Summary
Achieving financial freedom begins with finding ways to increase your cash flow so you have more money to invest and grow. Creating additional sustainable income streams is critical to increasing your cash flow and overall net worth.
However, many people reading this right now are currently employed by someone and depend on their salary as their main or sole source of income. That doesn’t mean you don’t have the goal of something bigger and better in your life. But until you start to create additional income streams for yourself, the job you are currently employed at is very important. Whatever your job is, ensure that you are always doing your best.
In fact, in everything you do, always strive to do your very best. Be the best friend you can be, the best spouse or partner, the best parent, the best team member in your sport or business, be as thoughtful as you can be to those around you, and yes, be the best employee you can be.
Going above and beyond and doing your best each and every day will get you noticed and will likely lead to unexpected benefits. And you never know who might be paying attention.
Also, having a great attitude at your job will have a positive spill over effect. If you create an excellent work ethic, you will find it easier to carry those habits and attitudes into other areas of your life. So stay positive, always be looking for ways to improve and add value to whatever you do, and always remember to Live Rich!
Transcript
Ask not what your employer can do for you, ask what you can do for your employer!
That’s not exactly what John F. Kennedy said, was it? And, you may find this a bit strange coming from someone who strongly advocates being your own boss or getting ahead by starting a home based business part time so that you have money to invest, become financially free and a multi-millionaire.
However, what I am saying is important, because most of the people reading this right now are employed by someone. And being employed versus not be employed is a good thing if you don’t have other income. That doesn’t mean you don’t have the goal of something bigger and better in your life.
So what am I saying?
Always Be Your Best
To start with, whenever you do something, always do your very best. Be the best spouse or partner you can be, be the best team member you can be in sports or business, be as kind and as humane as you can be, be as thoughtful as you can be to those around you, and as I said, be the best employee you can be.
When you have a job, keep it until you no longer want or need it, and while you are doing that job, make the effort to go above and beyond, and do more than is required of you.
Some people might be thinking, “why bother, I have bigger plans for myself and will be moving on soon.” Or they might think, “they don’t pay me enough to care or do my best” or, “they don’t care about me, so why should I care about them?”
Well, let me put it this way.
Unexpected Benefits
First, you are being paid and one of the best ways to start receiving more money or extra cash flow is to get a raise. You can do that by starting to stand out where you work. You have to put in the time to get paid anyway, so why not be the best possible employee at that job? You may be surprised at what happens and who notices or how you get noticed. Promotions and raises happen more quickly when you are the stand-out.
But what if you are in a job where your pay is limited by a union contract or some other such agreement? Well, you can call it karma, good business practice or simply a great attitude. Getting yourself noticed in this way is still going to make a difference and possibly have unexpected benefits.
You see, when you have a bad “attitude” in one area of your life, it is difficult to carry to maintain a good attitude in other areas of your life. There is always a spill over effect, so that negativity in one area will tend to spill over into other areas. I said, difficult, not impossible because I have seen it done. A person I knew had a horrible attitude at work, but was really great at home with the family. But even that is unusual and not the best practice for creating the life you are after.
Thinking of this, I am reminded of the actor, Frank Outlaw, who stated:
Watch your thoughts; they become words.
Watch your words, they become your actions.
Watch you actions, they become your habits.
Watch your habits, they become your character.
Watch your character; it becomes your destiny!
I talk a lot about creating success habits, in fact I call them Power Habits of Success. By creating an excellent work ethic at your job, it is much easier to carry those habits and attitudes into other parts of your life. And as the quote said, it becomes your character.
Also, when you are being the best employee possible, whether you get a raise at work or not, you may get noticed by an outsider, someone of influence that can help you with your goal of starting a business, getting ahead in some way or they may even give you a better job.
You never know who will notice you at any given time. The “extra effort” it takes to be the best you can be is so incrementally small by comparison to the benefits, that by not doing being your best the person you can be, the person you are mostly short changing isn’t your employer, it’s you!
So how is it that you can become the best employee you can be, what is it you should do? Here are just a couple of examples.
Add Value
Start with this. Add value, as much value as you can to the customers you company has. You can do this whether you are in a sales, support or the construction side of the business.
Obviously, if you are in sales, as much as you work for the company, you are really working for the customer. It is your job to bring as much value and benefit to that customer so that they will buy your product. This creates a win-win scenario for everyone involved and allows the company to stay in business and hopefully grow.
Once the product is purchased, if you are in the service or support side of the business, you want to be sure that the customer is happy and hopefully really happy with their purchase, so they become loyal customers who will buy again. If there is an issue with the purchase, “fix it” or get it handled in whatever way you can given the circumstance. And always smile, even on the other end of the phone people will hear it in your voice. You might even like to keep a mirror at your desk to check that you’re smiling while you are talking on the phone.
If you are on the manufacturing side of the business and don’t see the customer, you have the job, actually the responsibility, of helping everyone else do their job, by producing a great product that can be sold and then sold again in the future. Your quality control is vital to the success of the company. Be sure to be the best and produce only the best you can produce. Check and double check to be sure each piece of the puzzle fits perfectly as it should. (Obviously I am speaking in general terms because I don’t know the specific type of job you personally might have)
Be Proactive
Another way to add value to your employer is to be proactive with ideas that will help the business and customers. What do you see on the front line that can help either improve the customer experience, the employee experience and/or cut costs for the company without compromising quality?
Some companies actually offer bonuses to employees that help save money or improve the overall business. Maybe that’s a suggestion to take to the boss or owner of the company. Offer up a “free” idea and make it clear you aren’t expecting anything in return, but that you think other employees may have ideas to help the business and if there was an incentive to offer them, the ideas may flow more freely. This also helps create an atmosphere and culture of working together as a cohesive “team.”
So you see, just showing up for your job and not thinking about being your best can actually affect your life in more ways than you think. Being the best at whatever you do, even your job, even if you don’t plan on being there forever, can make all the difference in your world.
As you are thinking about performing and being the best you can be, remember the above quote; your thoughts become words, which become actions that create habits that become your character, which creates your future!
And when you are being your best, you never know whom of influence is watching and you never know what affect they might have on your life and your future. Something may happen that is bigger than you thought possible when you are always being the best you can be and doing the best you can do.
Tell me below about how you add value at your work or in other areas of your life. How are you being the best you can be? Be sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel and visit my web site, old.tonyneumeyer.com to subscribe for free articles, trainings and more.
