You Have Two Jobs, Not One
I think of myself as having two jobs. The first is to help people; the second is being a ghostwriter. If you also think of your #1 job as helping people, your #2 job will get much easier.
You may argue that you help others in your main job, and I'm sure that's true. But I'm not letting you off the hook that easily. Here's why.
No matter how "customer-centric" you are, profit pressures distort any attempt to help people within your main job. In the back of your mind, you are doing something to grow your revenues or boost your job performance. This creates a quid pro quo that lessens your impact.
For this reason, I prefer to this of myself as having an imaginary job as a do-gooder. Last week, for example, I helped two people who want to be ghostwriters. If they succeed, they may compete with me, but I helped them anyway. It just seemed like the right thing to do, and it didn't take much time or effort.
Does this mean that I'm an entirely selfless and altruistic person? Not at all. I will benefit from helping others, even if none of the people I help ever help me. Other people will help me, or hire me, or somehow positively impact my life. How will this happen? I have no idea.
Our actions cause ripples in the world, and some of the smallest ripples start a cascading series of events that eventually come back to impact you. I've seen it happen time and again.
If you're a consultant, don't just spend your work day doing things for clients or to attract clients; also do a few things for your #1 job. If you are a sales person, don't just be a sales person; also do a few things for your #1 job.
One word of caution...
Even in your #1 job, you can't help everyone. Sometimes people approach me for help, and I decline to help. Most of the time, this is due to a gut reaction on my part. It might be the sense that the other person is a taker, or is likely to waste my time. I never let my #1 job get so overwhelming that it destroys my ability to excel at my #2 job.
One of the most liberating aspects of this mindset is that while you are working at your #1 job, you have no boss. No one can tell you to raise your prices or to scrimp on quality. You are 100% in charge, and you never have to go to a meeting, unless you want to go.
Truth be told, your #1 job is the greatest job you will ever have. Throw your heart into it.
Bruce Kasanoff is a ghostwriter for entrepreneurs. Learn more at Kasanoff.com. He is the author of How to Self-Promote without Being a Jerk.
Inventor Owner at DiversityWorking and DrySwimTrainer
9 年Thanks Bruce for sharing your thoughts. Helping others will give you a internal satisfaction. Even someone can help someone find a job if he knows about the requirement or can help in other ways too.
Sales Development Representative | Master in Entrepreneurship I write about Chinese Culture and Sales. I love sharing positivity.
9 年Good point. I have never thought about it this way but it is so true.
Procurement & Supply Chain Professional
9 年Its true and thanks for writing an article about it; it's usually in me. I may swear that when he/she comes I won't help him/her get others copies, because she misplaced the original I gave him/her. but I find myself just going all the way to archives to get the copies. It's said that A CANDLE LOSES NOTHING BY LIGHTING ANOTHER ONE.