I got a good three hours of work in when it was time to go mini golf with the team I found out I was on that morning. So I mini golfed with the folks of EPIC, ate a hot dog and chips, and headed back to my office with the rest of the team. Once we got back, my manager said we can take the rest of the day of, with a big grin the whole time. We were laughing along when he then told us he was serious. I told him I’d think about it, since I’m paid hourly he told me that didn’t matter – I could take the rest of the day off, paid! He told us we’ve been busting our butts working on the big project I was brought in to help with.

See? Work hard now and reap the benefits later – and also important, having the satisfaction of knowing you gave it your all because you’re passionate about what you do. The fact that I was rewarded for doing a good job in the first ace is just icing on the cake.