On a Strong Work Ethic

Well of recent I have been prone to muse about the trappings of the workplace and the requisite industry of any strong society. I am at a crossroads having left the traditional workplace for pursuit into the full-time military six years whence. Ah, but the wisdom of Uncle Sugar's Army hath but delivered that blow-fatale' to one's career, that fateful siren of the mandatory retirement. The winds of change are a'blowin'.

Wistful as one can be on promotions never earned, I can now resolutely say that I will never hear the words, "General Crow". I must admit that sounds good but it is not to be. But what of us mid-lifers? At this juncture, its a tough economy out there. I am reminded of being thirty-one years in and out of the work-place now and I have some strong understanding of my capabilities and aptitudes, talents, passions and frankly, what to avoid like a plague. I mean you are not going to want me to run a machine....I would fall asleep out of sheer boredom, or the whole factory would die because of my daydreaming! Now I could be a brain surgeon, but I would have to understand a little bit about it before I jumped right in!

Most of my peers getting to this point in their careers opt for the government contractor jobs. They have'nt earned the moniker, "Beltway Bandits" for no reason! Some strive for the golden goose; the coveted government civil-servant job with all its security and fortunes. OK, living in North Alabama where I grew up, the so-called fortune equals a really good salary, but here in DC, it can also mean supplementing your income with a pizza job. I know this first-hand. It gives me pause here.

I see the value of hard work over intellect, creativity and giftedness. I once had a college engineering professor tell me, "you learn to love the "A" Students because they are the ones who come back and are great teaching assistants or professors; but you also learn to love the "C" students because it is they who come back and build you a new reaserch lab through a handsome endowment"! I like that, because it personfies the maxim that human potential through talent and intelligence is not always what its marketed to be. I have seen plenty of educated people in my years here. Much of the constituency that I have served and have served with have had many advanced degrees, many PhDs. Much of my counsel to young up-and-coming fledglings (and I have seen many) is to tell them, "you dont need a PhD, you need a JOB", go out kill something, bring it home and eat it! This is where I want to take us here.

The purest and brilliant minds are of no count if one hasn't the discipline, the motivation, the punch and the grit to apply it to the task ahead of him, and press things to a close. One's giftedness does not determine his position in life; your abilities are not your measure; only what you produce. What determines your peace with who you are? Find out how God made you and pursue this to its infinite end with fervor!

Give me somebody with the determination to see things through, who is not afraid to put his shoulder into the task and we can accomplish many things! Give me someone who has discovered how and why God made them and its better than any symphony; its a masterpiece! I am reminded of Eric Liddel the scottish olympian (movie "Chariots of Fire") and missionary to China, and I am inspired. He lost the opportunity to qualify for his event because he chose out of principle not to run on the Lord's Day. His sister asked him, why he put himself through the agony of running and training so much, only to fail because of his forfeiture. He said, "I believe that God made me for a purpose (China), but He also made me fast. When I run, I feel His pleasure". Upon his graduation from Edinburgh University, he gave an unexpected speech, he shared the following:

"Over the gate at the University of Pennsylvania there is a motto, which reads, ‘In the dust of defeat as well as in the laurels of victory there is a glory to be found if one has done his best.’ There are many men and women who have done their best, but who have not succeeded in gaining the laurels of victory. To them, as much honor is due as to those who have received these laurels."