Introduction: “My Wage” by Jessie B. Rittenhouse – Think Differently
My House of Life: An Autobiography
I would like you to read the poem, My Wage by Jessie B. Rittenhouse below. Go ahead, scroll down to read the poem, then scroll back up to continue reading the post.
I am looking at some of the people around me peripherally, and I am sensing that something is very wrong. People are lowering their expectations. They think because it is harder to find a job these days, they have to settle for minimum wage.
They are trapped in jobs where their is no potential for growth. They are trapped in a vicious cycle and believe they have no prospects and have to take what they can get – any job will do. I remembered this post and thought I should update it.
In the 2017 Employee Job Satisfaction and Engagement: The Doors of Opportunity Are Open (click on the link to read the Executive Summary if you're interested) report:
- 38% of U.S. employees reported that they were very satisfied with their current job.
- 51% stated they were satisfied but to a lesser degree.
The poem, My Wage offers words of wisdom. Take some time to reflect on what you've read. Seth Godin's post, “Relentlessly lowering expectations” is also a good one to read.
Do you set your sights high enough? Are you always settling for less than you deserve? Because if you do, you'll never be the best you were meant to be.
Have you read?
My Wage by Jessie B. Rittenhouse
11 Lessons From The Desiderata
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.
Books by Jessie B. Rittenhouse
The Little Book of Modern Verse. A Selection from the Work of Contemporaneous American Poets
The door of dreamsThe Second Book of Modern Verse – a Selection from the Work of Contemporaneous American PoetsThe Lifted Cup
Negotiation Books
How to Sweet-Talk a Shark: Strategies and Stories from a Master Negotiator
Great Negotiations: Agreements that Changed the Modern WorldNever Split the Difference: Negotiating As If Your Life Depended On It
