Jan 31, 2025
As an NFL player, TV host and actor, Terry Crews has had an impressively diverse career. But in between playing football and working in Hollywood, he struggled to make ends meet.
“My first job in L.A. was sweeping floors,” the 56-year-old revealed on the One Gen Podcast in October. “Picking up that broom [after football] was so humbling, and it hurt so much.”
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He began to wonder if he was doomed to a life working a mundane job that paid just $8 per hour, until a “magical” shift in perspective gave him the energy he needed to power through it and turn things around.
Here’s how the star found his spark and how you can, too.
Gamified motivation
After feeling in the dumps about his job for a while, Crews eventually decided to gamify the situation to make it more palatable.
“I said [to myself], ‘What if someone gave you a million dollars to sweep this floor; how would you sweep it?’” he said. “So, it was a game that I played with myself.”
This shift in perspective gave him the energy and motivation to power through the day and get his work done. And instead of feeling blue about his pay, Crews decided to use every dollar he earned as more fuel.
“I had $8 in my pocket and I was, like, ‘I’ll never be broke again,’” he said. “It was a test. Crush this ego and do what you have to do just to provide for your family and stop the ego stuff.”
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By focusing on his responsibility to his family, Crews says he found motivation through a sense of purpose. It’s a lesson all Americans can learn from.
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Boost your finances with purpose
One step you can take to improve your personal finances is to set realistic and highly personal goals that keep you motivated. Take the time to think about what you cherish — whether it’s your family, community, friends or personal freedom — and create a roadmap with these in mind.
For example, if donating money to a local charitable group gives you a sense of purpose and meaning, craft a financial plan to help you get in a position to do so faster.
Consider apps and trackers that can make saving and investing more fun. A habit-tracking app, for instance, can help you save and invest consistently every month. You could also set up rewards that are unlocked after you reach specific milestones, such as a weekend holiday or fancy dinner with your partner if you hit certain savings milestones.
Similarly, you can join online communities that are gamifying their finances with activities such as no-spend challenges and debt payoff streaks, or pursuing financial freedom through movements like Financial Independence, Retire Early.
The key is to find the game or purpose that most strongly resonates with you and use it to fuel your financial progress.
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Vishesh Raisinghani is a financial journalist covering personal finance, investing and the global economy. He's also the founder of Sharpe Ascension Inc., a content marketing agency focused on investment firms. His work has appeared in Moneywise, Yahoo Finance!, Motley Fool, Seeking Alpha, Mergers & Acquisitions Magazine and Piggybank.
Managing Money • Mar 30
