Significant Career Lesson From A Business Owner At Self-Publishing Center
Erik's most significant career lesson is that "money cannot be the main motivator," as focusing solely on finances hinders success in their self-employed ventures, Innovative Educational Services; Thin Leaf Press; Self-Publishing Center. Erik finds that by prioritizing providing value to readers and authors, the money naturally flows, but when money becomes the primary focus, it paradoxically diminishes.
Motivation, Financial Management, Work-Life Balance, Entrepreneurship, Self-Employment
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
Industries
Job Functions
Traits
Erik Seversen
Author, Business Owner
Innovative Educational Services; Thin Leaf Press; Self-Publishing Center
UCLA
Anthropology, University of Virginia, MA
Anthropology, Sociology
Consulting & Related Professional Services, Education
Consulting
Honors Student, Scholarship Recipient
Video Highlights
1. Money should not be the primary motivator: Focusing on the value provided to others leads to greater success and financial stability.
2. Remember your core mission: Regularly remind yourself of the primary goals and values that drive your work, such as providing valuable material to readers or rewarding authors.
3. Focus on providing value: Prioritizing the value you offer to others is more effective for long-term success than solely focusing on monetary gains.
Transcript
What is one lesson that you have learned that has proven significant in your career?
One lesson that has proven significant in my career is that money cannot be the main motivator to get to work every day. I've found myself in situations where I'm working, and all of a sudden, my wife doesn't work, and I'm a hundred percent self-employed. There's no gray area; it's either there's money or there isn't.
Sometimes I'd start getting stressed, thinking we wouldn't be able to make our normal cash flow. I'd start talking to my wife about how I couldn't believe these invoices hadn't been paid and hoping others would pay up. Then she'd say, "Do you hear yourself? What are you talking about? All you've talked about for two days is money."
She'd remind me why I do this. The number one goal is to get readers positive, valuable material. The number two goal is to have authors get rewarded for writing a good book, either through royalties or opportunities.
As soon as I stop focusing on the money, the money starts rolling in, and there's never a problem. But every time the money becomes important to me, it doesn't come in as much. I don't know why that happens, but it's radically consistent.
I have to remind myself that while we need money and I can't exist in my job without it, focusing on that as the primary thing doesn't work as well as focusing on the value it can provide to people and what I'm doing. The money then becomes an afterthought.