I love this line in the song “The Piano Man” by Billy Joel:
“Bill I believe this is killing me, as the smile ran away from his face.
Well, I’m sure that I could be a movie star, if I could get out of this place.”
How many times were you like me, crawling through fiberglass in some dusty attic, trying to install wiring or piping or ductwork or a vent stack thinking, “There’s somewhere that I’d rather be!”
I have to stop typing just to laugh and chuckle because that’s the story of my life— “If I could get out of this place.”
Well, most of us paid our dues, didn’t we? A man I greatly admire employed me at one time and said to me, “Rodney, there’s something to be said for apprenticing.” What he meant was, keep it up Rodney, and you’ll get what you’re after, but time is the price you pay for your dreams.
How about you? Is there somewhere that you’d rather be? Most of you reading this are either a pretty smart technician or salesman or office worker, or you are a business owner. My advice? Pay your dues, give your time, but I’ll give you the key to speeding that up.
If you’ll do 10% more, just 10% more than those around you, you will advance past them like a rocket.
You say, “But I do more than those around me; I’m smarter than those around me; I’m better looking than those around me.” Yes, you probably are if you are reading this. But as you know, there are so many, who also want to advance, who also want to be noticed and who want the finer things in life, but they won’t so much as read a trade magazine article, much less a book.
Keep your eyes open for opportunity.
Here’s the key: do not judge or compare yourself with those around you. Compare yourself with you. And here’s how you do that.
Every day, ask yourself, “How can I be better today than I was yesterday? How can I accomplish more? How can I achieve more than I did yesterday? What new ideas, new thoughts, new skills, new techniques, new tools can I acquire today and learn to master over time?”
Keep your eyes open for opportunity.
A friend of mine showed me a briefcase with $1,000,000 cash inside. Mafia hit man? No. Electrician!
An electrician who said yes to opportunity when the other 10 men on the crew said “that’s too hard.” When the other men couldn’t fix a 20-ton overhead crane, couldn’t grasp the intricate control system of the 5,000-volt piece of equipment, my friend asked if he could take the blueprints and control schematics home with him for the night. The next day, he climbed up inside that massive overhead crane, and in 30 minutes, had it running again. As you know in life, one thing done right, done better, often leads to another thing that needs doing. My motto: just do the next thing.
About a year later, my friend’s boss did something that greatly offended the superintendent of the plant. The superintendent came to my friend whom he had been watching for several months and asked him, “If we fire your boss, can you take over this project?” Ten years later, he had a million dollars cash in a briefcase. Just in case he needed it.
No, it’s not just about money, but like a wise man once said, “Money isn’t everything, but it’s sure way ahead of whatever’s in second place.
Or how about this? Ross Perot, a pretty well-known billionaire in my day, said this: “Money, after the bills are paid, is the most overrated thing in the world.”
I agree. Money is only a big deal when you don’t have it. But get the bills paid, and you can breathe a little easier, can’t you? And when you can breathe easier, you can build quality into your life where you want it.
Let me throw something in just to make the time and effort bearable. Here’s how it happened with me.
Back in the day when I was working three jobs to support my wife and eight kids (I have nine now), but back then, even though we struggled for every dime, we still took time almost every week to take our kids to the lake. I bought an old boat with a big motor and created a family sport. Later when we could set aside a little money for vacation, we would all go skiing and snowboarding in the winter. Yes, life was tough working my way up, paying my dues, but the one thing that I did right was to always set aside time to play with the family. For many years, that meant just fixing up some old bicycles and riding with the kids every day after work. Doing more than you did yesterday will pay off and it will pay off big.
The Sure-Fire Formula for Success = work + time + trouble + time + learning + time + obstacles + time + passion + ambition + getting up when you fall, and you will fail, + time + Expertise!
When you put in your time with a passion for learning, growing, and overcoming obstacles, then something magical happens: people with troubles and obstacles seek you out. Eventually you get paid more for your expertise than all the years you worked attaining it.
Are there shortcuts? Some. Mostly about not screwing up what you have attained. Like a ratchet in a socket, move up one click, but don’t look back. Feel free to ask how I know.
Well, I never became a movie star, but I did get out of the attic. Had I known then what I know now, I’m sure I could have done it sooner, but you know all about that, right?
Now, last thing. If you own a business and are not extremely happy with it, set aside some time to change it, because right now, a skilled labor business should be making you money, and you should be enjoying it very much. You can go from frustration to satisfaction with just a few changes. You don’t have to be a movie star, but a few steps in the right direction, and you can be happier than a lot of movie stars. Billy Joel made it, and so can you.
Rodney Koop
(706)581-0622, call anytime
Pricing enthusiast Rodney Koop is the founder and CEO of The New Flat Rate, a home service menu-selling system designed to put profit directly into the hands of plumbing, electrical, and HVAC contractors.