Love What You Do

“If any man seeks greatness, let him forget greatness and ask for truth, and he will find both.”

~ Horace Mann

Do you ever wonder why you do what you do? Do you feel like you are in a dead end job? Feel like you are going nowhere? Are you doing what you love? Are you doing what you want to do? Are you doing what you were meant to do? Is your life segmented into who you are at work and who you are at home? Do you ever question “is this what I was meant to do” or have “I missed my purpose”?

Perhaps you think you have no purpose. Perhaps you think you have no hope of changing your situation and only think the idea of working at what you love is simply that, just an idea. I am here to tell you that maybe, just maybe, it’s your priorities that need to be changed in order to find your true purpose.

Where are your priorities? Are they focused on the things that truly matter to you or are your priorities focused so much on providing and getting by that doing what you truly love is on the back burner?

I know this is going to sound odd coming from a thirty something year old. But when I started my working career I hated what I was doing. I started out in graphic design at a magazine publishing company. I then moved to a University in technology and then to an international technology company that led me to working with rural Mississippi communities. When I finally figured out what I wanted to do, I had no clue what it was even called.

Only through truly assessing what makes me happy and putting my network to use did I come to find what I truly have a passion for and learned what I am good at. I know two things about myself with certainty. I love connecting people and mentoring to them and I love to tell stories. Through my own assessment and finding those two main focuses (among others) was I able to realize how much I love working with communities, working with people, growing business, telling a community’s story and sharing its heritage and culture. All of these things make up Community and Economic Development.

There is a story that one of my first bosses and mentors shared with me early on in my career. I have carried it with me through every job and transition I have had. I keep a laminated copy in my desk so that I always remember to keep my priorities in check.

The story is called “Do You Have Time for a Cup of Coffee”

A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, wordlessly, he picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls.

He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.
The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly, and the pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed again that it was.

The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up the rest of the space. He asked once more if the jar was full, and his students responded with a unanimous “yes.”

The professor then produced two cups of coffee from under the table and poured the contents of both into the jar, effectively filling the empty space between the grains of sand. The students laughed.

“Now,” said the professor, as the laughter subsided, “I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The golf balls are the important things - your family, children, health, friends and your favorite passions; things that, if everything else was lost and only they remained, would still make your life full.”

The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house and your car. The sand is everything else - the small stuff.

“If you put the sand into the jar first,” he continued, “There is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are important to you.”

“Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Play with your children, take time to get medical checkups, take your partner out to dinner and play another 18 holes. 

There will always be time to clean the house and fix the leaky tap. Take care of the golf balls first - the things that really matter. Set your priorities, because the rest is just sand.”
One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the coffee represented.

The professor smiled. “I’m glad you asked. It goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem to be, that there’s always room for a cup of coffee with a friend.”
48 Days to the Work You Love by Dan Miller and Never Eat Alone by Keith Ferrazzi

Wherever you are in life, whether it is a dead end job or just a job you have taken to make ends meet. If you priorities aren’t aligned with your day to day tasks, stop what you are doing and reevaluate. Find what brings joy into your life. Find what allows you to focus on your priorities.

The new head of the Mississippi Development Authority, Brent Christenson, once said to me, and I am paraphrasing, If you can’t find a job [that you like] find a customer!

Now is a great time to find a side business and to align your priorities with your career. If you can’t find a job that lines up with your priorities and what you want to be when you grow up, go create it! If you love your idea so much that you can make it profitable full time, chances are someone will love it enough to pay for it.

There are two books that, I highly recommend to anyone looking to better their career, get more out of their current job or just find what their priorities are and makes them happy. Check them out and I promise you won’t be disappointed.

Here’s to your success at finding what your priorities are and loving what you do. I know that once those two things come together our community will be better off because of it.

---

* This article was originally printed in the Sunday, October 21, 2012 issue of

The Chronicle's"Planting Seeds" column.

To Everything There Is A Season

“What lies behind us and what lies ahead of us are tiny matters compared to what lives within us”

~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

There is something about this time of year I truly love. I am an outdoor-woodsy type. I love being in the outdoors, especially in the fall and winter months. I’m not a big hunter (although I see nothing wrong with it). I would just rather be in the woods camping, hiking or thinking.

As I was running this past Sunday morning at day break I passed a particularly beautiful corner lot in my neighborhood. I’ve passed by this place hundreds of times since moving here and have never given it much thought.

This time as I was passing by, the morning fog was lifting. Dew covered the ground. A fresh blanket of red and yellow leaves had fallen the day before. A few leaves were still falling. A chill was in the air. A sure sign that winter would soon be on the way.

As I watched the leaves fall I was taken back to a comment someone had made in a discussion we were having on integrity. The question was asked, “What happens when someone shakes your tree? Do your leaves fall or do you hold firm to your ideals and morals?”

What a powerful thought?

How firm are you in your convictions and beliefs? Do your ideals change with the times like the trees and the seasons? Are you firmly rooted in what you believe and have justification as to why you believe what you do?  Are you convicted by your inner integrity to do what is right and what is just? Is this how you run your business and interact with others in your community?

This point was driven home for me further when I read an excerpt from the speech, Citizenship in a Republic, delivered by Theodore Roosevelt in 1910.

Roosevelt declares in his delivery, “A number of years ago I was engaged in cattle-ranching on the great plains of the western United States. There were no fences. The cattle wandered free, the ownership of each being determined by the brand; the calves were branded with the brand of the cows they followed. If on the round-up an animal was passed by, the following year it would appear as an unbranded yearling, and was then called a maverick. By the custom of the country these mavericks were branded with the brand of the man on whose range they were found. One day I was riding the range with a newly hired cowboy, and we came upon a maverick. We roped and threw it; then we built a little fire, took out a cinch-ring, heated it at the fire; and the cowboy started to put on the brand. I said to him, ‘It is So-and-so’s brand,’ naming the man on whose range we happened to be. He answered: ‘That’s all right, boss; I know my business.’ In another moment I said to him: ‘Hold on, you are putting on my brand!’ To which he answered: ‘That’s all right; I always put on the boss’s brand.’ I answered: ‘Oh, very well. Now you go straight back to the ranch and get what is owed you; I don’t need you any longer. ’He jumped up and said: ‘Why, what’s the matter? I was putting on your brand.’ And I answered: ‘Yes, my friend, and if you will steal for me you will steal from me.’

Now, the same principle which applies in private life applies also in public life. If a public man tries to get your vote by saying that he will do something wrong in your interest, you can be absolutely certain that if ever it becomes worth his while he will do something wrong against your interest.”

I encourage you to be men (and women) of good moral character. Have integrity in all you do and say. If you say you will do something, do it. If you can’t, say so.

We will soon be electing new leadership to our country. I encourage you all to vote your conscience. But even more strongly, I encourage you to know your convictions and understand why you choose to vote the way you do.

Vote, conduct your business, interact with your community and lead your families with character, integrity and honesty. Don’t be like the leaves of the trees that fall to the ground in a stiff breeze. Hang on to your values and I know our community will be better because of it!

Go vote and happy fall y’all!

Larkin

Oh Bother!

“Promise me you'll never forget me because if I thought you would, I'd never leave.”

~ Piglet

Maybe it’s because I have a three year old at home. Maybe it’s because I am a big kid myself and refuse to grow up. Whatever the case, I always seem to find meaning and purpose when Ethan and I are sitting on the couch watching cartoons.

Thanks to Netflix, Comcast OnDemand, and a host of other “instant access” technologies, I am trying to introduce the boy to some of the classic cartoons I grew up with. I want him to see cartoons that have actual morals and life lessons, unlike the stuff that is on now. We watch the original Mickey Mouse, Tom & Jerry (his mother’s favorite), Looney Toons and even Winnie the Pooh.

Ethan seems to like Winnie the Pooh.

The stories of Winnie the Pooh have been shared by generations for years. Since 1924 when the lovable Pooh Bear was first introduced to the world by writer A. A. Milne, stories of the ragtag gang of friends from the Hundred Acre Wood have been captivating the hearts and imaginations of Millions.

Milne wrote the stories for his son, the actual Christopher RobinMilne. He wrote them based on an actual bear in the London Zoo, Winnipeg, that his son loved to visit. The characters of Piglet, Eeyore, Tigger and Roo were based on the boy’s actual stuffed animals; a pig, a donkey (with no tail), a tiger, and a baby kangaroo.

I am sure you are wondering how this all relates to business and our community. Well, in addition to the life lessons that permeate through the stories, there is a very real lesson we could all learn from the mistakes of author A. A. Milne and his son Christopher Robin.

I have written to you about having passion in what you do and about making an impact on the lives of others. Passion is only effective if it doesn't affect the PURPOSE of your passion. A. A. Milne wanted to create something for his young son. He wanted to be the hero in his son’s eye. (Very much the way many of us parents do).

The mistake Milne made was that Christopher Robin never wanted the stories published. As a young boy Christopher Robin was made fun of at school because the other children thought the stories were factually true about him playing make believe with the stuffed animals.

In addition, Milne was so involved with the writing of the stories that he neglected to spend time with his son. The boy’s childhood was gone before his father realized it. His purpose for doing a good thing for his son was overshadowed by his passion for doing them. His gift, while blessing millions and generations of families, tore apart the only family Milne cared about.

I am a firm believer that you must have a passion for what you do. But you also must not lose focus of your purpose. If your passion and your purpose are not aligned, you may be doing more harm than good.

I sincerely hope you find your passion and I truly hope you find your purpose. Whatever you decide to do, whether it is spending time with your family, giving back to your community through service or growing your business through leadership; I hope your purpose and passion always remain in sight. I know your community will benefit because of it.

Larkin 

These are some of my favorite Winnie the Pooh Quotes

“It is more fun to talk with someone who doesn't use long, difficult words but rather short, easy words like "What about lunch?"”

“If ever there is tomorrow when we're not together… there is something you must always remember. You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think. But the most important thing is, even if we're apart… I’ll always be with you.”

“If you live to be 100, I hope I live to be 100 minus 1 day, so I never have to live without you.”

“When late morning rolls around and you're feeling a bit out of sorts, don't worry; you're probably just a little eleven o'clockish.”

"Well," said Pooh, "what I like best -- " and then he had to stop and think. Because although Eating Honey was a very good thing to do, there was a moment just before you began to eat it which was better than when you were, but he didn't know what it was called”

“Just because an animal is large, it doesn't mean he doesn't want kindness; however big Tigger seems to be, remember that he wants as much kindness as Roo.”