Life’s Too Short by Jim Stovall
Photo by Bruce Mars for StockSnap
Success in our personal and professional lives involves maximizing every moment, being productive, and enjoying the journey. According to a 2014 Gallup Poll, 67 percent—or fully two-thirds—of people were dissatisfied with their jobs and disengaged at work. This is a sad commentary considering that here in America at this writing, we are facing devastating unemployment, and many people would give virtually anything to get back to the good old days when they had a job.
Your work life should be much more than exchanging your time for someone else’s money. It needs to be fulfilling and make a difference in your life as well as the lives of other people. Since we spend approximately a third of our lives at work, a third sleeping, and a third with friends and family, we should never endure a career that doesn’t fit, a mattress that isn’t comfortable, or friends and loved ones who do not make our lives meaningful.
Admittedly, there are parts of any job that you may not like. I am formally trained as an investment and financial professional, but I have never enjoyed accounting. For this reason, I have structured my work life in such a way that all of my payroll, inventory, and tax accounting can be accomplished in under an hour per week. If you don’t like your job in general, you need to make a move, but if there are certain tasks or duties you don’t like, you may want to minimize or restructure them.
The most precious commodity any of us has is our time. We can’t acquire more in the future than is allotted to us, and we can’t recoup the time we have spent in the past. Therefore, we must fill each day with as much joy, contentment, and productivity as possible. Our careers should be the way we take the talents and gifts we have been given and present them to the world via the marketplace. There are no good or bad jobs. Much like a shoe store, every pair of shoes fits someone, but none of them fits every one.
Among my dear friends are people who wait tables, drive cabs, or deliver mail. These people love their jobs and find fulfillment in them every day. A good waiter can turn eating out into a dining experience. A great cab driver can make a routine ride a limousine experience, and a great postal worker or delivery person can brighten everyone’s day. There’s simply no excuse for not enjoying what you do all day every day. In the midst of making a living, we must not lose sight of creating a life.
As you go through your day today, find a career you love and you’ll never work another day.
Today’s the day!
Jim Stovall is the president of Narrative Television Network as well as a published author of many books, including The Ultimate Gift. He is also a columnist and motivational speaker. Listen to his Wisdom for Winners series on Audible. Follow him on Twitter (@stovallauthor) or Facebook (@jimstovallauthor). And be sure to sign up to receive free samples of Jim Stovall’s books and audiobooks from Sound Wisdom!