I lived in Los Angeles where it wasn’t uncommon to see an unfortunate soul at the end of a freeway offramp with a sign that read: “Will Work for Food.”

What if you had a sign (If you’ve read my last post you’ll see that I’m on this “sign” thing lately) that read: “Will Work For Free?” Better yet, let’s change it to read: “Will Work for Donations.” How would you do? Would you make any money?

That’s how charities survive. That’s how National Public Radio (NPR) survives. Their “cause” or product is exceptional enough, relevant enough, important enough, and worthy enough of our donations (translated: hard earned money).

What if you told your employer: “Hey, starting now I don’t want to be on the payroll anymore. However, I will accept donations based on the quality of my work or the value I add to this organization.”

Would you bring in HUGE donations with the performance and product you currently provide?

Would you need to change… no… more importantly, would you be WILLING to change if needed?

What would your coworkers, customers, managers, etc… say about you if asked, “What do you think I should pay Ted this week based on his performance, service and teamwork?” What would that amount be?

And hours invested doesn’t count. Hours are hardly an indicator of how much value one brings to a customer or organization. NPR probably doesn’t receive donations based on the length of a broadcast, but based on the relevance and impact it has on the listener: “Hey, I loved the seven-hour broadcast on the history of the aglet (click here for def.). Here’s my donation for $700; one hundred dollars per hour.” Probably not going to happen.

With so much competition in the work place and business world today, make yourself valuable… WAY VALUABLE!! Work for free! Work for donations only! Okay, don’t tell your boss or customers that, but adopt that mindset. The mindset that you will only get paid based on the value you provide.