PMC Thought #3: The Heart of Success Law No. 2: Believe that the Job you Do Makes a Difference

Do you wake up each morning feeling exhausted, dragging your feet to work?  Do you sometimes wish that it is the end of day even before it started?  Are you bored at work?  Do you feel that you need to go to work because you “have to” rather than you “want to?”

Welcome to Law Number 2 of The Heart of Success by Rob Parsons – Believe that the Job You Do Make a Difference. 

Do you love what you do or do you do what you love?  Are you one of those people who keep on complaining that they are tied up with the jobs they don’t love?  Being a PMCer, we believe hat in order for us to do the things that we love, we must pay a price – to love first what we do.  Whether we opt for “play now pay later” or “pay now play later” we have to pay anyway.   So why not pay now and enjoy the rest of our lives later.  PMCers believe that we can’t have something from nothing.  And sweating for a job is one of them.  Hey! Don’t get me wrong!  Did I mention about being an employee?  I say doing your job.  I mean any job - whether you are an employee or not. 

Law No. 2 talks about believing that your job makes a difference.  In this chapter, Parsons recounted his memories of his father.  His father was a post man.  Every day, he would clean his shoes.  One day, the younger Parsons noted that his father was cleaning the inside of his shoes.  When he said that there’s no use in doing that because no one will know, his father answered, “I’ll know.”

One day, the young Parsons asked his father if he ever got bored with his job of delivering letter.  Here is what his father answered him:

“Son, your father delivers the Royal Mail.  People rely on me – businesses, armies and police forces, friends and relatives from overseas – I deliver all their letters.  You should come with me some day and see somebody waiting at their door to see if I’ve got a letter for them.   It may be about a job they’ve been hoping for or from a daughter they haven’t heard from for a while, or perhaps just a birthday card.  No, son, I don’t get bored.”

Rob Parsons’ father delivered letters for forty-six years and when he retired the Queen of England gave him a medal; it was for delivering the Royal Mail. 

In his own words, Parsons said about his father, “My father was proud to be a postman; he believed that the job he did make a difference in peoples’ lives.  And because he had that dignity he owed it to himself to do whatever job he did as well as he could, and will all his heart.  That’s why my father cleaned his shoes.”

Parsons also cited the result of a survey conducted on CEOs of top 100 companies in New York area.  The CEOs were asked what character traits they most valued and which should be nurtured in the new generation.  Here’s the result of these survey:

·         Never compromise on matters of principle nor standards of excellence, even on minor issues.

·         Be persistent and never give up.

·         Have a vision of where you are going and communicate it often.

·         Know what you stand for, set high standards, and don’t be afraid to take on tough problems despite risks.

·         Spend less time managing and more time leading.  Lead by example.

·         Bring out the best in others.  Hire the best people you can find, then delegate authority and responsibility, but stay in touch.

·         Have confidence in yourself and in those around you; trust others.

·         Accept blame for failures and credit others with success.  Process integrity and personal courage. 

How about you?  How do you spend your days at work or on your business?  Do you believe that your job could make a difference?  What difference could it make to yourself, your department or the Company as well?  Do you believe that your work’s reward is not on the payslip you received every month or twice a week?  PMCers believe that the reward of every hard work is the person they are being molded into in the process. 

Success is important but that's not absolutely.  Same is true with being a millionaire.  That is why we have this lesson today, to make sure and to remind us that as we move to achieve our dreams, let us learn to put dignity in our jobs and believe that IT DOES MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN OTHER PEOPLE'S LIVES. 

If you have something else to add or say, please hit the comment box.  If you enjoyed this article, share it to the world.  Join us and together let us expand the PMCircle.  Be a PMCer, Be one of Us.