Whether you're just entering the workforce or have been
entrenched for many years or are creating your own business, the
world of work is an intrinsic part of all of our lives. And for
a relative few, it's not all about the money.
Our lives in the work world can take many transitions:
As a teenager just entering the work world, it may be to earn
enough money to buy a car, clothes, afford dates and for some,
earn tuition into college. And along the way, discover if the
type of work is one that appeals enough to continue, or
indicates the need to try something else.
For others, who
have taken a chosen path through college and are preparing to
enter the work world, their focus will be following their path
into positions for which they've studied. Although it's just as
possible that along the way, they may discover a penchant for
something entirely different.
For those who have been
entrenched in the work world for many years, it's quite possible
that their initial position(s) and intention(s) may have been
shaped or even curtailed by the need to earn enough money to
support a lifestyle that may include a spouse and maybe children
and a mortgage.
For others, it's not a rare occurrence
that they have taken the lowliest, "entry", position and worked
their way up through the workplace and achieved all they desired
in terms of personal accomplishment, respect within the
workplace and garnered the wealth they need to support whatever
their lifestyle.
For those who are creating their own
business, it's rare that it's done right out of school, but more
often a result of experience already gained working for someone
else and in the belief that they can earn enough money to
support an idea/product/service of their own, as well as support
themselves. And hopefully, when it comes to hiring others to
support this new business, experience has also been gained as to
how to treat employees to get the best from them.
Whatever your position in relation to the world of work, one
thing is clear - Your attitude towards work and/so how you
approach it makes all the difference in how well you succeed.
You know the old saying about how there are no small parts, only
small actors? It's like that in the work world. There are no
small positions, only small minds.
Regardless your
position in the work world, there is always opportunity to
improve your lot. So if you foster an attitude that you are not
limited to your position, and approach each work day with an
open mind and pay attention, you will discover ways that you can
go from a sales clerk to store manager in just a few months.
Now if you're thinking this sounds a bit like those commercials
on tv that are suggesting you can go from a size 22 to a size 10
in a few months with their weight loss product and you think to
yourself it sounds too good to be true, perhaps you didn't pay
attention to the part, "combined with exercise and a sensible
diet".
Which is to say, that whether it's losing weight
or achieving success in the work world, you will have to pay
attention to everything that is going on around you, what you
are doing and make a concerted effort to integrate yourself. In
other words - You will have to work at it.
Right now
there's a tv commercial touting how you can work at home and buy
a new home or earn $7,000 a month in your spare time ... Which
does sound exciting, but - NOT ONE WORD is said about HOW you
can do any of this. Only that there's a website that will show
you.
If you've been enticed by such "come ons", it's
understandable - Everyone one would like to be able to buy a new
house or earn lots of money, and there are those who have
achieved financial independence and monetary success via the
Internet. So if you've gone to this or any other website seeking
your fortune, that's nothing to be ashamed about. But if you
were believing that such sources would be THE answer to your
success, 'time for an attitude adjustment.
THERE IS NO
SUCH THING AS OVER NIGHT SUCCESS
The only way to achieve
success is by planning your work and working your plan. And
that's much easier said than done. On and off the Internet.
Don't believe the hype that it's "easy", to achieve financial
independence and monetary success via the Internet. It's not. In
fact, it may very well be even more difficult to make a
successful go of it on the Internet as opposed to in the "real",
world. Mostly because doing business on the Internet is still a
relatively unknown quantity. Whereas in the "real", world there
are established ways of building a business and even well
established businesses built upon helping others build a
business.
Sure there are scores of websites designed to
encourage you to start building your own business on the
Internet, but - There are so many different attitudes and
approaches towards doing so that it's quite overwhelming and
hard to know which ones really work.
There have been many
people who have lost everything because of following a certain
"guaranteed", path of creating a successful business on the
Internet.
Best advice - Don't spend one thin dime or even
attempt to start your own business on the Internet until you've
taken a good deal of time and done extensive research of what's
being presented as THE way to achieve success on the Internet.
And if you do achieve a state where you believe that you know
what will work for you - Be prepared to work, work, work.
Establishing and maintaining a viable business on the Internet
is no free or easy ride.
And if you work in the "real"
world, here's the real deal -
To achieve success
from/with/in any position, the first steps you can take are to
be at work every day, on time and to agree, without question, to
do whatever is asked of you.
Of course, you shouldn't do
anything unethical, but in today's work world, it's very rare
that an employer would even suggest such. Too much corruption
and unethical behavior has been exposed and too many
organizations have been established to protect people in the
workplace for this to be a common occurrence.
A key
example of practicing a positive attitude and approach regarding
your work position: Consider your employer, all the way to the
top position, as a person instead of, "THE MAN". A person, just
like you, who had to start somewhere, learn the ropes and make
the climb to where they are.
Then, take a look at the big
picture and ask yourself just how much you know to be able to
run a company with all its complexities, right down to the
process of hiring you.
If you consider your superiors as
people who have not only earned their positions, but as people
who have to continue to earn their positions, which involves a
great deal more than your position, you'll find that your
attitude and approach towards them and consequently, the
experience of working with them, will improve exponentially.
So what we're talking about here is learning to adjust your own
attitude and approach to become an asset to your workplace,
which will naturally benefit you. And by being an asset, those
who are in positions to help you advance within the workplace
will be more likely to do so.
If you add to this mix a
willingness to go the extra step, by volunteering at least your
enthusiasm to learn more, do more, then you really will get
noticed and yes, promoted, to the level of your incompetence, as
the joke goes.
See, most people become their own worst
enemy within the workplace because of their lackluster attitude
and approach. Instead of looking for ways that they can keep
their days at work at least interesting, if not exciting, which
just naturally leads to advancements, they start watching the
clock, goofing off, calling off sick and generally start seeing
their position as a dead end job.
That's not to say that
there aren't times when work positions truly are dead ends, but
again, with a better attitude and approach, one can at least
make the best of it, and begin looking for another position that
may be more satisfying.
There are several important
benefits of making the most of your current work position while
seeking another:
1) It's a fact that it's much easier to
find new employment when you're already employed.
And -
2) It will allow you to give a two week notice, which is
regarded as a common courtesy within the work world. Doing so
will allow you to leave one position with a positive reference,
and prove to your new employer that your attitude and approach
is about doing the right thing.
NO ONE NEED BELIEVE THEY
ARE STUCK IN A DEAD END JOB
Even if you're someone who
has been at the same workplace without feeling like you're on
the "fast track", to improving your lot, but you believe it's
better to have a steady job than risk unemployment because you
do have responsibilities - Take a good, hard, long look at your
attitude and approach towards your work position and start
thinking in terms of what YOU can do to improve it, instead of
lamenting how it's lacking.
But, if your efforts do not
improve your position, start sending out resumes. Believe it or
not, employers of other companies, especially if they're in
competition with your current employer, love to "steal", away a
long time employee. Such a transition usually is just what you
need to achieve the advancements you had been seeking.
Then we have the relatively rare individual whose attitude and
approach has been to actively participate within their workplace
while "absorbing", everything they could until they achieve a
state of self confidence that leads them to believe they have
what it takes to strike out on their own.
It may be with
an improved product/service based on their previous work
experience, or it may be based on solid research of an idea for
a product/service they have happened upon for which they believe
there is a need and one they believe they can market.
These individuals have definitely chosen the road less traveled
- If it was easy, everyone would be doing it.
For those
of us on the sidelines, all we can do is support them however we
can, to help them achieve success.
Whatever path you're
on with regards to the world of work, bottom line - Success
doesn't discriminate. It's equally available to everyone,
regardless of age or sex. You have only to cultivate and
practice the hard won lessons learned by those before you and
always be looking for opportunities to improve.
If you're serious about achieving success in your workplace,
as an employer, an employee or as someone who is self employed,
do a little research and discover the resource specifically
created to help you understand the work world and how it works,
from all sides.
About the Author:
The hard working people at Workplace Moxie present articles
packed with valuable information for achieving personal and
financial success in the work world from every position. Visit
their website at
http://www.workplacemoxie.com