so welcome to category 9 here we're
going to talk about contribution through
your career now I said earlier some of
the fields and contribution may not be
categories that you would typically
associate with contribution however I am
putting career in this category now it
may be wondering why well the reason I
put career as a form of contribution and
giving back to the world is because in
my book the code of the extraordinary
mind I explain a major rule a major
culture escape idea that past
generations have taken on that I think
we need to discard and that is the idea
of humanity plus versus humanity -
companies so in chapter 10 of the book I
talk about how you could look at the
companies in the world today and you
could see that there are two types of
companies Humanity - companies are
companies that exist solely for making a
buck these are companies that might say
peddle junk food I speak of coke as a
classic example of a humanity - company
now again coke was formed over a hundred
years ago but if you look at their
contribution to planet Earth is it
really something that pushes the human
race forward
I mean it's high fructose corn syrup
which is highly unhealthy filled with
sugar but it's marketed as happiness in
a can that's a classic example of a
humanity - company then you have
companies like Google pure humanity plus
I've been to Google X I've seen some of
the new innovations Google is coming up
with from free Internet to the world to
self-driving cars because that could
save millions of road accident deaths
every single year
classic humanity plus company's humanity
plus companies are also companies like
Facebook that help the world stay
connected companies like Tesla which are
helping us move away from fossil fuels
and what I'm trying to get at is at a
certain point you're gonna be faced with
a choice do you want to take a job in a
company just to receive a paycheck or do
you want to take a job in a company
where you aren't getting a paycheck but
you're also doing something to move the
human race forward now if you move from
a humanity - company to a humanity +
company or you are a humanity + company
this is your form of contribution
I was talking to a friend of mine who
actually used to work for coca-cola and
he said you know a problem we had a coke
is that so many of the people we hire
quit so you know how we solve that we
just paid them thirty percent more than
what they would get elsewhere and I
think perhaps that's a nice strategy for
some people but I do not deep down
inside I do not believe that earning 30%
more while peddling crap that is leading
to an obesity epidemic around the world
is really a part two contribution so
what I'm trying to say is if you're
working for a shitty company you might
want to consider quitting because I can
tell you this when you look back at it I
don't think it's gonna be worthwhile I
know because I once started a company
that was a humanity - company it was
basically I won't go into the details of
this company out of respect for the
investors and my co-founder but the
company basically was a company that got
people to sign up for deals in
restaurants and boutiques it was
basically a coupon type management
service and I can tell you after one
year of working in this company I felt
so miserable and so I decided to quit
and dedicate myself to another business
mind valley which is a humanity plus
company dedicated around the idea of
spreading enlightened ideas and when I
made that shift what I found is that
even though I've given up hundreds of
thousands of dollars of options and
shares I was so much happier I felt like
this huge burden had been lifted off my
shoulders I shared the story in my book
the code of the extraordinary mind so
many of you will be familiar with this
story but it's so important to really
ask yourself am i working in a company
that is humanity plus so that's one of
the first rules that I wanted to get out
there regarding companies and our choice
of careers the good thing about the
world what gives me so much optimism is
that when I look at many entrepreneurs
today they are not starting companies
that focus on fossil fuels or companies
that focus on junk food many of the
companies I see being started by
entrepreneurs today
are focused on organic foods on healthy
eating on juicers on low sugar or no
sugar alternatives I have friends who
are starting companies in solar power in
alternative energy in wind
energy and that makes me so optimistic
about the world we are moving into and
so I really want to urge you to
encourage your kids to encourage
yourself to seek out humanity plus
companies don't get stuck in a rut in a
humanity - company as I say in my book
I'm not asking you to save the world all
I'm saying is don't it up for the
next generation now that is one rule but
there's the second rule that we often
fall into when it comes to our careers
and that is the great entrepreneurship
in it if you read the media if you read
ink magazine and all of those articles
being shared on Facebook it sometimes
seemed that the only way to success is
to be an entrepreneur and that's not
completely true you see even amongst
entrepreneurs you have entrepreneurs who
are miserable who are broke who are
facing stress and anxiety they've
started their own business to find
freedom but instead all they got is a
job with now the added risk of having to
ensure that their own paycheck gets paid
but then you also have entrepreneurs who
are wildly successful in doing good
things but if you look at people who are
employees you'll also find people in
that same range you'll find employees
who are working for incredible companies
I've met many employees who work for
Google or other companies of that sort
who absolutely love their jobs they are
doing meaningful stuff for the world and
I meet other employees who are miserable
at where they are
so you have miserable and happy
employees you have miserable and happy
entrepreneurs the idea isn't to pick one
or the two or to buy to that whole myth
that you need to be an entrepreneur
the idea is to recognize this you need
to find a way to contribute to the world
in a way where you're earning a good
income but you enjoy what you do
remember the idea of Bliss Oakland and
that you're contributing because while
enjoying what you do will bring
happiness contribution brings
fulfillment so you don't have to blindly
say I need to quit my job and be an
entrepreneur but what you should be
looking at are these three things what
can I find that will fulfill these three
criteria in my career how can I get a
good income how can I really enjoy what
I'm doing because I can be best in the
world at it or I can truly let my
creative energy flow with it and finally
how can I contribute and I think when
you look at it from these three pillars
instead of blindly going oh I need to
start my own business you end up in a
much safer healthier way of creating
your life
okay now that said let's actually take a
look at how to set goals for your career
these are the questions you want to be
asking yourself
are you growing are you climbing the
ladder is your career exciting or are
you stuck in a rut if you have a
business is it thriving or is it
stagnating what is your definition of
work what is your definition of career
are you living life in the words of
Richard Branson where work and personal
time all merge into one thing which he
calls living if you are congratulations
or as Gary Vaynerchuk says if you are
waiting for the weekends your is
broken do you feel that within your
career you're getting the appreciation
you need the recognition you need if
that helps you feel better for yourself
do you feel you're getting a chance to
contribute do you feel that the full
range of your of your creative output
you get to channel into something that
makes you proud do you feel you have
what you need to succeed in your career
are you in the right position do you
have the right skills so with those
questions bubbling in your head let's
now set a timer and have you start
creating a vision for your career so I'm
setting my iPhone timer here to three
minutes you should have your paper and
pencil ready and let's start writing
down what are your visions for your
career where would you like to be three
years down the road in terms of position
salary contribution
what would it feel like getting out of
bed every day to get to work what level
of competence do you want to attain and
why
[Music]
how would you improve your workplace or
your company what additional features
culture elements practices would you
bring in
[Music]
what contribution would you make in your
field
what can you do
that you can be truly best at in your
feet
[Music]
is your career giving you meaning
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how would you use your career to
contribute to the betterment of humanity
how are you at work in terms of how you
communicate with your coworkers
your partner so your boss
what is your best self how would you
bring that into your career
[Music]
is it time for a switch in your career
if so what career would you like to get
into
[Music]
where would you like to build your
career what city or country
[Music]
I'll give you a few seconds to write
down your own ideas
[Music]
and we're done time's up congratulations
you now have a list of visions and ideas
for where you want to take your career
as a means to contribution so here's an
additional tip if you're looking to help
yourself grow in your career and
professional development on MindValley
academy.com
we recently launched a channel called
success and professional growth and you
can sign up for MindValley Academy for
any course online value Academy and
you'll get an option to join this
channel the channel is simply a
customized newsletter for people who at
this stage in their life want to really
grow in their career and we bring you
wisdom from not just from my book but
for many of the greatest teachers out
there in terms of fields such as speed
learning productivity being a better
manager how to improve your memory
success principles so that in your
career in your company you can rise
further do more contribute more and just
absolutely kick-ass so congratulations
thank you for completing this exercise
and I'll see you in the next chapter