No one seems to be able to wrap their head around the fact that Mike Sorrentino, better known as “The Situation” from MTV’s Jersey Shore, will earn $5M this year in appearances and endorsements. Many people can’t understand how someone like Sorrentino can be in such demand so quickly and command such a high salary.

You may not agree with Sorrentino’s lifestyle, but you can’t dispute that he has a strong career brand. His chiseled abs have opened doors for him to endorse numerous products including nutritional supplements and vitamin water. He also has plans to create an exercise video. I think the reason people don’t get it is because Sorrentino doesn’t appear to have worked very hard for any of this popularity and they think that it’s just some sort of fluke. And people like to think that hard work and talent is what makes you successful.

But the reality is people become successful when they have something that someone else wants. Sorrentino has a killer six pack and that’s something that many young men (and older men for that matter) want. Advertisers know that and they know that by linking Sorrentino to their products they have a slam dunk.

Most of us are not expecting $5M to do our jobs but we still get caught up in the notion that promotions, money, and prestige come to those who “put in the time.” That may be the case for some, but in many business environments I believe that’s a myth. The employee who comes up with a solution to an employer’s pain is the one that lands a promotion. The person that figures out how to sell more of the company’s products gets the raise. The worker who emulates the values the company is trying to instill in its employees gets the recognition. So before you write off “The Situation,” ask yourself, are you doing something at work that helps solve an employer’s problems or are you just putting in the time?