Someone has to do it.

Throughout the years I am sure we have all had jobs that were less than enjoyable. If this has never happened to you consider yourself lucky or you need to give it a try to learn what you do not want to do in life.

When I was 15 years old I worked at a local bagel bakery. Waking up in the middle of the night, okay it was 5 AM on a Saturday, but for me that was the middle of the night. I mean, who gets up at that ridiculous hour? I learned, that I did---for $1.65 per hour. (I was living high on the hog.) I really didn’t mind the job, it was just hot during the summer and it totally disrupted my formerly treasured Friday nights.

However, as bad as this one seemed, I was “fortunate” to work at the business where my father worked. The difference, and this is completely understandable, he was an executive and I was not. Working at the company provided me with very “needed” funds; but there did come a time when I wondered how badly I really needed these funds. It turns out one of the summers before the company moved to a different location, it needed some “spiffing up.” Spiffing meant painting it. Not the walls, but painting the boiler (who really cares what a boiler looks like anyway?) and probably 500 wooden boxes that held papers, files and other supplies.  If there was one benefit, the boxes were painted in bright colors however the boiler was steel grey.

What did this teach me?

That an education is probably the most valuable and necessary thing you can do in life. Without it, you paint boxes and boilers.

But with really lousy jobs come really cool ones. I have been fortunate to have spent my entire career in the world of advertising and marketing. Sure, there have been difficult times, but the people I have met, and how they have challenged me. intellectually cannot be measured. It’s been great. Now I am involved in probably one of the most fun areas of marketing out there at this time; we are involved in what is called “non-traditional/experiential marketing.” Simply, we work with clients in making sure people (consumers) know and understand what their products, services and “voice in the marketplace” are all about, and how they fit into the lives of Mom’s, Dad’s, kids and everyone in between. That is very topline.

But we all can’t have the job at times that suits us to a tee---we have to find it. One thing I have learned, and many have confirmed it, is when you have the opportunity to do what you truly love, it’s not work…it’s a passion you are paid for. For me, it’s photography.  This fall, we are going to be very busy. In addition to doing what I love (my real job) we are going to be photographing a few thousand football players and cheerleaders. I am very lucky.

The photo above is a task I doubt many of us would want to do, but as they say “someone has to do it.” But if this isn’t for you, take a look around, make sure what you are doing is fulfilling the inner you…you will know at that point the difference as soon as you smile and say, “I am going to work and can’t wait.”

Thanks for stopping by.