Living life with vision
I was talking with a friend on Tuesday about a new business venture I’m considering. Sensing my passion for the idea yet considerable hesitation, she said…
What’s holding you back? What are you afraid of?
Wise words… I’m still pondering the reasons for my apprehension. I’m also now thinking of solutions and ways to overcome.
Ever get distracted by competing interests, multiple projects and demands on your time?
When you are dreading going to work, Karl Edwards says:
Give yourself the gift of focus. Take one thing at a time. If everything is overwhelming you, then select something…I am suggesting focus as a line of action. One thing. Catch up on your email. Clean your desk. Finish a proposal. Fix the broken machine.
Fredia Woolf shows us how to focus on our strengths:
The trick to getting ourselves and others to focus on strengths and on what is going well is knowing how to ask the right questions. So, if you are in a job search, instead of berating yourself with the question, “Why haven’t I yet found a job? What’s wrong with me?” you would instead ask, “How did Joe find his new position? What can I learn from him?” or “What could I do differently that will help me get a better result?”
Bradley J. Moore asks: Is There A Better Version of You Out There Somewhere?
Are your decisions based on what you might lose, or what you might gain? Sometimes we are better off cutting loose from something good in order to achieve something better. It’s risky, sure, and inevitably involves greater sacrifice and effort. But it may be the only way to find out what we are meant for.
For me I’ve found that first choosing the right projects from the start is real important. As Bradley says, sometimes you just have to say no to something so you can say yes to something else.
On a practical day-to-day level, I recently started using a time tracking software called Freshbooks. It allows me to use a live time tracker so I know how much time I am spending on each project. I use it for my clients as well as some of my own projects. It definitely keeps me focused on the task at hand rather than getting disctracted. I have heard others say they use a simple kitchen timer to help stay on track.
How do you find focus in your work? What benefits have you found by finding the right focus, on the right things?
I recently wrote a few thoughts about meaningful work where in the comments section the topic of pay was addressed. When searching for a new job the salary is one of the most important details. So why do some employers omit the salary from job postings, instead requiring you to provide your salary requirements?
Pay ranges may be standardized at corporations and fairly consistent for the same job type at different companies. So providing your “salary requirements” may be somewhat easier when applying for corporate jobs. Unfortunately in the nonprofit sector the pay scale is often not up to the standards of the business world.
So what is a job applicant to do? Decide on what you are “worth” and stick to it, or accept lower pay depending on the position?
Kerry Hannon says that for women “lower pay is not a deal-breaker. Realistically, many back-to-work moms have a partner’s income to help cushion a change to the nonprofit field and can more readily cope with the inevitable pay cut that may mean at least initially.”
There are two inherent gender biases in this statement that I have to take issue with. First the generalization that all women have partners that are the “breadwinners” and secondly that women should accept lower pay when circumstances allow. Accepting that nonprofits pay less and “that’s just the way it is” enables this inequality to continue.
Working day in and day out in a job that you love, but that doesn’t pay the bills, would be a major source of stress. Further it could contribute to burnout, which is already high in the nonprofit sector. Laura Gassner Otting stated and Elisa M. Ortiz illustrated the issue of burnout in their posts featured in last month’s Nonprofit Blog Carnival.
Beyond the personal and gender implications, Dan Pollottas asserts in his book Uncharitable that pay inequality is one of the major issues that hurts the effectiveness of nonprofit organizations individually and the sector as a whole.
To be frank, there have been several times where I have accepted lower pay because of other benefits provided. I’ve worked temp jobs which offer no job security or benefits, as a stop-gap income during career transitions. However, when looking for a long term, permanent position concessions on pay are difficult to make.
After about six months of job hunting I’m starting to think Tim Berry is right: entrepreneurs are unemployable. In many respects I’d much rather work for myself. Flexible schedule, I call the shots. More risk but more possible reward.
Wait… those are all great benefits. But what is my greatest desire? I want to do work that is meaningful.
That’s why I’m so glad to have found a (very) part-time gig doing web editing for LLYC. (I talked about that in yesterday’s post).
Finding meaningful work could be on my own, with a corporation or nonprofit. It doesn’t matter the entity. That is why as I’ve looked at job openings I’ve not limited myself to any one particular type of organization or industry.
But what does meaningful work mean to me? It’s something that is…
It also has to be a good fit. Often there’s this indefinable quality that can make a position either a great fit or one to scratch off the list. I applied for a job several months ago that hit all of the above qualities on paper. But when I interviewed, I just didn’t click with the people I’d be working with. I was left with a very different impression than I expected. My instincts were right; I didn’t even get the courtesy of a return to my follow up calls or form letter rejection from them.
So what is meaningful work for you?
Once a month for the past seven years I have attended a small group called Saint Simeon. Sometimes this is the only time we see one another, but like a family, when we get together it is like no time has passed.
Our creed begins…
We gather together in a small group to pray,
to seek spiritual wisdom and understanding,
to ask God to lead and direct our lives,
Being together helps to strengthen our faith
and gives us a feeling of Community.
I have recently joined a wonderful online community with a similar purpose. It’s called The High Calling (THC) which features “everyday conversations about work, life and God.” There are several staff writers and editors, and then a network of independent bloggers.
Actually, I thought I was just applying for a job. The Laity Lodge Youth Camp, which is also affiliated with THC, needed a part-time web editor. I applied and after a phone interview I was hired. I’m excited about helping create an engaging web presence for the camp.
But what I have discovered is more than just a job. I’ve found a supportive, inspiring and at times challenging community in the group of editors (all of whom are linked in the sidebar at right) and in the other bloggers in the community. I already feel apart of something great… that I know is having an impact in the lives of others and that will help me along my life journey as well.
Sometimes you go looking for a place to belong. Sometimes it finds you.
