There comes a time when you ought to start doing what you want. Take a job that you love. You will jump out of bed in the morning. I think you are out of your mind if you keep taking jobs that you don't like because you think it will look good on your resume. Isn't that a little like saving up sex for your old age? ~ Warren Buffett
My Virtual Wonderland
The web is a marvelous tool. To prepare for my blog, I “milk” the net. This improves both the quality and depth of my writing. I currently blog in two different languages: one is foreign, while the other, although native, simply does not flow in its former natural rhythm. In both cases, I utilize the web to search for synonyms, check spelling and verify word combinations. Here I have found a brilliant paradise where all searches are carried out with simplicity and ease. Much to my demise, however, here to be found is also a cursed playground where it becomes ever so easy to just hang out and play…
What’s a blogger to do?
There is something magical (perhaps at times of the black kind) about the web’s luminous reach. At any moment, through a webbed source of wands, it is possible to access countless ideas, interviews, people, stories, news and documents. Every search expands the network of ideas which connect and merge. Similarly, each new quest threatens to change the original blog post’s topic unrecognizably.
Outdoor Play as a Tool for Creativity
If you are seeking to bring more creativity into your life, might I suggest some outdoor activity? While unsure of the exact mechanics, it works like a charm, time and time again. Every Saturday morning I pack up to mountain bike with the gang. I fill up my “camel bag” with water and snacks and leave with a clear intention of the week’s post. It may be only semi formed but the topic and some basic links are clear. Throughout our 3-4 hour bike ride I become flooded with pearls of wisdom and links of how to tie the post together. By the end of our ride I am anxious to return home and begin writing.
Suddenly I am lost within the web. It is always a tossup exactly how the adventure will end: ever weary of the rampant flow of villains and heroines lurking beyond the screen who will lure me into their lair. Once inside, my post will be hijacked off route… Such was the story of this week’s blog.
I stumble across a fascinating Ted lecture and am lead off track to investigate something else. As always, the information can be used to add another creative and imaginative connection, set aside for future use or merely as another way to dally and put off the task at hand.
Swept away by an engaging and passionate man with a vision, I paused to watch his Ted lecture and then promptly joined his community of visionaries.
This was his call to action:
What is the work you can’t not do? Discover it. Live it. Not just for you but for everybody around you. Because that is what starts to change the world.
One day he realized that he was moving from job to job in an effort to build up his resume. This was the wake up call which rocked his world, the day that he said goodbye: quit his job and followed his heart. He discovered a Gallop Poll on the subject of employee engagement at work. It was disheartening to learn that the majority of workers in the world are not engaged at work. I found the original research report and I’ve included my small sampling of the data.
The data is alarming. While the raw results were not published, it does state that countries were included in the study only if at least 300 people answered the poll. While researching this blog I came upon other studies of employee engagement. All of the data points to an average engagement of but 20-30% of employees at work. The results are far from encouraging, neither for the employees nor for the employers.
I won’t dwell on the immense contribution which employee involvement brings to both the company and the employee. Ultimately, the company's success and the employee’s sense of fulfillment are forever intertwined.
As I looked at the poll’s questions, I could not help but feeling distraught as I recalled my previous employment…
1. I know what is expected of me at work.
2. I have the materials and equipment I need to do my work right.
3. At work, I have the opportunity to do what I do best every day.
4. In the last seven days, I have received recognition or praise for doing good work.
5. My supervisor, or someone at work, seems to care about me as a person.
6. There is someone at work who encourages my development.
7. At work, my opinions seem to count.
8. The mission or purpose of my company makes me feel my job is important.
9. My associates or fellow employees are committed to doing quality work.
10. I have a best friend at work.
11. In the last six months, someone at work has talked to me about my progress.
12. This last year, I have had opportunities at work to learn and grow.
Find the work you can’t not do!
It is one tall order. The Ted speaker summarized his action steps into three major points:
♦ Be an expert of self.
♦ Do the impossible.
♦ Surround yourself with passionate people.
Scott Dinsmore met his tragic death this week. He and his wife sold off all of their belongings to spend a year travelling the world. His last tweet was from Turkey while preparing for a climb up Mount Kilimanjaro. He was but 33 years old when he was tragically crushed to death by a freak boulder falling in his path while ascending Kilimanjaro.
It is all too sad to lose someone ever so young. Scott was filled with a contagious passion. He was a rare spark of “yeas” amongst an overpowering backdrop of “nays”. Possibility, promise and the power of passion were his “dreamcoat”, only he wasn’t dreaming: he was living the dream.
I recommend you find the time to listen to his Ted lecture. Recognize the “Power of the Many of One”.
Together we have power: come, and together let’s do the impossible!
May he rest in peace knowing that the candle burns on…
You Turn
And so you have it! This week’s post I decided to write about sugar. While on my bike I was flooded with thoughts and memories to use to create and connect my post. As we finished our ride I rushed to jot down notes on my cellphone. After I finished recording all of my notes, I turned to look at my messages and notifications. I quickly discovered the tragic news on my social media. At that moment everything changed: nothing is written in stone.
I would like again to wish everyone a happy new year or as we say here in Israel: “Shana Tova V’Metuka” (Have a happy and sweet new year). May you find your sweetness at home with your loved ones and at work in pursuit of your passions.
Sweetness Kills (but that is another story…)
May this be the year that you hold your sweet tooth at bay!
I would like to thank you for your patience in reading this post to its end.
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Finally I would like to request that you please share my post which precedes the release of my animated clip (soon, I promise). I am so excited! Please share this post…
Thank you and have a great week!
