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From the International Network on Personal Meaning 
"Good-morrow to thee; welcome: Thou look'st like him that knows a warlike charge: To business that we love we rise betime, And go to't with delight." Antony and Cleopatra - Wm. Shakespeare |
"If your future employer were to ask you: “Are you a great worker?” What would your answer be? Chances are, you would say something like: “Well, I think I am, because I am very good in what I do and I am passionate about my work.” (Full Article
Work as Life's Meaning and Meaning
as Life's Work "There have always been people for whom a cause was fused together with their working lives. Martin Luther King and Mother Theresa could serve as examples. Asking such people what their work means to them, or how they think their careers will take shape, would distinguish the work from the cause and from themselves in such an artificial way that there would be no point at all in asking." (.pdf file)
http://www.hireimmigrants.ca TRIEC sees the issue as a complex one, but one where if everyone got involved, we would start to see improvements. Take some time ti familiarize yourself with their agenda, and consider how you can help out. |
Go fishing and be a better worker I have had numerous jobs in my (fairly) short life. From French Chef, to World Vision fund-raiser, to general contractor, to waterski instructor, and I have worked with various types of people in these jobs. What seperated the great workers from the ones I wished called in sick? Years ago, I had a seminar taught by a mentor of mine. He was teaching on being a good worker, and used a set of values used a the Pike's Place Fish Market in Seattle, WA. The Fish Principles. The basic idea is, follow these four hueristics, and your work will benefit. The assumption is you are trained and capable of performing the job at hand. These standards simply take a job done, and make it a job well done. The four rules are: Be There, Make Their Day, Play, and Choose Your Attitude. They were made based on a retail environment, yet their application is much broader. Be There. You can sell fish, give a lecture, or balance a budget, and yet have your mind on other things. When you choose to be intellectually and emotionally present, your efforts become more then simply "going through the motions". People will notice. Make Their Day. If you approach every situation thinking, "How can I make this person's day" and act on those ideas, you will exceede people's expectations of you, whether it is your boss or secretary. When was the last time a bank teller made your day? How would you react if they did? Play. This is not a license to do sub-standard work in the name of fun, but simply an invitation to try to make any task fun. If you find a way to have fun you will be more likely to spend more time on the job, and others will have fun while they are around you. Choose your attitude. You might have had a rough night. Perhaps your car got a flat on the way to work. You can let those situations get you down, or you can choose to say "I am going to make the best of today". You cannot deny that bad things will happen to you, but deciding to do quality work in spite of the bad things is well within your control. The best people I ever worked with did these things instinctively, but there is good news: with intention and practice, these traits can be learned. And when you put these rules into practice, others will look at you as a Great Worker.
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"I know the price of success: dedication, hard work, and an unremitting devotion to the things you want to see happen." "Derive happiness in oneself
from a good day's work, from illuminating the fog that surrounds
us." "I long to accomplish a great
and noble tasks, but it is my chief duty to accomplish humble tasks
as though they were great and noble. The world is moved along, not
only by the mighty shoves of its heroes, but also by the aggregate
of the tiny pushes of each honest worker." "It does not seem to be true
that work necessarily needs to be unpleasant. It may always have
to be hard, or at least harder than doing nothing at all. But there
is ample evidence that work can be enjoyable, and that indeed, it
is often the most enjoyable part of life." "Our England is a garden, and
such gardens are not made |
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