I’m not feeling motivated today, so I’m not doing any work.

And if others aren’t working hard, then neither do I.

It’s my manager’s job to constantly praise me and my work, even when I’m clearly messing up.

Besides, I’m not being paid enough for what I do.

/////

That was my attitude when I joined a team over 20 years ago.

I made a lousy $36,500 a year while working 80 hours a week. That’s $9 an hour.

I was managing people who made $250/hour.

And running projects with multi-million dollar budgets that were making the company a lot of money.

I worked harder than everyone else around me, as far as I could see. And I believed those other people didn’t do much, at least from my point of view.

I was defensive and entitled, blaming other people for my issues instead of owning up and taking charge.

It’s not until you become a manager yourself that you learn how ridiculous your behavior was when you were younger.

For my entrepreneur and manager friends– my empathy is to you since I understand how much time you spend helping your people, even if they don’t appreciate it now.

Keep on going, since a few of these eager, smart, immature young adults will blossom into incredible leaders– and you’ll look back on those moments with gratitude.

Set the example by getting the job done, even if those around you aren’t or are full of excuses.

Dennis Yu

Dennis Yu is co-author of the #1 best selling book on Amazon in social media, The Definitive Guide to TikTok Ads. He has spent a billion dollars on Facebook ads across his agencies and agencies he advises. Mr. Yu is the "million jobs" guy-- on a mission to create one million jobs via hands-on social media training, partnering with universities and professional organizations. You can find him quoted in major publications and on television such as CNN, the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, NPR, and LA Times. Clients have included Nike, Red Bull, the Golden State Warriors, Ashley Furniture, Quiznos-- down to local service businesses like real estate agents and dentists. He's spoken at over 750 conferences in 20 countries, having flown over 6 million miles in the last 30 years to train up young adults and business owners. He speaks for free as long as the organization believes in the job-creation mission and covers business class travel. You can find him hiking tall mountains, eating chicken wings, and taking Kaqun oxygen baths-- likely in a city near you.

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