Most people do just enough to get by… But what can be achieved with just a little bit of extra effort?
In today’s episode I share some real life stories along with a story regarding “The Greatest of All Time”.
The people in these stories got results, and with a little application you can too!
Listen in at: http://www.jasonmefford.com/jammingwithjason/
Transcript
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Jason Mefford: Welcome to another episode of jamming with Jason you like it that way or jamming with Jason.
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Jason Mefford: To have at the beginning, all right here we go well, today we are going to be talking about an interesting topic, you know.
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Jason Mefford: Most people do enough just to get by right so most people are just doing enough to get by.
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Jason Mefford: But today I want to talk about the difference that a little extra effort can actually make because the fact that you’re listening to this podcast means.
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Jason Mefford: You don’t want to just be average you’re a high achiever and you’re trying to do better, and so we’re going to get in and talk today about some of the things you can do and how a little extra effort can make all the difference so let’s get going.
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Jason Mefford: Alright, so today.
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Jason Mefford: I want to kind of go a little different direction, I was reminded of a couple of experiences that I had when I was younger.
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Jason Mefford: When I was a teenager and those just came into my mind this week, so I wanted to talk about that with you.
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Jason Mefford: Because the reality is most people just do enough to get by Okay, they just do enough to get by that’s why there’s average people right.
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Jason Mefford: But again, as I said, the fact that you’re listening to this podcast means that you’re a high achiever you’re somebody that doesn’t want to be just average right you want to be better than average.
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Jason Mefford: And so let’s get in and talk about some things that you can actually do because, as I said right.
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Jason Mefford: Most people you know if they work in a job there, you know typically here in the United States it’s a 40 hour workweek and so most people put in a 40 hour work week that’s what they do that’s the average of what people do and that’s what people that are just getting by do.
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Jason Mefford: You know, when you think about continuing professional education most certifications require 40 hours a year.
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Jason Mefford: And so people that are just getting by just do 40 hours of si P and that’s it they do enough just to get by check the box and they’re done.
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Jason Mefford: And they move on and this isn’t just you know in in the hours that we’re working or continuing professional education.
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Jason Mefford: But this is in a lot of different areas in our life okay so i’m going to talk i’ll talk about those a little bit.
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Jason Mefford: Because they’re they’re relatable they’re easy to kind of understand, but what I want you to do is as you’re listening to this to start thinking about start thinking about.
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Jason Mefford: Some of the different parts in your life and where you can actually give a little extra effort, because what i’m going to tell you, is a little extra effort.
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Jason Mefford: over what most people do can have a huge huge impact in the results that you get Okay, so the first story, you know I remember when I was when I was little you know grew up grew up in the 70s and 80s and in the United States, we had a really rough time in the late 70s.
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Jason Mefford: We had huge inflation, we had issues with the housing market and, since my father was a general contractor he built houses and remodel houses.
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Jason Mefford: We had a tough time as a family in the late 70s, and so my mom ended up having to go back to work she used to just you know stay home take care of me and my younger brother.
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Jason Mefford: My older siblings were all already out of the House, but there came a time when she actually needed to go back to work.
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Jason Mefford: Now early in my parents marriage she had had worked had been a professional before you know she did what a lot of moms do took some time off to raise the kids and then because of the financial responsibilities that we had she needed to go back to work to help support our family.
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Jason Mefford: Like I said late 70s early 80s and I remember her you know my mom she she took a an administrative assistant job so she was kind of the secretary.
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Jason Mefford: For some executives in the company that she worked for, and I remember you know one time, as we were talking, it was sometime when I was in my teenage years and I remember her sitting me down.
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Jason Mefford: and say you know because I was talking to her a little bit about she had a very regular routine she would leave the House at exactly the same time in the morning.
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Jason Mefford: She would get home at about exactly the same time right so as a latchkey kid I knew exactly when mom was going to be home, I had to have my homework done and my chores done before she got home.
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Jason Mefford: And, and I remember again it was it was one of those times when it was just the two of us, and we were talking and she was trying to impart some knowledge to me, which actually work because I still remember it today.
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Jason Mefford: You know, probably 3540 years later, and I remember her telling me, she said Jason if if you know when when you get a job.
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Jason Mefford: show up to work 15 minutes early and stay 15 minutes late.
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Jason Mefford: And I kind of thought well okay that’s kind of different from where you are you saying that because you’re not getting paid for it you’re still clocking in at.
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Jason Mefford: You know 730 I think was when she started, and she left it at 430 or something like that right.
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Jason Mefford: But she said, you know, most people show up right on time or a little bit late, you know they might show up at eight o’clock or 805 or 759.
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Jason Mefford: And that’s fine right, I mean most people do that most people leave at 459 or five o’clock as well right.
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Jason Mefford: But I remember her telling me those 15 Minutes that you that you spend getting to work early and staying late your boss will see that they will see that extra little effort that you’re doing and.
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Jason Mefford: i’m a stickler for time actually and that’s partly from my mother, because she always used to tell me to if you’re not early you’re late.
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Jason Mefford: So getting there at 801 you’re late and so it’s better to get there at 745 or 750 because then you know you’re going to be there at eight o’clock.
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Jason Mefford: And you’re going to meet the expectations right and so again, this was one of those things that she taught me early on, show up to work 15 minutes early leave 15 minutes later after everybody else.
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Jason Mefford: Now again by by telling you this i’m not telling you to go in a work a bunch of extra hours and just show up before your boss and wait and leave after the boss.
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Jason Mefford: i’m not telling you that i’m just giving you some guidelines here for you to think about.
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Jason Mefford: Because that extra little effort that my mother put in those 15 minutes on either side of when she had to be there, well how did that work out for her.
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Jason Mefford: Well she’s as I, as I told you, she started off as an executive assistant for one of the people in the company.
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Jason Mefford: When she left that job and retired she was in charge of all of the executive assistants for that company okay so her extra little effort and the things that she did.
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Jason Mefford: ended up leading to higher and higher levels of responsibility within the company and that also equated to a higher level of pay.
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Jason Mefford: as well, and so again, as she told me that little investment will end up coming back to you in the future okay so again will is the 15 minutes isn’t that much different but it comes back okay Now let me, let me share with you another example.
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Jason Mefford: Again, I was a teenager at this point, and I must have this was a conversation that happened in a car ride home, so I think I must have been over at one of my friends houses.
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Jason Mefford: And, and so you know when the parents got home his father drove me home to my house, because I live several miles away.
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Jason Mefford: And I remember him talking to me in the car and so again here here was this, he was a successful business person.
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Jason Mefford: He worked for an insurance company selling life insurance and financial service products to people and he was very good at what he did, in fact, if I remember right he was the.
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Jason Mefford: leader of the office of the company, it was an international company, but he was the leader of the office in in the city where I grew up.
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Jason Mefford: And as we were driving home one time, he told me he said, you know Jason, what do you know what the difference is between sales people in my company those people that work 40 hours a week versus those that work 50 hours a week.
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Jason Mefford: And I looked at him i’m like what what are you talking about right so again here’s a little teaching moment that Jason is getting as a teenager in the car.
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Jason Mefford: And he said no what’s, what do you think is the difference between somebody who works 40 hours a week versus somebody who works 45 or 50 hours a week.
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Jason Mefford: In my company, and I said, well, I don’t know it’s you know 10 510 hours difference right he said no, the difference is two to three times the compensation level.
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Jason Mefford: Now, again in his profession, the people who worked in his the sales people that worked for him right, these were people that were getting commissioned sales.
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Jason Mefford: And again he could tell he knew those those sales associates that worked with him.
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Jason Mefford: That put in just enough time they showed up they put in their 40 hours but that’s all they did they earn a certain amount of money.
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Jason Mefford: But those who were willing to go above and beyond a little bit extra an extra five or 10 hours during that week.
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Jason Mefford: Their sales were significantly more, so much so that they earned like I said two to three times as much money.
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Jason Mefford: As the others, so, if you look at that again and you think about it okay that’s only five or 10 hours a week for two to three times the compensation.
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Jason Mefford: Now, again, as I told you before i’m not encouraging you to go to work for 50 hours a week when you know the expectation is 40.
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Jason Mefford: And it doesn’t mean putting in more time don’t just stay at work, just to put in time be effective and efficient in what you’re doing.
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Jason Mefford: But here’s two different examples that show the difference, a little extra effort actually makes and so again, you know if you think about somebody who’s who’s maybe doing 44 hours a week, instead of 40 or people that are that are more.
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Jason Mefford: efficient and more effective in the use of that time that little extra effort actually makes a huge difference in compensation in upward mobility and other things like that, as well right.
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Jason Mefford: In fact, even just 1% more effort than what people around you are doing is going to help you stand out in the crowd.
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Jason Mefford: Now, how does this relate to you because, again, as I told you i’m not i’m not telling you to show up to work really early and stay after the boss.
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Jason Mefford: i’m not telling you, you know that you have to work 50 hours a week, but start thinking about in the different parts of your life, you know, again, this could be in your career, it could also be in in different personal aspects as well.
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Jason Mefford: Where, could you put in a little bit more effort and i’m not talking about a lot even, as I said, 1% more of an effort.
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Jason Mefford: than other people are because when you do you’re going to have a huge return in that.
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Jason Mefford: Now let me share another story with you and then we’re gonna will end up kind of wrap wrapping up here and probably do it quicker episode.
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Jason Mefford: This week i’ve given you a couple of examples from career right my mother and my my friend’s father, as the examples.
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Jason Mefford: But let me tell you about somebody else to, and so, if you know who Muhammad Ali is or caches clay.
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Jason Mefford: Right, the greatest of all time the greatest Boxer of all time that’s what he used to say, you know i’m the greatest fighter of all of all time i’m the greatest fighter in the world.
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Jason Mefford: And in fact he was he was heavyweight champion in boxing in the world for a long time and and it has been regarded as one of the best boxers of all time.
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Jason Mefford: Now, in order to get to be heavyweight champion of the world and be considered to be one of the best boxers in the world.
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Jason Mefford: Do you think Muhammad Ali just showed up in the gym and did just enough to get by know he wouldn’t have gotten to that point.
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Jason Mefford: If he did just enough right and so his coaches were telling him to do certain things he would go above and beyond that, in fact, one of the stories that i’ve heard and I.
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Jason Mefford: I didn’t get to fact check it before the podcast so if somebody fact checks me it’s a good story anyway Okay, but.
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Jason Mefford: But you know Muhammad Ali when he would do push ups right, so the exercise getting down on the ground, doing push ups, he didn’t do a specific number of push ups.
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Jason Mefford: He did push ups until he could no longer do push ups.
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Jason Mefford: Now, again I want you to think about that right most boxers even even when I do this myself right, I need I need to change and become more like Muhammad Ali.
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Jason Mefford: In this way, when I do my push ups i’ll get down and do 25 or 30 at a time right, I count them and then I stop.
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Jason Mefford: He would do push ups until he could no longer do push ups, so I don’t know how many he would do probably a couple hundred right as he was very strong.
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Jason Mefford: But he would continue to push himself until he could not do anymore, it was that extra little bit of effort and that’s just one example of many of the things that he did.
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Jason Mefford: That got him to be heavyweight champion of the world, and so again, you know I told you at the beginning, the fact that you’re listening to this podcast.
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Jason Mefford: tells me that you’re a high achiever you don’t want to just be average you don’t just want to fit in do enough to get by and be like everyone else right.
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Jason Mefford: you’re a high achiever you want to do more, you want to change this world you want to improve yourself, you want to have an amazing life right.
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Jason Mefford: And if that’s you and, as I told you i’m pretty sure it is guys you’re listening to this podcast.
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Jason Mefford: Then here’s the tip for this week is take that time and make a difference, by putting in just a little extra effort than what you’re required to do.
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Jason Mefford: If you’re not sure where to do that again like I said, think about it, you know, over the course of this week and think about you know where are some areas that I want to do better, that I want to grow myself.
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Jason Mefford: You know, if you want to learn new things well, that means you’re going to need to go get some training you’re going to need to read some books you’re going to need to go through some programs right.
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Jason Mefford: And again 40 hours a year isn’t enough in today’s market in fact I usually tell people 400 hours a year is more like what you need.
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Jason Mefford: And you think holy crap 400 hours, what will i’ll tell you I do about an hour of training myself every day in either you know.
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Jason Mefford: going through programs that i’m going through listening to podcast reading books doing other things, an hour a day on average.
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Jason Mefford: of investing in your own personal development that’s the kind of idea where you’re putting in that little extra effort.
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Jason Mefford: that most people are not doing right, but again that’s why, when you go back to things like the pareto principle, why do 20% of the people have 80% of the wealth.
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Jason Mefford: Because those 20% of people are willing to do that extra little effort that the other 80% are not willing to do so again.
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Jason Mefford: Do you want to be in the 80% that’s kind of the average and doing enough to get by or you’re going to be in that 20%.
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Jason Mefford: and make that little extra effort that can have such a huge huge impact in your life so with that my friends i’m signing off for this week and i’ll catch you on the next episode of jam with Jason see ya.
