Thursday, April 2, 2009

For the Love of the Job


I was watching the PBS animated children's series, Arthur, with my kids several years ago and one episode in particular has stuck with me. Arthur's best buddy Francine was mortified because her father had volunteered to talk about his job for her school's 'Career Day' and he was, of all things, a garbage man. Francine was totally embarrassed by her father's work and wanted to hide under a rock. Funny thing though -- by the time her dad had finished his presentation, every kid in her class, and every kid and parent watching the episode, was excited about a garbage man's job. Francine's father was so passionate about every aspect of the garbage collecting process -- it made all of us see his job in a new light.

Even though it was just a cartoon, the episode got me thinking about trash collecting and all the jobs we take for granted. There are so many different jobs out there, all interesting in their own way, and we have no idea what they entail or that some even exist -- but they ultimately help make this world go around.

If there is a real live person out there who loves collecting trash, I would love to interview him or her. Whether it's repairing shoes, tuning pianos, running a restaurant or a Fortune 500 company -- it's fascinating to learn about the different jobs out there, especially when the people doing them are passionate about their work. I'll be sharing stories about people doing all kinds of interesting work, and loving it, in these posts. I hope the stories and interviews featured here can help foster an appreciation for the different types of jobs that are out there, and inspire you to love your work too.

I love to interview people and tell their stories -- especially when it comes to their work lives. So, here's to forward momentum.

Good work until the next...

Carolyn

3 comments:

  1. Ah, Carolyn, Goethe and Helen Gallagher would both be proud that you have begun your blog. Congratulations.

    In case you are looking for an interesting job, my husband owns a pet shop. He has tens of thousands of SKUs, all different products, plus much of his inventory is alive. His name is Kenn at www.theanimalstore.com. A few months ago, I also started a blog for the store: http://theanimalstore.blogspot.com. Check it out and let me know what you think.

    Finally, just in case you lost it, here's the link to my blog. Helen inspired me as well (only it was the last time she spoke at OCWW)

    Two Kinds of People
    http://2kop.blogspot.com

    Congratulations again! When you are ready, I would be happy to add Doing Work You Love! to my blogroll.

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  2. Hey, Carolyn, thanks for adding Two Kinds of People to your blog list. Would you like me to reciprocate?

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  3. Congrats, Carolyn, on taking the plunge.

    It's a worthy topic you've chosen for this blog, and one you have a lot of passion for; I look forward to seeing what you do and how you grow from it.

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