How to Choose Your Personal Success.pdf

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Rich Dad. are registered trademarks of CASHFLOW Technologies. it is sold with the understanding that the author and publisher are not engaged in rendering legal. jpg. 3 . instead of working for money — and if you’ve read Rich Dad Poor Dad. and why this is so important not just in your life but in the lives of others. But what if. and they start asking me questions. running the place. collect that paycheck. you know the rich don’t work for money — but what if you were working for meaning. too. go home and do it again the next day. Or maybe you’re just like so many people who don’t realize they’ve been programmed to get up every day. you like your work … but deep down. There was this sales clerk. They have a 4 . or you’re playing it safe so you can retire someday. Maybe you feel trapped because of family obligations. they’re happy because they’re going for their dream. this group of young kids came running in. just the kind you’d expect in a store like this — older.How to Choose Your Personal Success HOW TO CHOOSE YOUR PERSONAL SUCCESS If you’re like most people. Maybe you’re worried about the economy. go to work. We’re going to talk about why you feel trapped. As I walked in. what you can do to change that feeling (maybe without even changing jobs). kind of stuffy. They’re with a network marketing company. for a mission that makes the world better? That’s what this book is about. OLD THINKING MEETS NEW I was in Baltimore recently and walked into a kind of high-end men’s store. you know you’d rather be doing something else. Their eyes are bright. I’m going to find out why they don’t teach us about money at school. 5 . Let’s look at this situation through the lens of psychology.thing called a “RAT” pack. One hundred years ago. thinking you have to follow the old pattern of how it’s always been done? Or are you striking out with a bold vision of what your life can be.” What I found out is that what they’re teaching is to keep your nose to the grindstone. But that’s only part of the story. many think that’s beneath them. than this clerk. Our schools have churned out workers who don’t think past the next paycheck. My poor dad was a head of education. the sales clerk doesn’t like these kids. “Why don’t you teach us about money at school?” He could never give me an answer. “You kids better shape up or you won’t get a job. I’d never hire you. which stands for Retired At Twenty. “OK. holy mackerel! I’d hate to be that guy. They’re going for it. Which type of person are you? Are you stuck in a rut. Now. they’re wearing strange shoes. Their hair is pink. schools were focused on turning farm kids into factory workers. working and not thinking about anything but that paycheck. They have piercings. saying. so full of enthusiasm and dreams. The modern-day version is to turn them into coders. So that became my mission as a young kid. I’d much rather be those kids. It’s largely a product of our school system. he’s younger than I am — walks up to the kids and shakes his fingers at them. Nowhere in there do the schools teach financial education. I said. in fact.” All I could think was. The clerk — who isn’t really that old. and what it can mean? HOW WE GOT HERE It’s not your fault if you think the cycle of “get up/go to work/collect paycheck/repeat” is normal. and I didn’t score many points with him by continually asking. It’s a risk to change jobs. It became the stance that many economists took: that if you want people to do something.How to Choose Your Personal Success REWARD & PUNISHMENT Back in the late 1960s and early 1970s. in fact. losses hurt more than gains help. For a lot of people. The experts took that behavior and turned it into a model for how humans act. rats will press levers for food. It can be tempting to stay in a bad situation because the reward — the paycheck — is adequate. Negativity bias makes us view the things we’re going to lose with more weight than the things we might gain. but as soon as scientists give them a shock (punishment). It’s not just about the rewards — otherwise people wouldn’t stay in jobs they don’t enjoy. What you’re giving up is more powerful than what you’re gaining. Listen. There’s a thing called negative bias that comes into play with decision-making. In the lab. you’ll likely gain some things and lose others. and a 401(k). There’s no guarantee that things will be better. I get it. any more than the schools’ failure to prepare you does. Nothing else matters. But life is about so much more than merely a paycheck. But when you add in a family and a mortgage. you just have to create the right incentives. To put it simply. the stakes get higher. they’ll stop. by switching jobs. It feels much worse to lose $10 than it feels good to gain $10. we had to look at rewards and punishments — which were usually material things. They’ll keep pushing those levers if it leads to more food (reward). as modern psychology was defining itself. It’s one thing to be a 20-something with pink hair and a vision to conquer the world — and no one depending on you. kids in college and huge tuition bills. Negativity bias doesn’t get to dictate your life story. But that’s not the full story. and so you are reluctant to make a change. those incentives take the form of a paycheck. there was an assumption that to understand behavior. 6 . benefits. week after week. they are times that you conquered obstacles or saw how your work made life better for others. And much of it can be traced back to Adam Smith. A lot of people still feel this way. He’s considered the father of modern economics. and his views became the accepted viewpoint in the centuries that followed. unless you were getting a paycheck? And true. People want work that is challenging. most people wouldn’t work without the promise of a paycheck. author Barry Schwartz acknowledges that most people wouldn’t work if they didn’t get paid — but that’s not the end of the story. varied and — most importantly — meaningful. that is. The problem is that Smith basically eliminated the possibility that there might be other reasons people would work. He took a pretty pragmatic view of commerce: that it was simply about self-interest. But somewhere along the way our focus turned from making a difference to making a dollar. that the most profitable companies are the ones people like working at. that make the mundane duties worth it? Odds are. a paycheck. across different industries and lots of different ways of organizing workplaces. What are the moments that make you come alive. Think about your own career. A SCOTTISH ECONOMIST’S MISTAKE In the book Why We Work.You need to shift your mindset to what makes your work worthwhile. That goes way beyond your next payday. why else would you do the same mindless thing (factory jobs thanks to the Industrial Revolution were beginning during Smith’s lifetime) hour after hour. making a difference in someone else’s life. And not because there are 7 . But that’s not the only reason they’ll do it. After all. When it came to workers. Smith was a Scottish economist who lived in the 1700s. But now we have research that tells us. Smith believed they were basically lazy. My wife. and they do that at every house they go to. part of the reward for employees is the education they’re getting. Now. and many of our employees have created their own part-time businesses. These guys are fantastic. Because it’s easy to see how firefighters and cancer researchers and teachers might find meaning in what they do. Not everyone is a neurosurgeon saving lives — and you don’t have to be in order to have meaning in your work. What are people working for? At Rich Dad. was walking through the airport the other day. you might think trying to convince stressed- 8 . You come up with a solution. it doesn’t have to be grandiose. Think about your own workplace. We encourage everyone to start their own businesses and to invest. I think that’s great. Let’s look at what “meaningful” really means. and that they want to feel at the end of the workday like they’ve accomplished more than just putting a few bucks in their bank account. but you saved their day. Maybe you didn’t save their life. a) I don’t have to do it and b) they do it so well.How to Choose Your Personal Success always snacks in the break room or cool office decor — the companies that are most successful are the ones where people feel like they’re doing interesting work and gaining more than just a paycheck. and you just made that person’s life better. and she heard this woman selling airline credit cards. Kim. Some people say that things are shifting toward meaning because of two groups increasingly entering the workplace: women and Millennials. but what about everyone else? FINDING MEANING IN NON-HEROIC WORK Listen. I love the guys who clean my lawn because. You might work in a call center and get a call from a customer whose computer problem is making it impossible to get work done. and their mission comes through in the quality of work that they do. Experts say that both groups care more about meaning and purpose. Their mission is to create a beautiful environment. Suddenly. these college students saw how the work they were doing had an effect on the lives of other people. He gave a five-minute speech about how life-changing it was and how much he appreciated the efforts of people who made the scholarships possible.” Her mission was about a lot more than just selling airline credit cards. and it’s not a surprise that they weren’t particularly inspired by the work. That was it. So how do you go about finding meaning in your work? Or. This particular group of workers was made up of college students who were hired to make calls to alumni asking for donations. if you’re the boss. A SHIFT IN MINDSET Sometimes the best way to find meaning in your work is to find new work. how do you go about creating an environment that helps your team do that? Read on. The student workers show up for two hours a couple of times a week to make these calls. just to bring a smile to people’s faces. Someone told me a story once about a researcher who tried an experiment at a university call center. calls where they’re almost always rejected. All of a sudden. So the researcher brought in a recent graduate of the school. 9 . you might have to just get out of that situation. alumni contributions almost tripled. She was making everyone who walked by happy — she said. And that spurred them on to doing better work. it mattered. This guy was a working-class kid whose life trajectory was altered by the opportunity to go to that school. And if you’re in a truly toxic environment. This kind of job is not particularly pleasant because almost everyone says no. “This is my purpose in life. But most people can start to shift their thinking right where they are. a five-minute speech and then everyone got back to work calling the alumni. The only way this person was able to go to college was because of a scholarship — a scholarship made possible by contributions like the ones the call-center workers were soliciting.out travelers that they need to stop and fill out forms would not be rewarding work. But guess what happened? After that speech. But this woman was incredibly full of life. But anyone can do this by asking themselves. That can go a long way toward making your work feel less like a ball and chain and more like something you’re eager to return to every Monday morning. but are really encouraging employees to make a difference — but that difference-making is happening outside the company. emphasize the positive effect their work has. We see this all the time in brainstorming meetings at Rich Dad. Respect them enough to recognize that they know something about what they’re doing and might just have something to teach you. if your supervisor gives you this freedom and isn’t always carefully scrutinizing and monitoring your work. Yard-care companies want their employees to do each yard as fast as possible to be able to see as many clients a day as possible. That’s a good thing — the companies aren’t just talking about it. You also have to listen to them. “What can I do to make this person’s day better? I can sell him what he needs and try not to upsell him. For example. I can make this person’s day. There are things that can be done to change the workplace itself. That’s why we hired them. Some large companies have given permission for employees to use some of their compensated time to work on projects that improve the world in some way. You’ve got to give them room to work (don’t look over their shoulders all the time). “How is what I’m doing changing someone’s life?” Maybe you’re working in a clothing store and someone comes in to buy something. there are steps you can take. but on its customers. On the employee side. this is not the way most workplaces are run. some allow people to work a chunk of hours each week in a homeless shelter. And that should be why you hired your team. You ask yourself. Call-center supervisors want calls to end fast so workers can take as many calls in a day as possible. 10 . I can even talk him out of buying something because I know he won’t be happy with it. Sadly. you have the space to turn what might be dull work into something meaningful by focusing on the ways it makes a difference in other people’s lives. “How can I make a sale for as much money as fast as possible?” And if you’re the employer. not just on the organization. it was a supervisor stepping in that changed the environment.How to Choose Your Personal Success That’s good news whether you’re the employee or the employer. and have a business where you want to motivate your employees. In this particular case.” That’s a very different mindset than. The critical thing is for business owners to trust their employees. where our team often comes up with better ideas than we do. But the largest part was that the workforce. A SUCCESS STORY Remember Schwartz and his book Why We Work? He shared an example of a carpet- tile manufacturer who was very successful and had made a lot of money. profits went up. The company’s new approach so motivated the employees that they worked more effectively and harder than ever. That’s been our mission since 1996. How they manufactured the carpet tiles was a very highly polluting process. And that can be detrimental not just to the workers. who was in his 60s. But that’s the kind of transformation that can happen when a company and its employees are united for a purpose. 11 . How could that be? How could something that costs more end up creating larger profits? Part of it could be that eco-minded customers were impressed by the company’s stance and chose its product because of it. but he didn’t care. Finding the mission behind your work — whatever that work might be — is crucial not only to the company’s success and your own satisfaction. but to the next generation. But you know what happened? Instead of these changes costing the company money. instead of being one that was just making carpet. as well. Then one day this guy. He knew it was going to cost his company money because it involved revamping the whole process. we have a mission: to elevate the financial well-being of humanity. They came up with more ideas for modifying the production process to be more environmentally friendly. At Rich Dad. became a workforce that was saving the Earth. had an epiphany that his production process — though quite profitable — was also poisoning the Earth. So he made a commitment to switch his production to a zero environmental footprint. and it drives everything we do. The company owner didn’t anticipate that going in.There’s very little emphasis placed on why the work is meaningful. but to productivity overall. In my wife Kim’s family. NOT TELLING. In the 1960s. My parents served in the Peace Corps. just like that. and signed up. So the question is. the kids — was just the happiest ever. And they went to work for the Peace Corps. That showed Kim meaning and purpose. YOUR KIDS WHAT IT MEANS The single biggest influence on the attitude young people have toward work is the attitude their parents have toward work. because civil rights were so important to him. her dad marched with Martin Luther King. day in and day out. My dad. They didn’t say. but the attitude the parents actually have toward work. It was the biggest financial hit our family ever took. My mom and dad quit their jobs. but you know what? I remember it as the happiest our family ever was. And remember.How to Choose Your Personal Success SHOWING. but your children as well. For two years we had no money. what message are you sending to your kids by how you approach your work? 12 . and my mom was a registered nurse. “You should do this” or “You should do that. Note: I’m not referring to the attitude their parents tell them to have toward work.” Kids can see right through that. her dad walked with MLK. John Kennedy came into office and established the Peace Corps. Jr. was a head of education with a PhD. as I’ve mentioned before. that are going to have the biggest effect. you’re not only doing yourself and your customers a favor. What this is means is that by finding a way to see what you do as more meaningful. but our family — the parents. They didn’t talk about it. it’s your actions. not your words. We’ve discussed how an individual employee can change his or her mindset. they will be in your life and a source of support backing you as you strive to improve your outlook. but what can I do to keep them from giving up so easily?” Two things strike me about his question. Who you hang out with reflects your core values. Go take classes on what you’re interested in learning and becoming. First. That sounds 13 . Spend time with them. get out. A reader from the Philippines once called into my radio show asking how to find new friends and acquaintances with similar interests. If you’re the only one with an excited mindset surrounded by a sea of negativity. and how a supervisor or boss can shift the company environment. I wouldn’t worry about how to keep them. And remember what I said earlier in this book: If it’s a truly toxic work environment. But there are a number of other unknown factors known as Other Employees. I don’t hang out with people who just want to make money or be miserable at their job. I was once asked by a guy starting up his own network marketing company. “My team and I are growing slowly through the grind as expected. and you’ll find like-minded people. it’s so important to have support around you. if your team is made up quitters. it’s going to be hard to maintain that excitement. From the employer standpoint. you should get rid of them. In his case. And my answer to him could apply to anyone: Education is key.THE RIGHT TEAM AROUND YOU Let’s take a moment to talk about the people you’re surrounded by at work. From a coworker perspective. you can be a little more proactive with the team. I hang out with people who have a mission. And even if those people don’t work at the same company as you. he was wanting people interested in real estate and investing. but his situation highlighted the importance of finding people who will support what’s important to you. If it’s just to make money. they wouldn’t switch. If I were this company owner. 14 . What’s your calling? Do you even know? You need to find that meaning to escape feeling trapped at a job. When I went to military school and then joined the Marine Corps. The second thing that strikes me about his question is his choice of wording: “working through the grind as expected. but today it has expanded to include people called to save the planet or to treat desperately ill children— people who feel a mission to do their work for the greater good. whatever it is. If you work at that call center. it’s time for a parting of ways. that’s great. purpose and mission. THE BOTTOM LINE It’s an old adage that you have a career or you have a calling. you can tell yourself that you’re making people’s lives better every time you solve their problems. The term “calling” was originally a spiritual term used to describe people called to God. for example. but if that’s the mindset — “working through the grind” — then that sounds an awful lot like the people feeling trapped in a 9-to-5 job.” Building a business is tough. Even if you gave them incentives to do something else. How can a boss expect to inspire a team when he himself feels like the whole thing is a slot? If you’re the boss and that’s how you’re feeling. it was a mission. If they’re also making a living. up to you.How to Choose Your Personal Success harsh. Are there different products or organizations you could align with to change your outlook? It all comes back to meaning. but that’s not why they do it. So much of this is up to the individual. I’d sit with the team and find out what their mission in life is. but it comes back to the question about a sense of mission. take a look at why you’re even building that business. when you are feeling most fulfilled and productive. whether that’s a different job or simply a different attitude toward the one you already have.. he joined the Peace Corps. and don’t just talk about it. So many people say. Find the life you want. They’re all talk. all of our advisors get together for three days twice a year. I promise you. He didn’t talk about purpose. I can point you in the right direction. Read books and discuss them. So figure out what will make you greet each day with purpose. Part of that is continuing to educate yourself. It might be easier than you think. you may eventually discover that your mission takes you to a different company or a different field entirely. It’s that spiritual sense of mission that is lacking in most people’s lives because all they want is money. Jr. Put it in action. Find that purpose. Don’t let fear hold you back. Contrast that with my dad. Listen. Reach higher. Discover your mission. not retirement worries. not family obligations. yeah. he joined Martin Luther King. It’s crucial that you discover what your mission is. thanks to your mission. Jr. but you have to be the one to discover your mission. He didn’t talk about the Peace Corps. Put your group together and study together. The beautiful thing is that finding your mission doesn’t just make your life better. It’s up to you. it will give your work energy like you’ve never experienced before. into something that works for you. life is far too short to waste time at a job where you’re miserable. “Yeah. A calling will sustain you through the tough times. My wife’s dad didn’t talk about Martin Luther King. 15 . Not fear.” but they don’t show up to actually do the learning. Maybe you’ll stay in the same job but be inspired to start a side business. too. reach farther. one that grows. And that’s OK. Starting today decide the mission that will drive your lifes work. The point is to realize that you are in control of how you feel about your work. it will be reflected in the positive experience of your customers and coworkers. At Rich Dad. rather than you working for it. I’m into education. It’s one of those firing-on-all-cylinders moments that makes life so great. just like how my family’s Peace Corps years were lean but happy.In finding your purpose. it makes the world better.