You get what you get

I subscribe to a number of blogs and e-newsletters. One of them is Frank Kern- really fun, smart and creative internet marketer. Sometimes, very irreverent- which I like. One of his segments was on the learning he received from Jim Rohn and Earl Shoaff, both wonderful men who are now deceased. Here’s what I picked up from Earl and Jim, via Frank: “What you earn is all that people are willing to pay you. It’s not what they pay. It’s just what they pay you. You don’t have to work on a company or a client to get paid better- you have to work on you. Success is something you attract by the person you become- by becoming an attractive person. It isn’t something you pursue. Your income is directly related to your philosophy, not to the economy. Don’t search for the exotic until you’ve discovered the basic.”
Wow, really good stuff, wouldn’t you agree? It short, what you get is what you get. You are going to get what you have earned through your learning and effort and other parts of your life. You results are the result or sum total of all of your learning and application of ideas. Your value and what you earn are directly connected to this. By the way, earning something doesn’t always involve money. You earn respect, you earn friendships, and many other things.
You are the one responsible for this- no one else. You are the one in control of your destiny, which is constantly evolving. Even when things can cause you to go sideways you have the choice or free will to reconsider your circumstances and alter your mental environment. This is true even for believers of specific religions such as Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, etc. I’m a Christian, and so it would be easy to say that my statement, “You are the one in control of your destiny”, is a bit blasphemous. Yet it’s not. I rely on a greater power as a part of my personal development. I turn things over to my God (the LORD) and yet I know that I have been given a level of intelligence, abilities and talents to use. It is up to me to use these, not waste these. The point is, whether you are agnostic, atheist, or a believer in a higher power, you have the choice and opportunity to move your life forward and be constantly learning and applying.
For me, it really hits home as I am inconsistent with my own personal development. And yet, I’m way more into personal development than many others. Personal development is directly connected to professional development. So, my question is, what are you doing for your personal and professional development? Are you actively working on this or just clocking in and clocking out each day? It’s up to you. And your development or lack thereof will show up in the value you are perceived as having and what you get paid. You get what you get.
© 2009 Peter E. McDowell
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