Story

This month's Pearl was made to inspire a new year unlike any you've had before - one where you finally learn to put a value on your time.

I've found that a lot of my Pearls end up being somehow linked back to time in general - I think that's because as I grow, I've learned that there is nothing we have that's more valuable. Time itself does not play favorites, we all have the exact same 24 hours in a day. The problem, for many of us, is that we've never put a value on our time to begin with - we think that since it's free, it's ok to waste it.

When I was in my early 20's, I had a roommate who was obsessed with this idea of 'treating himself' after every long day he worked. He'd pull a double shift, come home exhausted and then go out the next day and spend more than what he just made. He felt he deserved it, so why not.

Now if this had been a rare occasion, I'd say he'd be fine... but it wasn't. He got into such a routine of doing this that he actually let his car insurance lapse and totalled it a few days later. He was constantly putting himself back at square one with nothing to show for all the time he'd spent.

This is what makes us feel stuck, like we're in a rut. We feel like our friends are successful, moving up in the world while we just stay in our same low - end job. We make excuses about how they're just lucky and we learn to resent people who have something better than us.

I have another friend who recently told me it's easy for people like me to have different viewpoints like this since I'm 'already successful'. I reminded him of the following:

1. My first job was Burger King when I was 14. I made under minimum wage because the manager said those kind of laws didn't apply to me.

2. I've worked just about every stereotypical job you can think of: Busboy, cashier, dish washer, soccer ref, truck loader, retail sales... there are too many to count. Even my first salary job was only $27,000 a year, and I lived in Los Angeles.

3. My dad sold Chevys and my mom hung wallpaper. There was no silver spoon, no backup for me.

It's easy to try and discount that certain processes don't apply to you, that some advice won't work in your unique situation. Of everything I've learned, the most important thing I've tried to get across in this month's Pearl is this: Your time is far more of a currency than the money you earn. If you don't put a value on your time, someone else will - most likely at far less than you think it's worth.

Want to get ahead this year, for 2020? Here's a few tips:

1. Stop wasting time on social media comparing yourself to others. That's a rabbit hole with no purpose.

2. Trade Netflix for knowledge. I've been obsessed with a new app called Masterclass that lets you learn from absolutely profound teachers. If you want to get ahead, you have to have a valuable skill. Nobody can learn this for you and nobody will ever be as concerned about your skills as you. Only you are the deciding factor in how far you can go.

3. This is the most important. Decide what your goals are for 2020, and do things that are aligned with this goal. There's a great story about Richard Branson who has really pioneered this mindset. A company offered to pay him $10,000 to come speak at one of their events and his assistant turned it down on his behalf. They decided to go big and offer $100,000 - again, the assistant turned it down. Feeling slighted, they offered him a blank check, stating they'd pay whatever he wanted. The assistant replied that Mr. Branson had specific goals this year, and speaking at events did not further his accomplishment of those goals. Therefore, no amount of money would bring him to the event.

That sounds like a dream scenario to most of us, but here's the difference - they offered that to Richard because he was successful and skilled - they wanted their team to learn from him. If you take the time to focus on being the absolute best at something, you'll see the true value of every minute you have here on earth. Other people will then see it as well.

My hope for this month's Pearl is that it's that little sting of motivation you need to make 2020 your best year ever. I want to be celebrating with more of you at the end of this year, sharing what you've accomplished after reading this here.

Outwork Everyone Pearl

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