For years, I believed loyalty would eventually be rewarded. I arrived early, stayed late, solved problems nobody else wanted, and quietly handled responsibilities far beyond my job description. Then my manager called me into a meeting and told me the company was replacing me. I would remain for several weeks to train my replacement. I tried to stay professional, even when the decision hurt. A few days later, I met Sarah, the woman taking my position. She was friendly, capable, and completely unaware of what had happened behind the scenes. When we discussed her salary, I discovered she would be earning dramatically more than I had ever made.

I could have refused to help her, but instead I decided to teach her everything. I showed her the systems, deadlines, reports, difficult clients, and countless tasks that had never appeared in my official job description. The more she learned, the more surprised she became. Then, during one training session, she asked a question that changed everything: “How much were they paying you to do all of this?”