When I think of a time when I was especially motivated by compensation, I think back to the summer of 2019. I had just finished my Sophomore year of college at Oregon State, and I had just made one of the biggest purchases of my life up to that point: a new car. Everything seemed to be working out well until several events happened that cost me a lot of money. A spilled water bottle destroyed my laptop, my tuition increased several thousand dollars, and the car I just purchased started needing major services. I was working a job as a summer camp coach at a local athletic club, and it required a large amount of my energy to work there. I was exhausted after every shift, and it only paid me minimum wage.
I quickly realized that I was going to need to make more money in order to pay for the bills in my life. This led me to taking on another job at a golf course as a bartender. It was a great job that paid me very well, but it also required a lot of effort, and my shifts were scheduled half an hour after my shift at the summer camp ended. It was extremely difficult to maintain my employment at both jobs, and the need to make money was the only reason why I continued working at both places. In the end, I was able to make enough money to pay my bills, but it was very physically and mentally taxing on me all summer. While going to work every day was something I did not look forward to, I was motivated to show up and do a good job because I knew that I would be making a lot of money.
