Why Do You Work?

Do Not Live to Work – Work to Live

Make this the ‘WHY’ in your life, and the WHO, WHAT, WHEN, WHERE and HOW will present themselves in due course.

The year is now well past its midpoint, and as we enter the ‘dog days’ of summer we note that families are wrapping up vacations, kids are coming home from camps or visits with relatives or finishing bible schools, students are preparing to return to classes soon, and there’s a sense of melancholy creeping into all aspects of our lives.

As an entrepreneur, it’s time to pause and take stock of where we are…and where we’re heading…which has put me in a reflective mood. That being said, this month’s commentary is not focused on one subject, or lesson, or tips for better performance; it’s a selection of notes and suggestions from my journal that I hope will serve as a reminder that you – we – should not ‘live to work’ but strive to ‘work to live’.

There is no rhyme or reason for the order, I simply wish for something to strike a nerve, touch your heart, or light a fire in your soul.

Time is a truly finite asset, and once expended it cannot be recovered or replaced. Money can – but time cannot. I stress this with members of the younger generation or business owners in reference to life in general, but mainly regarding their children.

After four-plus decades owning and operating my own advertising and design firm, I learned early on that the greatest benefit was not the money I could make but the control I could have over my time. As I look back, I am not wealthy and set aside the chance of growing my company larger and making more money by opting to stay small and basically a one-man operation.

I may have sacrificed much financially, but I more than gained by being present for most every event in my daughter’s lives as they grew up. Plus, I was able to work on our family farm with my dad, which taught me life lessons I in turn applied to my business.

Time invested wisely is time that is priceless. Time spent wisely is not time lost but saved.

As owner of my company, when I did have employees, I never asked them to do something I wouldn’t do myself. I not only ran the firm, I took the bad along with the good. I delivered printing, cleaned the office, carried out the trash, purged files, did accounting, answered the phone, etc.

Lead by words only and you may turn around to find no one there. Lead by example and people will line up behind you…eager to follow.

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

Share your voice with the world. Accept and embrace the fact we all possess some level of unique wisdom or experience, and there is someone out there that desperately needs to hear it.

Touch one soul, change one attitude, cause one person to smile, enrich one person’s mind, make one person’s heart a little warmer, or change one individual’s direction or path…and your day has been successful.

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

Life is a constant fight, a battle with others or with ourselves. You are in the ring daily. However, look at it as if Round One is over. It’s Round Two – come out pacing, not swinging.

For the win goes to the persistent one, the one who learns from the competition. The one that adjusts as the match progresses. The one that begins to see the next move before it happens; the one that takes a single punch in order to strike back with two. The one with the passions to endure, to enrich, to evolve. The one that becomes extraordinary.

The bell has rung…move in.

At some point in their professional or personal lives, each person will find themselves at a dead end, in a situation with seemingly no way out. It may be a financial crisis, troubles in a relationship, a personal or family tragedy, or business problems that seem insurmountable.

This is when one’s true character and will to survive accepts what is reality – and adapts. No outside force will get you out of the hole you’re in. No government interaction. No family member or friend. No amount of money falling from the sky. The only way out is back through the way in. Reverse your thoughts, your actions, your very interpretation of reality.

Only then will you see the light. Only then will you find the path. Only then will you see a clearer future…through the past. Reality can hurt – but it can also be a source of infinite growth and opportunity. Lessons learned is experience earned.

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

Those you may lose as you grow your business, enlarge your horizons, expand your knowledge, or move in larger circles tend to have already been lost…you just did not yet know it. Those that remain with you already approve and will make your efforts to fulfill your dreams an easier and more enjoyable journey.

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

Now, to end with seven habits that will make your life smoother and more worry-free:

• honor your word – character counts
• pay your bills
• be on time, or early
• when in doubt, ask
• cash is king, credit is a killer
• never lie – tell the truth to your family, your clients, your vendors, and yourself
• say ‘thank you’ at every opportunity

Dwight O. Chandler owns Chandler Marketing Group, is the organizing director of the ‘Every Person A Winner’ coaching and publishing program. He is a LevelNext mentor, an artist, author and lives on the farmland that has been in his family’s lineage since 1797.

Contact Information

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dwight-chandler-38a46437/

Email: dchandler214@yahoo.com

Header Image Credit: Andrea Piacquadio. Find it here.