"Labor of Love"

OUTSIDE OF MAN there is not an idle atom in the universe; everything is working out its mission "Work is the one great law of the world," said Zola, "which leads organized matter slowly but steadily to its own goal." Life has no other meaning.

"Work or starve," is nature's motto—and it is written on the stars and the sod alike—starve mentally, starve morally, starve physically. It is an inexorable law of nature that whatever is not used, dies. "Nothing for nothing," is her maxim. If we are idle and shiftless by choice, we shall be nerveless and powerless by necessity.

Most of the world's greatest successes chose to either work hard or spend many daily hours in their endeavors. Most of them did both. Fifty or sixty hours a week on the job by these men and women in their labor of love was not nearly as exhausting as an eight hour day put in by an employee who treats his employment as drudgery.

When you just can't wait to get on the job early in the morning and find it difficult to leave late in the day, you can well say that you are engaged in a labor of love. Note the veterinarian who has an intense love for animals. Observe the long hours that he devotes to the practice of his profession. These long hours are not tiring, but on the contrary they are refreshing, vitalizing and stimulating. That is the way all work should be.

It is a pitiful sight to see men and women engaged in work which to them is drudgery. Unless you love your work, you are wasting your labors. Regardless of your past experience or training, move on into the job in which you are happy. It is far better to be a happy mechanic or machinist than an attorney, unhappy with his profession. Happiness, love should be the deciding factor—not the pay. One of these happy former aircraft mechanics is today president of a leading airline company.

You've heard a lot about aptitudes but it is attitude that counts most—not aptitude.

Organize your work so that you won't have to devote so many hours to it. I am sure that you recognize the fact that one can piddle for fifteen hours yet accomplish far less than the man who organizes his work and keeps everlastingly at it for eight hours, without wasting a minute.

The value you place on your job can best be determined by what you do with each golden moment of time. If you idle or waste time on the job you clearly indicate that you have little respect for it. It will reward you in exactly the same manner.

An Arabic proverb says: 'Lou can only take out of a pot what you put into it." Don't expect more out of your job than you put into it. The more "brains" that you mix with your muscles, the greater the rewards. Be conscientious, be dedicated, be devoted to your task. Give it everything you've got. The quality of your work is your trademark.