Get a 'Real' Job
Career coach Dan Miller shares his hints for a happier and more profitable job.
Mercy Me, Bart, Just Get a 'Real' Job
The great singing group Mercy Me joined us on the Intelligence for your Life cruise. Of course, they sang "I Can Only Imagine" and many other of their inspiring songs. We also had informal time to hang out and ask questions. Someone asked Bart Millard how they came up with the name Mercy Me. Bart explained that several years ago he and two friends formed their little group and started singing at church camps. They would receive a “love offering” and with those contributions of $20 and $30 would attempt to buy hotdogs for the week and put gas in their cars.
One evening he was describing their then current situation to his grandma. In exasperation Grandma said, “Mercy me, Bart, why don’t you just get a real job?” Thus the name Mercy Me was birthed. Six million albums and a Grammy nomination later, Bart can laugh about Granny’s frustration.
How many of you had a grandma, or a mom or dad, or an Uncle Harry, or respected teacher who told you to forget your dreams and just get a real job? My own dad understands milking cows or picking corn to create income, but still doesn’t fully comprehend why people pay me for just talking and writing. I just never could get very excited about a "real" job, so I had to figure out how to make something else work.
Romance at Work
Make sure you know where to direct your romantic urges. A new survey by Spherion Corporation, a recruiting and staffing company, shows that nearly 40 percent of American workers have dated a co-worker. Thirty-four percent of these romances led to marriage. What the survey does not show is how many marriages were destroyed prior to these office romances. However, 22 percent of the workers surveyed said they have in fact dated a colleague who was married. Fourteen percent have dated their married boss.
"Given that most of us spend at least a third of our day at work, there's plenty of opportunity to consider a workplace romance," John Heins, senior vice president and chief human resources officer at Spherion, said in a press release. Throw in overnight trips, happy hour after work, late night working, conferences, and awards for team efforts and you have the recipe for developing relationships that go far beyond working together. People often look, smell, and act their very best at work – and then feel underappreciated at home.
This is a growing phenomenon that is complicating workplaces and decimating families. Remember the old days when families lived and worked together? It was rare for my dad to leave the farm more than once or twice a week. He and Mom were married for 62 years.
Don’t let this modern-day workplace challenge complicate your life. By working at home I can be infatuated with the only woman I see during the day – and night. Romance can take place at any time.
