Whatever your work philosophy, could you reduce it to fewer than 10 words as J. Paul Getty, of Getty Oil fame, has done?
Getty was notoriously frugal, at one point installing pay phones and placing dial locks on phones at Sutton Place, the 72-room mansion in Surrey England, to cut down on unauthorized long distance calls. At the time, Getty was one of the richest individuals in the world and was ridiculed for being so miserly. However, he explained in an interview that the telephone bills skyrocketed shortly after major renovations began at Sutton Place, and he attributed the spike to workers and contractors taking advantage of “the opportunity of a lifetime.” After the renovation work was completed, the pay phones and dial locks were removed.
What I admire about this quote to “rise early, work hard, strike oil” besides its pithiness, is its implied consistency and focus.
When you have simple and clear instructions, they are easy to follow and easy to repeat.
Another reason I resonate with Getty’s quote is that I came up with a similarly simple and powerful distillation of a life philosophy when I was a college junior. I wrote on a posterboard in my apartment:
[pullquote align=”normal”]”Be bold. Have adventures. Talk about them.” [/pullquote]
At the time, I had no idea what that would mean, but in the years since, I can trace the influence of this message to traveling around the world and being handsomely compensated to teach, consult, and advise leaders and senior management teams.
I didn’t set out to see so many different beautiful countries and interesting cities, but I’m so glad I did.
I didn’t set out to earn more per consult or speech now than I earned as an independent school teacher in an entire year, but doing so has given me and my family security and opportunities that I never would have had as a math teacher, tennis coach, and dorm parent.
The takeaway again is to have a simple and clear philosophy that can guide your decision making throughout your life. Make it a statement that excites you when you get out of bed each morning and something you will be proud of when you look back on where it has led you in 5, 10, or 25 years. Use J. Paul Getty and Bill Ringle as two models, then create your own.