The Writers Coin

There were two outs and runners were on second and third. Last inning, we’re up by 10+ runs. Our pitcher was having problems throwing strikes and the other team had already gotten a few runs across.

Nobody was nervous yet (we had a really big lead and it was the final inning, two outs) but there was a feeling that we should just close this out before it gets hairy.

I’m the shortstop and I notice the runner on second isn’t really paying attention. So I start creeping towards second base. The pitcher sees me and whips around, firing the ball right at the base. The runner sees it, but it’s too late—he gets picked off for the third out.

Game over.

Pay Attention at All Times

It’s something so simple, and yet so many of us don’t do it. We distract ourselves with constantly checking our email (I’m guilty of it too), thinking about other things, or just plain spacing out.

It can have really serious repercussions at work, but paying attention is also becoming a lost art in everyday settings like a simple conversation with another person.

Paying Attention at Work

Imagine you’re in a meeting with a bunch of other people and you know this particular subject has very little to do with you—so you’re sitting there staring out the window trying to figure out if you have any Hot Pockets left in the freezer at home and whether or not the Bulls should play Kyle Korver tonight against the Heat.

“What’s your opinion on this, Smith?”

You guessed it: you’re Smith.

What do you do? What do you say? The right answer is probably: “I’m sorry, could you repeat that?”

Either way, it’s pretty obvious you weren’t paying attention and it’s going to reflect poorly on you. Even worse, you might miss something that does have to do with a project you’re involved in and that could wind up being a disaster.

Paying Attention is Easy

The guy that got picked off of second base should’ve been paying attention, but he wasn’t. When you’re at work, pay attention. When someone is talking to you, pay attention.

It’s very easy to do because it’s something you can control.

There are so many other variables out there that you can’t control, that it doesn’t make sense to neglect something so basic and easy to do. You hear it in baseball all the time: speed never slumps. Paying attention doesn’t have to either.

You can’t control what projects are assigned to you or the quarterly revenue your company makes or any of those things—but you can pay attention.

Right now I’m looking out the window and the trees are swaying like crazy, the sky is cement grey, and the wind is howling.

Can I control the weather? Of course not.

But I can at least bring an umbrella to weather the storm because I’m paying attention to what’s going on out there.

Image by TimothyJ

What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas. It’s a fun, cheeky tag line. But the truth is that there’s another thing that’ll probably stay in Vegas: your money.

I went for the first time last week when my wife surprised me for my 30th birthday, and it was a blast.

I quickly learned that after a trip to Vegas there are two things you will be asked by everyone:

1. Where did you stay? (The Mirage)
2. How much did you win/lose? (Lost about $100 over four days…between the both of us).

I’m not a big gambler, but seeing so many people that obviously are into it in one of the meccas of gambling got me thinking about how a lot of us (including myself) rationalize the money we lose when we gamble.

You’ve heard this before:

Yeah I lost money, but I was busy for hours and hours. So it was worth it because I was being entertained.

Our $100 Loss

I don’t like losing money. I especially don’t like sticking a $20 bill into a slot machine and being down to zero 15 minutes later. In a typical setting, I would not be happy about it.

But that’s the magic of Vegas: it turns even the most curmudgeonly person into a guy sipping whiskey sours yelling for big money, big money, come on BIG MONEY!

I kept trying to think of it as entertainment…that my wife and I were having fun and that hours were going by so it was OK to be losing money like this. But we were losing money pretty quick and part of me was ringing alarm bells.

Dropping $60 in one hour of doing something I’m not all that keen on seems like a waste. Sure, the free drinks were nice (now I have to tip) and going to all the different hotels was pretty cool…but in the back of my head I kept thinking “This place isn’t for me…I’d rather drop $40 on a two-hour movie and some popcorn.”

The Magic

Then came our last day there and something wonderful started happening: we started winning.

I mean we were on a roll, baby!

Everything was landing our way: the waitress with the drinks was fast, the bonus spins were hitting fast and furious, and we were doubling our money…over and over again.

It got to the point that a manager walked over and gave us a player’s card so we could “get points for the nice run you’re having.”

Now I was understanding Vegas.

Now I “got” what gambling was all about.

It wasn’t about the money you could win, it was about the juices flowing through your veins when you win and the euphoria of hitting it big, seeing the lights flash, the bells ring.

Vegas was awesome!

The House Always Wins

You all know how this story ends. We eventually played until we lost all the money we won. We were “feeling it” so we wanted to win it all back…which didn’t happen. We broke even on that magical last day and that’s why we were down $100 for the trip.

I’ve heard horror stories, so I’ll take a -$100 balance without complaining.

I got to spend time with my wife, have a blast, and visit a new city. What’s not to like?

When I got home and was thinking about the whole “last day” experience, and I realized it was familiar for a reason. I had read about it in Jonah Lehrer’s book, How We Decide. You can check out my review of the book, but the concept is simple: our brain features a constant struggle between our reason and our emotions.

And in Vegas, everything is designed to stuff the rational part of your brain in a black sack, shove it in the trunk of a Cadillac, and drive it into the desert.

Your emotions don’t stand a chance.

Will I Go Back?

I hope so. It was a fun getaway and there was lots to see and do.

As for the gambling…I’ll probably give the slots a shot again and see if I can’t find some of that magic again…just for fun, of course.

Any big gamblers out there that want to describe why they love it so much?

I read a lot of articles about the employment situation in this country, and most of the time it’s obvious crap that most of us can ignore. Things like:

• Network!
• “Hit the pavement”
• Don’t be late to interviews

That’s not helpful.

But the other day I stumbled into an article on CNN called How to find a job in 2011. And there’s a quote in the article that is the core of my whole philosophy of work:

If you can’t add value, they’re not going to hire you.

BOOM! That is on the money. Whether you’re looking for a new job or now, adding value should be at the forefront of everything you do.

Most people think that their previous experience or an impressive resume is what will get them the job. This isn’t 1992 people…this is 2011 and you can’t cling to these old-school concepts of work anymore.

These days, value rules.

And that’s one of the core topics of my Ninja Employee Newsletter: how to add value at work regardless of the type of job you have.

Join today and see how you can start adding value to your job.

Ninja Employee Newsletter

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How to work smarter, happier, and bring more value to your work.

This is a personal-finance site, so talking about making money isn’t anything new. You’ll hear a lot of sites (including this one) talking about diversifying your income and making money on the side.

All that is great, but what about the job we already have?

This is our biggest source of income and the place where we spend most of our time, so everything we do there is kind of important.

From interpersonal relationships to dealing with difficult bosses, we all know there’s a lot of drama at the office. There can also be a lot of personal achievement and satisfaction.

Over the past few months, I’ve been thinking a lot about the amount of time and energy we spend at work. I’ve been thinking about how we can do our jobs more efficiently. I’ve been thinking about how we can all bring more value to our work.

And now I’m ready to share.

Instead of posting all this content on the regular blog, I’ve decided to target readers who specifically want to read how they can make their work more rewarding. The newsletter will include all kinds of ninja stuff like:

• Enjoying your job
• Adding value at work
• Becoming a more efficient employee
• Giving your career a boost
• Finding a new job

You can sign up on the top-right-hand corner of any page or right here:

 

Ninja Employee Newsletter

Name:  

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How to work smarter, happier, and bring more value to your work.

Image by R’eyes