What Motivates You to Go to Work Each Day?

I was in your shoes not to long ago. Working at Starbucks for 8.00 an hour. May sound like alot, but I live in NYC, so it's about the same as you make if I add in the cost of living. Scrubbing toilets, making coffee, mopping floors. I have a daughter and a son too. I guess what kept me going is that I just knew that if I worked hard, and tried to better myself, that one day it would be better. That the hard work would just be temporary. That some of the people that we look at with big houses and cars, started out working from the bottom, doing the dirty work and just keeping a positive attitude and working hard to be better.

I remember not being able to afford a cup of coffee, never shopping, buying used clothes for my kids, having to keep any scraps of food we had to use for the next meal. But I knew that if I kept trying to be better, and keeping God on my side, the hard work would pay off. I eventually got promoted in 8 months because the manager saw the effort I put in. My fiance and I went through this struggle together. Walking past all the rich people in Manhattan, the big houses, just knowing that one day, we will be there( hopefully).

Now I am becoming CNA, on my way to nursing school. He is going to one of the best culinary schools in the U.S to be a chef. Costs 30,000 a year, but he did work study and paid if off by working there and working a regular job. And we know that God sees our hard work and it will pay off in the end. We just have to work to get there. Now we are waiting to make enough money to have a nice wedding. Wont settle for City Hall. Nothing comes easy. Good luck to you. Keep your head high, your attitude positive, and your goals to be better at every opportunity you can. And wish me luck for my State exam tomorrow.

What motivates me? My kids.....I used to love going to work, now with all the budget cuts, between staff and supplies, I'm starting to dread it

Well if it helps any minimum wage is suppose to go up next month. I worked in a nursing home for two months and hated it. I am now working at walmart and it is not bad at all. I only work part time but still my sanity is worth more than that money. I wish you the best. And i understand about the father having custody of the kids. So if you ever want to talk just give me a hollar. take care

Im soooo there with you, I walk past them everyday on my way to and from work cant help but wonder if their lives are easier......but as you say we struggle through it and we will come out smelling like roses. Good luck Girl !!!!!!!!!



My motivation is just to have a home of my own where my kids can have their own rooms and I can come home to my own space with peace and quiet. I live with family because of recent layoff. Some days all I can do is look down.

You have to hang in there and tell yourself on a daily basis that you are lucky to have your job and try to be optimistic.

Money is about being able to live comfortable and it is out there for everyone. When I was younger, I remember having only $20 for the entire week after everything was taken out. We ate rice a lot. My hubby had to eat his sandwich while others had the money to go out at lunch. Sometimes we did without so our child could eat. It could have been looked at as we were dirt poor and let it get to us that we scraped by and even though we busted our butts, it seemed that nothing would ever come of this. One time we had to get food stamps and we borrowed money from relatives for that money we did not have for gas. You get it.

But, each week as we cashed that check, we told ourselves instead that times would get better and as we gained more time at work we would gain more money. We put 5 in the collection plate and all of our extra change in a jar. We never got credit cards and as we got promotions, we built up our wealth and kept on trucking. I spent 5 yrs saving for nursing school before I actually got into one. My son got A's so he could get grants to go to school for free at a university. Life is tough but life is directed according to how you look at it.

Now, we are in our early 40s. My house and both vehicles are owned outright. My son is 1/2 way through a bachelors and still getting money for good grades. My husband just retired from a 20 year service with law enforcement and I am working part time as a nurse making 25 an hour as an LPN because I work incentive shifts instead of fulltime regular shifts. We are doing well. And the reason is because we began our venture with the idea that everyone deserves what they want but in the process patience and hard work is what it is going to take to get a person where they want to be. You do things that may make you wonder "why" but in the back of your mind you must carry on and keep the demons from tearing down your dreams.

You will get there and you will do it well...just keep the faith and go get what you want and give yourself time to get it and grow in order to handle it.
The way I see it, is you are o.k. from what you write and YOU have a valued job that others are clawing at to have. No, it does not pay much but you are not stopping there because you have already set a new goal. Meet that goal and set a new one and keep going until you get to where you need to be. And always remember, that you will never have enough money because there is always something you really want and we all live within our means.

Money....just working to pay the bills

I am so struck by your story, franharmon. I'm actually a public radio journalist looking at nurses and other people who work for minimum wage. If you would be willing, can I learn more about your story? You can email me at dgreene@npr.org.

Bills , daughter, rent , and car payments !!!!

As a CNA or tech considering nursing or any other health care education, you should be constantly paying attention to what is happening on your unit, as this will help you immensely in school. This is what motivates me to go to work each day. The job may be tedious, and not as intellectual as what we really want to do, but the learning process is what makes it great, from patients, nurses, doctors, etc. Read the charts, learn a little more about the patient so it doesn't seem like if you're just doing "tasks". Ask the nurses and doctors to explain things. I think this will help me so much when i start nursing school.

Sorry for your troubles.

I am motivated by the pay-check. I am a CNA in an LTC and currently an RN student. Don't get me wrong, I like most of the residents, and co-workers but the families often get in the way and we are over-worked, of course. One CNA to 16 residents on night shift, that's too much if you ask me.

I go to work to get experience, money, and to re-affirm that I do not want to be a CNA forever, I want to be RN.