There’s a lot of truth to the saying “the early bird gets the worm.” And let me add another little saying “the late night owl gets to hoot the most.”
If you’re the sort of person that is constantly sliding under the door, just barely making it to work on time then you have stacked the deck against you. And, if you stare at the clock waiting for the bell to ring; waiting for time to pass then surely time will pass you by.
“It’s a given that showing up early and staying late helps you to stand out and be more productive.”
I talk with many managers who are frustrated with where they are in the food chain, but when I talk with them I discover they do nothing out of the ordinary to move themselves up the chain. They are often doing what they perceive to be their job and they may very well work hard, but they are not doing anything to stand out.
“Showing up early and staying late helps you to stand out and be more productive.”
I am always amused by people who envy those who have achieved great success. Those doing the envying often think it came easy. Nothing ever comes easy. Sure, some people have a little more luck than others, but by and large people make their own luck. As the saying goes “the harder I work the luckier I get.” In the final analysis the most successful people do the things others aren’t willing to do.
“Showing up early and staying late helps you to stand out and be more productive.”
Unless you are born with a silver spoon in your mouth there is no substitute for putting in the time.
How many shots do you think Michael Jordan took before he was able to hit them 50% of the time? How many golf swings do you think Phil Mickelson has hit in order to hit the fairway 90% of the time? How many batting practice swings do you think that Derek Jeter has taken in order to have a lifetime average of 313 over 18 seasons. Do you think these people have ever arrived early and stayed late?
“Showing up early and staying late helps you to stand out and be more productive.”
When you come to work early and leave late eventually someone is going to notice. It doesn’t guarantee you’re going to get promoted, but it certainly goes on the plus side of the page.
When I first started selling cars I was scared to death that I wouldn’t be able to make enough money to pay my bills. It was a 100% commission job and I had no idea what I was doing. Fear drove me to be the first to arrive and the last to leave.
“Showing up early and staying late helps you to stand out and be more productive.”
I’m not suggesting you always have to be the first one on the job and the last one to leave, but depending on where you are in your career and what your goals and aspirations are it’s a surefire way to be more productive and get noticed.
Vince Lombardi, the famous and very successful coach of the Green Bay Packers, had a saying and it goes like this: “If you’re early, you’re on time. If you’re on time, you’re late. If you’re late…don’t bother showing up.”
He left out “If you leave on time, you have left early and if you leave early, the odds are that you and your career may not get to where you want to go on time.” That’s all I’m gonna say, Tommy Gibbs