Satisfaction Longevity

Hey Friend,

What a fabulous week! I'm sitting in a Starbucks in St. Louis. I've been with my daughter a few days. It's the annual "Family Weekend" at her school. We never participate in anything they do, but I like to be here. And it's her senior year, so it's my last hoorah. Who knows where she'll be next year at this time?

Before being here, I spent three days at the annual Case & Associates RED Conference. This is my 8th year with them. It was a compression of goodness. I interpreted the theme to be an islander vibe with the intent for everyone to chill out. It was almost a non-conference. There was so much fun and play scheduled, that we only squeezed in about 4 hours total of speaking and training.

One of the hallmarks of Case & Associates is their generosity towards their employees. It's startling to experience because it's such a contrast to the norm. The effect is evident. Of the 120 leaders there, the average tenure is 18+ years. Multiple people have over 30 years with the company. It's impressive and astounding.

It's such an old school idea: work for one company your entire life and then retire. It's unrealistic, yet when realized, is something beautiful to behold. The factors that prohibit such an experience are too numerous to list. But what elements enable it? If those were met, would you be willing to work in one company for the rest of your life?

VARIABLES

Location: Living in one place for that long is not as common as it once was.

Compensation: Everyone knows if you want to get significant raises you have to go somewhere else where they are not familiar with you. A bit of irony that you are more valuable to strangers than those you've served faithfully beside.

Growth: At some point we peak in our skills and abilities. Without severe intentionality to keep us growing, we'll get stagnant.

Leadership: It's still the #1 reason people say they leave an organization - their direct supervisor. Most don't choose to learn how to navigate the authority maze.

Economy: That great big thing we can't control can wreak all kinds of havoc on our businesses.

Relational: A spouse, kid, parent or new spouse may require us to alter where we spend our time and energy, impacting our ability to remain in place at work.

SATISFACTION

More impacting than all of those is our sense of satisfaction with our own life. Ongoing frustrations, disappointments and hurt build up over time at work, disabling a willingness to power through the next challenge. We desire "more" yet the opportunities aren't available. We want to make a meaningful contribution, but can't equate our activity to purpose. It adds up to grinding dissatisfaction. Or worse, mild, numbing routines that drip away our soul.

As you might expect from me, I believe there is an alternative to interpreting our interactions and experiences. What if the very thing that frustrates us now, were to become a source of joy? What if the person that angers and irritates us, evoked hope and pleasure?

MINDSHIFT

What if you redesigned the pathway of perceived negative stimuli and directed it to a reservoir of peace and possibility?

OUR CHOICE

Trust: It's really useful for us to trust the people who have authority in our life, to want the best for us. If we don't believe that, it perpetuates negative assumptions.

Pressure: Whether self-inflicted or real, how we translate it through our mental/emotional system, gives us the liberty to maintain a perspective of positivity.

Energy: We're tired. Interactions that drain us, multiply our disdain. What if we possessed an internal converter that took adverse interactions and translated them into bursts of good juju?

What we can control, let's.

What we can change, let's.

Who we can be, let's.

At the RED Conference I did a message about the "Aloha Way." Did you know ALOHA is an acronym? It's five traits that enable the culture the Hawaiian people desire. In 1986 they made it a law. People are required to bring the ALOHA to their daily life and business. It's fascinating.

We own our own joy, peace and hope. Where and what work we do, supplements it. 

When we get that balance right, we set ourselves up for a fulfilling life.

SHIFTING

I hope this week you find yourself considering your own state of being; assessing who and what you hold accountable for it and determine to own your part.

#ShiftAway