Wednesday, August 8, 2012

THINK WORK INSTEAD OF JOB


7 DAILY NUGGETS:
Think work instead of job!
Why all the talk about jobs when meaningful work is what we need?

1) Work and job are similar words yet they have different meanings. Job is referred to the work an individual does for a living. Job is a small piece of work done for private advantage. A job is an activity that an individual performs in exchange for a specific fee or payment. A job is referred to as an occupation, profession, career, or trade. A job is a responsibility of an individual towards his employer that he must perform well because he is paid for it. A job is a formal kind of work. In a job one gets into a contract with his employer, abiding by the regulations of the company. In a job, the goals and targets are more specific and well laid out for the employees to follow and achieve; someone else tell you what to do.

2) Work is defined as a physical or mental activity that is performed in order to accomplish or produce something. Work is an activity in which one exerts strength or faculties to do or perform something. Work is a sustained physical or mental effort to overcome obstacles and achieve an objective or result. Work is the transference of energy that is produced by motion. Work is something that results from a particular manner or method of working, operating, or devising. Work has a broader meaning and can refer to all kinds of activities that an individual does. It can be something that one does in the performance of his responsibilities to his family, his customers, and his community. It can also be something that one does because he loves doing it like gardening or a hobby. An individual does not always have to be paid for his work unlike a job in which one is paid for.

3) Confused? Let’s try again! A job is an activity that an individual performs in exchange for payment while work is an activity that an individual performs in order to produce or accomplish something. Individuals perform their jobs in order to get monetary compensation while people work on something not only to earn but also as part of their responsibility towards others which may not involve any direct compensation.

4) So why everyone talks about jobs and so few talk about work? Work, more than a job, is what gives people dignity. Why the government wants people to get jobs? Could the answer be that the government gets a share of our money even before we do? Why do politicians love to talk about jobs and people don’t like to hear about work? Amazing how a job even defines what one does for a living. Should it be that way? To a great extent a job creates a form of dependence. Employees keep going back to their jobs so they can get money to pay their bills and make a living. Jobs require training while work requires an education.

5) In the new entrepreneurial economy we must talk a lot more about work. The big hole with the information age is that it did not create jobs for the people displaced by the industrial and corporate ages. The information age created many opportunities. Unfortunately many individuals cannot recognize the opportunities because the opportunities require work using broader skills and abilities than a job. There are more opportunities for work than for jobs in the new entrepreneurial age we are in now.

6) The problem with the information age passing us now is the monsoon of information. Many people are distracted, spending time in frivolous activities and not meaningful work. Choose to pursue a work where you can get an education, learning the principles of success and finding a meaningful purpose in what you do.

7) The government wants jobs and people need meaningful work. The bottom line is that there must be a profit, and yes we must then send a portion of the profits to the government. In a job the government gets a cut of our pay before we do. In work the government gets their share after we do, if there is a profit. Let’s shift the thinking so we can prosper like the founding fathers and the many generation after them did. The harder we work the harder it is to surrender!

Be blessed, and then be a blessing to others
Carlos Fontana
Carlos@pricelessbooksforlife.com

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