Galt's Gulch
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how do I deal with guilt, and feeling like I am wrong?

Posted by kevinnem 10 years, 7 months ago to Business
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I love teh ideas put forth in stalas shrugged, but I also feel nervous about adopting the ideas, I feel guilty that I am treating people as valueble only because they can produce. I feel like I should give them more then they earn, and that in doing so I am being"good" in some way. How do I combat these thoughts?

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  • Posted by CircuitGuy 10 years, 7 months ago
    These feelings/thoughts can be advantageous. Rozar is right. If you enjoy paying people more than they're worth, that's you're right to seek enjoyment in that manner. The only thing that's wrong is if someone manipulates you or twists your arm into doing it. If you do it but deep down really didn't want to, that's the problem. The person receiving this misguided charity may not want it. Imagine an employer were paying you to do something, but they secretly wished you'd stop doing it because they were only continuing the relationship as a favor to you. You'd probably want them to fire you or offer you lower pay.

    If you enjoy paying a little more than the going rate and you enjoy finding people with problems and then showing your employees how the problems can be made into fun but hard games, the business literature (Check out Drive by Daniel Pink) says that's a key to success.

    I knew a business owner who had an employee who had a heart attack. He paid the employee a salary during a long disability b/c he felt like disability should be part of the employment deal, even though it really wasn't part of the original employee agreement. No one shamed him into doing it. He just wanted to, and he owned 100% so he could do what he wanted. His team-members, vendors, and customers could all see this part his character. It made them *want* to work with him. It probably ended up making him more money. That's not why he did it, but doing the right thing got people working together better, which ended up making EVERYONE more money-- i.e. more value (measurable in money) in the world that would never have existed if it weren't for him.
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  • Posted by kevinnem 10 years, 7 months ago
    Thank you for the quick, and very very insightful comments. I though it might go down this road, and at this point I would like to explain further. Also, I apologise for my spelling errors.

    I guess what it comes down to is that I have a cognitive dissidence between what I "feel" I deserve, and what I could command from the market.

    I might make twice the amount of money that some of the people working under me might make. It stresses me out a bit that I make so much more then they do - but on the other hand I paid dearly to get to this point in my life, I effectively lost a decade of my life to training and education to get here.

    I am a very rational person, this is to say that I can think rationally and come to sound, and valid conclusions, however, even though I am confident in these solutions, I still feel guilty about the implications of they will result in.

    Rocky, I really appreciate you pointing out my use of the word "feel" , and you have correctly observed that is the source of my problem.

    ROZ an OA thank you for your thoughts as well. deserved vs imposed -- that is pretty deep I have to think about that a while, good point. and I would I guess get value from giving. (RATIONAL self interest is not greed)

    Blaze - another good point, I have to to understand where this comes from in me.

    I wish to open my own business, but I think these thoughts might be in the way of my success, and that is why I am looking at them. Thank you all for your help and this outlet!
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    • Posted by gblaze47 10 years, 7 months ago
      ". It stresses me out a bit that I make so much more then they do
      Read more at http://www.galtsgulchonline.com/posts/d2...

      See I have a problem with this, why should it stress you out? For years I always sought working for people who made millions, why? because they learned something I didn't. I could careless they made more than I did, it just made me more aware that if they could do it so could I.
      I found that rarely rich people to be called 'evil', corrupt or trying to take from others, they most often were helpful and love to tell others on how they made it. there is absolutely nothing wrong with making more money than others.
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    • Posted by Wonky 10 years, 7 months ago
      I got tripped up when I hit the 6 figure mark. Not so much by guilt as by a sense of unworthiness (although I walked right into the president's office and said: "This is what I want, and you know full well that I am worth it"). The unworthiness issue didn't actually arise from whether he or I knew that I was worth it, but rather from the reality that the vast majority of my coworkers hadn't had raises in a very long time (in most cases this was because they didn't do anything in particular to earn them). The feeling lingered for about 2 weeks and is long gone - just echos from the remnants of attempts at socialist indoctrination while growing up.
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    • Posted by $ EitherOr 10 years, 7 months ago
      Hi kevinnem, it sounds like you already know the answers to your questions, you just need to reason through them. You say, "I might make twice the amount of money that some of the people working under me might make... I effectively lost a decade of my life to training and education to get here."

      First off, why consider that decade of training and education "lost"? You are somewhere different (better?) today then 10 years ago, because YOU worked hard to get there. Unless of course you lied and weaseled your way into a promotion, but I am assuming since you are on this site that is not the case? :)

      Second, do the people in lower-paying jobs have the same skills you do? Could any one of them take over your position tomorrow? Your decade of training is one difference between you and them. Your salary is the market's way of acknowledging that difference.

      I suggest you re-read/ watch the section of AS describing the failure of the 20th Century Motor Company. It is not "good" to give a man more than he deserves -- it only harms hardworking men.
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      • Posted by kevinnem 10 years, 7 months ago
        EitherOr you bring up REAL good points as well. When I say I "LOST" a decade, you clearly mentioned what I ment, it was that I chose to sacrifice some areas of my life for others, I am doing well in my life, but I was not able until recently to have a girlfriend, or take vacations. Does this entitle me to more $$$, I guess so, .. and do I have skills others don't, yea, I do (though they have some I don't as well, just happens mine are more rare). I very much like your, and everyone else's, reasoning if I where to over pay a person, it is only at the expensive of someone else, likely myself.
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  • Posted by gblaze47 10 years, 7 months ago
    Sorry Kevin sounds like you may have some emotional issues from your childhood, possibly parents that made you feel guilty about what they gave you. Sad to see such people being hobbled by emotional lack of growth.
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