Rising of the Occasion of Work or Passion for Work

Today one of my professional peers and a friend resigned.  It was the second one this week.  And there is a void already, though neither has left.  Both of the women are strong and independent, each in their own way.  Both of them people I respect.  I will miss working with them.  I think that they had a passion for what they do, but more importantly a passion for the people for whom they did their jobs.  I started this blog to talk about passion and work vocation.  But now, I am going to talk about passion because you are passionate.  Because you care.

• "Telling someone to follow their passion -- from an entrepreneur's point of view -- is disastrous," says Cal Newport, Georgetown University professor and author of So Good They Can't Ignore You: Why Skills Trump Passion in the Search For Work You Love.
•  "That advice has probably resulted in more failed businesses than all the recessions combined... because that's not how the vast majority of people end up owning successful businesses.”
• "Passion is not something you follow," he adds. "Passion is something that will follow you as you put in the hard work to become valuable to the world."

After I read this post, it gave me pause to think about the people I know who are passionate about what they do and why.  

• Career Passions Are Rare  It's easy to confuse a hobby or interest for a profound passion that will result in career and business fulfillment. The reality is, that type of preexisting passion is rarely valuable.

But then again, I have had the fortune to know many who did have the passion at a very young age.  My father knew he wanted to be an engineer.  He wanted to be good at math and science and blowing things up (not so much the chemistry).  He wanted to be involved in space travel and had a career many would envy.  My father woke up whistling every morning, happy to be up at five to take an hour bus ride to the base to work on guidance systems.  As a bonus, he got to watch things blow up!  My husband is another lucky person who knew that wanted to be in wildlife from the time he was a kid.  He became a game warden and loved his job and was passionate about teaching others the beauty and appreciation of the wilderness.

My mother in law is a pianist. She loves playing for her church and for services (funerals included).  She tries to make each performance unique and special for the person(s) affected.  She grew up at the piano and her father was a minister.  So he may have gently guided her through her years.  So perhaps she is one who loved what they did well after years and years of practice.

• Don't believe me? Think about something you're passionate about. Or something you were passionate about when you were in high school.  Then apply this test: Will people pay you for it? Will people pay you a lot for it?  "Money matters, at least in a relative sense," Newport says. "Money is a neutral indicator of value. Potential customers don't care about your passion. Potential customers care about giving up money." (That same logic, of course, also applies to potential employers.)

This June, there were lots of speeches and advice for graduating youth.  I thought it interesting that there was such a dichotomy of views: do what you love or do something well.  Or do something for money and do it well.  I know of more than one woman who has told me that they work to pay for their horses and their hobbies.

 That work, while rewarding, is really to provide a means for them to participate in the competitions across the nation.  Horses are expensive, and working to support them requires well paid skills.  Both of these women have them: one is a nurse practitioner and the other a financial analyst.  But, my point is they work so they can afford their hobby - not work at what they love to do as their hobby.

I suppose that most people view their jobs as what they have to do to support themselves and their families.  There are many jobs that I don't envy, but I am so glad than people do them. 

One of my peers that is leaving is in Human Resources.  She is the rock of the organization.  We don't always agree, but we always agree that she is genuine and forthright.  She gives great advice and is very organized.  She is the one you want in the interview room and the one you want in the disciplinary hearing.  I don't now if she loves all of her job, but she very obviously loves providing services to the people and caring for their well being.

The other person that left held a difficult pressured job and did it well.  Again, I don't know if it is her passion or if her passion was getting it right.  Hard to tell.  She worked hard and made sure that in the end, her boss and her organization held the right information for complex business decisions.  Her tenacity is marvelous.

Neither job is one I wanted.  Plumbers, auto-mechanics, roadway surveyors, airplane pilots, diesel fuel delivery, septic tank cleaners, electrical engineers.  There are people loading cargo and driving the giant cranes that build the skyscrapers.  People doing jobs that you don't ever think about, but you depend on.  I am sure that they see it as a necessity, not the dream of their life. I was recently touring Boston, wandering through the streets and blocks.  I was taken by surprise at the number of employees smoking outside  of their store doors, complaining about their jobs, their bosses and their low wages. Not to mention, they complained about the terrible supervisors and awful managers.  Unhappiness in work abounds.

 It helps to keep in perspective that whatever your chosen career path, you too, will encounter less than fabulous circumstances, people or situations.  Working in every job from clerk to bigwig, there are jerks all along the way.  There are great folks all along the way.  Hope I am one of the great folks!

Rising to the Occasion of Jury Duty

Today, I rose at 6:10 a.m. in spite of my husbands insistence that I go to bed before ten p.m.  the night before.  I awoke at 6:10 a.m. one minute before the alarm, to turn on the coffee and crawl back into my covers for a sacred moment or three. Coffee in and shower over, I proceeded  to tell my husband to let the dog out, but decided to do it myself as his snoring made me distrustful of his comprehension.  He did, however, acknowledge for at least 3 seconds.....that he needed to let the dog out.

It was jury duty day and it was imperative that I report on time. Or at least I thought so.   I had been late once before and the Clerk responded with a new date to start all over.  That was a "no bueno" response for me so I was determined to be out the door on time.

As I dressed, deciding the appropriate jury attire, I contemplated: should I be the best dressed, or the mom of suburbs or the woman on the way to work or the say at home retiree?  Hmmm.  This thought did not cross the minds of most people, tattoos and piercings, spandex are acceptable for court....

I left the house in the business attire with full expectation of being selected.  Funny how things work out.  I arrive early, only to wait longer.  I arrive dressed almost the best, though I am quite sure Vogue would not vote so.  I have to say the little woman ( I mean 100 pounds) next to me,  was very well dressed but very anxious, handing out her cards to everyone who would take one. She is a seamstress and is not going to miss the captive marketing audience.  I admired her tenacity.

As the morning wound down, we were called and assembled and put in our preassigned seats.

The Judge gives instruction and reads from an obviously approved Supreme Court  speech.  Each juror must stand up and answer 12 questions.  The judge listens to them and may ask a question or two.  Then, the State Attorney started first, asking questions of everyone.  There are clarifications of previous testimony regarding each juror's life statements. What do your children do? Have you been arrested before?  Have you service on a jury before?  Clarifications include why you may want or need to be excused or what your perspective is on the trial charges or the people involved.  One woman wanted to be excused as her son is in the national roller skating championships and she is the carpool mom (that would be from Florida to Nebraska- some carpool!)

 One person had a daughter dealing with similar charges as the defendant and two or three had conflicts with the law enforcement community - hated them or loved them, it is sort of the same in conflict world.  Several wanted to go home as they worked the night shift and were oh so tired.  I have to tell you I was duly impressed with the people who stood and told of their crimes and their restoration of rights.  I was also impressed as they stood and told all that their children were incarcerated or their families had multiple convicted felons.  The Judge said many times that if you wanted to tell him in private, you did not have to say it in front of the 60 or so people.  But they stood up and said it anyway.   I would not have said it out loud, had I had anything to report.  I would say this is a generational thing, but they were my age.  Some retired for several years.  It was clearly part of their lives. A couple of jurors obviously had money as the YSL bags and the ivanka-trump shoes were apparent to those who knew!  Of course they are a lobbyists and lawyers.  But, we all had to answer questions.  We all had to stand.  We all had to file in an out on command.  We all were to answer to the judge and the bailiff.

But, the most  shockingly great part of the jury service is the sameness.  Certain situations are just equalizers.  Whether you are on a tarmac on a jet, stuck with no air conditioning on a 95 degree day, or a jury panel answering endless questions... you are the same.  First class has no air and neither does the cattle car seat section.  Money doesn't buy your way out or in for that matter. Good shoes don't either. It is the same with a jury.   Smiles at the Judge don't have an effect.  Though when the man on the jury said he divorced the Judge's cousin twenty five years ago, the judge had a little chuckle.

But, back to the sameness...

When I didn't get picked, my feelings were hurt for a bit.  But getting on the elevator, it was clearly not the consensus.  Listening to conversations, most of the people were glad to get out of serving.  Some were outright enraged saying they would never side with the "state prosecutor" no matter what...

All the judges that we encountered were personable and a little fun and mostly serious.  Except for the black robe, which struck me as sort of a real relic of the past tradition that we the taxpayers could probably live without- they were great.

Out of the 30 or so called, 7 remained.  The rest of us filing out with our thanks for service and community.  Me with a renewed sense of equality.  Like the airplane tarmac analogy, it does not matter if your seat is three inches wider, when it is 95 degrees in the plane and you can't get off.  And you don't buy your way off of jury duty, YSL bag and all (not that she tried).

Nope, on the jury, you are one among many.  Your vote counts the same.  Your presence means as much.  Whatever you bring to the table is as real as anyone else.

What a lovely concept.  Planes and juries...  Maybe that is where we our are best, because there is no advantage....

Wonder how they call juries in France?

Update: my husband received his jury summons, but the check box for law enforcement officer, made his decision easier!