Having a great work ethic, for me, has never been advantageous. Mediocrity always seems to prevail. I'm the type of person who will do my job even when no one else is around. I've only met a handful of people who were like that, too. If I could begin my work career over, I would do things differently. The most important (but painful) lesson that I have learned is this: It is far better to fly under the radar and maintain the status quo (no matter how stupid and screwed up it is!) than it is to be ambitious and try to improve processes at work.
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