Here is a quick way to know if you’re sabotaging your future…
Are you shooting yourself in the foot by playing “the short game”?
I don’t know if you’re already a server or thinking of becoming one – but I can’t tell you how many times over the years, I’ve encountered servers who play the short game when it comes to their career.
You’re playing the short game when you’re thinking only of short-term benefits… …in other words, immediate fistfuls of cash, like, TONIGHT!
Let’s face it, 50 Cent may have “money on his mind”—but long-term, sustainable income is about a lot more than immediate cash.
If you want long-term, sustainable income, you have to embrace and practice what 99% of your fellow citizens lack – and that is patience.
Patience is a virtue, and virtues are in short supply. If you can exhibit patience, strategic planning and self-discipline, you’ll catapult yourself miles ahead of the competition.
You’ll become the person who ends up making high five figures or even six figures as a server.
What’s Your “Time Perspective”?
Dr. Edward Banfield of Harvard University in the 50’s and 60’s found that the single biggest factor of financial success, is one’s “time perspective.”
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Those with a short time perspective, think in terms of mere days – hours – or even minutes. Consider a drug addict jonesin’ for his next hit. He’s not thinking about next week or next month—his only concern is now!
Just think about a time you’ve been ravenously hungry. Maybe you were waiting for your dinner to be served at a slow-ass restaurant that took forever.
Every minute feels like a friggin’ eternity, doesn’t it?
That’s the epitome of a short time perspective. You’re thinking in terms of one minute at a time. Maybe – if you’re really hungry – you’re thinking in terms of 30 seconds or less. Or let’s say you’re exercising and you utterly hate it.
You can’t understand how you’ll be able to finish this god-awful 15-minute workout that feels like five hours (and you know for a fact you won’t engage in this unholy activity ever again).
But those with a long-time perspective, think and plan in terms of weeks, months, years – even decades!
Consider the lawyer or doctor who studies for hours and hours, year after year – often sacrificing his or her social life for the sake of reaping the reward and embarking on the chosen career.
That’s the long game. It’s self-discipline versus instant gratification. That’s what can make or break a future.
Are You Stuck?
Maybe you’re living paycheck to paycheck. Maybe you’re stuck in a cycle where you’re able to think only in terms of brief windows of time – because you’re just trying to get by.
That’s not really your fault.
But easy come, easy go. Anything worthwhile takes time to develop.
If you’re thinking about your career – and particularly if you’re thinking about a career as a server – and you want to be immensely successful – then it’s time to shift your perspective to the long game.
“And in This Corner is ‘Long-Game Server’!” Crowd Goes Wild.
The short-game server thinks about getting the tip, but the long-game server is concerned with starting and growing a relationship with the guests. It’s about genuinely wanting to truly serve the guests – this is being smart and knowing that it’s the best money-making mindset, period.
And the short-game server is thinking about the tips at the end of the night or week, but the long-game server is thinking about the tips at the end of the month and the year.
A quick way to know…
So, while the short-game server is thinking about the value of a single transaction, the long-game server is thinking about the lifetime value of the guest (an often overlooked metric).
The short-game server has no long-term goals—only short-term ones – and probably not even those. If he/she does have a long-term goal, it’s a mere wish or dream – there is no reasonable plan to make that dream a reality.
But the long-game server has weekly, monthly and yearly goals that are clearly defined and written down.
The short-game server does not solicit testimonials or reviews. The long-game server does.
In the short-game server’s spare time, he/she plays video games, binges on Netflix, gets drunk with friends. In fact, anything except improving skills and knowledge base. The long-game server is constantly raising their income potential.
A quick way to know…
The short-game server doesn’t really care where they work or whether they agree with the mission of the restaurant they’re working at, because it’s all just a paycheck anyway. The long-game server is extremely picky about where they work. And it’s important to them, to deeply align with the mission of the restaurant and be enthusiastic about creating an extraordinary experience for all the guests that come through the door.
Those are just a few ways the long-game server is head and shoulders above Mr. Short- Term Thinking.
Know this: the end result of all that short-term thinking is a life of desperation, without a real foundation or future.
It will result in you going from job to job, hoping you make enough to pay both your rent and your credit card bills that are due next week.
But, if you want to play the long game … and make a WHOLE lot more while working smarter, not harder … definitely check out my course The Valdivieso Method: Discover the Proven Secrets of the Highest-Paid Professional Restaurant Server on the Planet!
Thank you for reading A Quick Way to know if you are sabotaging your career.
Until next time.
That knowledge and experience is available to you. Right now
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