Cover Photo by Barn Images on Unsplash
I’m currently visiting my family which I haven’t seen in 6 months. My three brothers had changed their jobs during that time. Very recently in fact.
My youngest brother changed jobs two weeks ago. He’s already by far the best employee where he works. He injured himself while snowboarding last weekend and he has to take two weeks off because he can’t use one of his arms. His boss already misses him and said that even with one arm, he’d be more productive than his colleagues.
One of my older brothers became supervisor after only 3 months working at his new job. Some people have been wanting that promotion for more than 5 years.
My eldest brother just passed his interview for a new job, and he did so well on the field test that they’ve already showered him with extra benefits, bonuses and a raise.
I’ve had similar stories myself. Many times as I was growing up.
And we’re not a family of super geniuses. Far from it. We’re not even more skilled than others.
So I’ve been wondering why my brothers performed better than the others, and I’ve narrowed it down to one thing all our family did growing up:
We worked and got paid by productivity from age 8 to age 18 and beyond for some.
That’s at least 10 years of working hard to earn more!
Getting Paid By Productivity
We grew up in a small town called Lavaltrie. It’s one of the oldest towns in Canada. It’s famous for its exorcist priest… and its farms. My brothers still live there.
We grew up in a very poor family, raised by a single mother. In order to have some luxury for ourselves, we worked on nearby farms.
All four of us become extremely good at picking strawberries, raspberries and blueberries.
The more baskets we filled, the more money we made.
At 12 years old, I had bought a Playstation, a big-screen TV and a surround sound system.
Getting paid by productivity was addicting. If we wanted more, we had to work for it. And man did we work. Rain or shine. Hot or cold.
When I was 13 years old, I started working for a flyers company where I had to put flyers in bags, to be distributed to all households in Quebec. It’s called Publisac. I was paid by how many bags I would fill. I was a pro. My two older brothers were even better.
The Mindset Change
Once you work for a company that pays you by how productive you are, it changes your perspective on work ethics.
Even though the motivation back then was all about money, it’s hard now to settle for anything less than great work, even if we don’t technically get paid more for it.
Working hard is satisfying. I don’t like to do half-assed work.
“There’s no substitute for hard work.” — Thomas A. Edison
My employers have appreciated it in the past, and the people I work with appreciate it now (I work for myself now).
Every “successful” people we know work hard. Harder than we can tell. Conor McGregor said it best:
“There’s no talent here. This is hard work. This is obsession. Talent does not exist.” — Conor McGregor
Do It, Or Simulate It
I realize it’s not that easy anymore to find work paid by productivity. However, the concept of working hard for a reward is universal. You can simulate that in your day-to-day life.
There are times when I would not allow myself to play video games until I finished some of my goals. Sounds childish I know, but it works. I really wanted to play my games. Or sometimes I would not allow myself to buy something unless my goals were finished.
We teach it to kids, yet we don’t apply it ourselves. It’s a powerful motivator. At work, you’ve got camaraderie and competitive aspects, so it’s even stronger.
Conclusion
I dare you to try it. If you’ve got a job already, do a few hours on the side that’s paid by productivity.
You’ll earn more money, become more productive and have your mindset shift for life. You’ll achieve greater things and become truly grateful for what you have.
You can do this!
Thanks for reading! :)