Paying Your Dues: What It Really Means & Doesn’t Mean

Paying Your Dues: It Doesn’t Mean What You Think It Means

What image do you get from the phrase paying your dues? Some age old belief about hierarchy and working your way up the ladder? Some adage coined by those in power to protect their domain and position?

Paying Your Dues: Image is a sign saying Pay Your Dues

Paying Your Dues: What It Really Means! Image by Ben Terrett.

Grateful for image by Ben Territt via Flickr Creative Commons License.


Paying Your Dues: What If It Doesn’t Mean Waiting in Line?

What if you see paying your dues not as an attempt to exclude you from success but a short statement of universal truths about creating success. Are you …

  • Learning each day?
  • Developing resilience?
  • Discovering humility that makes you great in any field?
  • Finding your passion by seeing what you are willing to endure?
  • Witnessing enough to see beyond your own view?
  • Understanding better to make the complex simple?
  • Testing your own inner strength to find your greatness?


If you stick to the definition of paying your dues as some out-of-date ritual of standing in line for a career promotion, you also live a dangerous myth that after paying your dues, life is better – easier — more rewarding — more profitable.

The truth is that life and work can smack you around every day. The choice and ability to get up, get going again, survive, and thrive is what makes it better. I’ve been paying my dues my whole life. I am a former corporate employee who left and started my own business over 25 years ago. Instead of thinking “I paid my dues”, I am always thinking what can I learn today by paying my dues again today? I would much rather be deserving through my efforts than entitled and waiting.



Paying Your Dues: Image is sign that says learn.

Paying Your Dues Means Continuing to Learn. Image by Jason Taellious via Flickr.




NOT



Paying Your Dues Not Paid. Image is a PAID sign.

Paying Your Dues Not Paid Your Dues. Image by Enokson via Flickr.



Learning and growing through desire, effort, and resilience is how I know I can make tomorrow better. Life is a truly a labor of love. Love for my family, my friends, my clients, and for me. I throw away the assumption about standing in line and seek to make a difference by paying my dues every day.




Will you share your story? How has paying your dues helped you and others?



From my professional experience to your success,
Kate Nasser, The People Skills Coach™

Related Posts:
Career Self-Image: Deserving or Entitled?
Career Success: Replace These 5 Negative Actions

©2016 Kate Nasser, CAS, Inc. Somerville, NJ. I appreciate your sharing the link to this post on your social streams. However, if you want to re-post or republish the content of this post, please email info@katenasser.com for permission and guidelines. Thank you for respecting intellectual capital.


Kate Nasser, The People Skills Coach™, delivers coaching, consulting, training, and keynotes on leading change, employee engagement, teamwork, and delivering the ultimate customer service. She turns interaction obstacles into interpersonal success. See this site for workshop outlines, keynote footage, and customer results.


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~Kate Nasser, The People Skills Coach™

One Response to “Paying Your Dues: What It Really Means & Doesn’t Mean”

  1. […] Paying Your Dues: It Doesn’t Mean What You Think It MeansWhat image do you get from the phrase paying your dues? Some age old belief about hierarchy and working your way up the ladder? Some adage coined by those in power to protect their domain and position?Paying Your Dues: What It Really Means! Image by Ben Terrett.Paying Your Dues: What If It Doesn’t Mean Waiting in Line?What if you see paying your dues not as an attempt to exclude you from success but a short statement of universal truths about creating success. Are you …Learning each day?Developing resilience?Discovering humility that makes you great in any field?Finding your passion by seeing what you are willing to endure?Witnessing enough to see beyond your own view?Understanding better to make the complex simple?Testing your own inner strength to find your greatness?If you stick to the definition of paying your dues as some out-of-date ritual of standing in line for a career promotion, you also live a dangerous myth that after paying your dues, life is better – easier — more rewarding — more profitable.The truth is that life and work can smack you around every day. The choice and ability to get up, get going again, survive, and thrive is what makes it better. I’ve been paying my dues my whole life. I am a former corporate employee who left and started my own business over 25 years ago. Instead of thinking “I paid my dues”, I am always thinking what can I learn today by paying my dues again today? I would much rather be deserving through my efforts than entitled and waiting.Learning and growing through desire, effort, and resilience is how I know I can make tomorrow better. Life is a truly a labor of love. Love for my family, my friends, my clients, and for me. I throw away the assumption about standing in line and seek to make a difference by paying my dues every day.Be deserving through your efforts rather than entitled and waiting  […]

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