Don't be a scape G.O.A.T

Hello all of my over achieving readers. This post falls into the “How do I manage a 9-5 and still advance myself for myself? ” category.

Super aggressive entrepreneurs who still work for corporate America often suffer from the need to be the GOAT. What’s the GOAT? It’s the Greatest Of All Time.

I want to be the greatest of all times in making money. That’s how I’m going to get my millions. Not by being the greatest blogger, not by being the greatest Program Manager, the greatest online marketer or small business owner, but by managing my time and being one of the Greatest business minds of all time . Losing my job last year helped me see that by trying to be the GOAT at everything isn’t necessary to accomplish my goals.

You have to look at this like one of those strongmen competitions, sometimes the little guy is at a disadvantage when it comes to putting the big stones on the wall, but his shorter arms help him with all of the overhead lifts. In order to be the Greatest Strong Man he doesn’t have to be the Greatest at all the events, just good enough at most of them, and great at a few. That is the recipe for our success. Good at all, and great at a few.

YOUR 9 TO 5 MIND SET
At my last job, this was my big mistake. I thought that you should go into work every day and want to be the Greatest of all Time, the best that ever did what you do. It doesn’t really matter what the position is, just be the best ever. When I worked at McDonald’s, I wanted to be the best cashier and cook that ever did it. I wanted to be ranked World Wide Number 1 on Fries. The Tiger Woods of cashiers!! My last job, the same thing. I wanted to not only be the best Program manager in that place, but the best that anyone has ever seen for any company, ever!!!

That is all wrong.
That is the quickest way to burn yourself out. Corporate America is not set up to reward Tiger Woods. They are setup to reward decent performance. When you show up, and you are the best that’s ever did it. You shake things up too much. The organization isn’t ready for it and it will take a lot of mental tenacity to put so much effort out, and receive little reward in return. You might even be ridiculed, resented and possibly let go, as you might pose a threat to those you work for.

WHAT SHOULD YOU DO?You should do whatever it takes to outperform your peers. When you have outperformed them on a consistent basis, do no more. The reward for being t
 he GOAT and for barely outperforming your PEERS will be the same. That’s the secret
  that companies won’t tell you.

Yep, I’m telling you to work below your potential. I realize that goes against what we teach here at CIFM (Confessions of an Insane Future Millionaire) but there is a purpose. You do enough so that your boss realizes that you’re one of the best, best Project coordinator, best artist, best Engineer in the group and that’s it.

It’s a simple calculation. Being the GOAT requires all your effort and energy and just out performing the guy next to takes a little effort but results in the same thing. In essence you are “over” working for the same results. It’s the equivalent to overpaying for something. If I tell you that Subway has $5.00 footlongs and you start giving me $1.00 bills for the sandwhich. 1…2….3…4…$5. At this point I’m ready to hand you the sandwhich; why would you continue to give me money if you only get one sandwhich? Only a fool would pay $10.00 for a $5 sandwhich. That’s exactly what I’ve been doing all these years at my 9 to 5. For my 4% raise, I’ve been paying $10.00 when the guy next to me has been paying $5.00.

They almost tell you not to over pay. Think about your performance reviews. Does anyone ever get the highest mark. There’s Meets Expectations, Exceeds Expectations and Exceptional. They almost tell you, “No one gets Exceptional”. Hence getting an Exceeds Expectations is your highest obtainable mark.

Got it?

NOW…..REAP THE REWARDS, SILLY!
Now use this extra (time, mental freedom, etc) to focus on your next steps. Performing to the $5.00 level means you can leave when you have barely outperformed your peers. The GOAT, he or she opens and closes the place every day. The GOAT is there on the weekends, working at night, thinking about improvements to company systems, how to increase profit margins and decrease the company’s carbon footprint. That’s not you anymore, you have all that time to focus on something much more important….YOU!!!

Being the GOAT for yourself is what really pays. When you are working for yourself then being the GOAT is directly proportional to your financial reward and stability. In other words, you can’t overpay because the more output you get the more you get for it. If you give $10, now you get 2 $5 footlongs. If you give $20 you get 4. You can do this until you have enough $5.00 footlongs to last a lifetime. That’s called retirement baby!!!

That’s why everyone says you have to be in business for yourself. Being the GOAT pays off if you are a CFO, CEO or President of a company.
So if you must over achieve let’s make sure the pay off is worth it.

At the end of the day, I want to be the only one who gets’ my GOAT!!

-MJL