What’s in a job?

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As a child, I always thought that my dream job would require me solving problems with my skills and little else. I assumed that I would not have to deal with boring stuff. Money wasn’t a consideration … at least not at first.  As I grew and learned the importance of having a lot of money, I decided that the dream job had to include a very hefty pay pack to be worth it. I realized as I grew older that some boring stuff is included in every job but that was acceptable. I could stick it as long as I had the pay to compensate. It wasn’t until I got out there and saw for myself that there is more drudgery than excitement that I realized my definition of that dream job… well, let’s just say I had some accuracy issues.

After a couple of forays into the corporate world (thanks to industrial experience training and waiting for service) and now in a third job, I have to rethink what a dream job means to me.

• A dream job is no longer about being an engineer in a big firm. The reality is that half the time boredom sets in because it’s more of the same type of work and the other half paperwork takes over. How’s that for exciting?
• I am no longer as anxious about the pay package as what I will do to earn it. The murder of souls starts with the day you have to do what you hate just so you can eat.
• I want to work with people that I (somewhat) like and respect and who are the same with me. I will spend a third of my daylight hours five days a week with them. This is highly essential.
• I would like some time flexibility. I know this is a general thing but for me it’s more personal than that. I’ll leave it there.
• It should hopefully include more than the usual research. No use if someone’s already done ALL the work and besides I have no desire to reinvent the wheel.

Does this list seem like a tall order? I used to think so. But the truth is that this can come in at any time provided the amount of faith needed is present so I’m working on that instead.

 

Related Articles

• 6 Tips for Fighting Boredom. (happiness-project.com)
• Do You Think Life is Boring? (socyberty.com)

Li(f)e of Speed

Life in a high tech world is fun. It really is. You can get a lot of stuff done as soon as you want. You needn’t go far to talk to people you care about – a quick phone call or a text will do.  People on Facebook have an average of 350 friends meaning that; in theory, you can keep in touch with about 350 people or more without much effort. The average age for university and masters degree students is in free fall and anyone outside that range feels left out, slow or worse, dumb. Everything is happening faster and earlier and if it doesn’t happen for you…well, tough. We celebrate those who get things done quickly. Those who never had to stop or slow down for anything. Speed is everything in the rush for significance and everything around us – parents, friends, even the media tells us that constantly.

Nobody really wants to be insignificant and everyone wants to figure out the answers as soon as they can. But do answers come that way? Really? Answers take work and they take time. It has been proved that more than half of all university graduates aren’t sure what they’ll do with their lives after school. A shocking number considering the fact that we’re all in a hurry to make our mark in the world.

My take on this – speed isn’t everything. Sure you may get where you’re going faster than anyone else and be noticed for it but lasting answers are a result of work, time and patience. #justsaying

Peter’s Laws

1. If anything can go wrong, Fix it! (To hell with Murphy!)

Never give up and think that it is fate. Men make their own destinies.

1. When given a choice — Take both!

You can have it all – one at a time.

1. Multiple projects lead to multiple successes.

Cast your bread upon the waters…

1. Start at the top and work your way up.

Begin with a bang.

1. Do it by the book…but be the author!

See comments on (1).

1. When forced to compromise, ask for more.

Compromise simply means re – negotiate for better terms.

1. If you can’t beat them, join them, and then beat them.

Only if it’s worth doing.

1. If it’s worth doing, it’s got to be done right now.

Procrastination, you know…enough said.

1. If you can’t win, change the rules.

Make the game yours.

10. If you can’t change the rules, ignore them.

Know your limits, then ignore them.

11. When faced without a challenge, make one.

The greatest are often those who have worked to cut out a niche for themselves by sheer will power and not by necessity.

12. “No” simply means begin again at the next highest level.

Never take no for an answer.

13. Don’t walk when you can run.

Time is of the essence.

14. Bureaucracy is a challenge to be conquered with a righteous attitude, an intolerance for stupidity, and a bulldozer when necessary.

Overcome those who would try to stop you with unnecessary rules.

15. When in doubt — THINK!

Answers come to those who search for them

16. Patience is a virtue but persistence to the point of success is a blessing.

Not the patient but the persistent that get the rewards.

17. The squeaky wheel gets replaced.

Complaining kills.

18. The faster you move, the slower time passes, the longer you live.

The best life is a full one.

Stripped for Discovery

For the past two months, I have been far from home. I am living in a strange land with strangers. I am living in a place far from any familiar things or people, places or experiences. Before coming here, I have gone through the pain of separation from all the things I’d known, loved and taken for granted. But all that was nothing compared to the pain I felt coming here and knowing nothing and no one.

I ask myself why. Why should I be so far from what I know and love? Why should I be so far from home? I am stripped. I am stripped of all that I know and love. I am stripped of all that gives me confidence – all that I know and see is new to me. I am like a babe – naked, untried and unknowing. I am to listen and not to speak, to learn and not to teach, to know and not to be known. I am in need and not needed.

I am to be stripped for discovery. I am to be undressed so that I can be redressed in the clothes of new knowledge. Knowledge that is the fruit of self discovery.  Knowledge that births a metamorphosis. I am to discover afresh from a place of uncertainty. This is what I am here for. And I will not fail.

Screening

I recently had cause to have medical screening done after having suffered a health challenge that caused me to be admitted in the hospital. I had to wait about two days for the results. Only someone who has taken such tests can understand the kind of anxiety I felt while waiting. I felt fine and there was nothing wrong with me – or was there? Every symptom and discomfort played itself over and over in my mind. It really got me thinking about self examination and what it should mean to me. Often I am so focused on what is on the outside and what I can immediately fix that I often ignore the invisible and what’s inside. But the real truth is that the invisible gives birth to the visible just as invisible – to the naked eye – germs and stuff affect the visible things that like the symptoms of the illness that I felt. I was so concerned about the results of a test which I took because I saw some symptoms but am I just as concerned when I notice some things in my life and need to do evaluation? Am I as concerned about my motives and thoughts as I am about my health? I am sure health is important but also just as important is the state of my heart – my motives and whys, my driving factors and choices. It is just as important to search within to find out what has gone wrong as it is to deal with symptoms and things that go wrong on the outside. It is easy to ignore the vital area of screening with a wave of the hand and the saying ‘No use crying over spilt milk’ but the oh-so-important aspect of screening cannot be ignored in the process of growing up.

Sure, I could go on and on without once thinking back on what I’ve done and how it’s affected me but a wise man once said that someone who doesn’t remember the past is condemned to repeat it. Repeating the past is not a sign of wisdom and certainly not of growing up. I want to grow up and i’ll do what needs to be done.