A Simple Way to Remain Grounded and Humble
Success can get to someone’s head.
A person who was grounded and humble now becomes cocky and arrogant.
Being arrogant reduces one’s perspective.
If this person doesn’t go back to being humble, then they will soon lose their success.
In today’s talk, I’m going to give you a simple perspective on being successful while remaining humble.
I call this the half-boss half-worker paradigm.
There have been a few times I have seen this paradigm before my very eyes.
I saw rich people who did not look rich.
They looked like the average man.
Why?
Allow me to share a Dunkin Donuts story.
The Land of Dead Dreams?
I used to work at Dunkin Donuts during undergrad.
I met a family who worked there too.
A father, mother, and son.
The mother and son would work the day shift together, while the father worked at night.
I felt bad for the son because he did not want to be in Dunkin Donuts.
He was still young and wanted to study engineering.
But if he left, that store would fall apart.
I had a negative perspective of Dunkin Donuts at that point.
This was a place where dreams go to die.
Around the same time, I had a friend who lived in a mansion.
The place had 7 rooms, 8 bathrooms, a pool and all that.
I asked this buddy what his dad did for a living.
He said:
‘He’s in the Dunkin Donuts grind.’
Dunkin Donuts?? You mean the place where dreams go to die??
I asked him to elaborate.
‘He owns a bunch of Dunkin Donuts in the US. Nowadays, since his portfolio is so big, he’s a millionaire.’
I was shocked.
‘Where is your dad now?’ I asked.
‘He’s working at Dunkin Donuts now.’
Why Work When You’re the Boss?
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.
This guy owned 100s of Dunkin Donuts, however, he was still working in the stores.
Why do that?
Why not just issue commands to others?
I asked my friend what his dad did in the stores.
He responded:
‘You know, the usual… make donuts, make coffee, clean the bathrooms etc.’
A boss was working just like an employee.
I asked my friend why his dad did this.
My friend said:
‘So, he remains grounded. Plus, working as an employee for your own company allows you to see what’s working and what isn’t.’
The action happens in the stores, not in corporate life.
You get a chance to see what customers like, what they dislike, when it’s the busiest etc.
By being a great employee, my buddy’s dad had the perspective to be a great boss.
This was a powerful paradigm indeed.
Why You Should Always Work
Social media has destroyed the phrase, “boss.”
Many people are quick to adopt the title, but they haven’t earned it.
To work your way up to boss status, a process must have been executed.
For my friend’s dad, it was working up the Dunkin Donuts food chain.
- Dishwasher
- Donut maker
- Cashier
- Manager
- Store owner
- Owner of multiple stores
- Mogul
There was a point when my friend’s dad got cocky.
He thought since he had so much money coming in that he was untouchable.
After a successful run, there was a month when a few of his store managers quit out of nowhere.
When they quit, he was caught off guard.
Getting caught off guard like that taught him something:
‘Being cocky is expensive.’
Our perspective gets reduced when we believe we are high and mighty.
But it’s hard to stay high and mighty when you are taking crap from a rude customer every now and then.
It’s hard to be arrogant when it’s your time to clean the bathrooms this week.
Stay humble.
You do that by working.
Ways to Execute the Half-Boss Half-Worker Paradigm
For my business, I work a minimum of 9-5 every day.
Doesn’t matter if I own ArmaniTalks, I must work as an employee as well.
Working a minimum of 9-5 keeps me grounded.
One of my friends owns a software company.
Despite being the CEO, he does customer support.
Normally, company owners outsource customer support to people in the Philippines.
- So, why is my friend not outsourcing it?
- Why is he directly dealing with customer support??
It’s because that’s where the action is.
He learns what new features should be rolled out based on customer complaints.
The rapper 50 Cent used to go to clubs when he was a rap superstar.
You may think:
‘Go to clubs?? Sounds like he’s goofing off!’
No.
Instead, he was doing market research.
Since he created hip-hop music, he knew the clubs were a great spot to dissect what the people were reacting to.
When breaking down what you should be working on, just ask:
- What will get you the closest to the people?
The “people” could be your fellow employees or the people you serve.
Just know this…
Perspective gets reduced when the boss is hanging out in his office all day.
Roll up your sleeves and get your hands dirty.
The Average Looking Rich Man
I walked into 7/11 and was greeted by an Indian uncle.
A few weeks earlier, I ran into him in an Indian wedding.
When I told the groom that I knew one of the people at his wedding…
And said it was the Indian uncle who worked in 7/11…
The groom was amazed.
‘Do you know who that guy is??’
I said, ‘yea, the guy who works in 7/11.’
The groom laughed.
‘He’s more than that. He owns many 7/11s. Whenever new Indians are coming to the US and need a job; this guy always hooks them up. This guy is a true boss.’
A boss? I would have never guessed.
He looked just like an employee as he was wearing the 7/11 uniform.
In this case, the uniform became a symbol.
It represented:
‘No matter how high I climb, I’m just like the people who work for me.’
For more communication skills tips, be sure to check out the ArmaniTalks Free Daily Newsletter
