What does it mean?  Choose a Job You Love, and You Will Never Have To Work a Day in your Life.  This may be true for some occupations, some self-employed people, maybe even some that get great satisfaction from their careers. Like Firemen, or EMTs, or Doctors.   But even they work hard for that satisfaction.  Louis Armstrong said he had never worked a day in his life.  Willie Nelson has said he hasn’t had to work for years.  Yet they will play and perform until they have turned to dust of the earth.  I think the arts are one of the areas where hard work leads to such self-satisfaction that what we perceive as an incredible amount of work produces an extreme sense of value.  Successful athletes often say they were the luckiest people in the world to be able to continue their childhood games into their adult life and get paid for it.  But how lucky must you be to be gifted with great athletic prowess.

As a youngster, I was the fastest in my class. I had fantastic times in the 100yd dash. I was always a length ahead of anyone else. Then one day I got beaten. So, I practiced and trained harder.  But I was still beaten. No matter the time I put in, I was getting slower compared to my competition.  So my coach said I was a much stronger person, denser, and tougher than the skinny, light weight runners who were out running me.  He suggested I would be a better biker. So I took up serous biking.  I biked everywhere. 10-20 miles a day. Learned all the techniques. Improving my bike with modifications and expensive parts. But I never caught up to the really fast riders.  However, I liked biking enough to start a bike shop and run it for a few years. It was hard work for not too much reward. It turned out not to be the job I loved.

Then there was college. I was smitten about animal behavior and wildlife protection and management. I took all the classes I could on zoology, histology, anatomy, physiology, and behavior. I learned the chemistry of life and of the environment. Organic Chemistry, Biological Chemistry, Inorganic Chemistry. I took many Management courses for natural resources and recreation. I learned about ecology, nature, and all the biological systems that weave all this information into our natural world.  I had found my true love of knowledge. Out of college I applied to the wildlife agencies. After waiting on the civil service list, I was hired. But, all that I had learned was no longer useful.  The only thing that mattered was making my boss happy.  Doing grunt work to clear trails, make signs, or count fish.  Filling out inventory forms, activity logs. tool and equipment requisitions.  The work I had dreamed of and yearned for was not happening in my “real Job”.  It was happening on college campuses by grad students. The government jobs were dealing with “the Public” to make them think careful management was maintaining whatever it is they wanted.  More Deer, Less deer. More Hunting, less hunting. Bigger Fish, More Fish, better fish.  Every group, every community meeting had a different slant and a different strategy to make the people happy.  I was living politics instead of wildlife. It was time to move on.

So, I had dreamed my dreams. I wasn’t an athlete, I wasn’t a “wildlifer”, but I now was old enough to need a real job. Time to find out what I was good at that I could do for the rest of my life. I transferred into a State job with the Dept of Safety and Health.  All my biological and chemistry courses made me a good candidate.  After 1 year I transferred into a Federal Job with OSHA.  Then I moved into a private Job with a major manufacturer.  The money was unbelievable after working in government.  Suddenly I could be the person who has time and money to do what I really wanted to do, but on my own time.  My job was very tolerable. The People I worked for and with were respectful and helpful. It was a great situation.  I felt fulfilled and was sure I could be happy doing this for my career.  But it was a time of corporate turmoil and economic change, and my company re-adjusted their workforce and I was laid off.    I got another job doing the same thing, And after a number of Years I got laid off again when the company relocated to Canada, but I continued to find good active employment in the same career  This happened every 3years through the 80’s & 90’s until 2001.  Finally, I was in a stable company.  I still had good relationships, good support.  I was working in something I liked, but it was still a job and I had found the most satisfaction in my outside activities and family life.  I loved going to work, but I also loved coming home. Life is good in a balanced work-home life world.

And that is the way I will end.  I love my job.  I feel I am doing good.  I am doing good for me, I am doing good for others, and I am doing good for the company.  And at home I have found a new interest in travel and exploration with my newest furry companion.  I like what I am doing.  I don’t need to be the best. I don’t need to be the most popular.  I am doing what I am doing because I like what I am doing and I like where it is taking me. I love to chop wood. I can see what I’m doing, how the progression is making a change.    Maybe that is something I should have learned earlier. Maybe that is something that should go along with the saying “Choose a Job You Love, and You Will Never Have To Work a Day in your Life”.  Add to that “if there is balance in your home life and your work life, you will always be happy”. And you will be happy to work, even if it is hard work. What makes work “Good Work”?  Being respected, appreciated, and being able to see your accomplishments.  Leave me a comment on what makes you happy about your life.

Thanks for stopping by!  Stay Safe, Stay Happy!

Rick & Akela