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Deleted74925
Guest
As an employee working in a 40-hr/week job I have been observing these ways in which my management pushes people towards becoming M.O.D.E.L. (Mediocre, Obedient, Dependent, Entertained, and Lifeless) employees. While handling the requirements of my job, I have been able to keep my online learning website running for the past three months by avoiding these traps.
Things to Avoid
Office snacks
My office has an endless supply of food. Fruit, donuts, juice, cookies, snack bars, and lunches on Fridays. Impulse control is a muscle. People who snack constantly are sheep. They develop cravings for instant gratification. Intermittent fasting increases productivity and creative thought, allowing us to be freed from the SCRIPT.
Eating between means alters powerful hormonal signals, interferes with the mechanism that burns fat as fuel, clogs liver metabolism, and sends calories right to fat stores.
Bright lights
Bright lights reduce creativity and original thinking. Why do interrogation scenes always have a bright light shining on the prisoner? Why do managers get their own offices with shades and windows while employees are always in the brightest parts of the office?
Research published in the Journal of Environmental Psychology looked at the difference in creativity levels in brightly-lit and dimly-lit environments over six studies. The research found that dim lighting helps us to feel less constrained and free to explore and take risks
How to Optimize Your Environment for Creativity with The Perfect Temperature, Lighting and Noise Levels
Being around mediocre people
You are who you associate with. Cubicles are organized so that we sit next to, talk to, and absorb the thoughts of other people in our same pay scale. Oren Klaff calls this the "dominance hierarchy" in the book Pitch Anything (highly recommend). Look at this quote by Colin Powel.
The less you associate with some people, the more your life will improve. Any time you tolerate mediocrity in others, it increases your mediocrity. An important attribute in successful people is their impatience with negative thinking and negative acting people. As you grow, your associates will change. Some of your friends will not want you to go on. They will want you to stay where they are. Friends that don't help you climb will want you to crawl. Your friends will stretch your vision or choke your dream. Those that
don't increase you will eventually decrease you.
Dress codes
Dress codes stifle creativity. When we get told what to do, our brains learn that pattern that original, creative thinking (I am going to wear Jeans today) and instead we fall into patterned behavior. Listen to Pink Floyd’s “Another Brick in the Wall”.
Spotlighting Slowlane behaviors
People think in packs. The default behavior is to copy what everyone else is doing. Our HR department showcases MODEL citizens in chain emails such as "Bob just bought a house" or "Sue just bought a new puppy", but I have never seen an email saying "Joe has been working on his own business and just reached $10,000 last month".
The list is endless. Photos of people in Outlook email profile pics highlights the value of appearance rather than productivity. IT firewalls blocking all non-work websites which restricts me from researching FASTLANE ideas while at work. Small talk around the office is always about vacations, food, and entertainment. Corporate gives engraved plaques for "years of service" as if simply being in the same job for a 5 years is an achievement.
How to stay UNSCRIPTED
Read this forum every day.
Enough said.
Be around other productive people
"But how do I find friends/colleagues who are productive when everyone that I know is a loser?"
Execute! Be a boss. Win. Own your projects.
I used to be surrounded by negative and unproductive people because I was negative and unproductive. By being doing good work, being generous, using whatever knowledge or skills I have to make other people's lives easier, making connections will be automatic.
Two examples:
- By grinding out 10-hr days of office work + hiring a guy on Upwork, I connected with a highly skilled software developer who used to work at one of the big Facebook/Netflix/Google/Instagram firms because it was clear that I was executing.
- My first business venture has been teaching professionals in my industry. I've been creating tutorial videos for insurance professionals. This tough. It's a constant grind. But the payoff? People in my industry see the effort and naturally reach out.
Work remotely or at abnormal times
Before Apple, Steve Jobs worked at Atari. At first he started out working days, but after people complained about him he switched to nights. He gave up daylight, social interaction, and endured the discomfort and stress of working at night. Did his coworkers like him? Probably not.
Working remotely is effective as well. I've been systemically eliminating meetings and moving all of my projects to emails. This gives me more freedom. The challenge is in staying productive. One book that I would recommend for this topic is "The Four Hour Workweek".
Give/produce/build/write to help another person
Rewire your brain's reward system to feel gratification from your own success instead of the success of just your employer. Right now, I'm writing this post. Yesterday, I spent a few hours creating music.
Use physical reminders of your meaning and purpose
Even though my office has high-quality snacks and provides lunch almost every day, I bring in my own PB&J occasionally. I sit by myself to 30 minutes during the afternoon and reflect on my humble beginnings and desire for a better life.
This serves as a physical reminder of my real motivation. It doesn't need to be food, though. Music, art, stories, a journal, beliefs, and anything else that gets your juices flowing will suffice. This is highly personal, so each person needs to find this on their own. Once you find your why, remind yourself every day.
Do something to help improve your business even it it's really simple
Fix that typo in your Terms and Conditions. Send an email. Write a blog post.
Read success stories of other entrepreneurs
I have a folder where I save articles/linkedin profiles/websites of successful people. When I see an interesting business I will automatically look up the founder on Google/Linkedin.
Watch out for fake success stories. Rather than relying on Wikipedia/Business INSIDERS, go to the primary source whenever possible. Wikipedia is going to be biased by the person who wrote that article. When it comes to books, autobiographies are the best. Biographies by are almost as good.
Learn to understand your managers
Put yourself into your company's shoes and ask "what would I be doing if I wanted my employees to keep working for me for the next 5 years?"
Stand out. Be different. Take control. Even small acts of independence reinforce our identity as entrepreneurs. By becoming aware of how the SCRIPT is applied we build up an immunity to its effects.
Things to Avoid
Office snacks
My office has an endless supply of food. Fruit, donuts, juice, cookies, snack bars, and lunches on Fridays. Impulse control is a muscle. People who snack constantly are sheep. They develop cravings for instant gratification. Intermittent fasting increases productivity and creative thought, allowing us to be freed from the SCRIPT.
Eating between means alters powerful hormonal signals, interferes with the mechanism that burns fat as fuel, clogs liver metabolism, and sends calories right to fat stores.
Bright lights
Bright lights reduce creativity and original thinking. Why do interrogation scenes always have a bright light shining on the prisoner? Why do managers get their own offices with shades and windows while employees are always in the brightest parts of the office?
Research published in the Journal of Environmental Psychology looked at the difference in creativity levels in brightly-lit and dimly-lit environments over six studies. The research found that dim lighting helps us to feel less constrained and free to explore and take risks
How to Optimize Your Environment for Creativity with The Perfect Temperature, Lighting and Noise Levels
Being around mediocre people
You are who you associate with. Cubicles are organized so that we sit next to, talk to, and absorb the thoughts of other people in our same pay scale. Oren Klaff calls this the "dominance hierarchy" in the book Pitch Anything (highly recommend). Look at this quote by Colin Powel.
The less you associate with some people, the more your life will improve. Any time you tolerate mediocrity in others, it increases your mediocrity. An important attribute in successful people is their impatience with negative thinking and negative acting people. As you grow, your associates will change. Some of your friends will not want you to go on. They will want you to stay where they are. Friends that don't help you climb will want you to crawl. Your friends will stretch your vision or choke your dream. Those that
don't increase you will eventually decrease you.
Dress codes
Dress codes stifle creativity. When we get told what to do, our brains learn that pattern that original, creative thinking (I am going to wear Jeans today) and instead we fall into patterned behavior. Listen to Pink Floyd’s “Another Brick in the Wall”.
Spotlighting Slowlane behaviors
People think in packs. The default behavior is to copy what everyone else is doing. Our HR department showcases MODEL citizens in chain emails such as "Bob just bought a house" or "Sue just bought a new puppy", but I have never seen an email saying "Joe has been working on his own business and just reached $10,000 last month".
The list is endless. Photos of people in Outlook email profile pics highlights the value of appearance rather than productivity. IT firewalls blocking all non-work websites which restricts me from researching FASTLANE ideas while at work. Small talk around the office is always about vacations, food, and entertainment. Corporate gives engraved plaques for "years of service" as if simply being in the same job for a 5 years is an achievement.
How to stay UNSCRIPTED
Read this forum every day.
Enough said.
Be around other productive people
"But how do I find friends/colleagues who are productive when everyone that I know is a loser?"
Execute! Be a boss. Win. Own your projects.
I used to be surrounded by negative and unproductive people because I was negative and unproductive. By being doing good work, being generous, using whatever knowledge or skills I have to make other people's lives easier, making connections will be automatic.
Two examples:
- By grinding out 10-hr days of office work + hiring a guy on Upwork, I connected with a highly skilled software developer who used to work at one of the big Facebook/Netflix/Google/Instagram firms because it was clear that I was executing.
- My first business venture has been teaching professionals in my industry. I've been creating tutorial videos for insurance professionals. This tough. It's a constant grind. But the payoff? People in my industry see the effort and naturally reach out.
Work remotely or at abnormal times
Before Apple, Steve Jobs worked at Atari. At first he started out working days, but after people complained about him he switched to nights. He gave up daylight, social interaction, and endured the discomfort and stress of working at night. Did his coworkers like him? Probably not.
Working remotely is effective as well. I've been systemically eliminating meetings and moving all of my projects to emails. This gives me more freedom. The challenge is in staying productive. One book that I would recommend for this topic is "The Four Hour Workweek".
Give/produce/build/write to help another person
Rewire your brain's reward system to feel gratification from your own success instead of the success of just your employer. Right now, I'm writing this post. Yesterday, I spent a few hours creating music.
Use physical reminders of your meaning and purpose
Even though my office has high-quality snacks and provides lunch almost every day, I bring in my own PB&J occasionally. I sit by myself to 30 minutes during the afternoon and reflect on my humble beginnings and desire for a better life.
This serves as a physical reminder of my real motivation. It doesn't need to be food, though. Music, art, stories, a journal, beliefs, and anything else that gets your juices flowing will suffice. This is highly personal, so each person needs to find this on their own. Once you find your why, remind yourself every day.
Do something to help improve your business even it it's really simple
Fix that typo in your Terms and Conditions. Send an email. Write a blog post.
Read success stories of other entrepreneurs
I have a folder where I save articles/linkedin profiles/websites of successful people. When I see an interesting business I will automatically look up the founder on Google/Linkedin.
Watch out for fake success stories. Rather than relying on Wikipedia/Business INSIDERS, go to the primary source whenever possible. Wikipedia is going to be biased by the person who wrote that article. When it comes to books, autobiographies are the best. Biographies by are almost as good.
Learn to understand your managers
Put yourself into your company's shoes and ask "what would I be doing if I wanted my employees to keep working for me for the next 5 years?"
Stand out. Be different. Take control. Even small acts of independence reinforce our identity as entrepreneurs. By becoming aware of how the SCRIPT is applied we build up an immunity to its effects.
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