3 Questions refuting Employee Mentality

Are you a happy employee?  Are you contented with what you are right now?  Whatever your answer, this article will shed light on the culture most of us are in.

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During the latest election campaign in America, I noticed that there are two words that I kept hearing from the candidates- American Dream.  Both Obama and Romney were one in saying that their government will pave the way for the Americans to live the American Dream.  What then is the American Dream?  It is synonymous to prosperity and success achieved through hard work. We can simply say that these candidates are telling the voters that we can lay the path towards the American Dream.  What is this path?  Get a job, work for promotion, earn big and that’s it- live the American Dream. This is not a surprise why many people are migrating to America. 

When I was young I was always told to do well in my study so that I can land a good job in the future.  That is the mentality.  This is what I call Employee Mentality.  What about in school?  How are we formed?  Our teachers will tell us to study hard so that our grades will be good.  Why? The company personnel we are applying will be impressed upon looking at our transcript.

Thus, learn to reflect upon yourself guided by the 3 leading questions in refuting Employee Mentality.

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1. What is your purpose of being employed?  In other words, ask if you have clear goals in life related to your dreams.  Ah, dreams!  What has something to do with my job in relation to my dream?  Plenty.  Big.   A lot of people equates their job with their dream. That is the reason why when we ask students about their dreams it is usually related to employability. For instance, I begin the semester with asking students about their dreams.  I usually do this to first year college students.  The common answer?  Finish my study, get a good job.  Nothing is wrong about this except that employability seems to be the dream of most people.  I have heard people saying they have landed their dream job.  Again, is there something wrong with that?  None, except that it closes the door for bigger dreams.  It might sound rude but many of us are in this situation.  I remember when I got my first job.  I told myself that if I will receive 20,000.00 later in my career, I will not go abroad.  My mentor Robert Kiyosaki has a bigger dream.  Did he apply and land a job?  Yes, but only to learn.  I’m not saying it’s not good to have a job.  Goodness!  I am employed at this time but I am not just an employee, nor be contented to remain one.   Therefore, your job right now is only one of the means of attaining your dreams.   

2. Are you contented with your present job?  The biggest obstacle to financial freedom is contentment mentality.  You might say I am not contented.  I want more.  Then, you ask, “Do I still have the contentment mentality?”  Yes, if you feel you are not contented but do nothing about it. As the saying goes, “You are your biggest obstacle.” Before going further, let me give you a comparison of a Pinoy and Tsinoy.  You may call Tsinoy as real Chinese or Filipino Chinese.  As shared by Chinkee Tan, a Filipino parent would usually advice his child to study hard in order to land a good job.  On the other hand, a Chinese parent would tell his child to study hard in order to do good business in the future.  See the big difference?  It might not be a surprise why 1% Chinese Filipinos in the Philippines controls 60% of Philippine economy. 

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Let me introduce to you, Kim.  He is a son of Filipino Chinese family.  When we were in college, he became classmates in some subjects.  He was not intellectually gifted but friendly.  Sometimes, he was the center of ridicules among classmates because he looks different and speaks different accent.  Though he really struggled in class especially in our English subject, he was able to survive and eventually graduated like most of us.  Now, where is Kim?  He manages their family business.  Where are my other classmates, including me?  Employees.

3. Do you save and invest part of your salary?  My colleague is working as a staff in one of the service offices in our school.  He is a differently-abled person but when he talks to me he is a proud man.  At one time he shared about how he was able to build his own house out of his salary.  Upon hearing this, my mind wondered how come this man has a house already compared to me even if I’m receiving a higher salary than him.  What’s more interesting was that he was also  able to buy two tricycles which added to his income.  This man invested part of his salary and had passive income now.  Thus, my colleague until now is not just an employee.  He uses his being an employee to move ahead of other employees.  What an inspiration!

 This blog came about to help people have extra income while still holding their full-time or part-time job.  At the same time, this will also open the floodgates of opportunities for people doing part-time job search or anybody still looking for a descent living.  When I began refuting my own employee mentality, I saw a lot of potentials without sacrificing my present work. I noticed that I spent hours on television at night watching non-sense shows. Slowly, I tried to make my spare time productively.  I started educating myself by reading books and articles.  Now, me and my wife are regularly saving and investing part of our salary every month.  It is an inspiration to see our accounts growing.  This is a complete opposite of my discipline before.  Friends, when you see your money growing, you will surely be inspired.  I am a happy employee because my job is a parcel of attaining my dreams.

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Get your pen.  Write and answer those three questions.

You may copy and paste your answers in the comments below.

May God bless your dreams,

Randy T.