Passion

I never can figure out why someone can keep doing the same thing over and over again with no passion. Just sleepwalking through it, whatever "it" may be. I see it all the time in the construction industry. A guy shows up to work, usually on time, but not always, and just does his job........but boringly. I mean he doesn't even care enough to remember or retain vital elements to his progression in his "career". As an employer it is so frustrating.

I know when I was an apprentice, in my late teens, I did not want construction to be my career. I thought the whole industry was too unstable and planned on getting a degree and doing something else. Even though I felt this way, I learned everything I could to advance my skills and abilities as a builder. I wanted to make more money and I wanted to be "the man" on the site. I would look at the guy that was further along than me and I wanted to be him. It wasn't long before there wasn't anyone on the job site that was further along. That didn't mean I was done learning stuff, hell, I learned something today. The difference is I'll remember it and apply it the next time. Why? Because I care.

Some people might say that I pulled this off because I'm smarter, or more gifted, or at an advantage because I grew up in the industry. The reality is it comes down to two things and two things only.

1) Always strive to work harder than everyone around me.

Be an example of how hard you should work, even if it's not your job to do so. And if you are already out performing everyone, pretend they're outworking you. If you do this you'll find its contagious, they'll start working closer to your pace. Another side effect is that time will fly by. The best side effect is that you will get better faster and retain more of what you learn. You are forced to learn to think one, two and three steps ahead, which has a dynamic effect on your learning curve.

I firmly believe that I'm not that smart. My wife is the smart one. I just know how to make up for most of my shortcomings with hard work.

2) Learn from the best people that are available to you.

Most everyone has people available to learn from. The key is: it's your job to learn from them, not necessarily their job to teach you. Watch and learn! Learning means remembering what you've been shown. I hate that I have to reteach stuff that we've done numerous times before. I'm not talking about something we did for ten minutes last month. I mean the stuff we worked on for days, or even weeks, last month or even a couple of months ago and now you forget how to do it. Maybe even don't know how to get started. Learning=progressing=increased value to you employer=increased pay and benefits.

Duh! Then they wonder why they haven't gotten raises in pay.

The bottom line is if you're not progressing then you DON'T CARE. If you cared you'd remember, retain, and you'd be a hard worker.

You can apply this same formula to anything in your life. I strive to apply this to my relationship with my wife and kids, my physical workouts, my job, and my fun and recreation.

Forgive my rant.

Another resolution this year is that I am not going to tolerate people that sleepwalk through things that should be important to them. It's a disservice to them. They must need a kick in the butt to go find something they can be passionate about.