Positive Energy Tip
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 Do What You Love, Love What
You Do
This past week we hired a guy by the name of Jerome to wash the windows in our house. It's nice having clean windows (especially without either Sam or me having to climb a ladder to get to the second story), but watching Jerome work was as uplifting as having sparkling windows. You see, Jerome listens to his iPod and sings loudly to the tunes as he works. He seems to be having a great time doing a job that many of us would consider mundane!
As I paid Jerome, I mentioned that he seems to enjoy his work. He answered enthusiastically that he loves to work - it is his favorite thing to do. But he quickly corrected himself to say that work is actually his second favorite thing to do. "My favorite thing to do is scuba diving, and by working hard all week I can do that almost every weekend." As he left, he even seemed excited to get on to his next job.
What struck me about Jerome as he pulled away is that he is a person who truly loves what he does in both his career and his leisure pursuits - and it shows. When he finishes a job, the windows are clean and streak-free. He takes pride in that and also realizes that his work allows him to pursue a hobby that he enjoys. And the downturn in the
economy hasn't affected his business. It often takes several weeks to get on his schedule. His business is
booming!
In his commencement address to the 2005 graduating class at Stanford University Steve Jobs said, "the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great
work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you
haven't found it yet, keep looking. Don't settle."
When you do something that excites
you, you have a far
better chance of excelling, you'll have a lot more fun, and you might
even get
paid in the process.
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Energy Challenge
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What Do You Love To Do?
Are you doing
what you love in your career and/or leisure activities?
I often ask my coaching clients the following questions: "If money wasn't important and you could do anything you want, what would it be? What makes that exciting to you?"
Maybe changing careers is not an option for you. But there are probably things about your current job that you enjoy. Focus on the parts of your job that energize you and look for more opportunities to do similar tasks. Are there other positions in your company that interest you and what would it take to move into one of those positions?
And how do you spend your free time? Are you pursuing activities that that you love or do you fritter away your weekends doing things you don't really enjoy? What is your favorite thing to do and do you make time to to do it regularly?
What changes would you need to make in order to do what you love, and love what you do?
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