Anybody who’s in any kind of business remotely similar to mine has been taught that W-O-R-K is a four letter word. That you have to make it all sound as easy and simple and effortless as you possibly can, in order to sell anything.
Well sure from a copywriting perspective that’s sensible enough. The more effortless you can make something sound, the better. Everyone does love a free lunch and an easy win and all that.
But the people I enjoy being around the most all LOVE their work. They are passionate about what they do. For us work is wholesome and pleasurable. We get lost in it. When somebody drops in and bends our ear about some inane topic like the latest he-said-she-said or the presidential inauguration or the price of fish and chips in Acapulco, our mind wanders elsewhere….
…their lips are moving but we’re not hearing a thing they’re saying…. we appear to be in the same room but we’re a million miles away… what are we thinking about?
Our work.
Our passion. Our love. Imagination fuels your business and your customers and your next thrilling adventure and the new initiative and the thorny problem that popped up 2 weeks ago that you still haven’t cracked the code on.
Is it possible to be too much of a workaholic? Of course.
But if we’re gonna have some vices, it’s sure better than being an alcoholic, or a gossip-oholic or sexaholic or be addicted to conflict or cigarettes or gambling.
Never, ever apologize for loving what you do. There are billions of people whose daily trade is some kind of drudgery. Be thankful and proud that you love W-O-R-K.
You know what the most beautiful irony is, of people who love work?
We love to find ways to make it easier….. so we can do MORE of it.
Because it’s not about the effort, it’s about the results. It’s about the art form of whatever it is that you have created at the end of every day.
Celebrate it. Celebrate yourself and your passion and the people you surround yourself with who love it every bit as much as you do. Never apologize for loving your work and immersing yourself in it.
Perry Marshall
P.S.: At my 4-Man Intensive, we roll up our sleeves and WORK. Hard. It’ll make your brain hurt. The most exhilarating two days of the entire year. Then in the evening we PLAY hard. January 21-22 and February 11-12. http://www.4ManIntensive.com
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About the Author
Perry Marshall has launched two revolutions in sales and marketing. In Pay-Per-Click advertising, he pioneered best practices and wrote the world's best selling book on Google advertising. And he's driven the 80/20 Principle deeper than any other author, creating a new movement in business.
He is referenced across the Internet and by Harvard Business Review, The New York Times, INC and Forbes Magazine.
3 Comments on “Work: It ain't a 4-Letter Word”
The funniest thing is how people who don’t love their work perceive people who do. I have a self-employed friend who comes into town from time to time, and we inevitably get to talking about the projects both of us are involved in. (And plotting new ones!)
And invariably, one of our non-entrepreneurial friends butts in to say “come on guys, you don’t have to talk about work NOW, we’re just hanging out!”
Never occurs to them that talking about work isn’t at all dreaded for us. There’s no line dividing the hell of work from the fun “rest of our lives.” In fact, we love our work so much it’s almost hard to tell where “work” ends and “life” begins. I like it that way.
This is great. When you love something it doesn’t feel like work. I mean it is work but it just doesn’t seem to be work. Years ago my brother and I learned that we didn’t want to be like many of the people we worked with as far as work was concerned. They were nice people but they said things like “I hate my job but I only have 5 years left”. That sounded like prison and that wasn’t going to be the option.
Find what you love, do it well, and it won’t seem like work!
Well said. Although I would add, “It’s not the love of work for itself, but the love of seeing the positive impact your work is creating – from the service you provide to others, and the income that feeds your family and those in need.”