Work Ethic, What’s That?

I have been reflecting on work ethic quite a lot recently, both my own and others. My daughter asks me quite frequently why I work so late and travel so much. My answer to her is always that I would like to ensure she has a very secure future and that I am trying to build a strong company that can provide others with secure futures. While my childhood was crazy and dysfunctional I would be delusional if I said it didn’t have a positive side to it. Thankfully my journey over the years has helped me see that there were actually quite a few positives to my painful messy past. I saw my parents work hard to fulfill a dream, and I believe I learned from their mistakes to do the same but in a healthier way. My parents worked hard, that is for certain. There wasn’t anything they weren’t willing to do. While I have assistants and others that help me get things done, it’s out of necessity due to the shear volume of work, not laziness or entitlement. I think it’s hard for some to see just how hard I do work and what all I do. I juggle a lot in my life and I try to make sure I’m still present for Grace. It’s not easy, but it is a choice I make. You see, I don’t believe in just working hard to benefit myself, I believe in working hard to provide for others. In a way my employees futures are partially my responsibility in that what I do with the company affects them both directly and indirectly. I’m painfully aware that almost every decision I make as the acting CEO, or whatever I am, has a domino  effect, well beyond the walls of the company. I spend a lot of hours thinking through decisions I make, in the shower, in bed, on the plane, in the doctors office, on the way to work… wherever I am I am thinking, strategizing, working. I live and breathe my job, because it’s much more than a job. I’m building futures, and I’m trying to build a company my employees are proud of and part of. See, to me it’s more than what we sell or make. To me I’m feeding families, paying for homes, sending kids to college, making a positive impact on someones life… to me it’s much much more. I don’t think you have to be a policeman, politician, or activist to change the world and make an impact. I think you can do it no matter who you are or what you do.  I realize that I have the power to do things that have a positive domino effect on thousands of people, and sadly a negative one as well. I want people to work for me that have a passion for life, know what they want and go after it with zealousness, but it’s hard to find and I realize that more and more every day. I’m dying to give someone a place where they can flourish, but it’s amazing how few people there are out there that know what they want and are willing to work for it. Maybe us hard workers are a dying breed, but I sure hope not!

I’m a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work the more I have of it.

~Thomas Jefferson

Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.

~Thomas Edison

He who would learn to fly one day must first learn to stand and walk and run and climb and dance; one cannot fly into flying.

~Friedrich Nietzsche

Even if you’re on the right track, you’ll get run over if you just sit there.

~Will Rogers

Be not afraid of going slowly; be afraid only of standing still.

~Chinese Proverb