Should work be work?

 

Should Work Be Work?

 

As I was searching for new quotes for my daily Words of Wisdom! that I send out every morning, I came across one that helped answer the question that I titled these thoughts with. The quote was attributed to Confucius: “Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.”

 

I’ve been blessed for most of my life, having chosen vocations that allowed me to not work. Kinda….  That’s not to say that I didn’t put in a lot of hours or expend a lot of energy accomplishing what I did. It just didn’t, for the most part, seem like work.

 

I’m not sure we always choose the job we end up with. Sometimes I think it’s preordained. I, for as long as I can remember, wanted to be a professional musician. I achieved that and loved it for many decades. I had opportunities movies are made of. None of my family was musically inclined. It just happened. I count it a miracle.

 

I’ve got admit that sometimes people have to take jobs they wouldn’t choose if they had another choice. Those are the type of jobs that feed a family. Sometimes that type of work can become work.

 

What I think Confucius was trying to get at is that work shouldn’t be work. At Stanford University’s 2005 graduation commencement Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple Computer and of Pixar Animation Studios said that “You've got to find what you love.” That was, seemingly, easy for Steve Jobs to say! What I think both Confucius and Jobs were saying is what Joseph Campbell said, “Follow your bliss.”

 

Enough quoting, let me tell you what I think, then you can quote me. If you can choose your job, choose wisely, and do follow your bliss. Life is too short to make yourself unhappy. Others will help you with that. Now, I’m not suggesting you abandon your security of a job that feeds your family. In my book, my family comes before my dreams. But I’ve fulfilled all of my dreams. They just took a little longer to accomplish because my family came first. Find what you love and do it! Simple, isn’t it?

 

Now for the lesson. If you lead people, especially at a workplace, don’t make work work. Imagine what your workers would produce if they found their work to be fun, or, at least, enjoyable. There are plenty of studies that support the notion that valued workers produce more and better products. A leader should work to ensure his/her followers are valued and have the resources they need to accomplish their work. That leads to work enjoyment. Get to the next level of empowering people to do what they’re capable of doing and they will amaze you with their productivity.

 

Work shouldn’t be work. There’s plenty of that in our lives already. Find what you love and do it! Make work enjoyable for your workers! If you’re at a loss for how to do those things write me at bobvasquez@bobvasquez.com and I’ll give you some ideas. Free! I love what I do. It won’t be work at all!

 

Until next time,

 

Be GREAT! You ARE!