Do You Really Work when You’re at Work?

If you won a sweepstakes that made you an instant millionaire, would you quit working?  What if you built a business that brought in $1,000,000 a month in passive income – would you turn in your resignation?  If you would quit working, chances are you weren’t doing work in the first place.  Now before you set me straight (either mentally or electronically), please hear me out. 

There is a difference between your job and your work. On your job, they pay you for the work you do and give you benefits to make up for the stress you endure.  But your work is something that your employer could never pay you for.  Why?  Because there is no standard value to quantify the natural skills and abilities that you bring to the table.  Your natural skills and abilities are your work.  I’m not going to talk much about your job (hopefully you are familiar with your job description).  But let’s talk about your work.

Recently, I was having a conversation with my sister who was sharing with me the frustrations on her job.  My advice to her was to identify her work.  Her job is what they ask her to do – take care of the children at the daycare.  Her work is what she does.  Her job benefits her employer and in turn the daycare center gives her a paycheck.  On the other hand, she benefits from her work by receiving personal fulfillment. 

I believe if more employers pursue the highest good for their people, then the workplace would be a much better place.  An average boss views his employees as a line item budget expense and never makes an investment in them.  But a great leader views her team members as the primary investment.  And believe me, you will be able to tell whether you’re working for an average boss or a great leader.

I’ll take a stab in the dark and say that you probably love doing work, but hate your job.  That’s because work is what you are naturally designed to do.  By defining what you do best, you may end up creating a job for yourself someday if you haven’t already.  If your job ended today or tomorrow, I guarantee you that your work would continue.  As human beings, we are designed to be industrious – to create new things – to be innovative.  We are designed to pursue a higher calling – to complete a greater work. 

Defining this greater work will allow you to avoid a personal crisis as the world enters an economic crisis.  Let’s face it, President Bush’s $700 billion bailout plan just went belly up.  Wachovia, our eighth largest bank, has just been purchased by Citi Group.  And let’s not even revisit the AIG, Lehman Brothers and Merrill Lynch situation.  Needless to say, we are headed for an uncertain future.  It is very important to know your work.  The good news is that you can always stay grounded by asking yourself:

• Who am I?
• What do I love to do?
• What comes naturally to me?

 

Once you can answer these questions, you are well on your way to distinguishing between your job and your work.

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Giving Credit:

Reference – Rich Dad’s Before You Quit Your Job:10 Real-Life Lessons Every Entrepreneur Should Know about Building a Multimillion-Dollar Business by Robert Kiyosaki, p.146 – 148