Work

Yesterday I was reminded of a quote I heard some time ago attributed to Thomas Edison. He said, "opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work." The more I have considered this quote the more I have found truth in it. 

How often do we attempt to avoid work? How often do we seek the easier way and the fast results rather than the long lasting changes. Furthermore, how often do we fail to recognize the opportunities that stand right before us because we consider them work rather than the true 
opportunities that they are? 

I recall hearing about individuals work weeks during the summer years of my high school days. I recall how regularly my coworkers would discuss how much they dreaded work and how much more they looked forward to the weekend to do everything they could to forget about that very thing. This reminds me of a quote by George Sand that reads, "Work is not man's punishment. It is his reward and his strength and his pleasure."

We so often fail to see the joy in exertion, in attempt, and in accomplishment. The more I work in a way worth working, the more I enjoy the work that I do and the more those who I work for enjoy me. 

Indeed, in a large way, how we work resembles who we are. Therefore, make work something worth your time. Do something you are passionate about, and if you can't get such a job, be passionate about how you do your work. Be passionate about what you expect from yourself and the integrity in which you work. There are few greater feelings.