Did you ever offer to help someone or sign up to be a volunteer? I used to do it all the time because I wanted to pay it forward, make a difference, and hopefully be seen as a helper.
Was it worth it? To be honest, no! At least 90% of it was a big pain! Don’t get me wrong, there are things that I really enjoyed, like coaching kids soccer. While I did get money, I took the kids out on an end of year party and spent all of it and more. So it cost me money and time.
However, offering to help and volunteering when I was just trying to be helpful but it always came back to be a massive headache.
When you start, you, and all the team, are gun-ho! Early on your moving ahead and going the extra mile. You’re making things happen. Then as things drag on and become harder, or if the effort begins to look hopeless, you lose your desire. By this time several people leave or quit and you begin to carry more of the load. Eventually you quit. Why? You’re not motivated. In fact, you just don’t care anymore.
When you lose interest, you begin to realize you never really cared about it in the first place. And that is the difference between helping someone and being motivated to do something.
When I coached, I loved it. I wish I had more time but I had other responsibilities. I guess if I would have really loved it I would have chosen coaching over work. Coaching didn’t pay any bills. It’s hard to justify not working and no money just to do something fun. If we could figure that out then all of us would be loving what we do. It’s hard when you have kids to feed and support.
You hear that all the time, don’t you love what you do. I say “sometimes, but it’s work, not play, so I don’t love it all the time.”
Motivation comes in may flavors. One is because you love it, like many people love music or video games. Some of it is getting paid, like for work, we all want to get paid or some type of reward. If we’re lucky, we can balance the two, meaning to get paid for something we love some of the time. That’s life.
Now that I am older, I only volunteer or offer to help if it makes sense to me, not the the person requesting my help. I either want to do it or I want to get paid. I now realize there is power in saying no. My time is valuable. And I don’t mean time is money. I mean I am almost 60 years old, every day I do something I hate is a day lost that I will never get back. I don’t have spare time in a bank. I wish I did but life doesn’t work that way. Only GOD knows how long I’ll live. Sure, i am tipping the odds in my favor, but things happen beyond my control.
I want to value my days. If I don’t value them at least I want to do what I want to do for the reasons that are right for me.
I like paying it forward, but my time is too valuable to wasting it.
More of Wade’s stuff:
- YouTube
- X formerly Twitter
- Wade’s Wireless Blog
- Wade Sarver Personal Blog
- Facebook Groups
- Need an unlimited smartphone plan or FWA service? Think about using Visible. Check out this deal https://www.visible.com/get/?ZHfvq, not too shabby.
Update on my next book! I am putting together a new book on Private Wireless Networks. Hopefully by the end of January.