Finding Meaning
I talk and write a lot about Passion. It’s my favorite word after all.
I believe in finding and following one’s Passion and often this leads to discussions around the kind of work one does.
This post, however, is not so much about the kind of work, but the meaning of it. Employees always talk about promotions and salaries and assume that these are the primary driving forces behind those who leave a company. My experience, however, has found that while we all would like to earn more, people leave most often because they don’t feel appreciated or that they matter.
Somewhere along the lines they began to feel as though what they were doing wasn’t making a difference, to them, and/or to the company.
So it comes down to a very simple question. One that Seth Godin (someone who very often gets me thinking) posed recently in his post What if you stopped?
It’s such a powerful question. What if you stopped doing what you do? You, of course, would move on, but what happens to those you leave behind. Your co-workers, the company, your clients, those people who used your goods or services? What happens to them? If the answer is simply ‘I’d be replaced and someone else would take over’ then perhaps the answer to whether or not what you’re doing matters is no.
But if the impact would be palpable, If you would be missed, if they might be able to find another body to fill your spot but things would never be the same without you there, or if your clients or customers would want to know where you’re going because they might want to follow you, then you are making an impact. Your work matters. You have found meaning in what you do, and that is a mighty important thing to discover.
It’s worth thinking about the question.
What if you left? Quit? Stopped?
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A whimsy of colorful family members keeping each other from near disaster and headed for love, a fast-paced distraction of a mountain town kidnapping and attempted rescue, a driven retired Naval officer ‘making things right’ wherever she sees the need for practical mercy and justice, a mysterious and understated antiquarian bookstore owner with the key to a customer’s secret heritage. And more.
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This new novel from Michael Jai Grant is a provoking, cinematic read that contends with ignoble parenting, senility and elder-care, and the wispy world of Teenagedom. These are self-empowered women intersecting at vastly different points in their lives; doing the wrong things for the right reasons in an improvised quest to redefine Home. Note: There are no guns in this story.
As a nationally recognized spoken word poet Ms. Cornelius’ poetry focuses on her intersectionality as a black woman, social injustice, and self-love. Her work is unapologetic and aims to disrupt and cause people to get uncomfortable and, in the process, grow.