Be More Valuable

I was at work today, intensely concentrating on some JavaScript code for a project I am working on. As I was doing so, I was startled as my boss came by and asked me to come speak with him and our current scrum master at work – this guy (the scrum master) has come in to help us all with better software development practices so we can get more valuable software released sooner. Basically, it’s a way for us to be cool. At any rate, as I walked in the office and they shut the door, they asked me, “Would you like to be the scrum master for your team?” I said, “Ok. I can get the job done. This is a good opportunity.”

Now wait a minute… I’m a buck tooth awkward kid from Kalamazoo, Michigan. I spent my years hiding my head in my hands all the way through high school and college. At 30 I found myself playing World of Warcraft constantly and out of a job from a company that let me go. How come now I get asked to help lead a team? Simple answer, “I became more valuable and can get the job done.”

Creating value

I’ll let Jim Rohn educate you on the philosophy of creating value with these videos below. He speaks so eloquently that I thought it best for you to hear his words. After listening to him, I’ll have a few words to say from my own perspective about creating value and getting the job done.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Learning What Not To Do

In my early 20′s I worked doing data entry for a library company. I remember walking in one day in the foulest of moods. I was frustrated with the owner and just about every manager there. As I sat down to do my peon work, I grumbled with every keystroke. What had I done to become more valuable? Absolutely nothing! It was so easy to just belittle the management there while I sat and did my monotonous tasks.

Here’s the major problem with that. You can’t become more valuable through discontent. It’s like trying to move the pen resting on the table with your thoughts. There just might be a rare case that you can move it, but more than likely, it’s going to sit there and you’re just going to be ticked off.

Let’s turn back time even more to when I worked at a Burger King in Kalamazoo, Michigan. I was 17 at the time. I came into work with my hat covering my face. I didn’t talk to anyone and I did my best to run into the bathroom with Oreo pie sandwiches when the place got busy. I needed to take a week off and I wrote a note to my manager and left. Big problem, I forgot to sign the note with my name. So when I returned, I was promptly fired.

Here’s another problem. You can’t become more valuable through ignorance. At 17, I thought I was the smartest living thing on the earth. Looking back, I was an ignorant kid without a clue. You want to become more valuable? Start studying and mastering your profession. Don’t waltz in with a bad attitude. If you want to see change where you work, be the change!

Why Become More Valuable

Every person has to decide for them-self why they do anything. But I believe there’s two main reasons to become valuable. Here they are.

To extend your reach as far as you possibly can

Jim Rohn said an interesting thing while speaking to a group of psychologist’s many years ago. They asked him, “What most messes with the mind?” He responded by saying, “I think it is not doing all that you could be doing.” What a swift analysis and powerful statement.

Jim Rohn posed this question, “How tall will a tree grow?” Answer, “As tall as it possibly can!” Will a tree ever grow half as tall as it can? No. They will reach and grow with all the sunlight given them to the maximum they are capable of doing. As human beings we have the ability to choose whether we will do the same. If you yearn for peace of mind and fulfillment, a good place to start is doing all you possibly can in your life.

To earn as much as you possibly can

Economics play a role in society today. There is a direct relation between what you get paid and the value you bring to an organization. Perhaps in the future we will no longer need ‘money’ to do and create many of the things we would like to in life. But for now, capitalism is the best system we have. You want to earn more? Become more valuable.

I started off making $4.50 an hour at Burger King. Now I make over 10 times that. How is that even possible? Inflation AND more importantly, becoming more valuable. I’m in this new position because I made my intentions known and asked for a challenge – and I had the value to back it up. Will I fail? If I do, it won’t be because of a lack of effort…

In the future, I believe I’ll be worth over $400 an hour. This will be because of my increased value. Want the same economic fortune? Work harder on yourself than you do on your job. Become more valuable.

There’s no coincidence between my inspiration and subjective reality experiments and what is happening to me. I’m more assertive, more confident, and more willing to take risks. It’s only been a few days and I’m already feeling the positive affects.