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IS HOW YOU DO EVERYTHING
Long before he dueled anyone who looked at him sideways or became president ...
Andrew Jackson would speak of his first job as a tailor and say,
"My garments would never rip or give way."
Whatever you just got through doing, odds are that you would rather not have been doing it.
Even if you have achieved your dream job,
there are irritating things you still have to do:
conference calls, office politics, dealing with delays.
It's tempting to just go through the motions with things that seem mundane or unimportant.
On the road to where we want to go,
we all must do things we would rather not.
In 1851, future president, James A. Garfield, paid his tuition for college by being the school's janitor.
Always smiling, he did his duties with diligence and pride.
By the time he rang the tower's bell, he had already put in a long day's work.
Within one year, he was teaching classes as well as taking them.
By his 26th birthday, he was the dean of the school.
{A placard I have on my desk}
from sweeping up the workplace to ringing the cash register and smiling to unsmiling customers ...
is a chance to do and be our best.
No job is degrading ...
unless we do not give it our all.
In life, we may ask ourselves, "What am I supposed to do now?"
The answer is simple:
OUR BEST
He said,
"It is not someone else's responsibility to tell you.
It is your job to answer that question with your actions."
WHAT HAVE YOUR ACTIONS
OF LATE SAID
OF WHERE YOU ARE HEADED?
I love Viktor Frankl! And all of my jobs, some of which could be regarded as menial. Sometimes people tell me I'm lucky - there's an element of uncertainty in anything but also I put the effort in, I create the happiness.
ReplyDeleteAbraham Lincoln, who suffered from depression, said we are as happy as we set out to be. May there always be a spring to your step and a cheery sun in your sky. :-)
DeleteWhatever your hand finds to do, do it well. If we can't take pride in the little things, we won't in the big things either.
ReplyDeleteExactly. Excellence is a habit developed by each effort. :-)
DeleteVery inspirational Roland. As the late Roberto Clemente said: " if we are not working to make the world a better place for those who follow, then we are wasting our life on this Earth". I used to tell the janitors at work, your work impacts me directly more so then the president of the United States, and or the governor of this state. I have always believed, when there is a job to do we must give it our all and everything. Give it your all or don't do it at all. Stanislavski once said put your death into your life's work. Otherwise what is the point of doing anything. I love your affirmations within your writing. You always reveal it's the little things in life which determine a much bigger outcome... :-)
ReplyDeleteI agree with Robert Clemente. :-) I really miss you being in Lake Charles, Robert!
DeleteI miss seeing You Roland, and Yep, I also miss being in Lake Charles (LCS). LCS is/was a much lesser hostile place it seemed as far as people. In LCS everyone treated me with respect, or southern charm. Out here they'd just as soon run a person over, as disrespect is the norm in So Cal; not to mention the cuisine is far superior as well in LCS. As humid as it was, I could also breathe better in LCS than this arid but dusty desert. Take care of yourself my friend and brother. What I'd give to see you again. ;-)
ReplyDelete