Always be the CEO

My first job was painful. I worked in a sweatshop (not really) moving books around. I wanted to quit but they fired me first.

I expected the next job to be just as bad. Pumping gas wasn’t particularily exciting, I can’t say I liked it at first.

My boss at the time, a serial entrepreneur with multiple garages, took me for a ride one day and told me:

I got where I am today because I worked hard and worked smart. I approached everything I did thinking: what would I do if it were my own business, if I was the CEO.*

Great lesson. Don’t do things only because you have to. Take a step back and see things from the CEO’s perspective. You need to think like a CEO (or an entrepreneur) to become one. Every company you work for is your company.

* Not the exact words. Add a few curse words. ;)