I hear people tell me that they aren’t paid what they are worth. All too often, I think they are worried about getting paid to the level that they work, and not “I am working at the level that I expect to get paid.”

I remember a great leader that I once worked for at Lowe’s. Dale was the COO of the store where I worked in college, and he went on to have a hugely successful retail career. He recounted his quick rise through management to me one day. Dale was hired as “the lot guy.” He was at the bottom of the leadership hierarchy, but as he told the story:

In my mind I had a six figure job. I was the first and last impression that our customers had of the store. I took serious my job to make people thrilled to come or go from our store. Although I had a business degree, it was a great honor to keep the parking lot clean of trash and buggies, and when I pushed the carts back to the store, I did it with my head held high.

All too often, we are proverbially “the lot guy” and we have a bad attitude about not being used to our potential. So, the effort that we put into the job is what we are truly worth.

One of my greatest professional pet peeves is to hear someone complain that they are not paid what they’re worth. They don’t take on responsibility because they are not “paid” for it. Get over yourself. If you have the mind of a six-or-seven-figure CEO, then bring that mind to your five-figure daily grind. You will most definitely earn your worth before it is all said and done.