Creating the Work You Love

by Dan Miller

Henry Ford once said he didn’t want executives who had to work all the time. He insisted that those who were always in a flurry of activity at their desks were not being the most productive.

He wanted people who would clear their desks, prop their feet up, and dream some fresh dreams. His philosophy was that only he who has the luxury of time can originate a creative thought.

Wow! When was the last time your boss told you to quit working and do more dreaming?

Unfortunately, our culture glamorizes being under pressure. Having too much to do with too little time is a badge of success. Or is it?

The apostle Paul took long walks between cities, using the time to think and talk.

Andrew Carnegie would go into an empty room for hours at a time as he was “sitting for ideas.”

Thoreau wandered through the woods around Walden Pond, recognizing that the free time created fertile ground for original thinking.

I grew up on a farm in Ohio where we got up at dawn and went to bed sometime after sunset. A change in the weather could create an unexpected time of leisure or dreaming. Neighbors had time to sit and talk and get to any appointments “directly,” which could be in ten minutes or a couple of hours.

If you’re feeling stuck, your solution may not be in doing more, but in taking a break from the busyness of life. Try a little “sitting for ideas.”

You really can love your work, but that may mean taking an active part in creating the work you love, rather than seeking what jobs are available.

Seizing new opportunities and responding to unwelcome change does not require settling for less.

Create a life full of adventure and satisfaction.

You can have a life full of adventure and satisfaction.

Russian writer Maxim Gorky said, “When work is a pleasure, life is a joy! When work is a duty, life is slavery.”

Our work satisfaction impacts our life satisfaction. Happiness is loving what you do and knowing it is making a difference. If your life is not a joy, maybe it’s time to look at some new options.

Joyce was frustrated in her work in medical sales. Five years earlier, she had invested all her money in opening a specialty bakery shop. Her unusual creations found immediate acceptance, and the customers flocked in as media coverage reached national business magazines. Eight months later, she was bankrupt.

Although people loved her tasty and appealing products, the details of running the business, complete with leases, sign permits, employees, and equipment purchases, proved to be too overwhelming. But that sense of “having something of my own” would not go away.

Today Joyce has a small hot dog cart that she and her son operate. The entire purchase price was $3,800. She has exclusive rights to set up in front of the local Home Depot store on Fridays through Sundays.

Joyce and her son enjoy the interaction with the many repeat retail and employee customers and take home a clear profit of approximately $1500 each weekend. She still has her job in medical sales. The solution was not an either/or but rather one of combining the benefits of both.

Creating The Work You Love

In his popular book The Millionaire Mind, Thomas J. Stanley, Ph.D., looked at the characteristics of America’s wealthiest people, attempting to identify their distinguishing traits. Was it their IQ, GPA, college major, family’s opportunity, or business selection?

Surprisingly, none of these topics seemed to predict their extraordinary success.

The one characteristic the millionaires did have in common is they were all doing something they loved. Dr. Stanley concludes, “If you love, absolutely love what you are doing, chances are excellent that you will succeed.”

In a commencement address at Stanford University, Steve Jobs said this: “Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and 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.”

A job should not define who or what you are.

You should be able to leave your job (business/career) today and not change the overall purpose or direction of your life.

Your calling is a much larger concept than what you do daily to create income.

Work opportunities can come and go.

The direction of your life should remain constant.

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