I was out the other night at a bar I frequent. Whether I go there because it’s conveniently around the corner from my house or if I go there for the cheap drinks, I still do not know.

However, as soon as I walked up to the bar I was pulled into conversation with a beautiful woman named Michelle. She had recognized me from my place of employment, which is one of her favorite restaurants.

We talked for quite a long time and eventually she introduced me to her companions, who also happened to be fans of my work. One friend in particular named Raul engaged me in conversation that was interesting and educational.

Raul is an entrepreneur and chef who had opened a few restaurants himself and naturally we had loads to talk about. Raul often comes in and sits at the sushi bar with his son and I never hesitate to converse with them and be sure that they are taken care of.

He told me about his first restaurant experiences and we shared laughs and similar tales of similar experiences. Raul was drunk and had a funny way of communicating when he’s intoxicated, using more expression and peculiar sounds to drive his point across the words and I rather enjoyed it.

What I really learned from our banter was a message that surprised and impacted me. “I’ve seen you work, man,” he said. “You have something that a lot of people really don’t have,” he continued. “You give a fuck.”

What he said surprised me and made me laugh. “I can teach anyone how to cook”, he said. “But what separates the great from the rest is that the best give a fuck.”

I reflected on what he said and found a great deal of truth in his words. A common theme I hear all the time nowadays is that one shouldn’t “give a fuck.” This is only a half- truth and should not be taken to an extreme. Yes, there are times when you shouldn’t care too much, but there are also times when you really should give a fuck.

I know a number of people who see their jobs as just that, a job. So they choose not to give a fuck and do the bare minimum to earn their paychecks and rarely do these people climb the ladder or succeed to a great degree in life.

The thing is that if you are in a job that you don’t particularly care for or see as important, that you should still give a fuck as to how you preform and how the effort you put forth reflects on you.

Even if you work a crappy job you should be putting forth your best effort. If you cannot do your best at even mundane tasks, then what purpose does the universe have to provide you with a better form of employment?

To easily put forth an honest effort and succeed even in a crappy job shows that you deserve better, for you easily can surpass the effort expected from you at your crappy job.

Do you think that the line cook at McDonalds who can easily handle whatever is thrown at them ever stays in that position for long? I would say not because he or she has made it clear that they are quite capable of handling more and so the universe will fill that void of responsibility and new opportunity will come to the worthy laborer.

Really nobody cares what position you may be in so why not be the one who does care? An employer who sees an employee that cares not for their position would be a fool to offer that employee a position of higher responsibility.

Maybe a line cook position at McDonalds is not too flattering of a position, but if you can easily master that position and show potential for more, perhaps you will eventually be recognized and be given a management position or even realize your potential for yourself and quit to pursue a better position elsewhere. But would this happen if you chose to slack off and not give a fuck? I find that highly unlikely.

Think back to jobs you have had and your fellow employees or management. Who could you depend on? Whom did you look forward to working with? The one who put their best foot forward, or the one who didn’t give a fuck because the job was just that, a job.

A person who cares about their work and how the results of their efforts reflect on them can easily surpass the overqualified employee who doesn’t give a fuck because the job is “below them.” The overqualified employee might show more promise in terms of intelligence but what employers want are results and results come by effort, not by untapped intellectual potential.

So give a fuck. It’s your life and your work so why not do your best? The more you give, the more you receive. So give your all and you will receive all that is deserved for your efforts. Give a fuck, because nobody else is going to give a fuck for you. Except maybe your mom, but even she can’t do everything for you.