There are two magic words in the English language that define the overall success of a person. They are words that have existed since people began to work. These two individual words define a person’s character, how they live, and what they accomplish, whether the accomplishment is physical, financial, or social. They describe who a person is and what they are about. What are these magic words? Well, they’re not actually magic at all.

The two “magic” words I’m talking about are “WORK ETHICS”. I find this lacking, especially in younger people. Some young people have the idea that a good work ethic is nothing more than showing up to work or showing up to do your job. They compare, justify and confuse this concept with people who are just lazy or just don’t want to work. You can still “show up to work” and sit around all day, “shoot the breeze” and do nothing, and claim you have a good work ethic just because you are physically there at your place of business. Just introducing yourself to your job is NOT having a good work ethic.

I was at a fast food restaurant a while ago, looking for something to take out. It was like 1:45 in the afternoon and I was the only one in line. There were two young girls at the counter. I must have stood there for a full three minutes after taking my eyes off the menu to figure out what I wanted before one of them decided it was important enough to go upstairs to take my order. When I finally placed the order, I paid for it with my credit card and this girl not only couldn’t understand or correct my order (I had to repeat it several times), but she didn’t have the training or skills to do it correctly. complete the transaction at the credit card machine. (Probably because she didn’t pay attention while being trained.)

When I was getting to the point of utter frustration, he TOLD me I could pay cash. I said that I preferred to pay by credit card because it was a business expense and I wanted it to show on my card statement. He actually started arguing with me about this and couldn’t understand why he didn’t want to pay cash. Well, we got over that hurdle. As I mentioned, due to the time of day, I was the only one in line. This girl was the slowest person I’ve ever seen. She spent most of her time talking to the other girl and then (while I was still waiting for her to prepare my little order) she had the nerve to pull out her cell phone and call her boyfriend to start a conversation with him.

He finally got me my order and when I checked before I left, I found that the order was missing two things that I paid for. When I “interrupted” her while she was still on the phone with her boyfriend (to tell her what a mistake she had made) she gave me the dirtiest look for bothering her. Well, she finally sent me the order, I said thank you and she didn’t answer me a word. No sorry for the mistake, no thanks, NOTHING. She coincidentally spoke to her boyfriend on the phone again and when she was leaving, I heard her start to mention the whole encounter and what an idiot she was of her.

If you work for an employer, even if you hate your job, that employer is paying you a salary to do the best job possible. Your attitude has a lot to do with this. Even if you don’t like your job and adopt an “I don’t care” attitude, people will pick up on it through your body language. They won’t want to work with you, they won’t even want to be around you because you have a lousy negative attitude. This can really affect you if you are trying to advance your career. No boss will even think of considering him for a promotion if his attitude in his current position sucks. Take pride in what you do. If you sweep streets for a living, be the best street sweeper the company has ever seen.

That’s what a good work ethic is. Going to work every day is only a small part of the process. Have a good attitude while working, be attentive to the needs of other coworkers (or needs of their bosses). Put a smile on your face and a nimble step. Above all, do the best you can by working hard every day and not wasting time. When an employer sees that you are doing your best on a regular basis, they will be noticed. It may take time, but it will work for you in the long run.

This is especially true if you are in business for yourself. Getting up every morning, “put your head down and go to work” every day will give you success in your business. Remember, in your own business (if you work alone) no one is watching you to make sure you are doing your job. That is a discipline that you control. It can be very easy to just “discover” and do nothing all day and think that because you can work at any time, you will later. But just like with a job outside the home, you have to work and do your best if you want to see the Success you want for yourself and your family.