Monday, September 03, 2007

Labor Day c/o Seth

Thanks to Anne Jackson & her blog over at Mad Church Disease, I got a chance to read an incredible post by Seth Godin today entitled Labor Day. Man, this thing has got stuff to say to anyone who's "taking what they're giving" (hi, Huey!)... and it particularly resonates with me as a pastor, since risk-aversion is a common malady in my line of work. Go read it, already!
None of the people who are racking up amazing success stories and creating cool stuff are doing it just by working more hours than you are. And I hate to say it, but they're not smarter than you either. They're succeeding by doing hard work.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Just wanted to say thanks for the link! I'm glad the post Seth did resonated with you!

Scott Rushing said...

I completely agree with his initial assessment - that those of us who primarily sit at a desk all day do not know what hard work is. Farming, coal mining, and other occupations that exert your body all day long...that is hard work. Working long hours is not the same as working hard hours.

So I'm not sure I completely go with him as he transitions to the definition of hard work as something that is emotionally distressing, or potentially risky, or whatever.

I think my problem with this transition is a semantic one. Those of us who put in long hours, and produce much mental sweat and anxiety, need another way of explaining our work. By comparison to a guy who works in a meat packing plant, I can't complain about my "hard work." And yet, in my own way, I do work hard at the job that I do.

Anyway, 2 cents worth of thought there for you. I can't think of a way to semantically distinguish these different currents of work. Perhaps someone else has a suggestion.