For Some, Poverty Is A State Of Mind

One of my senior educators tends to complain a tad too much about her pay. In fact, a couple do.

It's ok. It's a fact of life that people do this. Heard it at the bank all the time.

The only people that don't, tend to be salespeople. In sales, you earn commissions and if you're driven and work hard you can make serious coin. They always seemed, on average (unless clawbacks or a bad economy etc., was eating at their sales)  to be the happiest people in the room.

I remember when the salaried employees used to complain about how much money the salespeople made. It was a sad spectacle. It never occurred to them the work that went into capturing a sale; that the sale was good for the company and ultimately for them.

It's irrelevant if one thinks one of the salespeople was a "jerk." And believe me, there were jerks.

Jerks from the jerk store who could sell mind you.

The administrator making 30 grand using the "how come they make so much and I don't!" line happened a little too often if you asked me.

Ah, therein lies the issue. Why is that guy making the money? I'm smarter! I read Poe! I have a degree! A de-greeee! I work just as hard as the other girl making 100k. Obama told me so.

We play mind games with ourselves.

Don't like it? Do something about it. Don't go smashing windows asking for government assistance. It's not hard to ask your boss, "hey, man. I think I can be an asset to your sales team. Can I have a shot at it?" Sales jobs, like skilled labour, is always, always, always in demand. Always.

The person doing the complaining rarely looks in the mirror or considers other options. I understand not everyone is made to sell (it wasn't my bag) but I'm just pointing out it's where the cash is. You don't have to be in sales to make money but in reality, life is all about sales: Selling yourself, really. The person who can't sell who they are don't get the bones if you get my drift.

In any event, they just want to believe the system is rigged against them.

Not saying that sometimes things aren't kosher, we all know they aren't, just saying that when public policy starts to reflect these sentiments, you may be inviting other problems down the line.

I knew that if I wanted the really big salary I had to become a sales person in my business. Sales is cut throat. It's filled with objectives and deadlines. Some have to travel a lot. There are conferences to attend and presentations to give. You're constantly hitting the pavement, hammering the telephone. Some weeks you bring in five clients, the next you lose six. It's a psychological battle as much as anything too.

It's insane.

The administrator (and God bless the skilled administrator who play a vital role in any organization) gets paid what they're worth. Not to pick on them but I'm just using them to illustrate a point.

The salesperson is in the trenches bringing in the money that keeps the organization alive.

A few of my friends are salespeople for banks, pharmaceuticals and apparel. Big money they earn. I'm talking north of 150k. But they work. They earn every penny. My friend in pharma is constantly on the go. They're not sitting around on their asses as too many people tend to think.

Again, the "why him?" mentality.

We're all free to make our choices. When I had my choice, I opted to go out on my own. The way I saw it was if I'm gonna break my back I'm gonna do it for The Commentator Inc.

The trade off is I may make less for now but I own my own business and all the perks that come with it. I just want to be on the ownership side of things. That's my personal choice.

I don't know what the real story of income mobility and gaps really are, although I'm gonna guess it's probably not as bad as claimed by the left but it's probably not as rosy as the right suggests.

Which brings me back to my educator. What I can offer is an anecdotal point.

She earns 35k a year. She's 25. Not a bad salary at all.

Yet, it's not "enough" for her. When I explain and put into context her earnings, she says, "yeah, but it's what's left I don't like."

As I pointed out in last post, no one said to go buy a new car when you can buy a perfectly good second hand car for a third of the price. Moreover, in her case, she and her husband bought a house and are paying the mortgage which eventually render rental income. Smart move on their part so she has to condition herself into looking strictly at the long-term benefit.

"What's left" is out of my control. Take it to the government. Stop voting left-wing. Write your MP.

Her issue is not with me, unless she wants me to subsidize her lifestyle by bumping up her salary to suit her better, but with the government in reality.

She feels taxes are too high.

Again, out of my control and not a reason to complain for the hourly wage paid converts to a decent salary.

Ultimately, as I told her, she chose to be an educator. You know before hand what the wages are like. I mean, they do go to university to learn this stuff.

They consciously make that decision. Once made, there's no one left to blame. Not your boss, not the system, not anything.

Alas, there are options.

You can always go into sales.