Ailian Gan | >140

The way to love your job

Step 1. Follow that feeling
Last March, I almost chose a different path. I actually gave up this job, almost signed with another one. But then I just couldn’t fight the feeling. It ate at me. I couldn’t sleep. I was terrified that I was changing my mind so dramatically - overnight it seemed! I’m not one to make fickle decisions. When I make decisions, major ones, even smaller ones, I tend to know. But it was just one of those few moments in life where the feeling overrode everything else. I wanted to move across the country and take this job with a startup that I frankly knew very, very little about.

I would say whenever you get that feeling, follow it. Especially if you think of yourself as a rational person. Follow it. 

Step 2. When you get there, give it all you’ve got
People tend to put too much effort into a getting a job, and sometimes even a wrong job. This seems to be especially prevalent among b school types. They don’t put enough effort into the job itself when they get there. Given that you should be at your job longer than you spent recruiting for it, it would make sense to channel your efforts into the actual job. 

If you have gone through the pains to find work that you deem worthwhile, the thing that matters is committing to the work.

Step 3. Then let it go, give it away
Give away the success. The only thing you can do with any success you receive is to use it to benefit others. Any skill, power, influence you accumulate must be used to help those around you do better. You can’t hold onto it anyway. I know, I’ve tried holding onto it before and lost more than I thought was possible. So I have learned that the best way to hold onto success is to give it away. 

And give, more. This week came with a very nice prize. Regardless of whether I deserve the prize, I know that the conditions that led to the circumstances that made the prize possible, the conditions that made it possible for me to love my job? That is undeserved good. Grace.

A good friend sent a note this morning saying the universe has been kind to him recently, so he’s doing his regular habit of putting money into Kiva. A good reminder. I put $100 into Kiva this morning and will give more this weekend.