Skip to main content

"they wouldn't call it work...."

My father did everything he could to teach me what he knew. One lesson he ALWAYS pushed was how to have patience while doing something you don't necessarily want to do.

"They wouldn't call it work if it was fun, numbnuts." The nickname is not embellished, he often drove his points home with this one.

I would spend countless hours of my youth on some project that he had assigned. I would curse him under my breath the entire time. Why would anyone care about leveling a part of the backyard that was deemed "a little off" ?!?!?!?! It's a yard. Damn. It was his nature to create work for himself....he enjoyed it.

As I became an adult and entered into the working world, I saw many around me that had a different approach. "If you don't want to do it, don't do it." It was revolutionary and freeing. I also noticed these people didn't get very far in life. They seemed to be lacking in many areas.

There had to be a middle ground.

As I have become more successful I have learned that one must push into those things that are unpleasant, and have the patience of Job. Many of life's obligations are about as logical or fun as leveling a back yard.

But....as I have enjoyed more success, I have also noticed the ability to CHOOSE the elimination of many unpleasant things. I don't advocate shirking any responsibilities, but I relish the elimination of some of life's less enjoyable tasks.

So...I would never have been able to reach the level of success I have, were it not for my father pushing me to be accountable and take on life's less savory tasks.

But I've noticed something as my father and I have both grown older. We are both proud of his approach and the outcome in me, but he has started to learn how to say "Screw that, not going to do it."......that makes me proud.

Comments

Unknown said…
There's that old saying "Any job worth doing, is worth doing well." Problem is, most jobs aren't worth doing. ;-) Seriously, though, one of my favorite books "The Richest Man in Babylon" has a section on this very thing. I am glad your dad made you level the lawn, numbnuts.
July 29, 2010 at 1:25 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Patron Saint of Salespeople

St. Lucia or St. Lucy is the Patron Saint of salespeople. Her story?? She stood strong in her faith and was persecuted because of it. She was hooked to a team of oxen, but could not be moved. She stood strong in her beliefs. Then she had her eyes cut out and was stabbed in the throat. Nice metaphor. In October, I missed my 'quota' for the first time this year. My 2010 personal goals allowed for this (plus one actually), but I was attempting to pitch the sales equivalent of a no-hitter. I missed. Even though I am still at roughly 150% YTD Even though I am guaranteed to go to President's Club (they've already listed it under 'taxable gift' on my last paystub). Even though I will almost assuredly be in the Top 10 nationwide..... Even though I have not been dragged away by a team of oxen, I still feel my eyes on a plate. But, I'm the one doing the gouging. There is no one as critical of me as me. Self-flagellation....works well with the Patron Saint/Catholic mot...
Post a Comment
Read more

Telecommoditization: Part 2 / Fungibility

Fungibility is a fun word. I look forward to beating several CIOs and IT Directors over the head with it. Fungibility seems to be the defining word for what makes a commodity. The nut-shell definition for fungibility is "the same regardless of who creates it." Every telecom provider has a multitude of differences, therefore they are not fungible. Since most people tend to LOVE to talk about the negative, let's focus there. Ask any IT professional about their telecom provider. They will generally grumble and whine (typically these people hate their lives) and tell you about EVERYTHING that is wrong with their telecom providers. Each story will have different issues and problems. Each will show the weaknesses of a given provider. Logically this shows that we (telco's) are all different and not fungible. Also if each provider has different weaknesses, we must have strengths. There is an old telecom mantra "Everybody sucks, we suck less." In future blogs I will...
3 comments
Read more

Say it succinctly

I saw a play today. It was based on a movie that had, as one of it's primary characters, a very famous person. Fans of the movie will love the play. Many critics will have a field day with this play. It, for me, wasn't great. I took my mom to see it, and we had a nice bit of brunch beforehand, so it had that as a positive. My primary issue? It was too long. Two and one-half hours. It was longer than the movie it was based on. It also had, at it's center, a somewhat outdated and highly repetitive theme. It took two hours to repeat the same concepts a movie had made, much more enjoyably, two decades earlier. 'Les Miz' gets a much larger point across, in less time. So...how does this translate to my 'somewhat-business related blog?" Be Succinct. We strive daily to make our points. We inform, persuade, and influence our clients by making a point. We also (and I can be one of the worst) tend to prattle on. We like to hear ourselves talk. Let's work on that. ...
2 comments
Read more