My name was called and I walked excitedly to get my diploma.
People were clapping. I could also hear the cameras shooting pictures around me.
I felt proud and important.
Well, it wasn’t much different than this picture below. I felt like a brand new Tesla freshly off the assembly line.
Have you seen how a Tesla is made?
Assembling the car requires a complex number of steps where hundreds of parts are put together. Each part is worth very little on its own, but when everything is together, the finished product has amazing value.
This is how I pictured college:
All my years of education assembled together to come to this very moment.
I felt like the world was telling me, “Congratulations! You are a complete product.”
So, imagine that moment… yes, it called for a victory fist pump!
So, what’s my point?
Well, my educational “assembly line” took soooo… sooooo… long that my expectations had built up.
I felt like a top-of-the-line fully equipped Tesla Model S!
I felt entitled.
I thought that by just getting out of the “assembly line” with my degree in hand made me valuable like the Model S pictured above.
“Hey world! I’m an Engineer!” I would say with arrogance and pride, “You want some of my knowledge? It’s going to COST you!!!”
Haha!
Please don’t laugh at me…
I felt that my time had value, so whatever work I did, I felt I deserved to get paid.
I WAS WRONG!
My father taught me this lesson the hard way.
After I had spent one week working at his office, I demanded a late Friday evening, “Pay me, Dad!”
“Son, you’re not entitled to a payment.”
“I’m an engineer, Dad! Pay me as an engineer!” I said with pride.
“I pay for results!” my father said.
“But I’m working hard on this project! I have invested hours into this. Pay me!” I angrily said.
“No results, no pay!” he said firmly.
You know what happened?
He eventually changed my mindset!
He helped me understand that in this world I’m NOT entitled to anything simply because of my credentials or for sitting at the office all day long.
He helped me understand that if I don’t deliver results to others, my fancy college degree hanging on the wall might look nice, but it won’t pay my bills.
Learn this truth: Life pays only for results.
The world doesn’t care for your credentials, or how hard you work, all it cares is for how much value you DELIVER!
It’s in giving which makes us deserve something in exchange.
There’s no secret formula.
The only thing that works is work!
We do not deserve what we want, we only deserve what we do.
Embrace this small truth, and it will radically change your life.