What Gives You the Right?

I had a conversation the other day with one of our young athletes. We were discussing how she could get herself around the right people to help her achieve success. Some of my suggestions were to join a club or start looking for a job. This started out as a very good, deep conversation with some action steps and in an instant, it changed. When I suggested that she get a job, her response was, "I will only work if I get paid fifteen dollars an hour." Really?! Wow! I had to take a step back for a moment and ask again. Sure enough, the response was the same. Since she was very confident in this idea, I asked her, "What gives you the right to demand fifteen dollars an hour? You haven't attended college yet. You're only 18 years old." Her answer to me was, "well, because I made ten dollars an hour before and now I want fifteen dollars an hour." And of course, I asked the question again. "What gives you the right to demand that amount of money?" Her response remained unchanged. Well, I put on my teacher pants and tried to teach this young lady a lesson in what getting a job means, how you progress yourself, and what it means to earn something. I won't bore you with the lecture that followed.

What I will do is ask you, "what gives you the right to _____?" Fill in the blank with the benefit you choose. Sometimes we think we want to achieve something so badly, but when it comes to putting in the work, your true feelings towards that achievement come out. Having to put in the work will make a great idea seem like a dumb idea. Like my young friend stated earlier, "I want." A better thing to say might be, "I am willing to work for." And, when you say work, I mean from all angles of that desire you have. For example, a lot of people "want" to lose weight, but will not put in the work to lose the weight. The work for losing weight is getting the proper amount of rest, eating properly, being constantly active, learning about food, resisting temptation, etc. If you can do that, you have a good starting point. Let's look at the conversation from earlier. She "wants" to make more money. The work in this case would be being a constant student in the field, going above and beyond, being the best you can each day, bringing energy everyday, and put in the time. If she does that, the money will eventually come.

I don't know why, but it seems to be common in society that people want a lot of things, but will not put in the overall work for them. I recently read an article that speaks to our youth and how the paradigm has shifted. Our youth feels as if they deserve a lot and do not have to put in the effort to get it. I have learned in life that work will yield results, but if you put in work from every aspect you will achieve levels that you may once have thought impossible. Remember the questions you should be able to answer are, "what are you willing to work for," and "what gives you the right?" Once you answer those questions, you are on your way.