MPowerment Matters

Earn it

March 2009

EARN IT

“Earn” is certainly a word with which we are familiar in our everyday world. We earn our paycheck. As athletes, we earn our playing time on the team. And if we want a promotion, we usually have to earn it. And yes, if someone commits a heinous crime, he earns a heavy sentence.

In our culture, we admire people who earn. We disdain those that don’t. We call them “goldbricks”, “freeloaders” or “slackers.”

I think back to the World War II movie Saving Private Ryan. Tom Hanks’ squad suffered many casualties trying to locate Matt Damon, so he could be sent home from the front. All of his brothers had been killed and the War Department wanted him to be sent home to his mother. Hanks is fatally wounded, and as he lies dying, he says to Damon, “Earn this.” The movie moves forward fifty some years to Damon, now a grandfather, visiting the veterans’ cemetery and Hanks’ grave at Normandy. He questioned whether he had been a good man and had earned the life he had been bestowed by the bravery of Hanks and his men.

So, how do we earn?

Going back to ancient India, even before the birth of the Buddha, is the concept of karma, which has become one of the main tenets of both Hinduism and Buddhism. Karma is the law of moral causation. Karma says our present mental moral, physical and intellectual state is the result of our past actions. This means that we have earned our present state by our past actions.

Good things may happen by accident. Success may occur out of the blue. But I think of the quote from Gary Player, the South African golfer, who said “The harder I work, the luckier I get.”

Earning requires intent. It requires focus on appropriate values, beliefs and actions. To earn a place within any culture, be it a family, a workplace, or a sports team, one must support the culture of that group. One must work toward the common vision and help achieve the group goals. It means doing your share and “carrying your weight.”







To earn, to achieve what you want, you must have self-respect. When you are an “earner” you will attain respect of others. This is not just about money. It is about learning, family and love. It is about taking advantage of your natural abilities and using them to the best of your abilities.

I am all about this life, not the next one. If one’s actions earn a better life the next time around, so be it. But in this life, it is critical to think, believe and act in a manner that enables us to achieve our life goals and earn our “just” place. There is “no free lunch.” Earn it.

Can you “earn it” without achieving the desired results? Did the big financial institutions who have a huge role in our current economic crisis earn their bailouts? Did the AIG financial team that put the company in a huge hole earn the $186 million in bonuses they were just paid?

Some of these folks supposedly had contracts guaranteeing them bonuses. Why would anyone guaranty a bonus without tying it to results? There seems to be a large scale case of amnesia, causing Wall Street to lose sight of the fact that bonuses need to be earned.

Arguments have been made that America has reached its pre-eminent position in the world through hard work combined with innovation. In other words, we have earned our stature. Yet the current crop of financial heavyweights seems to feel that they should get their bonuses whether they earn them or not. Bah humbug! Earn it like everyone else must do.

Combine the right values with the right effort with the right focus to achieve extraordinary results. Go beyond what is expected. Then you will “earn it.”



In these tough times, business owners and managers need to be doing the right things. Many do not have the experience in a down economy to know what they are. There are hard decisions which require the balancing of short term survival with long term viability. Success under these conditions requires a mix of wisdom, daring, empathy and, unfortunately, cold-bloodedness.

At Management Mpowerment Associates, we have experience working through these conditions. We can help you make the tough decisions and survive when others flounder. We can help you communicate your vision to your employees and keep their morale high. We can help you survive when others don’t. Call us at 610-783-5305 to discuss how we can work together to keep your business moving forward.

I have been fascinated by the recent book The Illusions of Entrepreneurship by Scott Shane. Check my blog at www.entrepreneursmentor.net where I discuss it in detail.