My Wage by Jessie B. Rittenhouse (a poem worth thinking about)

Have you ever given serious thought to the wages you earn? Are you paid enough, or do you believe you make much less than what you deserve? I first came across the, poem, My Wage by Jessie B Rittenhouse over a decade ago. When I first read the poem, I had to stop and think because there was so much truth to it.

If you are making less than what the market will bear, what have you done about it? Have you taken steps to change your situation? Do you know how to negotiate for what you're worth.

Introduction to My Wage by Jessie B. Rittenhouse

Those are a few important questions. Can you determine your wages? I have been thinking about this over the years. Reading books by Seth Godin and Hugh MacLeod, as well as reflecting on the interviews that I have conducted has brought this issue front and centre for me. More recently though, I've been thinking about my wages again. And, I've been asking myself if I can determine how much I make.

If you are doing work that matters, if you are doing work that changes people, if your are doing the one thing you were born to do, could you set your own wages? There is a school of thought that if you find a solution to a problem that is plaguing most, you will be justly rewarded financially. But how true is that?

Has that been your experience?

This is a follow-up post to “Using the Poem “My Wage” by Jessie B. Rittenhouse to Think Differently.” Let's take a look at the poem My Wage by Jessie B. Rittenhouse again.

Have you read?

Using the Poem “My Wage” by Jessie B. Rittenhouse to Think Differently
11 Lessons From The Desiderata

My Wage Poem

I bargained with Life for a penny,
And Life would pay no more,
However I begged at evening
When I counted my scanty store;

For Life is a just employer,
He gives you what you ask,
But once you have set the wages,
Why, you must bear the task.

I worked for a menial's hire,
Only to learn, dismayed,
That any wage I had asked of Life,
Life would have paid.

What does the poem My Wage by Jessie B. Rittenhouse really mean? The first verse of My Wage by Jessie B. Rittenhouse, suggests that we accept what's offered to us. I think that most of us don't set our sights high enough. During salary negotiations, we accept what is offered to us, when the employer expects us to ask for more, the number presented is only a starting point. It's called salary negotiations for a reason.

The second verse says that life is a just employer. Do you really believe that? One of the things I've discovered for myself is if you don't ask you don't get. So, you can set your wages, but to get what you demand you have to give more value than what you're being paid for.

In the third verse, it seems that if you settle for less than what you're worth, or if you don't have the confidence, or the belief in what you're offering, then don't expect anyone to think that you deserve more.

Wage could also be a metaphor for accepting less than we deserve, it could be a metaphor for working conditions.  Instead of speaking up about poor working conditions we suffer in silence because we are scared of losing our jobs. If we work toward becoming a linchpin, and making ourselves indispensable, then we are on our way to setting our wages.

So if life is a just employer, and you are doing work that matters, will you get the wage that you ask for?

My Wage by Jessie B Rittenhouse: How to Get the Wage You Deserve

If you believe that you're not getting the wage you deserve, take a hard look at your situation. Do you really deserve the wage you think you deserve? Be brutally honest with yourself. Recently, I've been writing and talking a lot about the importance of reading books across multiple disciplines and connecting the ideas from the various books you read. And that's very critical for career success these days. Not very long ago, I came across the concept of skill stacking.

“Skill stacking is the notion that you can combine several normal skills to create a combination of abilities to become extraordinarily valuable. Scott Adams, the creator of the Dilbert comic strip, actually coined the phrase “talent stack” to describe this concept.” Source: 5 Ways Skill Stacking Can Boost your Career

The light bulb came on for me. What skills do you have that you can stack?

For instance, I studied computer science in college. I studied human resources and management information systems in university. Additionally, I've taken many writing courses and read a few books on marketing and digital marketing. And I worked as Director of Research for a multinational. I've created a few reading challenges. On top of that, I've read several books to learn the key skills the World Economic Forum says professionals need to thrive in the future.

My stacked skills could look something like this.

• Computer Science
• Management Information Systems
• Human Resources
• Research
• Writing
• Training
• Leading
• Marketing
• Sitting on Boards
• Problem Solving
• Creativity
• Reading Challenge

Obviously there are more skills I could add, but this is an illustration. What would your stack of skills look like? The question I'm asking myself, and one you should ask yourself, is how can you use your stack of skills to differentiate yourself  from others. Doing this will allow you to demand the wage you earn.

Is Stacking Skills Enough?

Simply learning skills for learning sake will not lead you to success. What I've learned is that applying the skills is more important. But I've been thinking a lot during this pandemic. What would happen if you allowed the skills to co-mingle with each other? And what would happen if several skills intersected with each other?

What are the foundational ideas for each skill? I'm thinking that it makes sense to combine those foundational ideas. You'll come up with something unique and worth charging for. You could set your wages because you have something unique and worthwhile to offer.

Actions to Take

1. Spend some time to stack your skills.
2. Sign-up for MoreReads Success Blueprint to learn new skills to add to your stack.
3. Integrate the skills you already have, what superpower do you now have.
4. Read My Wage by Jessie B. Rittenhouse again.
5. Decide on the wage you deserve.

Books by Jessie B. Rittenhouse

 The Little Book of Modern Verse The door of dreams The Second Book of Modern Verse The Lifted Cup

UPDATE: This post was first published in April 2011. And if you click on a link and buy something on Amazon, the company will pay me a small commission.