And Just See What Happens...

Rather than go through the normal “I-don’t-know-what-to-write” routine that I endure so often, I’m going to sit here and write and just see what happens.  The worst thing that will happen is that I will produce nothing of substance or value, but I will have put in my time.  The best thing that will happen is that I will get a phone call, as a result of this work, from someone offering me a huge cash advance to write a motivational book.  Most likely, what will happen is somewhere in the middle.  I’ll do my work and feel better about myself.  Then I will work on other things that bring me closer to my goals.

But whatever happens won’t just happen.  By doing our work, we are helping it to happen. In The Science of Getting Rich, Wallace Wattles says, “(W)hen a man begins to move towards a larger life more things attach themselves to him, and the influence of his desire is multiplied.” 

In Outliers Malcolm Gladwell says that we need 10,000 hours to be the best at what we do.  Perhaps this is true.  Our work generally improves as we put more time into it.  The important thing to remember is the work.  Yes, we may want financial success and recognition for our work.  But the work is the primary thing. 

At this stage of the game, with no real tangible results, the work is all there is.  That’s why it’s important to develop habits and self-discipline.  For example, right now I’m on vacation.  I could be doing anything I want.  I have time and even a little money.  It’s a beautiful day outside.  I could be at the beach.  This morning, though it’s my day off, I woke up at 6:30.  For me, that was oversleeping.  (I had an upset stomach.)  I like to wake up at 5:00 and start writing.  Even on my days off.  When I’m not writing, I’m reading.  Not for pleasure, though I get a lot of pleasure from reading, but so that I can learn more, do better, and bless the world.  I want to be a “lovecat” as Tim Sanders calls it in his book Love Is the Killer App.  A lovecat shares his knowledge with the world, but he has to acquire that knowledge first.  The acquisition of knowledge is a labor of love, a way to serve the world. 

Reading, writing, and speaking are three ways that I serve the world, but each of us has our own way(s) to serve the world.  For those who aren’t sure, start with this question:  What do I love?

Love is always a legitimate source of information, because it comes from God.  It’s genuine.  It’s primal.  Why do we like certain colors?  Why do we love some foods over others?  For the most part, these things are a part of us.  We were born with them. 

In my own life, I have always loved reading, writing, and speaking.  I didn’t look for them.  They just came to me.  More accurately, they came with me…they arrived with me…when I was born.  And then at the right time, they came out of me.

There’s something within each of us that wants to come out and be expressed. Wattles also says this is God wanting to express Himself through us.  If this thing within us brings us love and joy and it allows us to bless others, then there is no wrong medium.  Art, dance, business, hobbies, and on and on it can go.

The important thing is to do what you love.  Even job coaches take this approach, chief among them Richard Bolles in What Color Is Your Parachute? (a book that has been coming out in new and updated editions for almost forty years).  Can our love lead to a full-time occupation?  Bolles says, “The key to a happy and fulfilling future is knowing yourself. This self-knowledge is the most important component of finding the right career.”

Again, however, before the career choice, love comes first.  It’s possible that your work may not be part of your job.  Your job may be something you do, and something you like, but your work will be something you love.

So do your work.  Do what you love.  Get Started.  Keep Going…and just see what happens.