How to Succeed by Over-Delivering

I attended an “Angel Investing” panel discussion last Saturday as part of a day-long event organized by Jonathan Chow called GETSETGO. Darren Jacklin, speaker & corporate trainer, was one of 3 featured Angel Investors. The other two were Thealzel Lee, CEO of E-Fund and Paul Koross, Disruptive Technology Market Analyst

During the panel discussion, Jacklin mentioned that for a company to succeed, owners need to hire people who can “hustle”. He said that new immigrants who work in fast food restaurants are a great example of people with hustle. They live off a minimum wage salary while sending a portion of it to their families abroad.

That got me to thinking. What is it about immigrants that make them succeed in their adopted country? For one thing, they’re willing to do anything – like work several jobs – to survive. They don’t complain. They just make things happen. In other words, they’re prepared to over-deliver and exceed their employer’s expectation. This is why employers like hiring them: their drive to succeed is unmatched as they have to scramble to get ahead as they don’t have the same educational credentials, work experience or network of contacts that their local counterparts have.

If you’re like Darren Jacklin, your “why” might be to show people that didn’t believe that you’d be worth something. Jacklin struggled academically throughout his elementary and high school years and had difficulty reading and writing. This contributed to his lack of self-esteem and made him feel socially awkward, invisible and unlovable. In Grade 11 his parents’ divorced and he was told soon after by a high school teacher and guidance counsellor that he probably wouldn’t go very far in life based on his academic performance.

This damaged his self-confidence even further. Shortly after graduating from high school he made several suicide attempts. One winter day Jacklin was a passenger in a car that went out of control on an icy hill and sent him through the windshield. For the next few months he had to relearn how to walk.

When Jacklin was in his early twenties, he invested his money in a start-up without doing any due diligence about the company or its founders. Within four months he was broke, homeless, and was being chased by collection agencies. Jacklin’s car was repossessed and he was evicted from his apartment. He lived on the streets while he collected welfare cheques.

After Jacklin experienced all of these adversities, a psychologist encouraged him to take a Dale Carnegie course, which had a huge impact on him. He also attended a Toastmasters meeting, which helped Jacklin regain his self-confidence. To date, he has traveled to over 40 countries coaching business owners on how to turn their passion into profits & company decision-makers on how to increase their income.

What gets you out of bed? What is it that makes you hustle? Is it a desire to buy a house like what your parents had? Or buy a nice car to show off to your friends? Do you need to send money to help your parents?

To find out more about how you can over-deliver so that you can win in life like Jacklin, check out my upcoming book called “Why Mavericks & Outsiders Rule And Why Hipsters Follow Them.“

Photo Credit

Photo By PicShark

Guest Author Bio

George Verdolaga
George Verdolaga is an author, educator and speaker. He helps people get out of their own way so that they can reach their career and lifestyle goals faster and more efficiently via The Job Farmer and The Contractor Lifestyle books and his Sitting Pretty Course.

Read his blog here and be sure to subscribe to his e-Newsletter.

Blog / Website: Verdolaga Learning Systems

Recent Guest Author Articles:

• Empowered to Advocate: How to Become the Voice for the Silent
• How to Build a Celebration-Ready Wine Cellar
• Wander, Discover, Reflect: My Most Surprising Finds in Las Vegas
• Creating Meaningful Connections: What Ecosystems and Families Teach Us About Belonging
• How Breathwork Creates a Pathway Through Trauma: Beyond Traditional Approaches