Just over Broke

February 28, 2023February 28, 2023 John Corrigan

Do you enjoy your job?

I sat in the conference room and watched the presenter write the words Just over Broke on a white board. He then told everyone that the word Job was an acronym and stood for Just over Broke. The presenter let us know that he was offering a career not a job. It was a hard sell on selling. I tried the door to door salesperson thing and it wasn’t for me. I enjoyed meeting with new people everyday I did not enjoy meeting with an agenda. The agenda was to sell.

I have worked in a few industries and each business industry has its own nuances and idiosyncrasies. I honestly have not found a favorite industry or skill in the modern workplace. I have however enjoyed almost every job I have worked at. I have tried very hard to find the silver lining with every situation and my job is no different.

The jobs that I have enjoyed the most though have all the same aspects.

I accomplish things. For jobs that I have enjoyed more than others I find that getting a sense of accomplishment is important. I get such a oxytocin high from starting my day off with a list and then crossing off the tasks as I finish them. Here is a great read about the importance of accomplishment.
I worked with people who acted compassionately and kindly Jobs that I have enjoyed included teams full of positive kind and compassionate people. Work is always a team event and good teams are made up of good team members. Having a great team makes work that much better.
I have worked in companies that have singular missions and ones that have missions that are convoluted. Singular missions seem to work better Everyone at work has there own reasons for being there and usually=y that is monetary however firms have vision statements and a reason that is not just “create profit”. Firms that have all employees working towards that vision are almost always better jobs.

Collaboration is a key part of the success of any organization, executed through a clearly defined vision and mission and based on transparency and constant communication.
Dinesh Paliwal

So I do enjoy my current job and I have no doubt it is because the workplace has me working on meaningful tasks, with great people and all of that is happening with one clear vision.

That cat was a genius

February 27, 2023 John Corrigan

There was this comic strip panel that made the rounds in the 80’s, in the panel Garfield the Cat is wearing his pajamas and is frowning and slumped over. His thought bubble reads “I hate Mondays.” When asked in a Gallup poll how people feel about Mondays, 70 % of the people polled replied to the poll that they hate Mondays. Mondays can be tough especially when coming back from long weekends.

Monday is a change of sleep pattern and pace. Some of us are still in “weekend mode” and Monday morning requires exiting weekend mode and getting into “work mode”. Usually I am a big fan of Monday mornings. Monday is the beginning of something new. Everything that happened last week is over and now we have new opportunities and challenges. Sometimes though it takes a while for me to get out of “weekend mode”, and on those days it takes me a little longer to get started. On those days I have to find ways to start my week.

A good strategy for me is to start Mondays with a last week wrap up and begin to write out work tasks for this new week. Once my tasks are written I find one “easy win” task and try to accomplish this one first. The win helps motivate me and gets my Monday morning started.

Strategies can help us when dealing with the Monday Blahs. Whatever your startegyuis I know that you can do it! Good luck and have a great week and Monday!

That smell or ….

February 24, 2023 John Corrigan

The lobby of a movie theater, the airport concourse, a train station, and the snack bar at a ball game. These are places as a child and an adult that give me an energy from smell and sight and feel that is almost indescribable. I love the feeling while I am in these places. I get excited.

Watching a movie or play is an event. The audience gets to join the actors in an hour and half on a escapist treat for the mind and the senses. Taking a trip to a different place is an event, the passengers of the train plane or automobile will soon be at a new geographic destination. A sporting event involves watching athletes perform and a huge amount of escapism. before and during events like these there is a nervous energy and an excitement that feels and smells different than everyday activities.

Doing new and exciting things in a safe environment is healthy and needed for growth.

Did you feel the excitement of the ride to come? If so, then you have felt potential energy.
unknown

Generating that excitement comes from learning and trying new things and it is hard to describe or bottle up but it is enjoyable. There is a smell and feeling to it and I wish this for everyone everyday. Never be to afraid to do something that gives you this feeling. Make today awesome

Buy Amazon stock

February 22, 2023 John Corrigan

What advice would you give to your teenage self?

Ever since Robert Zemeckis brought the world Back to teh Future in 1985 I cannot help but imagine teenagers and adults all over the world have wondered what they would do if they could jump in the DeLorean and meet their past selves.

What would we warn our past selves off? That one bad relationship that we have scars from? The job we took right after university that had the boss from hell? If you have lived enough you are going to make missteps’.

We learn from failure not from success
Bram Stoker

The mental exercise has been done again and again. The more I consider my past the more I realize that the past has made us who we are today., not really the past but how we react and process the past has made us who we are today and I am not sure that I would want to change anything simply because I am happy now.

One thing I would of course want more of is money or maybe wealth not money. I would love to have the stability and luxury that comes with wealth. In the current pay to play system of the world money provides people security, and control of their time. I would if I could change anything get that security and control.

So if I had to tell my past self anything it would be to buy Amazon stock. as much Amazon stock as I could afford and hold onto it. Amazon opened at 97 cents per share and as of this post the stock was selling at 95 dollars a share. The Amazon stock has split 4 tines as well.

If I bought 100 shares for a little less than 1000 in 1997 I would have just over 2 million dollars! I did not buy that stock so for now I have to get back to work.

What Now?

February 21, 2023 John Corrigan

He was the king of Corinth and a brilliant man. In the Iliad Homer described the king as “the most cunning of men” (Iliad, 6:153). Sisyphus was so cunning that he cheated death twice. Sisyphus tricked Hades and Thanatos. Sisyphus got his comeuppance at the hands of Zeus though and was condemned to push a boulder up a hill for all eternity. Every time Sisyphus neared the end of his task the boulder will and does roll back down hill. Today any task that feels like it will never end or is stuck is often described as a Sisyphean.

We have all been there. The project is rolling along swiftly we are making our deadlines and then we hit a brick wall. There is one task or part that seems to never end. What do we do now? How can we handle a task that seems to never end or what do we do when we are stuck?

When you feel stuck it is important to understand what you are stuck on and why. Not why you are stuck but why the project is taking place. What business problem are you addressing? Often the answer will change the direction of a project sometimes it will not. Sometimes it will reinforce the importance of the project. The most important thing that why does with projects and life is refocus.

Photo by Andrea Piacquadio on Pexels.com

Write down. When you write something down you use the frontal lobe. The frontal lobe is the part of the brain for movement, reasoning, judgement, planning and problem solving.

Talk about it. When you speak you also use the frontal lobe. Speaking and writing will help with problem solving and reasoning.

Finally reach out for help. Sisyphus didn’t have the support structures that many of us have today. Friends, family and colleagues are often looking for ways to help and want to help we just often do not ask. Never be afraid to swallow your pride and reach out for help.

Sola dosis facit venenum

October 25, 2022 John Corrigan

I was rushed off the cattle car with the rest of the soldiers at Fort Sill Oklahoma, the drill sergeants had us line up on the concrete pad and do what felt like a million pushups and sit ups. After the exercises the drill sergeants had us drink all the water in our canteens (two of them), we refilled the canteens and were made to finish off two of them again. Some of the soldiers could not finish the canteens others vomited up the water that they drank. We were dangerously close to hyperhydration or water toxemia. Clean water can become poisonous when too much is drank within a short period of time.

Symptoms of water intoxication tend to start appearing after you consume more than 3 to 4 L of water in a few hours.

“The dose makes the poison” or in Latin, “Sola dosis facit venenum”. In the Christian Bible there is a verse in the book of 1 Corinthians And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible.

There is another idiom I think of as well from Aseop which is; “Too much of a good thing “It is possible to have too much of a good thing.”

Balance is so important in our lives. I have seen people get their dream jobs and experience burn out in less than a year. Some retirees suffer from depression and anxiety from withdrawing from work to rapidly and not keeping themselves busy.

What is the secret to balance then? The secret is to understand that balance is accomplished day by day and looks different for everyone. Listen to yourself and if you need to seek professional help. Often what drives some people is unresolved issues that are not worked out in healthy ways. It is unhealthy to work more than you see your family and we are all doing this right now with the promise of more time from society but that time may never come so when you have that time you want to enjoy it. Finally take time for yourself and family.

Now what

September 16, 2022 John Corrigan

My parents carried cash for everything, cash and checks. When I was in middle school my uncle went o and on about an ATM machine and explained how an ATM card was not a credit card to my parents. Now you are hard pressed to find a person with more than $100 in cash on their person. Money has pretty much been automated.

Restaurants, hotels and health care have taken the reigns as the most labor intensive jobs in the United States. Think about that these jobs are service oriented and produce no physical products. Factory work is far less labor intensive now.

What does it all mean? Well, I think we are currently living at the start of a post scarcity economy. Products and food are in abundance, the need to scrap by or fight for everything we get is now truly a manufactured need and not a real one.

Living in a post scarcity economy means that there should be a shift to better resource management instead there is a shift to service jobs. The lower class is serving the upper class (please bear in mind that the upper class is usually in this position because of birth right).

There is some hope though… I have watched a whole generation resign when covid came and went (sort of people are still struggling with covid but it seems it may be starting to become endemic). After the “great resignation” I watched a whole nation participate in quiet quitting (this is where you simply perform the bare minimum at your position). The transformation from resigning to quitting should change again to setting up a work life balance.

As this article states work life balance is a myth, and what is happening is more of a career or job that is not for money but satisfaction. Within the next generation I predict the end of money and the start of work that is for the purpose of work only.

So now what? I plan on spending more time at home and work doing things that make me feel accomplished than simply paying me money. I plan on doing more work to help others instead of helping myself to the over abundant supply of stuff and I think the world would be much happier if we all did the same thing.

Only God

September 6, 2022 John Corrigan

I remember growing up and seeing a key chain. The key chain belonged to my maternal grandmother and I think it said something like “only God can make a Tomato”. I think I am really not sure what the vegetable was, I know it had to do with the sovereignty of god and faith. My grandmother and mom were huge proselytizers for the Christian faith, my mother still is.

I remember hating tomato’s growing up I have come around to tomato’s and enjoy salsa and tacos however you will not catch me eating a BLT.

Last weekend was a holiday weekend here in the United States and my wife, 2 dogs and three kids all left the city and spent time in our camper near the river. While swimming in the river and walking the dog I thought about how foolish we humans are and I thought about that keychain. Humans have been given almost everything they need to survive and thrive from God, nature, mother earth or providence depending on your belief system and humans have paved it over.

The tomato key chain and our weekend enjoying the natural world also makes me think about the poem trees by Joyce Kilmer

Trees

BY JOYCE KILMER

I think that I shall never see

A poem lovely as a tree.

A tree whose hungry mouth is prest

Against the earth’s sweet flowing breast;

A tree that looks at God all day,

And lifts her leafy arms to pray;

A tree that may in Summer wear

A nest of robins in her hair;

Upon whose bosom snow has lain;

Who intimately lives with rain.

Poems are made by fools like me,

But only God can make a tree.

Don’t get me wrong humans are capable of many amazing things even creation, but all of humanity’s acts of creation pale in comparison to what has already been created and perhaps the best thing humanity can do is participate not in destructive creation but disruptive innovation and environmental conservationism.

Disruptive innovation and environmental conservationism focus on being a responsible citizen of the earth and understanding that we were given everything we need to not only survive but thrive.

What did you do???

August 29, 2022 John Corrigan

My wife was helping my step daughter write a resume. A good resume will show your education, experience and what you have been able to provide to the companies you have worked for as far as value.

Basically the resume will show what you have done. Let’s say that you implemented a new training program and that program has been used by all trainees you would put something like; “Created and implemented training program responsible for 80 + new managers and supervisors”.

Work and life can become a sort of hamster wheel. We wake up and go through the motions nothing seems to change and we seem to be in the same place we where yesterday. Building or updating resumes gives us a chance to take stock of what we have done professionally and that is important because, even if we do not see it we have done some things.

It is important that you know that your work matters and makes a difference.

No work is insignificant. All labor that uplifts humanity has dignity and importance and should be undertaken with painstaking excellence
Martin Luther King Jr.

All work should help others, the only work that would not matter then would be work that hurts other. Let us call work that hurts others bad work. So it is good works that matter and if you do good work you will make a difference for others.

Never stop doing the good work you are doing. Godspeed and good luck

It is a treat in itself

August 4, 2022 John Corrigan

There is a quote that seems to make the rounds on the internet about this time of the year. The quote is by J.D. Roberts and it reads

When there is no consequence for poor work ethic, and no reward for good work ethic, there is no motivation.
JD Roberts

I assume the reason for this quote at this time of year is that hard workers in organizations begin to experience burnout. Part of the burnout may involve some sour grapes type of thinking. Jim works hard is always on time and stays late it is August because of his late nights he is tired Bob sits one cubicle over and is late leaves early and doesn’t seem to be tired. While doom scrolling Jim sees this JD Roberts quote on insta and likes it shares it on Facebook and now he is angry at Bob their manager and the entire corporation.

I feel like, the moment we begin to compare our lives to others is the moment we start to go to dark places that no one should be in. There is a scripture in the Old testament and Torah it reads

You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor’s

Exodous 20:17

I always assumed covet meant steal but I think on deeper inspection covet can me long for. When we compare ourselves with others covet is quickly behind. “I wish I could be like Bob and have 0 cares in the world concerning work and 0 consequences for my poor work ethic. The scripture calls covet a sin. A sin is a big deal in the spiritual world and coveting can do some serious damage to morale and mental well being.

Everybody will experience burn out when this happens we should avoid looking out side ourselves and look internally. How did you let work do this to you? How can you stop this from happening? Set a schedule for work and stick to it. Do not spread yourself to thin and say no sometimes.

If you are a manager and you are contemplating giving out consequences for poor work ethic consider another quote first…

Hard work IS its own reward. Integrity IS priceless. Art DOES feed the soul.
Marcus Samuelsson

Are you properly motivating your work force? Do you have the proper workforce? Ideally your employees would be passionate about their work so much so that they feel like their work is more of an art form than just a job.

The jobs that are being staffed are they BS jobs? There is this great book about these types of jobs.