My brother, Richard Bliss, is a social media expert. His job is to help others, especially senior managers, to effectively use social media to build their brands and craft effective messages. He works independently, for himself.
My friend, Howard Tayler, is an award winning Cartoonist. Twenty years ago, he left corporate life to become a fulltime artist. He works independently, for himself.
I have another friend, David Wolverton. He’s a New York Times bestselling author. Thirty years ago, Dave started writing books. He’s a teacher and a mentor to many. He works independently, for himself.
Each man crafted a job for himself. He built the job he wanted. You would think that having created their jobs themselves, that their job would perfect.
I know that each man enjoys his job and his career. But, I also know that none of them have “perfect” jobs.
There is no perfect job. Jobs are jobs. Sometimes (hopefully most times) they are enjoyable. Sometimes, it’s enough that they are endurable. Sometimes, they are unbearable.
My friend Howard, started “doodling” as he called it, when he was working for Novell. In the year 2000 he became a fulltime cartoonist. You would think that Howad had it wonderful now. His advocation had become his vocation.
Find a job you love and you’ll never work another day in your life.
– Mark Twain
Mr Twain was wrong. Work is work. A funny thing happened after Howard took to cartooning fulltime. He found he needed a hobby. His hobby had become his job and now “fun” was no longer fun. He opted for painting miniature figures. And he’s still drawing comics, twenty years later.
My brother, has been independent for the past year. He used to write a lot on social media. Now it’s his job. And he doesn’t write for enjoyment much any more. (I suggested he get a hobby.)
So, what makes a great job? I’ve been thinking a lot about gratitude this year. And a great job is one that you can certainly be grateful for. My job is one that I’ve done for years. And I’m really good at it. I’m grateful to have a job I’m good at.
My job let’s me work from home at times. With some health challenges, that’s something I’m certainly grateful for.
I got involved with computers at an early age. Early in the life of the PC and early in my life. One of the advantages of working with PCs is the fact that it’s “inside” work. This is a blessing to be grateful for during Utah’s winters.
I work with people from all across the United States and the Philippines. And yet, I can do nearly everything I need to do from my home office, or my office at work. That’s a blessing I’m grateful for.
And I also travel occasionally. Our centers are located in some historic and often beautiful places. I get to spend time in these places. That’s also something I am grateful for.
Is my job perfect? Not at all.
Is it a great job, one I can be grateful for? Absolutely.
Hopefully, yours is too.
Rodney M Bliss is an author, columnist and IT Consultant. His blog updates every weekday. He lives in Pleasant Grove, UT with his lovely wife, thirteen children and grandchildren.
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