In this motivational talk, the speaker urges listeners to stay engaged at work, arguing that engagement directly impacts future career prospects. Citing Bureau of Labor Statistics data that workers change jobs roughly every four years, he explains that engaged employees carry valuable experience, new skills, and strong references to their next role, while disengaged ones risk a reputation as underperformers. He shares a personal anecdote from his time producing television commercials, where his passion for music led to disengagement, poor performance, and a critical performance review. His supervisor delivered brutally honest feedback, reminding him that his day job provided the resources to pursue his musical dreams, and offered a second chance if he re‑engaged. The speaker took this advice, resulting in his most productive and fulfilling year, gaining skills he still uses as a writer and speaker. He later thanked his former boss for the tough honesty that saved his career. The talk concludes with a brief promotional line encouraging listeners to think like a black belt and visit ThatBlackBeltGuy.com.
Chapters
Get engaged! Well, not the ring. I mean at work. Get engaged because your next job might depend on it. But, you might be thinking, "I'm not going anywhere." I bet plenty of the millions of people out looking for work today were thinking exactly the same thing. These days, you just can't count on having a job forever. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, People are jumping ship about every 4 years, whether they want to or not. When you change jobs, what do you take with you? Well, if you're fully engaged, you're gonna take experience, new skills and abilities, and a good reference. If you're not fully engaged, what you're taking with you is a reputation as an underperformer. You've probably squandered great opportunities to learn, grow, and develop as an employee and as a person. Years ago, I had what most people would consider a pretty cool job. I wrote, produced, and even acted in television commercials. I was also what we now call "actively disengaged." All I wanted to do—my biggest ambition—was to play drums and to put my band on the map. I became a lousy employee. I realized I had the skill and the talent to do my job well, but my heart and my soul just wasn't in it. I complained about everything. I felt disconnected, underappreciated, and certainly underpaid—until my supervisor called me in for a performance review. My attitude sucked. I'd become a distraction in the office. My work was suffering. And now my job was on the line. I could have walked away, pissing and moaning about the man. I could have blamed any number of things for my attitude. Thankfully, my boss's words went all the way in. He was brutally honest about my performance. He also said that my drive and my work ethic and my talent had gotten me where I was now. He said that's the reason that he hired me in the first place. He said he still believed in me, and he was willing to give me another shot, as long as I was willing to make some changes. He also pointed out that it was my day job that was giving me the talents, the abilities, and the resources to pursue my dreams in music. It was up to me to engage and get back on track. And I did. After that, I enjoyed the most productive year I ever had at that job, and the happiest. As I became more engaged, I felt more appreciated. I felt as if my work had value, not only to myself, but to my boss, to the people I worked with, and to my customers. All the skills I learned on that job, especially in that last year, are the skills I use today, every day, as a writer and a speaker. Years later, I had a chance to talk to my old boss, who's still a good friend. I told him that story, and he'd forgotten all about it. Anyway, I thanked him for being so tough and so honest with me. Most of all, I thanked him for threatening to fire me. He said, "Fire you? I wouldn't have fired you. You were my friend." Well, I thought about that for a few minutes, and then I thanked him again. I thanked him for never telling me that he wouldn't have fired me that day.
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