Momentum

Have you ever given thought to why you get paid for your work? I’m not talking about the specific tasks you do, but rather the purpose of your work in a general sense. At a high level, there are three reasons for any job being created or any service being paid for.

#1 We get paid to solve problems

The purpose of many jobs is to solve problems. We may talk in terms of filling a need, but a need is really a problem. In order to sell product a grocery store faces the problem of needing the shelves stocked. The clerk who stocks the shelves solves the problem and gets paid. It’s important to understand that if you wish to get paid more money then you should learn to solve bigger problems. Stocking the grocery shelves is a minor problem easily solved therefore it earns a modest pay. Contrast that with the problems that a brain surgeon must solve. Obviously if you’re having to see a brain surgeon you have a really big problem. The brain surgeon gets paid really big money to solve it for you.

When I first learned that solving problems equals earning money, suddenly I had a new outlook towards them. I learned to equate solving problems with bringing value. Problems are inevitable. People want to do business with those who are capable of solving them.

Leaders are problem solvers by talent and temperament, and by choice.-Harlan Cleveland

#2 We get paid to avoid problems

A dentist gives his patients routine cleanings to avoid the problem of cavities. A professional accountant is paid to help her client avoid tax problems or bankruptcy. When a house owner pays a company to install an alarm service it is to avoid the problem of being burglarized. For many people, much of their work is proactive activities designed to avoid problems. The bigger the problems avoided the bigger the pay.

The act of avoiding problems is perhaps the most thankless element of work. Yet imagine an amusement park without maintenance men or a new housing development without building inspectors. With most business it is only in the absence of major problems that we can spend our time focusing on opportunity.

#3 We get paid to create growth

Financial advisors make their money by growing their client’s investments. A major part of the business manager’s work is to grow profits. In many industries it is the salespeople who are the highest paid people in the company. The commissioned salesperson’s compensation increases relative to the growth they create through selling her company’s product. Take a look at most companies’ bonus plans and you’ll find they reward the growth of sales and/or profits.

Personally, I feel of the three reasons we get paid for our work, creating growth is the most rewarding. It’s like a payoff for your labor. Create much growth on your job or in your business and you will create much growth for youself in the process.

Don’t wait for extraordinary opportunities. Seize common occasions and make them great. Weak men wait for opportunities; strong men make them.-Orison Swett Marden

If you reflect on your work, you will find that your responsibilities fall under one or more of these categories. Understanding this and considering how you approach your work can go a long way in increasing your reward.

We spend a lot of time at work. For many people, that time is spent in a particular workspace. Your workspace may be an office, a cubicle or even a vehicle.

The typical workspace is adorned with posters, paintings, pictures of family, and miscellaneous trinkets. These things are great as they bring personality and color, however I would like to propose three additional things to add to your workspace. Each of these things are common in the workspaces of leaders and top performers. They are designed to inspire, encourage and motivate.

1. Pictures of role models-for inspiration
There is nothing like daily reminders in the form of photos of the people we look up to who inspire us to be at our best. This includes people we know as well as those we’ve never met. It may be a teacher, an athlete, an author, a speaker, a pastor, an entrepreneur or an entertainer. And by no means do they have to be a celebrity. For some it may be a neighbor or coworker. Having pictures of people who’ve positively influenced your life and who you have great respect for serves as a constant reminder to us of the kind of person we want to be.

People never improve unless they look to some standard or example higher and better than themselves.-Tyron Edwards

2. Items of accomplishment and recognition-for encouragement
This includes trophies, diplomas, letters of recognition, certificates of accomplishment or virtually any kind of award. When you’re in the middle of a tough day or when you are facing a seemingly insurmountable obstacle, it is encouraging to have reminders around you of your past accomplishments. It’s as though they speak to you saying you achieved great things in your past, therefore you can and will do so again in the future! If you don’t have a lot of these things in your life yet, begin to earn some. Start small if you have to. Even a kid can go join the reading club at the local library, read a few books, and get a certificate!

Please stop teaching my children that everyone gets a trophy just for participating. What is this, the Nobel Prize? Not everybody gets a trophy.-Glenn Beck

Pictures of your goals-for motivation
When you examine goal setting literature, you will find this to be a common recommendation. It really does work! I have a very successful friend who owns his own company. In his office he has a large bulletin board on the wall covered in pictures that represent his goals. The pictures include suits, toys, vacation spots and more. The pictures are ever-changing as he accomplishes a goal, and then updates the board. He says having a visual reminder of his goals in front of him throughout his workday is a constant reminder to work smarter whenever possible. Not just to accomplish his goals, but also in order to have the time to enjoy the good things in life.

In life we tend to get what we think about most of the time. What is it you wish to be, have or do? Whatever it is, you don’t have to look any farther than magazines or the Internet to find motivating pictures for your workspace. Keeping visual representation of your goals keeps you moving towards their accomplishment and a fantastic future!

When you think something, you think in picture. You don’t think a thought in words. You think a picture that expresses your thought. Working with this picture will produce it into your experience.-Grace Speare

  There you have my three recommendations to fill your workspace (or home, room, locker etc.) with. If you haven’t done it yet, perhaps it’s time to redecorate.