“Acknowledging the good that you already have in your life is the foundation for all abundance.”
– Eckhart Tolle
Two years ago, after leaving my last job at a well known resort in South Jersey, I promised myself I’d never go back to working for someone else. Like many other successful business people, that’s how I decided to kickstart my entrepreneurship journey. No turning back, no plan B.
Here I am two years later, just finishing my two weeks of work for a minimum wage job in Romania. As you’re probably not familiar with Romania’s economy, I’ll tell you that the minimum wage it’s about $220 per month. You might ask: “Why’d you go back to a minimum wage job?” Here’s why: first of all, I was secretly working for a consulting company, trying to find out not so obvious organizational problems of the company I was hired by. There’s also a second reason why I agreed to do it. I was committed to create a deeper sense of gratitude in my life. Being an online entrepreneur allows me to work when I want, how I want, without really depending on a schedule – therefore I found myself not fully enjoying the benefits of doing my own things. Sounds familiar?
Well, my humble journey of working for two weeks a minimum wage job has really impacted my life in positive ways. Here are the 3 main ways that job made a better person and entrepreneur:
- Gratitude
We all know that once we lose something, only then we start appreciating that thing. Health, friends, moments, happiness, the summer, the nature. When we have them, we don’t really bother, but once gone, we start feeling that. It’s the same with entrepreneurship. If you’re like most people, you’re not appreciating enough the lifestyle you created. It’s in human nature to adapt and evolve, but my advice is to have some gratitude for the things in life that you take for granted. Once I had to wake up at 5 AM in the morning to get to the workplace, I realized how blessed we truly without even knowing it. Be grateful for the smallest things in your life because you’re ahead of most people on this planet.
- Better time management skills and organizing skills
Only after i worked 8 hours a day I realized how much time we actually waste (or not) on a daily basis. The most intriguing thing about the whole experience of running my businesses while working in a factory is that somehow I managed to do it without too much hassle. That made me ask myself some serious questions. Where am I losing my time? Why am I not accomplishing more things daily? Two of the time wasters I found out were: not organizing my daily tasks well enough and social media time. Find out your biggest time wasting activities and start handling them better. You’ll be amazed on how many thing you’ll accomplish once you replace time wasters with productive activities.
- Go easy, Ego.
Once we reach a certain level of financial freedom or success, our ego might start playing with us, even if we don’t realize it. We might start feeling superior in certain situations, with certain people. I was one of those guys. Having a little bit of money in the bank already made me feel like I was better than anyone else, which is totally stupid. Yes, we might be wealthier or more intellectually developed than our peers, but that does not mean we should act like we are superior. Take Elon Musk or Mark Zuckerberg as an example. They richer than most people of this planet, but they live and lead without showing how big their ego is. Do the same thing. Leave your ego aside. Lead by actions and let results speak for themselves.
Here they are. The 3 ways a minimum wage job made me and could make you better as an entrepreneur. Of course, I’m not saying you should go and get hired at McDonalds tomorrow in order to become better. The point of this article is to share my experiences and provide you with insights of what means to go back and work for someone.
In conclusion, be grateful for every little thing you have in life, find the time wasters in your day and don’t let your ego grow bigger than you.
