Posts Tagged ‘motivational stories’
Squawk about conforming
December 12th, 2009
I hated Casual Fridays.
No, it wasn’t because I didn’t like having a chance to dress down a bit. It was because my organization had been taken over by a prig who had no interest in the welfare of the workers—or the welfare of the company for that matter. And rather than addressing real issues of wage inequities and mismanagement, the new president thought he could make it all better by tossing us a bone: Casual Fridays.
So when Casual Fridays rolled around, I made it a point to dress my best. The priggish president never noticed and wouldn’t have cared if he had. But at least I knew I wasn’t going beak down like the chickens Gordon Mackenzie’s dad “mesmerized” back in the summer of 1904. Read the rest of this entry »
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Learn to picture success
November 28th, 2009
A few years ago, I lost my way while sightseeing in an unfamiliar city. Suddenly I was alone, on foot, in a deserted area with no map to guide me. Searching the skyline, I spotted the steeple of a famous church building and kept winding through the back streets toward it. As long as the destination was in my sights, I knew I’d get there eventually.
But what happens if you can’t visualize your goals? Usually, it’s failure—as American swimmer Florence Chadwick once learned the hard way.
Why try your best?
November 7th, 2009
Several years ago I worked with a woman who confided that every morning she drove into the parking lot, then sat in her car with her head on the steering wheel trying to will herself to go into the building. That’s how much she hated her job. And knowing her supervisor, I couldn’t blame her. But once she walked into her office, she always maintained her professionalism and did her job well.
At least once in our working lives, most of us will know what it’s like to be stuck in a job we loathe. And if that’s where you are right now, you probably wake up every morning wondering why you bother to put in so much effort for people who make your life miserable, who don’t pay half what you’re worth, or who can’t tell the difference between good work and crappy work anyway.
When you feel like that, just think about Mrs. Staples.