Earn It… Every Day!

Professional athletes already know this.

Full-time employees should also know this.

Earn it… every day!

You have to commit to it. You have to Earn It … Every Day.

If you’re working as a consultant you know you’ve got to deliver every single day. If you’re a professional athlete you got to bring your A Game every single day. If you’re a full-time employee there is no time to coast.

I realize this may sound obvious. But, I bring it up because for those that really want to stand out in their careers … bringing it every day gets noticed.

Inspired by Sports

This post was inspired by the start of the college football season and also by the tail end of the preseason professional NFL games. I was listening to the coaches and some of the players that they are at one of the most challenging parts of the season. They need to tell some people news they don’t want to hear. The coaches and the coaching staff are in the midst of doing personnel cut downs now.

Pure athleticism is not enough!

Coaches and the entire team are looking for everyone to bring their A Game. That means skills on the field, of course. But, it also means sportsmanship, camaraderie, and knowledge of the game. Pure athleticism is not enough.

You may literally be able to run circles around someone, but if you can’t combine your athleticism with your IQ and EQ you’ll never make the cut (at least for very long).

It’s also true in Business

If you want to stand out in your career you need to be that one that literally stands out in their career. Again, this sounds obvious. But, those that ‘bring it’ get noticed, promoted and tagged for special projects.

There are a lot of ways to do this. Below are a few examples. Feel free to add a comment at the end here with your examples of how you stand out in your career and how you bring it every day.

Fire Yourself

Elliot Weissbluth of HighTower on the Faster Than Normal podcast with Peter Shankman said he fires himself every December. Then he asks:

When you fire yourself – what will you differently from that person you fired? Now, go do it!

Business has grown from $0 to $30 billion in assets in less than 10 years. … To grow faster, don’t forget this.

Forty Little Things

I found this list recently and was inspired by a few of these points. I already do some of them and have pulled out a few here that I am particularly enamored with today. The point is that these can help you stand out in your career by helping you identify what YOU want to do to Earn it … Every Day.

• (#16) Write thank you emails to those who have helped you most. Which is the digital version of what I wrote about in The Power of the Pen.
• (#24 – Ironically) Unplug for 24 hours. Which is similar to what I wrote about in Screen Free Sunday. Which can be especially hard at the beginning of school and the fall sporting season. Can you do it?
• (#32) Email one of your heroes asking for coffee or a skype call. Which follows along the lines of this post about Mentors and Inspirators.

There are no wrong answers or ideas. Well, maybe there are a few. But, the point here is … focus on Bringing It … and Earning It … Every Day so that you can stand out in your career.

What do you do to bring it?

• How do you demonstrate your ability to bring it every day?
• What tips would you like to share for how you bring it every day?
• What advice can you share for when you didn’t bring your A Game and what happened?

Add a comment here and let the world know how to made it or what you learned when you didn’t make it. When you didn’t bring it.