I’m sure you’ve heard the saying that good guys finish last.
I just hate that saying. With a passion!
Because here is what I know to be true: the more you act on the intention of doing the right thing, the more good things flow to you. And when I say ‘good things,’ that also includes money.
Check out this story a friend of mine, Elizabeth, shared when I asked my Facebook circle what being a better person means to them. It’s a really cool story of how making one simple change to her routine led to feeling like a better person AND to making more money.
“Back when I was a waitress, I got so bored with my job I decided to conduct a little experiment and challenge myself. I wanted to see how many orders I could take accurately without writing anything down. (Quite a few as it turned out.) But something very unexpected happened in the process. Since I wasn’t so focused on what I was doing, I was able to focus on the people with whom I was interacting. Just the simple act of looking someone in the eye and taking a moment to appreciate their ‘humanness,’ I guess, had the hugest impact on me. My regular customer base grew [and] my tips grew…”
When Elizabeth decided to simply listen to her customers, they noticed it, and they appreciated her for it. And one way that appreciation was expressed was through more customers and bigger tips. But the goodness that flowed her way didn’t stop there:
“The biggest difference was how my own outlook changed. [I saw] that being a better person is about acknowledging the humanity in everyone who crosses your path. To be able to accept someone even when you don’t agree with them or you think you can fix them, to acknowledge that they are just like you and that they have the same essential human rights as you; even when it makes you uncomfortable, or helpless, or frustrated. Who doesn’t want to be acknowledged and appreciated for being who they are?”
I do! And I bet you do too. And so do the people you work with.
When you can provide that for people, you stand out, because most people want to either act like they’ve got it all together, or just get on with their lives. And hey, those things are OK, but they don’t make a lasting, positive impression the way being a decent human being does. When you demonstrate yourself to be “good people,” people will want to be around you more, and that includes wanting to work with you more. Which means earning more, too.
I mean, sure, maybe the “liars and the dirty dirty cheats of the world” (in the immortal words of Taylor Swift) seem to get ahead and make more money. Maybe they even do sometimes. I’m not saying good guys always finish first. I’m just saying they don’t necessarily finish last.
People always have a choice in whom they do business with (and that includes whom they hire and promote), and they’re going to want to work with people they know, like, and trust. And guess what, you’re more likely to like and trust someone who embodies positive qualities.
So please, if there’s any lingering ideas in your mind that being a good person means being a sucker who’ll never get ahead, think again!
The fact that being a better person can help you make more money is yet another reason to listen to my about-to-launch podcast, How to Be a Better Person, which is now officially listed on iTunes (the first bonus episode, anyway). If you use Apple podcasts to listen to your favorite podcasts, you can go subscribe now by clicking here (and then clicking on the purple “Listen in Apple Podcasts” button, and then clicking on “Subscribe” underneath the logo–phew! Thanks for taking that many steps!) That way, you’ll get new episodes added directly to your feed as soon as I launch them in mid-September. (If you use a different platform to listen to podcasts, I’ll have links for those in the next week or so…stay tuned.)
