Blue Collar, White Collar, No Collar: It's all about Adding Value

Like most people, I’ve got friends from many different walks of life.  Executives to professional volunteers, business owners to labor activists, high earners to hourly workers, and everything in between.    

I've been somewhere in between all that for about twenty years now.  In 1994 I had established a footing in full time, "career-path" type work as a entry level field sales guy. At the time I had friends who were on similar starting tracks in the corporate world, some who were starting their own businesses, some heading down other career paths.  We had our working life before us, we were hopeful, excited, ready to go.

Fast-forward to present, and we've all show different battle scars from our work life. Most people I know have changed companies at least a few times (maybe four is the average), and some have changed career paths (more than once).   I have peers who could quit working if they wanted to, and other friends who haven't saved a dime for retirement.   Lots of dough in the bank to no dough in the mattress.

Through all this, a couple of characteristics stand out for me as primary indicators of happiness in work life.  They're rather fluid (maybe even fleeting?), but if you can put them together, chances are you'll be a happier, healthier person.

The first thing is, determine what your "passion triggers" are, what you really love to do and are (ideally) at least reasonably good at.  After all, the better you are at something, the more fun it is.  The more you love it, the more committed you'll be to the practice.    
After you've got these activities/skills identified, determine how you can engaged in and exercise these traits to ADD VALUE in whatever your job is. This is the second, important key.   If you can't find a way to sync these two things up -- your passion and your job -- then it's time to look for a new job.  

This approach might sound simplistic or even unrealistic. I  maintain though that you might very well be able to find ways to nurture your passion right where you are.  Creativity and imagination are required of course, but these factors are up to YOU.  

Put these two things together -- nurturing your passion and adding value to whatever work you do -- and you'll be happier in your day-to-day, and also healthier.  After all, worry and angst in life at work no doubt spill negatively into the rest of our life (think lack of sleep, poor diet, less exercise, strained relationships).

If you're doing what you love you're attitude improves and that reflects positively on everyone around you.  Add value and your employer will be able to see the difference. Additional compensation is more likely when you're doing more to help those you work for make better products, deliver better service, improve profitability.  

As one of my good friends said a long while back, "it's less about the title you have than the work you do and the value you bring -- that's how you will be successful."  Hear Hear. 

Nine Qualities Optimists Share

Can't take credit for these, as they're via a post from "Life is Good", but they are most certainly worth a blog post, to further the message:  

Do these GOOD things, and your life will be GOOD.

1)  Be a cheerleader for others.

2)  Be grateful and count your blessings.

3)  Live in the moment.  Right here, right now.

4)  Let things go.  Don't hold on to negative experiences or feelings.  

5)  Embrace the ups and downs.  Life is roller coaster. Accept it, enjoy it.

6)  Put a positive spin on things.  Lemons you got?  Make lemonade.

7)  Be flexible.  Go with it.  

8)  See failures as learning opportunities.

9)  Don't get bummed out by the weather.  It's just weather.  

My own personal summary goes something like this:  attitude is the single thing you have the most control over, and with a good one, the single thing that will help you enjoy, persevere, and permeate GOOD to others.  

It doesn't cost a dime, and yet a good attitude is priceless.   Get yours today!

Mission = Passion: The Way Forward

Spurred by one of the central tenets of The Minimalists, "...finding and living your passion...", a little crystal of continuity and truth became clear to me today.  I'd like to share it.

The idea of passion -- not the steamy bedroom type, but rather, that which burns inside of each of us to live more fully, more completely, more earnestly -- has been central to my life journey since I was a young man.  It would be fair to say that I've searched to identify and nurture that passion all of my adult life.  

But it's been hit and miss, at best.  

However, when I connect the idea of "mission" to "passion", it becomes more evident:  how to find it, how to build it, grow it, LIVE it.  I've been close sometimes, have had times of great synchronicity, but have also had many more times of feeling I was sneaking around outside, but not IN, not doing what I felt I should be doing.

In business school I heard a lot about mission statement as a cornerstone of any start-up.  Define what you want your venture to be:  it will inform both within the organization and outside as well.   Good place to begin, for sure.  And not only for businesses is this a fine first step, but also for individuals, and couples too.

When my wife and I got married a few years back (and before our first child was born), we decided to draft a family mission statement, to define what was important to us, and to be used as a guide for our children, when they arrived.  We have the mission statement on our mantle, I have it on my lap top screen saver, and on my cubicle wall at work.  I read it daily, think about it, ponder what it really means.  

It goes like this:

"We are a family who lives simply, encourages each other to grow mentally, spiritually, and emotionally, and our priority is to maintain connection to ourselves, each other, God, and our community."

Today it hit me:  that mission statement is really born from my wife and my collective passion for what matters most in our lives.  It talks about our family, our faith, our friends, our desire to always be growing and trying to get better.   It DEFINES our passion.  And once defined, any goal is easier to work toward, to stay focused on, to LIVE.

So whatever your calling, whatever you feel stirs you inside, truly makes you happy, THAT is worth putting in words, in a couple of simple phrases, to define and make known to the world what you're about.   As an old Irish musician once said, "I believe in beginnings; the rest is inevitable."  So take the first step, the rest will follow.

Pros/Cons List for GOOD

Pros/Cons List for GOOD

Maintaining a good attitude is a daily, and often hourly endeavor.  

When you run up against something or someone that poses a threat to your positive thinking, jotting down (or thinking through) a quick pros/cons list can help you cope.

After all, the old adage, "people can say or act however they want, but how you respond to them is up to you" is a timeless truth.  

HOW YOU RESPOND TO OTHERS IS YOUR CHOICE.

Choose the high road, to the benefit of yourself and everyone around you.

Don’t let others derail you.

Make your list, scribbled on paper or in your head, decide how you feel about the situation, the other person, then let the situation pass and move on.

Everyone, first and foremost YOU, will be better off as a result.

True Grit: What it Gets You

(source: Derek Murphy)

Listening to the radio on the way to work recently, they were doing a piece on "true grit", defined for the discussion as Persistence, Determination and Resilience -- and a rise of said attitude in the context of education.  

They had me at the introduction when they mentioned John Wayne's film by the same name, "True Grit", about a teenage girl who partner's with Wayne's character to find her father's killer in the old west.  Great movie, great theme.  

The more I think about it, "grit" is one of those qualities want to do everything possible to instill in my kids. it's a trait that will serve them well throughout their lives.  What makes this trait an iron quality for life is that is not just for survival, but for happiness throughout our lives that we do well to be steeled against the inevitable adversities that life will deal us.

Webster's New World Dictionary (1971) defines grit as "stubborn courage; pluck."  These traits really get at the heart of what fuels the persistence, determination and resilience mentioned above as additional defining terms.  All these together describe a trait all of us would do well to identify and cultivate in ourselves as we go through life.  And the sooner the better.

After all, having determination, long-term fortitude, and the ability to bounce back from failures cause by our own doing or circumstances beyond our control are fundamental to successful...well...living!  

Consider educational situations when we're students trying to memorize multiplication tables, or learning how to play the piano, or stepping on the soccer pitch or baseball diamond to practice -- and there are countless other examples -- where if we have the traits mentioned above, if we have grit, we'll persevere through difficulties to improve, and maybe even succeed at our goal.  

Without that trait, without grit, we run the risk of mounting frustration, disappointment, and even diminished self-esteem as we struggle at any given task or objective.  And of course, when we enter the workforce as adults, having the grit to find a job, learn skills, seek promotion, develop professionally, makes ALL the difference.  

With the turbo-pace of work, how often people change jobs (either by choice or necessity),  the number of workers that are "1099" (contractors) versus "W-2" (full time employees with benefits), versus "laid-off and looking", it's clear that grit can help you cope with the stress and anxiety that comes from the uncertainty of today's work environment.

It starts early, developing the life skills to be resilient, focused, and just plain not-willing-to-give-up.  Whether it's learning to tie your shoes, graduating from high school, or finishing an advanced degree in night school while working full time, grit will help you be successful, and ultimately, a happier person.

Your Attitude: Choose Wisely.

 
Early in his seminal work, The Road Less Traveled, Scott Peck used words linked to the Buddha's Noble Truths:  

“Life is difficult. This is a great truth, one of the greatest truths. It is a great truth because once we truly see this truth, we transcend it. Once we truly know that life is difficult-once we truly understand and accept it-then life is no longer difficult. Because once it is accepted, the fact that life is difficult no longer matters.”

This insight helped me greatly as a young adult, changed me permanently for the better in fact.  With that perspective, I had a whole different and more helpful baseline from which to interpret things in my life that didn't go my way.  

This perspective also inspired one of my life objectives:  to nurture, maintain, and share a positive attitude ALWAYS, or at least as nearly as always, as I could.  28 years later, I'm still working at it, now with three particular little people to focus this positive energy toward:  my children.

Your attitude directly effects everyone (and I would suggest "everything" too) that is around you.  This fact is especially true if you have kids.  

Every day parents have the opportunity to help their children start the day off on the right foot, in the morning as the day begins.  Parents have tremendous influence, modeling, teaching, encouraging their children to make a good start to the day and to have a good attitude.

Most every work morning at our house, here's how it shakes down.

I get up very early on workdays.   I'm the taxi service for the kids to daycare in the morning, and have to be in the office about 30 miles away by seven o'clock.     

I attend to a couple quick morning chores and go through my "get-ready" routine. It takes about 35 minutes.  I take the kids' bag, my workbag, and my lunch out to the car.

My wife and I then team up to get the kids ready, which amounts to getting another layer of clothes on them (they're still in their pajamas), so they can stay cozy during the pre-dawn car ride.  

If we think we struggle with starting our day, most parents would agree I bet that kids   have an even harder time.  Here's where I try to help them ease into the day, and shift their sleepy grumpiness to try and be positive.

I use quiet tones as I talk to them.  I whisper positive, reassuring words to shore up their fragile morning mood, patting each little back as I carry them to the car and buckle them in.  I try to use empathy and references to their having a good attitude and how it helps our shared mission of getting out of the house on-time. 

I might mention the clouds, the stars, the streetlight, a morning dove singing in the tree in the front yard, or other nice parts of the day beginning, how these tidbits indicate there's a good day ahead with fun to be had. My intent is to help them broaden their awareness of the day beginning to unfold, and give them a little hope.

And it's hope that is the cornerstone of having and maintaining a positive attitude, and getting back to good space when we inevitably falter under the weight of the day to day.  
Especially when your start your day before dawn, with little people, doing what you can to help them cultivate their own positive attitude that will serve them well over the course of their lives.

"Look at that honey, it's the Milky Way.  I bet it's going to be a good day."


Choose wisely.  Choose to have a good attitude to start the day, especially for your kids.  And watch the magic unfold!

#pupfic1

by Jeff Ludlum
Copyright 2013
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[This is a re-post from September via another blog, *Misc. Ramblings*, when I transcribed this experiment in "micro-fiction" from 22 tweets that tell a little story.  Fashioned in the spirit of a great writing series I shared with my good friend, Scott Murphy, over several media, a few years ago.  Just for fun, just to share.  Enjoy!]
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The arrest had come suddenly. He shouldn't have been surprised. "I know the risks, Mom", he always said. Women, war, whatever.

He'd been awaken by two beat cops walking through the park. "Hey man. Wake up. Wake up, buddy. Ya can't sleep on the park bench."

The detective was reluctant to push too hard initially. "You're a bit of a hard ass, aren't ya man?" The room was dark and cold.

When asked about his background he explained it simply. "I've been trained variously by four armies. So I've learned a thing or two."

"Ya gotta play to your strengths", his pa had always said. He's certainly been able to do that most of his life. Always testing. 

It was a long time before he opened up and let his confidence be known. 

"Beh!", is all he said when asked about things by the others. "You a retard?" they asked. "Beh." "Huh. Must be." 

He had been quiet much of that first month. Watching, listening to the men behind bars with him, figuring how things worked. 

"I'll tell ya", he'd declared to his cellmates, "They ain't gonna keep me, no how no way." 

"No how no way. But how ya gonna find your way?", the old man asked. 

"It's not only what they say, but how they say things, and who listens, whose eyes wander, there's wisdom there", Blue'd said. 

"I can't believe you actually listen to what they say", he'd said to Old Blue several weeks back. He'd learned much since then. 

The attorneys droned on for hours, and the judge's lengthy comments at sentencing were the last straw. He knew it was time.

"Adios, amigo!", was last thing he said to the judge as he slipped his bindings and sprinted past the bailiffs through the doors. 

He'd used a red car, a white bicycle, and Electric Blue Razor to make his escape that started from city hall downtown. 

He'd been on the run for so many hours, evading his pursuers,  he was a bit complacent. An uncharacteristic error, nearly fatal. 

The snarling rottweiler nearly caught him two blocks back. Scrambling to the top of the chain link fence, he'd torn his trousers.

The smell was quite pungent in the doorway. The red paint on the door was chipped, peeling. The porch light had broken long ago. 

He was relieved to have made it through maze of the Whittier complex in one piece. Dodging potholes and street refuse wasn't easy.

The houses grew as he moved west through the city. Apartment blocks gave way to ranch-style homes. By sunset, he was almost there.

He sat at the kitchen table most of the night, wondering what the next day would bring. It was time for change.  Enough with fear.

He came into the house through the bathroom window. It was his usual entry point. He was exhausted after evading the law all day. 

On stiff legs, he walked out of the darkened room and into the early morning. The sun was just breaking over the hills to east.